Veteran Voices

For his 80th birthday, George H.W. Bush went skydiving with the U.S. Army’s Golden Knights. Jeffrey Schafer was among the Knights – the Army’s demonstration and competition parachute team – who soared through the sky with the nation’s 41st president. Schafer and the Knights landed alongside the World War II hero at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library & Museum, where a party was being held and the institution dedicated. “To be part of something like that, with all the world leaders in attendance, was an honor,” says Schafer.

The jump was one standout memory from a 21-year military career that had Schafer serving everywhere from war-torn Bosnia to Afghanistan. Now retired from the Army, Schafer and his wife Felicia – a former Army helicopter pilot who served for two decades – run City Screen Impressions (asi/162288) in Raeford, NC.

While warzone deployments and jumping out of airplanes seem worlds away from operating an apparel decorating/promo products company, the Schafers say there are parallels from their military experience that help them in business.

“In the Army, there’s great emphasis on attention to detail,” Jeffrey Schafer says. “The smallest of mistakes or lack of process will get someone hurt or killed. In our business, the smallest of mistakes or lack of process will make an unhappy customer, who will tell potential customers, which leads to no work. Like in the military, we make sure to sweat the small stuff and get things right.”

Notably, Counselor discovered, many business owners in the promotional products’ business share the Schafers’ military background. From Washington to Florida, New Hampshire to Arizona, veteran-owned promo firms can be found throughout the nation, continuing an industry legacy that’s spanned generations.

In this report, Counselor spotlights these companies, sharing their stories, detailing how military experience can help propel business success, and showcasing unique business models driven by the same red-white-and-blue pride that first compelled these promo professionals to serve their country.

Still Serving: The Story of Scoop & Booch

Don’t call Clifford Davis “Cliff” or Joseph Buccini “Joe.” They’re Scoop and Booch – nicknames from their military days. While the pair is as outgoing and fun as their sobriquets, there’s one thing they’re no-joke serious about – the mission of their business: Still Serving Promos.

Co-owners of the distributorship, Scoop and Booch have built supporting veterans into the bedrock of their disabled veteran-owned company. They donate a percentage of their proceeds to military charities. They also focus on employing veterans or relatives/spouses of veterans. Employees include a Gold Star mother – a parent whose child died while serving. “We’re not ashamed to say we’re about baseball, hot dogs and God Bless the USA,” says Scoop, a Persian Gulf War veteran whose time as a public affairs officer in the Air Force earned him his nickname.

2.52 million
businesses — or 9.1% of all companies — in the U.S. are majority-owned by veterans.

In 2017 and 2018, Still Serving Promos contributed tens of thousands of dollars worth of donations to military charities. The distributorship has supported organizations that include Leashes of Valor, a nonprofit that connects post 9/11 vets suffering from PTSD or traumatic brain injury with service dogs, and the Lone Survivor Foundation, which provides health, wellness and therapeutic support to wounded vets and their families.

When Counselor spoke with Scoop and Booch, they were working approximately 18-hour days while operating a pop-up branded merchandise store at Disney World in support of the Gary Sinise Foundation’s Snowball Express. The annual four-day event creates new happy memories for children of fallen heroes who died while on active duty since 9/11 by bringing the kids together for fun experiences.

Still Serving Promos gives the money from merch sales to Snowball Express – altruism supported by generous promo suppliers who often donate or discount the hoodies, polos, drinkware, notebooks and other items Scoop and Booch provide.

In 2017, Still Serving Promos’ donation to Snowball Express tallied $10,000, the company website shows. During the 2018 event, Scoop tells us, “I had a young boy come up to me and say, ‘I lost my daddy eight months ago. He would have liked you. Can I hug you?’ And he gave me a hug. That’s why we do what we do.”

Booch, a nearly 16-year veteran of the Army, expressed a similar sentiment. “Our passion is to pay it forward,” says Booch, who earned an Air Medal – a decoration for heroic or meritorious achievement in flight – because of his work as a door gunner on a helicopter while deployed in Afghanistan.

Still Serving’s focus on giving back presents a compelling value proposition that resonates with a variety of clients. In addition to military units and outfits like the USO, the distributorship serves everyone from universities, nonprofits, insurance companies and small businesses to American Airlines and more. While the firm’s mission is a differentiator, it prides itself on competitive pricing, great customer service and attention to buyers’ particular needs to turn prospects into loyal clients.

“In the military, you learn to go hard until the job is done,” says Scoop. “Our clients get that perseverance from us. We work nights. We work weekends. Our passion for our mission compels our dedication. And like in the military, we always say failure is not an option. If there’s something a client wants that we can’t do exactly, we always present viable alternatives.”

