Ohio National Guard News

Veterans Resource Fair attracts nearly 500 attendees

Story and photos by Bill Pierce, Ohio National Guard Public Affairs

Bradley Harrison, an active-duty Army veteran, looks over the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services display while visiting the Veterans Resource Fair Feb. 24, 2015, at Wilmington Air Park in Wilmington, Ohio. Harrison was one of about 500 veterans who attended the fair, seeking employment opportunities and learning about the benefits he may qualify for as a veteran.

Tech. Sgt. Tyler Ogden (left), a recruiter for the 178th Wing, speaks with a veteran at the Veterans Resource Fair. Ogden said most veterans stopped by to share stories with him and some had questions about the Ohio Air National Guard. The event was jointly sponsored by the Ohio National Guard, Ohio Department of Veterans Services and the Ohio Department of Job And Family Services.

WILMINGTON, Ohio (02/24/15 ) — Several State of Ohio agencies joined together to hold a Veterans Resource Fair, Feb. 24 at Wilmington Air Park.

The event was jointly sponsored by the Ohio National Guard, Ohio Department of Veterans Services and the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Several veteran service organizations and prospective employers were also on hand to talk to the nearly 500 veterans who attended the fair, seeking employment opportunities and learning about the benefits they’ve earned.

Bright New Leaders for Ohio Schools is a one-year fellowship program that works closely with the Ohio Department of Education, Ohio Board of Regents and Ohio Business Roundtable, as well as Ohio’s three largest school districts — Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati — to recruit, train and place committed new leaders to head high-poverty public schools across the state.

“We are basically creating school building leaders who are high achievers in other areas of life,” said Idin Pirasteh, Bright operations coordinator. “We find some of these leaders in business, in the military and the veteran community, and that is why we are here today.”

As part of the fellowship, each participant is fully immersed in a school for an entire academic year as an assistant principal, Pirasteh said. Bright fellows concurrently earn a master’s degree in business administration from The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business, through once-a-month, intensive, three day on-campus degree program classes. At the conclusion of the program, each participant will be fully certified and licensed by the Ohio Department of Education and be deployed to a high-poverty, low-performing school building in one of the districts that participate in the program.

Several people interviewed said they were impressed with the information made available to them and felt that it was a good opportunity for veterans to get answers about possible benefits and employment.

Bradley Harrison, a former munitions specialist and motor transport operator who served for three years in the Army, attended the fair looking for possible employment and to find out what benefits he may qualify for as a veteran.

“I didn’t really know that much about veterans benefits when I got out in 1986,” Harrison said. “I just figured I didn’t qualify for anything since I was only in the military a short time.”

Added Mike Magnusson, Ohio National Guard transition assistance advisor: “We had many veterans come through and I feel that most, if not all, of them either found answers to their questions or we were able to at least direct them to the proper agency that could assist them.”