Nominations are being accepted for the 2010 Pillar of the Movement Award. Those who would like to nominate a member of the movement or a person who has made an exceptional commitment that made substantial impact on the movement, should write a narrative nomination citing how and why the nominee should become a Pillar of the Movement. Nominations should be forwarded to Bill Picard at: B.Picard@AdvancedEnvironmental.net .
The nominations will then be forwarded to the current Pillars of the Movement for review and selection. As with last year’s awards, the Pillars will be honored at the Veterans’ Small Business Conference in Las Vegas in July.
The Pillar of the Movement Award was established in 2009 to honor members of the veteran business movement who distinguished themselves in setting and achieving goals to enhance the movement in a substantial and lasting manner.
The recipients in 2009 were: John Lopez (know to all as the founder of the Movement by his work in California in the late ‘80s and his subsequent work on a National level); Mr. Rick Weidman (Co-founder and Inaugural Co-Chair of VET-Force, which played a fundamental role in establishing Public Law 106-50 in 1998 and advocacy for the Movement ever since); Mr. Scott Denniston (Former OSDBU and Director of the Center for Veterans’ Enterprise at the Department of Veterans’ Affairs and ardent advocate for the Movement); Mr. Jack Beecher (Small Business Deputy of the Norfolk District, USACE and SDVOSB and VOSB Advocate at HQ USACE who has lead the charge for utilization of SDVOSB and VOSB businesses at the Army Corps with tremendous success).
Bill Picard, a SDVOSB owner at Advanced Environmental Solutions, Inc. and Frank Campanaro, CEO of Trillacorpe Construction, also an SDVOB established theAward to honor the service and dedication of these inaugural honorees and to establish a legacy within the Movement. Picard stated, “We thought it was very important to acknowledge and honor the commitment and service to this Movement of ours. We thought it particularly that these four giants of the Movement be honored for their historical contribution to the cause.” “Their legacy should be a model for those who are currently in the Movement and for those who will follow us over time”