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Mayor Allen Joints
(third from the right)
presents the procla
mation to Sgt. Kevin
Riley and Larry
Calloway (center).
Also pictured are
(from left): Michale
Atwood, Steve Miller,
James McRavion, for
mer Marine Alfonzo
Boyd and City
Council member
James Taylor.
City issues call to employ vets
BY LAYLA OARMS
THE CHRONICLE
For Sgt. Kevin Riley, joining the
U.S. Army seven years ago felt more
like a calling than a career choice.
"I was a mechanic before 1 joined the
Army. I woke up on my 21st birthday,
and I don't know what it was; I just felt
a higher calling," recalled the 28 year
old father of three. "About 15 days later,
I was off to basic training, and I've
never looked back."
Riley is one of more than 37,000
Forsyth County residents who have
served their nation in the military.
Unfortunately, soldiers are often at a
disadvantage once they return home and
attempt to transfer their military experi
ence to civilian careers. Nationwide, the
unemployment rate for veterans is near
ly a full two points higher than the
national average of 7.8 percent. Though
Riley, 28, who currently serves as an
Army recruiter at the Hanes Mall office,
isn't ready to leave his military career
behind just yet, he is hopeful that, by the
time he does, conditions will be better
than those his comrades currently face.
"These individuals have fought and
died for the average American," said the
Jacksonville, Fla. native, who did a 12
month tour of duty in Iraq. "They should
be rewarded and not just given a job, but
a chance to prove that they can accom
plish that job."
Mayor Allen Joines recognized the
contributions thousands of local veter
ans make to the Winston-Salem work
force on a daily basis with a special
proclamation declaring Nov. 11-17
"Employ a Veteran Week" in the Twin
City.
"It's an honor for me to be here
today to help bring attention to Employ
a Veteran Week. It's so important,"
Joines told the handful of veterans serv
ice workers who gathered in his office
for the ceremony Tuesday morning.
"The military does such a good job
preparing these young men and women
for work."
James McRavion was among those
on hand for the Nov. 13 ceremony, held
one day after the federal Veterans Day
holiday. As a veterans' employment con
sultant for the North Carolina
Employment Security Commission,
McRavion is often the first point of con
tact for veterans who have been dis
charged and are looking to return to
civilian lives and occupations.
"(Unemployment) is something we
have to deal with, especially when
you're dealing with veterans, because
veterans are coining back with more
issues than what they had before," he
explained. "We have resources where
we can help them with any kind of
employment barriers."
Vietnam War veteran Steve Miller,
who spent three decades as a real estate
developer before taking on his current
role as a disabled veterans outreach con
sultant, said things are beginning to look
up for veterans. Miller, a third genera
tion soldier, credits the implementation
of government initiatives like the
Veterans' Retraining Assistance
Program - which helps veterans ages
35-60 retool for today's economy by
sending them back to school and even
providing a stipend to help offset house
hold expenses - with helping to improve
employment conditions for vets.
"The government really recognizes
(the issue) and is really stepping up,"
commented Miller, whose daughter, a
Marine and son, a green beret, both fol
lowed his footsteps into military service.
The proclamation was the brainchild
of Larry Calloway, the veterans' super
visor for the Winston-Salem office of
the N.C. Commerce Department's
Division of Workforce Solutio'ns.
Calloway, who spent three years as an
Army medic in the 1970s, said nearly
one million military service men and
women are slated to be deactivated over
the next live years, making it more cru
cial than ever for employers to recognize
veterans' varied assets. Calloway said
the federal government has sweetened
the pot for employers with the Workers'
Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC), which
offers a credit of up to $9,000 a year for
each veteran a company employs.
"With the tax incentives that are out
there right now, it's a wise decision to
hire a veteran," he remarked.
Workforce Solutions is working fer
vently to help veterans find gainful
employment, Calloway said. In the 2011
fiscal year alone, the Division partnered
with other agencies to stage 41 veterans'
job fairs and helped 3,816 veterans
across the Tar Heel State find employ
ment.
"At Workforce Solutions, we believe
in leaving no man behind," he declared.
"...Anybody that's willing to sacrifice
their lives for our country, we should
always be willing to reach out and help
them."
For more information, visit
wwwjtcesc .com,
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