Having veterans and military spouses on staff means Still Serving employs people who understand discipline and teamwork, which is critical to the firm’s tireless customer service efforts, the principals say. As for leadership, Scoop and Booch take a military-style approach, thoroughly training employees over several months so they have the ability to make important decisions. “We empower our people to be decision-makers, and that makes us nimble,” says Scoop.

Currently, there are nine people on the Still Serving Promos team. They work remotely around the country, with one employee based overseas. The business is growing, and Scoop and Booch say widespread expansion is in the works. “Our goal,” says Scoop, “is to have a veteran or veteran’s spouse in every state.”

'Authentically American' Lives Up to Its Name

Authentically American (asi/127625) also has its scope sighted on major sales growth. Like Still Serving Promos, the Tennessee-based distributorship’s business model is grounded in patriotism. Founded by West Point graduate and former Army Captain Dean Wegner, Authentically American sells only made-in-the-USA products. The firm also donates 10% of topline revenue to nonprofits that assist military veterans, first responders and their families.

“We respect and honor our veterans, and we believe in supporting the American worker in everything we do,” says Wegner, a married father of four who trained as a helicopter pilot and a ranger.

$1.14 trillion
Total annual revenues of veteran-owned businesses.

Authentically American’s commitment to selling 100% made-in-America products and supporting veterans has garnered the company ample attention in its less than two years of existence. NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Darrell Waltrip invested in the firm after being moved by its patriotic ethos. “The product and story are so compelling,” says Waltrip.

Last September, Waltrip and Wegner appeared on television news/talk show Fox & Friends. It was a watershed moment. “Overnight, two million people heard our story,” says Wegner. “It was an incredible blessing. We had a massive volume of calls.”

Amid soaring demand, Wegner has hired more talent, including a VP of sales and a VP of marketing. Plans are to expand business in the promo realm, where Authentically American partners with everyone from Fortune 500 companies and small businesses to colleges, nonprofits and the service academies, including Wegner’s alma mater. The patented Authentically American logo – a vintage-style American flag – always appears with clients’ logos on branded apparel. “Our clients tell us they like having their logo next to ours because it reinforces the patriotic values we share,” says Wegner.

Meanwhile, Authentically American also aims to accelerate its reach with individual consumers, selling its apparel at retail too. “We’re looking at some interesting potential partnerships,” says Wegner.

Just as Wegner did on Fox & Friends, the former Army captain discusses his company’s growth and expansion plans with calm and precision. The measured manner is due, in part, to his military background – a collectedness that comes from officer training that’s served him well in business. “Training to become an officer teaches you personal leadership – the importance of planning and organization and the ability to adapt that plan to meet your objectives,” says Wegner. “We take that approach in business, too. We have a definite plan, but we’re awake to opportunities that arise.”

Not surprisingly, Wegner’s military training also helped instill the importance of integrity and standing for something. Those values, coupled with patriotism, were integral to the creation of Authentically American’s USA-made business model. Furthermore, Wegner is only half-joking when he says there’s at least one other way his Army days prepped him for entrepreneurship. “In ranger school, they starve you and deprive you of sleep,” he says. “It was the perfect preparation for running a startup.”

A Purple Heart Passion For Helping Veterans

Jack Moxon's prosthetic leg is a testament to the sacrifice the ex-Marine made for his country.

Moxon served multiple combat tours in Vietnam with the Corps. The retired captain was terribly wounded, losing a leg and earning the distinguished, hard-won honor of a Purple Heart - awarded to military personnel wounded or killed while serving. Some 50 years later, Moxon doesn't have any regrets. "I would join up again if I could. I would give my life for the Corps, for my brothers," says Moxon.

But these days, Moxon is showing his devotion to his fellow servicemen and servicewomen through an entrepreneurial effort rooted in the industry he loves: promotional products.

5 million
Total number of employees of veteran-owned businesses.

Moxon is the owner of service-disabled veteran-owned SchmaVa.com (asi/233162). The distributorship donates profits to veterans' service organizations and seeks to establish competitive scholarships for active duty military members, their spouses and lineal descendants. Moxon emphasizes that the SchmaVa.com team doesn't earn salary or commission. After overhead is covered, money brought in goes to the military-supporting mission. "We have a dedicated team that does this out of passion," Moxon says.

The business model is possible because those involved with the company are, like Moxon, successful folks who've reached a point in life in which they're financially independent. They include business development manager Geri McMiller, a former Microsoft executive. "I made my money. I'm good. I wanted to do something that mattered, to give to the veterans, because they need and deserve this kind of assistance," says Moxon, who carved out a lucrative post-military career in both the insurance and advertising specialty industries.

So far, SchmaVa.com is having success. Moxon says the business is running at about $3 million in annual sales - a number he and the team aim to grow. The company's mission and service-disabled veteran-owned status has helped attract household name clients and others besides. "We just did an order with Kawasaki for 280,000 stickers," Moxon says.

