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.