Today we talk with Delaina Morse, a Veteran and Military Spouse Advocate. She has spent the last 6 years helping Veterans with resumes, reading job announcements, translating their skills, salary negotiations, and coaching on how to successfully manage in the civilian sector. Delaina spends most of the time providing people an ear that doesn't judge and can provide advice using positivity and will always take the call or message. She has narrowed in on the group that gets the least attention and needs the most help, Grunts. They have become her passion to help them find meaningful employment and value in all the other skills they bring to the table.

Today we have a husband and wife combo. To start we have Bruce Thompson, who is an advocate and supporter of all things military, veterans, and military spouses. He is a retired Marine Corps Master Sergeant with a proven track record of working with diverse teams to accomplish projects and establish programs. Bruce is currently working with Veterans ASCEND on a special project, and he also worked as the Vice President of Operations for Vets2Industry, Co-Chair of the Northeast Florida Community Veterans Engagement Board, mentor on Veterati with over 900 hours, and a member of the Board for Veterans Village (homeless Veterans tiny home project), and multiple other groups and associations.

His wife, Nila Thompson is a Marine Corps spouse and current Chief of staff for Veterans Ascend and she served as a Family Readiness Officer for two commands in the Marine corps and also served as the VFW Unmet Needs Coordinator, and has been taking care of veterans for over 15 years.

Steve, the Executive Director of the Institute of Certified Professional Managers, joins us and tells his story about how he started as a Marine, became a business owner, and now is an executive. The thought process and pride you should have when you serve is painted all over this episode, I know you will love the conversation.

Jarrod joins us to discuss his passion for helping service members transition by preparing for the transition early and we touch on his book, available on Amazon, called “AVOIDING EACH & EVERY MILITARY VETERAN'S DIS-ADVANTAGE: HOW TO OVERCOME THE LIES A MILITARY FAMILY BELIEVES TO GET OUR FREEDOM BACK.” I actually purchased the book during the show because of his passion to uncover the many false things we believe while in the service.

Ana really helps our community get insight not only into her veteran-friendly company 48Forty (the standard size of a pallet) but also into the eyes of a recruiter. She unpacks the things you should do and not do during an interview as well as a resume. Ana gives us tips and tricks to help veterans succeed in the job search and secure employment. Finally, we get to learn about the industry of pallets from creation to mulch, yup, they mulch them when they are no longer viable. Too cool!

Rebecca with Veterans In Business Networking for Success (“VIB”) has some amazing wisdom to share with any aspiring and veteran business owners. You will get to know her and her passion for assisting veteran-owned businesses to build a network for the greater good of the community. The VIB Network is on a mission to provide education, training, resources, and outreach to help Veterans in business succeed. The VIB Network is a nonprofit 501(c)3.

We were joined by serial founder and entrepreneur David Jones. He drops wisdom on how initiative was a key success train for him and how it is repeatable for everyone else. He went further to say knowledge and being able to prove it was pivotal toward his transition. Finally, he talks about how not to let pride get in the way of your own progress.

This episode was so unique because we host four guests at the same time. The CEO of Search7Cities, Rich Zapata, and his team join us telling stories of transition and success! He even has a DoD SkillBridge resident live and chatting with us about his current transition.

Shawn Dominguez of Dominguez Design-Build really brings it home with the wisdom of a Naval Aviator turned construction company owner. His stance on leading companies and being a leader is a refreshing take you don’t want to miss. From soul searching to community involvement this episode is packed with little morsels of goodness.

Doc and I talk with Jeremy Sinnemaki about the benefits and services available to Florida-based veterans. This episode talks about DoD Skillbridge opportunities and runs the gambit from entrepreneur to farmer. This is packed with information so have your pause button ready. Check out https://www.veteransflorida.org/ when you get a chance.