Awards presented at 6^th annual Virginia Values Veterans (V3) luncheon 

Governor Ralph Northam today recognized businesses and government agencies for their ongoing commitment to creating employment opportunities for Virginia’s military veterans at the 2018 Virginia Workforce Conference, hosted by the Virginia Chamber Foundation.

More than 650 businesses, state and local government agencies and educational institutions, certified under the Virginia Values Veterans (V3) Program have hired nearly 36,000 veterans since the program’s inception in 2012.

“Virginia is home to one of the largest veteran populations and has more veterans per capita in our labor force than any other state in America,” said Governor Northam. “All Virginians have the responsibility to serve these veterans as they have served us. As a veteran myself, I am proud that we continue to do this so effectively through our unique V3 Program. V3 is a true public-private partnership with a proven track record in encouraging companies to hire and retain skilled veteran leaders in our civilian workforce. Our focus on creating economic opportunities for veterans and their families reflects our commitment to keeping Virginia the most veteran-friendly state in America.”

Governor Northam was joined by Virginia Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs Carlos Hopkins and Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Veterans Services John L. Newby II in presenting a series of special achievement awards at the 6^th Annual V3 Awards Luncheon during the 2018 Virginia Workforce Conference.

“It is fitting that the theme of this year’s Workforce Conference is ‘Creating Connections to Virginia Business’,” said Secretary Hopkins. “Connecting our Virginia veterans to the Commonwealth’s leading employers and assuring our transitioning service members find employment as they leave active duty is the mission of the V3 Program. It is an honor to recognize the V3 Certified Partners here today for their leadership in seeking and hiring veterans to be part of their workforce.”

“Today’s event brought together hundreds of employers, educators, human resource managers, veterans groups and policymakers from every corner of the Commonwealth to explore opportunities and share best practices to fill workforce demand with one of our greatest resources—our highly skilled veterans,” said Commissioner Newby. “We are honored that Governor Northam joined us today to personally recognize these V3 Certified Partners. We also thank the Virginia Chamber Foundation for its commitment in encouraging its member businesses to hire Virginia’s veterans.”

In recognition of the significant commitment of Virginia businesses in hiring veterans, awards were presented in 17 categories during the 6^th Annual Virginia Values Veterans (V3) Awards Luncheon. The 2018 V3 Award winners are:

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 Corporation           Atlanta, Georgia

V3 Advancement Award (best in career development for veterans)

• IntellecTechs                           Virginia Beach

 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, Florida

About the Virginia Values Veterans (V3) Program

The Virginia Values Veterans (V3) is a program of the Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Veterans Services. Its mission is to help employers understand, design and implement nationally-recognized best practices in recruiting, hiring and training military veteran employees. For more information on this program, please visit www.dvsV3.com.