While Moxon's active duty days ended decades ago, he says the leadership skills he learned in the Marines were instrumental in guiding him to success in promo product sales - and they continue to empower him to this day. "The Corps taught you how to be resilient - to be forward-thinking and nimble," he says. "You learned that you have to adapt everyday. In business, adapting and being nimble is everything. You keep going until you find a way. All that I take from the Corps."

"JDIDTIEBUCKLE"

No, the above isn’t gibberish.

It’s an acronym for the Marine Corps’ 14 leadership traits: Justice, Judgment, Dependability, Initiative, Decisiveness, Tact, Integrity, Endurance, Bearing, Unselfishness, Courage, Knowledge, Loyalty and Enthusiasm.

Ex-Marine Rob McCaslin lives and breathes those principles. He drew on them to forge a lucrative post-military career as a commercial banker and, more recently, to spearhead success as the majority owner/CEO of Kansas-based distributorship Custom Specialties (asi/173252), a certified service-disabled veteran-owned business. “I was very fortunate to learn from accomplished leadership mentors in the Marines. I copied them so much it became part of my DNA,” says McCaslin.

$195 billion
Annual payroll of veteran-owned businesses.

With a laugh, McCaslin admits the leadership training was needed. “Back in high school, I had no leadership, no discipline, I was the below average Joe,” he says.

But the Corps changed that.

During his 12 years of active duty, McCaslin was deployed to the Middle East in combat roles and was part of forces helping Haitian refugees fleeing rampant violence following a military coup d’état. The Corps’ discipline, leadership, training and values McCaslin internalized helped see him through the experiences. They continued to bolster him in civilian life, where his hard work, dedication and results led to an opportunity to become a commercial banker. In that career, he provided financing for a range of companies, including promo firms such as Custom Specialties.

When former Custom Specialties co-owner Pat Hughes tragically passed away, McCaslin stepped in to partner with surviving co-owner Steve Brinker. “I had a strong relationship with Pat and Steve, and it was a good fit,” McCaslin says.

After taking over at Custom Specialties last year, McCaslin spent months invigorating the team by applying Marine leadership principles. Devoting ample time to strategizing and leadership enhancement with staff and sales reps, McCaslin reenergized the company on the Marine mantra of “adapt and overcome.” He says: “There’ll always be challenges, so you have to evolve to be successful.”

To propel achievement, McCaslin instituted a military-inspired team approach. “We deploy teams made up of individuals with niche expertise so as to embrace a cultural environment that’s based on systematic problem solving, while being nimble, effective and efficient,” he says. “In addition to teams celebrating success, we hold post-close meetings to evaluate what went well and what could be done better. Through continued diagnoses, our teams are learning to be more decisive, understanding, responsible, reliable and dependable.”

84.3%
of veteran-owned businesses are owned by men.

The plan is working. Custom Specialties recently won a five-year contract with Evergy, the largest electric company in Kansas. It involves providing a spectrum of branded merchandise, warehousing, a full-solution web portal and more. “We’re lining up some exciting opportunities, and we’re excited about what’s to come,” McCaslin says.

In Business With Brothers

DJ Brown is proud to be a Navy man. For 20 years he served as both an aviation electrician and a recruitment specialist. While he signed off his conversation with Counselor with an emphatic “Go Navy!” Brown makes it clear that he feels a kinship with all who’ve served, regardless of branch. “It’s a shared background, a brotherhood, and you have an instant connection,” says Brown.

That tangible connection has been good for business at Tacoma Trophy (asi/205008), the awards and promo products company Brown owns and runs with his wife Judi. The Washington-based firm has carved out a niche serving military clients and veterans, something helped by the close proximity to Joint Base Lewis-McChord. From challenge coins to lapel pins, awards to Christmas ornaments, travel mugs to other promo products, Tacoma Trophy provides a gamut of solutions to current and past members of the armed forces. “We’ve been successful doing business with the military and veteran community locally because we speak their language,” says Judi Brown.

12.8%
of finance and insurance businesses are veteran-owned. These are the industries with the highest percentage of veteran-owned businesses.

Drawing on its status as a disabled-veteran-owned business, Tacoma Trophy has been able to open other doors, too. Tacoma has been filling print orders for its state Department of Veteran Affairs for about 10 years, after initially being contacted by the organization because of its veteran-owned status.

“We’ve had fairly good success winning bids for various promotional products orders through other state agencies too,” says Judi Brown. “Not always, but sometimes, our veteran-owned business status gives us an advantage in those bidding situations.”

Regardless of the client, DJ Brown says his training and 14 years of experience as a recruiter always help. “You learned to not oversell, or undersell, and to put the recruit – or now the customer – first, last and always. That’s the number-one priority. That, and be honest in everything you do. Like in the military, it’s about integrity.”