Veterans Employment Committee

March 19, 2014: 10:00 AM
TBA: for information, contact Auta Main auta.m.main@maine.gov

Meeting Minutes from SWIB Veterans Employment Committee Maine State Chamber of Commerce 19 March 2014, 10am ? 12:30pm

Member Attendees: Steve Wallace, SWIB VEC Chair & Executive Director, Southern Midcoast COC/CEO Auburn Lewiston YMCA, Fred Webber, SWIB Chair (by phone), Dave Keaton, Director Region Two School of Applied Technology (by phone), Dennis Wellman, ESGR Director, Bob Traill, Bonney Staffing, COL Andrew Gibson, Director of Employment Cycle Services, ME ARNG, Bob Carr, Director, Technical Innovations LLC., Carolyn Lockwood, MDOL BRS Director, Debbie Kelly, Maine Director, VETS, Doug Hudson, Veterans Rep/DVOP, MDOL BES, Larry Duquette, Employment and Training Coordinator, Veterans Inc.

Guests & Interested Party Attendees: Nancy Marshall & Whitney Moreau, Nancy Marshall Communications

Staff: Auta Main, MDOL BES Veterans Program Manager

Agenda and Discussion Topics:

Staff ? Auta Main: Welcome and Opening Remarks • Auta opened the meeting with round the room introductions and shared an update regarding the SWIB VEC?s prospective ?Veterans Outreach Campaign? and possible next steps. She and Steve met with Nancy Marshall Communications (NMC) earlier in March (in advance of the meeting) to provide an overview of the SWIB VEC vision and mission and its interest in reaching more veterans to ensure they are aware of employment services and other resources that are available to them. Nancy Marshall and Whitney Moreau walked through a PowerPoint of the Marshall Plan to explain how NMC could be helpful in taking next steps with the development of a Veterans Outreach Campaign Plan. Auta and Steve invited Nancy and Whitney to join us at this meeting today ? to share their presentation again to the entire SWIB VEC membership for feedback.

Staff ? Auta Main: Introduced guests: Nancy Marshall and Whiney Moreau of Nancy Marshall
Communications • Nancy and Whitney provided a PowerPoint presentation discussing the Marshall Plan and how their process could guide SWIB VEC in development of a comprehensive ?Veterans Outreach Campaign.? Discussion included amongst SWIB VEC members and NMC staff. ◦ Possibility of conducting next steps in a 3 month process ◦ Desire to drive veterans, community groups, government agencies and employers to one portal, likely the existing MMCN website/portal, which all agreed needs updating ◦ The Marshall Plan would include ?discovery meetings? by NMC staff of key stakeholders to be named/identified by SWIB VEC members ◦ SWIB VEC members questioned the goal of the outreach campaign and a couple of members suggested the focus should remain on EMPLOYMENT, given the SWIB VEC?s vision/mission. Lots of back and forth about this, but in the end committee members agreed that while the focus should be employment, the outreach campaign should provide a broader brush to include other services/resources that service members, veterans and their families need - all of which provide the support necessary to make employment and retention possible. All agreed - employment is the central connection but this is really not an either/or discussion. We can do both. ◦ Discussion about what message we want to convey ? pitching positive stories of success, yet not downplaying the challenges. Finding that balance is important. • Agreement by all that the MMCN portal would provide the best option for ONE CENTRAL SOURCE ? the platform for taking next steps. • Discussion about development of a tagline • Conclusion of NMC presentation and discussion

Chair ? Steve Wallace: Thanked Nancy Marshall and Whitney Moreau for their presentation and they departed.

Chair ? Steve Wallace: Discussion about the Marshall Plan presentation and proposal continued amongst committee members. • Questions about what age group of veterans are we trying to reach? Is it the 20 somethings primarily because all of us seem to be challenged getting them through our doors? Or the older veterans or the whole broad spectrum of veterans? If all, we?d need different messages for different groups of veterans and a variety of marketing approaches • Maybe we could get free PSAs and/or free radio time/7 second messages? • Andy provided an overview of a parallel effort that Colby College students took on ? providing a marketing plan for MMCN to reach veterans and their families. Might we tie this in? • Questions came up: Do we need a comprehensive marketing plan (that will cost a minimum of 10k or more) or is this something we can do on our own without the benefit of a NMC marketing assistance? ◦ SWIB VEC members agreed that paying a professional to guide us in development of a PLAN for a Veterans Outreach Campaign would likely be worth every penny.

SWIB VEC MEMBERS ? Bob Traill and Bob Car made a motion to ask Nancy Marshall Communications to put together a multi-level proposal for our group for a PR Plan for the Veterans Outreach Campaign. The motion was seconded and unanimously approved.

Chair ? Steve Wallace: Approval of Meeting Notes from November 20, 2013. • No outstanding discussion simply a motion (seconded) to accept and pass as written • Voted and passed as written

The meeting adjourned at 12:30pm 2014 Meeting Dates: July 16, September 17, and November 19

Attachments