Why is Veterans Day so important to Gilbane?
Because our veterans have not only been there for all of us, willing to go into harm’s way to protect our country, they are also highly valued members of Gilbane. Each veteran brings a depth of experience, discipline, and highly specialized skills they learned in the military to full advantage as Gilbane employees, using their technical and managerial skills to add value to every Gilbane project.
How do we at Gilbane serve those who have served us?
One way we support our veterans is through our Military Advantage Employee Resource Group (ERG), which has as its mission statement: “We are here to serve, honor and respect military members, families and veterans.” Among the activities the Military ERG supports is the Honor Flight Program, making it possible for veterans from around the country to visit Washington DC sites that include the National World War II Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (both built by Gilbane) and Arlington National Cemetery. This year, the Military Advantage ERG did their first test of virtual reality (VR) visits to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial developed in-house by our Virtual Design group. The results were stunning. Our Gilbane volunteer was able to show a terminally ill Vietnam veteran too sick to make the trip to visit the memorial built in his honor, while two veterans in poor health took the VR trip. In addition, six Vietnam veterans signed up for an in-person Honor Flight after their VR experiences.
On an individual level, Heidi DeBenedetti, Executive Vice President, shares how she honors our veterans and provides suggestions for each of us:
“Each year on Veterans Day, we see notes of thanks for those who have served and those who still serve. When I send my note, I always think that a thank you is not enough, that there should be something more. So today, I say thank you to all of you who have served or continue to serve—and express my deep appreciation, respect and gratitude for everything our service members do to keep us safe—but I also want to challenge each of you to do more. Get involved with our Military Advantage ERG, a local Honor Flight hub, volunteer at a Veterans Affairs location, or train a service dog. There are many ways to express our thanks in addition to saying thank you.”
I encourage each of us to take this opportunity to recognize our Gilbane veterans for the knowledge, experience, and values they bring from their time in the military, and for their key contributions to our success to safely and successfully perform hundreds of projects every day.
One Reply to “Honoring our Veterans on Veterans Day”
Alice Dean
Thank you so much for your service to this great nation. All your efforts and caring for others is so much appreciated every single day. God Bless!
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