Representing the San Antonio business community, Chamber President and CEO Richard Perez was honored to attend the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s first annual Military Spouse Impact Awards held in Washington, DC. Other attendees included leaders from Joint Base San Antonio and the City of San Antonio. The awards were established to recognize and celebrate the many accomplishments of the volunteers, community and business leaders, and military spouses who work tirelessly to increase economic opportunity for military spouses everywhere.
Impact Award categories included the Military Spouse Volunteer Award, Military Spouse Entrepreneur Award, Community Leader Award, and the Impact Award for Lifetime Achievement. San Antonio was honored to receive the Community Leader Impact Award, recognizing a community and its leaders for their efforts in creating a strong, inclusive community that allows military spouses to thrive both inside and outside of the gates. As the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s first designated Military Spouse Economic Empowerment Zone in 2018 and a well-established and robust Military Spouse Professional Network, along with support from private industry and public partners, San Antonio’s initiatives to provide meaningful career opportunities serve as a model to others around the nation.
“The individuals recognized at our inaugural Impact Awards are helping to create stronger communities that support and provide economic opportunities for military spouses," said Eric Eversole, vice president at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and president of Hiring Our Heroes. “Their actions have created tremendous impact in the lives of military spouses and the collective communities working to support them.”
“Hiring Our Heroes has long committed itself to connecting military spouses with economic opportunity,” said Elizabeth O’Brien, senior director of military spouse programs for Hiring Our Heroes. “These awards shine an important and much-needed light on leaders across the spectrum from municipalities to volunteers to small business owners to executives.”
For more information on how to participate in Military Spouse Hiring initiatives throughout the Alamo Region, please email Lori Stinson, Vice President of Military Affairs and Leadership Development at lstinson@sachamber.org.
