Contact: Carson Colvin, Communications Officer, Officer of the Mayor, City of Tulsa
(Tulsa, OK) – Mayor G.T. Bynum, Community Service Council (CSC,) and CSC’s Oklahoma Veteran Alliance recognized 24 companies today for becoming Veteran Employer Champions.
In October 2017, the Veteran Employer Champions program was created after a statewide survey was launched at a Governor’s Veteran Symposium with a goal of building an employer network to create programming and peer-to-peer learning for organizations interested in recruiting, hiring, and developing veterans in the workplace.
This is the fourth year for the Veteran Employer Champion Survey. The survey encourages employers to continually take intentional steps to ensure they are creating a veteran-ready workplace to be recognized as a champion.
The City of Tulsa is taking a lead effort in expanding employment opportunities for veterans within the Tulsa community.
“It’s an honor to recognize a growing list of employers in Tulsa who are showing a commitment to our veterans by welcoming them home with impactful career development opportunities,” Mayor Bynum said. “Tulsa is a city that honors its veterans, and I’m excited to see the list of our Veteran Employer Champions expand year after year.”
The Community Service Council and the Oklahoma Veteran Alliance Employment Committee developed a scoring rubric and survey process to carefully identify Veteran Employer Champions in Oklahoma and the Tulsa region.
“We are honored to welcome a new round of companies into the Employer Champion Network in 2021,” said Pete Luitwieler, Program Manager for the Community Service Council’s Oklahoma Veteran Alliance. “We continue to see heightened interest from Oklahoma companies wanting to join a growing network of employers that provide support for veterans in northeast Oklahoma. Their commitment to helping Oklahoma veterans during their transition back into civilian life will not only benefit veterans and their families, but the Oklahoma community for generations to come.”
To become recognized as a Veteran Employer Champion, companies must meet six benchmarks, including: veteran hiring and recruiting; veteran resource groups, onboarding, or buddy programs; veteran programs and community support; veteran employee resources and/or supports; veteran executive sponsor leading veteran strategies; and guard and reserve employee supports.
The 24 companies recognized today include:
- AAON, Inc.
- AB ONE- Oklahoma
- Baker Hughes
- Barracuda Staffing Inc.
- Berryhill Fire Protection District
- BOK Financial
- City of Tulsa
- Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR)
- Goodwill Industries of Tulsa, Inc.
- Lowe’s Home Improvement
- Lumen Technologies Inc.
- Melton Truck Lines
- NextOp Inc.
- Northeastern State University
- Oklahoma Employment Security Commission
- Oklahoma State University
- ONE Gas
- ONEOK, Inc
- PACCAR WINCH INC
- Public Service Company of Oklahoma
- Rapid Application Group LLC
- Southern Nazarene University
- Spirit AeroSystems
- The Coffee Bunker
Partners of the Veteran Employer Champions are the City of Tulsa, Community Service Council, DR Consulting, Key Personnel, Oklahoma Department of Veteran Affairs and Oklahoma Veteran Alliance.
If a company wants to join the Veteran Employer Champion Network, please contact Pete Luitwieler, Program Manager for CSC’s Oklahoma Veteran Connections and Oklahoma Veteran Alliance, pluitwieler@csctulsa.org.
City of Tulsa Resource Center: www.cityoftulsa.org/veterans
Community Service Council Veterans Resource: http://csctulsa.org/veterans-support/
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