On Nov. 5, 2020, Jeremiah Shepard, general manager of technical services at Dove Print Solutions, based in Florence, South Carolina, reached out to Business Technology Association (BTA) General Counsel Bob Goldberg, seeking information regarding the association and member efforts to hire veterans. Dove Print Solutions has had excellent results hiring veterans and sought to expand its effort. Goldberg reached out to two industry and military veterans for assistance: Mike Stramaglio, president and CEO of Stramaglio Consulting LLC, and Frank Cannata, founder and editor-at-large of The Cannata Report. Both Stramaglio and Cannata immediately took interest in Shepard’s inquiry. As a result, the idea grew from a BTA member question to a new industry program — Veterans Enhancing Technology (VETech).

Members of the BTA Board of Directors welcomed having this new initiative exist under the BTA umbrella. On a special page of the BTA website (www.bta.org/VETech), office technology industry employers seeking to fill positions can post job opportunities. Likewise, veterans seeking positions can post their qualifications and respond to employer postings. It is anticipated that training opportunities for veterans will also be posted on the BTA website.

"This is a win-win for employers and veterans," said BTA National President Tim Renegar, president and co-owner of Kelly Office Solutions, based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. "Our country owes a great deal of gratitude to those who have served us and our country. We are very pleased to be able to provide a new resource to our veterans to help them transition their military training to gainful employment."

Office technology industry dealers, suppliers and manufacturers are encouraged to post their job openings on the association’s new VETech webpage, www.bta.org/VETech.