VETERANS GREEN JOBS RECOGNIZED AT HEROES OF SUSTAINABILITY EVENT IN DENVER ON 9-11

On the evening of the 11^th anniversary of the 9-11 terrorist attacks on New York City and the Pentagon, Veterans Green Jobs was honored to participate in the Alliance for Sustainable Colorado’s (www.sustainablecolorado.org) 2012 Heroes of Sustainability Award event in downtown Denver.

This year’s Hero award was presented to Vice Admiral (Retired, U.S. Navy) Dennis McGinn, the President and CEO of the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) (www.acore.org).  VADM McGinn has been a staunch advocate of renewable and alternative energy approaches to sustainability, and has advised the Department of Defense on a number of green energy initiatives and the national security risks of climate change.  In his acceptance speech, the Admiral spoke eloquently about the connections between national security, energy security and energy independence, and climate change.  He also publicly thanked Veterans Green Jobs for the work we are doing in putting veterans back to work in the green economy.

Vice Admiral McGinn speaks to the crowd.

Ten veterans affiliated with Veterans Green Jobs, including six veterans who are post-9/11 veterans and have served in Iraq and Afghanistan during the past decade, attended the event under the sponsorship of Southwestern Energy (www.swn.com), an independent energy company primarily engaged in natural gas and crude oil exploration, development and production within North America.  VGJ Board members, including Chairman Dr. Mit Parsons and COL (Ret, USAF Reserves) Theresa Blumberg were part of the VGJ group. Also in attendance separately was Colorado State Senator Gail Schwartz, a VGJ Board Member.

Back Row: Bill Ritter, Kynnie Martin, Mit Parsons, VADM Dennis McGinn (Honoree), Bill Doe, Vickie Miller, Theresa Blumberg. Front Row: John Powers, Garett Reppenhagen, Danny Moore

In their opening remarks, Joanne Keys, Executive Director of the Alliance, and John Powers, Board President of the Alliance, recognized the importance of our military in promoting sustainability and the continuation of that service as veterans.  They both acknowledged the efforts of Veterans Green Jobs working in partnership with the Alliance, federal, state and city governments and the business community, to put veterans back to work in the critical areas of sustainability.