Youngkin commemorates ‘National Hire A Veteran Day’

GLEN ALLEN, Va. (WDBJ) - Governor Glenn Youngkin was joined Monday in Glen Allen by other Virginia officials and representatives of Walmart to celebrate “National Hire a Veteran Day.”

At a presentation held at the Walmart at 11400 West Broad Street, Walmart was officially welcomed as a Certified Virginia Values Veterans (V3) employer.

“Our Commonwealth is home to more than 700,000 men and women who have served in our armed forces and more than 150,000 active duty, Reserve and National Guard members. This makes it vitally important to bring attention to the importance of National Hire a Veteran Day and to partners like Walmart and hundreds of other employers – large and small – to ensure this valuable pipeline of skilled and talented people stay in Virginia,” said Youngkin. “Walmart has shown its dedication to hiring these veterans at its 149 retail locations and six distribution centers throughout our state and today, strengthens its commitment by becoming a Certified Partner Employer in our Virginia Values Veterans (V3) program. My administration is reimagining the way we provide veteran benefits, we have relieved veterans of unnecessary taxing on their retirement pay, and we are focused on creating further employment opportunities. Hiring Virginia Veterans is not only the right thing to do – it is the smart thing to do.”

“National Hire a Veteran Day” was established in 2017 as a call to action for employers to hire veterans and for veterans to apply for civilian positions after leaving the armed forces.

“Since its creation in 2013, the Department of Veterans Services’ V3 Program has trained and certified more than 2,000 Virginia businesses and other employers on how to best recruit, hire and retain Virginia Veterans in their workforces. The program has resulted in over 96,000 veteran hires,” added Craig Crenshaw, Virginia Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs. “With more than 46,000 sales associates statewide and their own corporate “Find A Future” national program dedicated to hiring veterans and military spouses, we are exceptionally pleased to have Walmart partner with our V3 program.”

More on the Commonwealth’s efforts to support veterans in the workplace can be found by visiting both the Virginia Values Veterans (V3) Program and Virginia Department of Veterans Services respective websites.