Hiring Our Heroes® (HOH) is a federal program that connects military community job seekers with U.S.-based businesses, providing economic benefit to veterans and their families. For Sherwin-Williams, HOH offers a pipeline to accomplished, qualified candidates with unique backgrounds and experiences to fill various positions. This helps those who have served avoid unemployment/ underemployment and increases veteran representation in the U.S. workforce. 

 

Zack Melnick, Sherwin-Williams Seattle District City Manager, has made hiring veterans a priority. Inspired by a store manager whose husband was a veteran, Melnick reached out to a transition office at one of the Army bases near the Seattle district. 

 

“There are many transition programs, but this one seemed like the best opportunity for our Company – it’s pretty amazing to watch the team learn from the veterans in terms of professionalism, leadership and personal interaction,” Melnick added. “Long term, bringing individuals on board who have all those soft skills is invaluable. The perspective they have is something that can’t be replaced.” 

 

Sam Armer is a veteran who completed the 13-week Sherwin-Williams corporate fellowship and then applied for an open full-time position. Now, he is Sherwin-Williams Branch Operations Manager for the Olympia-Lacey commercial store in the Seattle District. 

 

Armer enlisted in the Army after high school and spent his early deployments in places such as Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan developing programs to create stability in war-torn regions. In his last deployment, Armer developed a precision targeting certification program at the Army Multi-Domain Targeting Center and achieved the Army’s first full accreditation from the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency.

 

“At the age of 18, going to a developing region and seeing extreme poverty put things into perspective for a young adult,” the veteran said. “We were helping people, and we were problem-solving. We built schools, created women’s literacy programs and worked with agricultural companies to supply seeds that would grow in the local climate.” 

 

The tools and techniques he and his team developed are still being used today. 

 

“There’s a wide spectrum of veterans from different career fields, but they all have real-world experience, where the consequences of actions are really heavy,” Armer said. “And I think veterans bring a lot of those skills – attention to detail, problem-solving skills, an understanding of processes and procedures, and management and leadership skills. Inspiring people is the same, whether you’re talking to a soldier or talking to employees about daily safety procedures.”

 

The experiences and skills veterans like Armer bring to our Company make us proud to once again be honored by Forbes® Magazine as one of America’s Best Employers for Veterans for 2021. We recognize the responsibility to create a great place to work for those who have sacrificed so much. Sherwin-Williams will continue partnering with transition programs, including HOH, to fill the talent pipeline with veterans for other jobs in stores, offices and manufacturing and distribution facilities across the U.S.

 

 

This story is featured in the Sherwin-Williams 2021 Sustainability Report.