Neighborly To Mark One-Year Anniversary Of Operation Enduring Opportunity At Minnesota State Capital
St. Paul, Minn., (Nov. 1, 2012) — This Veterans Day as unemployment
rates for young veterans continue to hover at almost 20%, home-service
franchisor Neighborly, formerly Dwyer Group, will join the International
Franchise Association (IFA) and fellow members in quantifying the major
progress the franchise community has made in fighting veteran unemployment
through franchise ownership and employment opportunities featuring veteran
franchisees and team members in a nationwide, multi-city media event.
Kevin Lacy, owner of Aire Serv® of W Minneapolis, and Rowley Mayo,
owner of Mr. Appliance® of W Hennepin and E Carver, both military
veterans, will represent The Neighborly at the event.
Last Veterans Day, the International Franchise Association launched an
industry-wide campaign, Operation Enduring Opportunity, to hire as team
members and recruit as franchise business owners 75,000 veterans and military
spouses, plus 5,000 wounded warriors, by the end of 2014. On the one-year
anniversary of this announcement, our industry leaders will announce major
progress towards Operation Enduring Opportunity’s goals and premiere
a short video about this important campaign to enable veterans to have
successful careers as franchise business owners and team members.
A St. Paul event including IFA, business leaders and military veterans
turned franchisees will take place on November 9th, 2012 from 11:00 am
to 2:30pm CST at the Minnesota State Capitol Rotunda (75 Rev. Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul MN 55155)
Speakers:
- Speaker Kurt Zellers – Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives
- John Geenen – Member of the Minnesota VetFran Task Force
- Lori Kiser-Block – Owner, Rapid Refill Franchise
- Rochelle Weathers – Operations Director, ZEROREZ of Minnesota
- Jim Olsen – Director of Franchising Novus Glass
- VetFran Franchisee – Rowley Mayo, owner of Mr. Appliance of W Hennepin & E Carver (Marine Corps Veteran, 1970-1974)
- VetFran Franchisee – Kevin Lacy, owner of Aire Serv of W Minneapolis (Army veteran, 1974-1979)
- Business Owner Hiring Veterans – Linda Bremer Menter, owner of HOODZ of Twin Cities North Metro
On-Site Contact – John Geenen: (john.geenen@waterfrontfinancialgroup.com)
or (612-237-6897)
With its training, structure, systems and focus on operational excellence,
franchising can provide an ideal career path for returning veterans to
become leaders in the civilian economy. According to the U.S. Census,
there are over 66,000 veteran-owned franchise businesses in the U.S. IFA’s
VetFran strategic initiative was launched in 1991 to help Gulf War veteran’s
transition.
“As we continue to work hard each and every day to extend career
opportunities to our nation’s veterans, we are gratified to recognize
the tremendous progress that has been made,” said Steve Caldeira,
CFE, IFA’s President & CEO. “As we celebrate Veterans
Day, let us remember that our freedom comes at a price. We are proud to
enable our nation’s veterans to fulfill their dreams and find career
opportunities here at home.”
Events will also take place in Atlanta, Austin, Phoenix, and Richmond.
For more information about IFA Veterans Day events, visit www.VetFran.com.
For information about franchising opportunities through Neighborly, visit
www.leadingtheserviceindustry.com.
ABOUT Neighborly:
Neighborly, based in Waco, Texas, is a holding company of seven franchise
businesses, each selling and supporting a different franchise under the
following service marks: Aire Serv®, Glass Doctor®, The Grounds
Guys®, Mr. Appliance®, Mr. Electric®, Mr. Rooter® (Drain
Doctor in the UK and Portugal), and Rainbow International®. Collectively,
these independent franchise concepts offer customers world-wide a broad
base of residential and commercial services. In addition, Dwyer operates
glass shops in New England under the Portland Glass brand name. Neighborly
is a portfolio company of TZP Group LLC, a private equity firm based in
New York that focuses on control investments in business and consumer
services companies with enterprise values generally up to $200 million.
More information on The Neighborly, or its franchise concepts, is available
at www.dwyergroup.com.