V3 program honors companies for veteran employment practices

The Virginia Values Veterans (V3) program honored several companies on Tuesday for their efforts to hire military veterans.

The awards were presented at the Virginia Chamber Foundation’s annual Virginia Workforce Conference at the Richmond Convention Center.

Gov. Ralph Northam, Virginia Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs Carlos Hopkins and Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Veterans Services John L. Newby II presented the awards at the conference’s luncheon, which was attended by more than 900 people.

The goal of Virginia’s V3 program is to help employers implement best practices to recruit, hire and train military veteran employees. Since its inception in 2012, the program has certified more than 650 companies, local governments and educational institutions in Virginia.

Northam recalls that when he left the Army after serving eight years active duty as a doctor, he was simply told “good luck.”

“We’ve got to do better for our veterans,” Northam told the crowd.

The companies honored Tuesday include:

Governor’s Award (total number of annual veterans hired in 2017)

Small Company          The B3 Group             Leesburg                     27 hires
Medium Company      PD Systems                Prince George             163 hires
Large Company          CTR Corp.                  Newport News            296 hires
Enterprise Company   CACI                          Arlington                     701 hires

V3 Triumph Award (most transformative hiring process)
Pro-sphere Tek Inc.               Alexandria

V3 Readiness Award (best workforce readiness initiative)
First Data Corp.            Atlanta

V3 Advancement Award (best in career development for veterans)
IntellecTechs                           Miami

V3 Breakthrough Award (most innovative veteran retention program)
American Systems                  Chantilly

V3 MVP Award (most inspiring workplace culture for veterans)
American Systems                  Chantilly

V3 Impact Award (for going above and beyond to make community impact)
MBL Technologies                 Arlington

V3 Influencer Award (best marketing strategy to recruit, hire and retain veterans)
Dominion Energy                   Richmond

V3 Ambassador Award (recognizes the company that recruits new V3 partners)
Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC)                  Herndon

V3 Locality Award (recognizes a certified locality for innovation in support and recruitment of veterans)
Hanover County Sheriff’s Department                       Hanover

V3 Trailblazer Award (innovation in overall support for veterans and veteran employment)
Indoor Skydiving Virginia, LLC (iFly)                      Virginia Beach

V3 Phoenix Award (recognizes comprehensive support to a veteran employed by company or a veteran job seeker)
Newport News Shipbuilding               Newport News

V3 Secretary’s Award (recognizes a certified state agency or public entity for exceptional support of veterans and veteran employment)
Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT)                  Richmond

V3 Hashtag (#) Why Virginia? Award (awarded to best video created with the theme of why Virginia is the best state for veterans to live and work)
Wittenberg Weiner Consulting LLC             Tampa, Fla.