Happy Veteran's Day!
Mary Kennedy Thompson, president of our sister brand Mr. Rooter Corporation and chairwoman of the International Franchise Association’s VetFran Committee, along with chairwoman and CEO of The Dwyer Group Dina Dwyer-Owens, visited Washington D.C. on our behalf to promote First Lady Michelle Obama’s announcement on “Operation Enduring Opportunity”.
With veteran unemployment rates of 11.7 percent, the IFA launched this campaign to offer returning veterans career paths in franchising. It includes the commitment of the franchising industry’s more than 825,000 franchise establishments to hire and recruit 75,000 veterans and 5,000 wounded warriors by 2014.
Rainbow International is a subsidiary of The Dwyer Group, Inc. Its late founder Don Dwyer Sr., started the VetFran Program to thank veterans returning from the first Gulf War by offering them financial incentives. Dina Dwyer-Owens revamped the program after 9/11. Since the VetFran’s inception in 1991, more than 2,100 veterans have become franchise business owners.
Today, the program includes 428 franchise systems that voluntarily offer financial incentives to veterans seeking to become franchise small-business owners. According to a recent study based on U.S. Census data, there are more than 66,000 veteran-owned franchise establishments in the United States. They provide 815,000 jobs.
We could not be more proud to be a part of VetFran and to help promote “Operation Enduring Opportunity”. Thank you to all those who serve or have served – we salute you.
For more information on IFA’s VetFran program, please visit www.vetfran.com.
