“It’s an honor to serve these veterans’ transitions, and also very important to expand public perception to recognize the many ways in which our vets give back to our communities.”
“After military service, veterans return to civilian communities and make great contributions,” says Heidi Phan-Peterson, Executive Director of Salute Colorado, of the more than 15K vets living in Boulder County. “Many civilians may not realize the extent to which this is true because, unfortunately, veterans tend to be narrowly portrayed by the media as people suffering from PTSD and/or people who are homeless.
“The truth is, veterans are often leaders of companies, active in the startup community, running for office, volunteering as emergency responders, fighting fires, and more.”
From this strength-based perspective, Salute Colorado – a grantee of the Community Foundation’s Veterans Fund – supports local veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces through mentorship, networking, and funding as they pave civilian career paths in real estate or technology fields. Founded by Lane Hornung – a former Desert Storm U.S. Marine helicopter pilot, and current CEO and Founder of 8z Real Estate – Salute Colorado helps our vets navigate the business world in pursuit of post-service careers, and translate their skills and abilities as leaders in service to taking on leadership roles in their communities.
“Misperceptions of vets as a whole undermine the men and women who return from service focused on transitioning into their communities as productive members of our society,” Heidi continues. “Many of our vets were leaders in service, and they will be leaders as civilians. Our program is designed to accelerate their success by matching local vets with mentors, contacts, and resources to navigate the professional world according to their interests.”
Heidi goes on to explain that many vets – despite having had successful careers in the military – have to learn the new rules of the game in the civilian world. “Many of the skills they learned in service are valuable in the civilian world, but the vets need help mapping those skills to specific roles in companies,” she says. “When that happens, vets can make valuable contributions for the organizations that tap their talents.
“For example, a former logistics officer who earned his MBA at CU was promoted to a leadership role at a Boulder-based real estate redevelopment company because of the management skills he developed in the Marines – a win for the vet and the company.”
Since 2014, Salute Colorado has served some 16 vets through “high-touch” programming. “We’re a small organization by design,” says Heidi. “And the veteran-participants we work with are enrolled in a two-year program during which they are supported by a mentor, provided access to a network of business professionals, have access to grants and benefit from peer connections.”
Concludes Heidi, “According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 11%-20% of vets of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars suffer from PTSD in a given year – which is not most veterans, as the media might lead one to believe. As a result, many vets feel misunderstood.
“It’s an honor to serve these veterans’ transitions, and also very important to expand public perception to recognize the many ways in which our vets give back to our communities.”
