Category Archives: Vets Corner

News and articles for military vets

Nolan Ruby -Flag Post Goes Viral

Russ interviews Nolan Ruby, Veteran Affairs Advisor of Directional Motivation about his recent post that went viral on social media and facebook.

Walter Reed National Military Medical Center just completed a bulk purchase of books!

Walter Reed National Military Medical Center just completed a bulk purchase of the books “Deployment to Employment: A guide for military veterans transitioning to civilian employment” and “How to Interview: What employers want to hear in today’s competitive job market” for our transitioning Wounded Warriors. We thank them for this purchase and we also thank our civilian sponsors for making this happen.

*If you would like to help in sponsoring in future book distributions for our veterans just call Russ Hovendick at (605) 362-8176 ext 101 or email him at russ@directionalmotivation.comwalter reed

Six Sigma Scholarship for Veterans Pays Off

Authored By: A.T. Houston

The Marines have a saying, Semper Fidelis, which means always faithful. Former Marine and the co-founder of Six Sigma, Dr. Mikel Harry continues to sponsor a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt scholarship program to help veterans transition to six-figure positions by offering companies their mastery of business process improvement skills.

Dr. Harry has many success stories regarding the program which commenced in early 2013. He shared a Gulf War Veteran’s letter recently on his blog,

“Within weeks of completing the certification and working with you, I accepted an offer of employment today for a full-time permanent supply chain project manager position. My starting salary is $100,000.00 per year with a $5,000.00 signing bonus, plus excellent benefits. The bar is very high, and now it is time to get to work.”

Through Leatherneck.com, Six Sigma Wings for Heroes (SSWH) is awarding scholarships to Marine veterans, reservists, active-duty personnel, and family members.

SSWH is not asking for any donations, matching contributions, or economic pledges. Rather, Dr. Harry has dedicated himself to fund the scholarships as his way of making a difference to those who have sacrificed so much for our nation.

Leatherneck.com is asking Marines to submit a personal letter via email, stating the reason(s) they want the scholarship and how they feel it would impact their chances at finding work and advance their post military careers.

Letters should be sent to SixSigmaWingsforHeroes@leatherneck.com. Leaders atLeatherneck.com and SSWH will review all submissions and award the scholarships based on the impact and creativity of the entries. The program will continue until all 300 scholarships donated have been granted.

About Six Sigma Wings for Heroes

A dimension of Six Sigma Management Institute (SSMI) is about giving back to the men and women that have safeguarded our great nation and sacrificed so much on our behalf. ​

Read More →

#ExploreVA Education and Employment Facebook Chat

Join VA, representatives from the Institute for Veterans and Military Families and Student Veterans of America, and other Veterans for a Facebook chat about VA education and employment benefits and services.

  • Hear from Veterans using VA benefits for education, training, and career advancement.
  • Learn how to tap into VA education and employment benefits.
  • Ask questions about these benefits and share post-service success stories.va_chats
  • http://on.fb.me/1t4Y7xY

Another 150 books given to our military heroes!

We are very happy to have partnered with the South Dakota Department of Labor in providing 150 books for a recent military job fair is Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The books “Deployment to Employment: A guide for military veterans transitioning to civilian employment” and “How to interview: What employers want to hear in today’s competitive job market” were distributed to our military veterans to assist in their job search.

Pictured below is Jim Prostrollo, Employment Specialist – Veteran’s Services and Wylla Satterness, Employment Specialist – Business Outreach along with Directional Motivation Founder and Author Russ Hovendick

sd labor

SDDVA Staff host booth at Sioux Falls Job Fair

Article Credit South Dakota Department of the Military South Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs

The South Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs was one of over 100 vendors at the Sioux Falls Job Fair held at the Elmen Center at Augustana College Wednesday.
Deputy Secretary Aaron Pollard, Field Officer Steven Lund and Veterans Service Officer Regina Boeve were on hand to answer questions regarding veterans benefits and services.
Sioux Falls Mayor Mike Huether kicked off the event by reading a proclamation proclaiming Wednesday, August 6, as Veterans and Spouses Job Fair Day in Sioux Falls.
This is the eighth annual job fair offered to assist veterans, military personnel readjust to their civilian life.
Recently, SDDVA provided all CTVSOs with the book “Deployment to Employment,” a guide for military veterans transitioning to civilian employment. The book provides a step-by-stepguide to success in landing civilian employment. SDDVA Secretary Zimmerman believes that the book is a great resource for veterans to use in developing their resume, preparing for interviews and landing a job.

Job_Fair_photo
 

 

 

To My Fellow Veterans

by Nolan Ruby

Nolan Ruby

Standing at the starting gate of a summer long overdue, (considering the winter most of us have had,) already a few picnics and barbeques into June’s extended sunny days, and just a few days away from a long weekend of cold drinks and fireworks, it’s tempting to fall into our tried and proven, comfortable routines. We move through our schedules towards the next “check in the box,” and we forget I fear that ambition and sense of wonder which caused us to request a tour of duty within the armed forces. We have a job, and it’s meeting the needs for now, so we settle, we accept, and we start to think that perhaps the most accomplished days in our lives may be behind us. We look for that feeling of achievement like we once had, only to find a world of supervisors who do not seem to understand our past success. We find a world full of cubicles and digital deadlines, and we may become disheartened.

Have you ever had these thoughts? Sir Frances Bacon once stated; “The tragedy of life is what dies inside a man while he is yet alive.” Can you relate to that? If you can, if I just explained in detail your feelings, have you settled? Do you want more? If so, how hard are you willing to work for it?
Read More →

The Value of Military Veterans in the Workplace –HRAM event in Omaha

On Tuesday, April 8th Russ had the privilege of addressing the HRAM (Human Resource Managers of the Midwest) conference in Omaha, NE. The theme of the conference centered on discovering the value of our military veteran community. Organizations quickly learned the unique talents that transitioning veterans bring to the table and the benefit that they can bring to the companies that hire them. It was fun to play an active part in making a difference for our veterans. Thank you to the HRAM group for the opportunity to highlight our veterans!

Other speakers at the event included: Teri Clark, Bonnie Bessler, Chad Storlie, Tianna Robinson, and Evan Downey

Tianna Robinson

Russ Hovendick & Tianna Robinson

Russ Hovendick

Russ Hovendick speaking at the HRAM conference in Omaha.

Chad Storlie

Chad Storlie

Teri Clark,

Teri Clark

Bonnie Bessler

Bonnie Bessler

Evan Downey

Evan Downey

South Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs Larry Zimmerman Interview

Secretary of the South Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs Larry Zimmerman speaks about Veteran issues both nationally and within the state of South Dakota. Larry discusses the objectives and recent developments of Operation RAV and his efforts to personally reach every veteran in South Dakota. Larry also hails the efforts of the Directional Motivation team to impact the lives of veterans and their families. For veteran resources including the book ” Deployment to Employment: A guide for military veterans transitioning to civilian employment” visit www.directionalmotivation.com/books.php
For more information on south Dakota Veteran Affairs visit http://vetaffairs.sd.gov/

Military transitioning and the challenges involved.

Marine veteran Varick discusses the challenges of finding employment upon returning from military deployment. Varick gives his perspective and advice to other veterans facing the same challenges. Interview with Directional Motivation and KELO radio host Bill Zortman from It’s your business!