Woodbury-Based Program Helps Veterans Find Their ‘Inner Champion’

Veterans often have trouble seeing how their work in the military translates to the civilian job sector.

“They’re just not speaking the same language,” said Woodbury resident Kim Mitchell, a business executive who served as a Navy surgical technician from 1972-76.

Mitchell is a leading member of the THRIVE Veterans Employment Program, part of the ’s jobs initiative. He says he questions veterans about their time in the service—what they did and how they did it—and the light bulb eventually goes on.

“Their eyes open up and they say, ‘Yes,’” Mitchell said. “Now they get into it. Now they get the whole idea.”

The mentoring program, which started up last fall, links veterans with Twin Cities executives and offers one-on-one job coaching, but it often starts with one question. “What is your dream?” Mitchell said.

“We’re working to get them reconnected with their dream,” he said.

It’s a daunting challenge. Mitchell cited a Minnesota Department of Labor statistic that says 22.9 percent of veterans in the state are unemployed. Existing programs to help vets find jobs have “utterly failed,” he said.

But with the help of Twin Cities executives—and their extensive rolodexes—Woodbury program leaders hope to bring veterans back into the workforce.

Dave Recker lives in Coon Rapids, and Mitchell asked him to bring his expertise in the arena to Woodbury’s THRIVE (The Hidden Resources in Veterans Everywhere) initiative.

Recker, a former Navy captain, has spent 22 years with the nonprofit Smiling and Dialing, and now mentors three veterans through the Woodbury-based program.

When he came out of the military, Recker said there were plenty of jobs to go around, but that isn’t the case for today’s veteran. Other programs and state agencies haven’t done well enough to reintegrate them in the civilian job market, he said.

“State employers, as good as they are, they just don’t have those connections,” Recker said.

But the mentors do­­—along with the business acumen to help veterans with their résumés, career exploration and “30-second elevator speech.”

“The military culture is drastically different from the civilian culture,” Recker said. “Transitioning out of that is extremely difficult.”

He added: “When they get home, there’s nobody there.”

Recker’s comments about the transition to civilian life were echoed by Dusty Sicard, 33, a Woodbury resident who has spent 12 years with the Air Force.

“We got off the plane, and that was it,” he said.

Sicard, who learned of the program through the Woodbury Yellow Ribbon Network, said the current job market is “ruthless.”

“It’s different even from five years ago. You can’t go through the normal job search. It’s not going to get you anywhere,” said Sicard, who has a BS in sociology from Northland College in Wisconsin.

Mitchell is Sicard’s mentor.

“He has helped me immensely,” Sicard said. “It’s not just about my résumé—it’s about my whole approach.”

Much of that starts with getting rid of the word “can’t” and figuring out how to apply what he did in the service to civilian jobs, Sicard said. “Every branch is different; every job is different. I tell them I’m a medic. That doesn’t sum it up.”

“A lot of people in the military don’t realize how much they do and how qualified they are for the civilian side,” he said.

The three-month program includes tips on networking, how to secure informational interviews and other job-seeking tips. But there is personal exploration, as well.

Sicard said he has found that his dream will likely require more schooling, and he’s now working toward becoming a physician’s assistant.

He said working one-on-one with his mentor has been invaluable.

“I never thought I’d have what you would call a life coach,” Sicard said. “It’s made all the difference in the world.”

Sicard said the Woodbury program is less bureaucratic and more personalized than other job programs for vets.

“It makes it more comfortable for a veteran,” he said, adding that he hopes the word gets out so more of his brethren can take advantage. “This is the new wave.”

As the program grows, so too will its job network and the number of veterans it helps, Mitchell said.

Mentors come from all over, and the hope is that the program expands statewide. But much of the work on the ground will remain the same: getting veterans to see what they can do instead of what they can’t.

While Mitchell said it’s hard for veterans to go from the military—“where they have position, rank, they’re part of a tribe”—to the civilian world, where they have to craft a résumé and apply for a job, the THRIVE program can help.

“Eighty percent of the time, (people) focus on the inner critic,” Mitchell said, “and 10 percenton the inner champion.

"We want to reverse that.”

The program began linking veterans with mentors last fall, and local officials are now seeking official nonprofit status. Organizers have worked with the to get the word out to veterans. A website is set to be launched soon.

For more information contact Mitchell at 612-860-8284 or synergyman@mac.com.