by John Reid, Editor

The transition from military service to civilian life can often be an incredible challenge for veterans. Whether it’s finding their foothold in the corporate environment or starting their own entrepreneurship endeavors, they seek to become a vital part of our growing economy in service to their community locally as they did abroad. For those who do take the plunge into starting their own business, finding a network of fellow veteran entrepreneurs is imperative. This is where Veterans Grow America comes into the picture.

Veterans Grow America is dedicated to creating an environment that connects veteran entrepreneurs and showcases their individual concepts. This is accomplished through a series of networking events focusing on bringing them together to demonstrate their products. Under the vision of Donnell Johns Sr., they held their first ever Veterans Business Pop-Up Event at Jirani’s Coffeehouse in Manassas, VA on December 14. What started as a novel idea quickly spread to veterans throughout the DMV as they came together in support. The event hosted giveaways and provided opportunities for people to come and discuss their business ideas with one another.

Despite the frigid temperatures, people came from all over the area to the event to do more than just purchase last minute Christmas gifts, but to hear the stories of veterans who had the vision to see a need and meet it to completion. People such as Natasha Hinds, who created Keep Your Hair Headgear (https://keepyourhairheadgear.com) , a line of Satin and Silk-lined headwear that protects women’s hair as they serve. Or how a young mother took her daughter’s love of gelato and formed a successful business? That is what Thereasa Black did as CEO of Amore Congelato (www.amorecongelato.com) did, and as of January 2020 she opened up her first store located at Pentagon Row. Kelly Smith of Beyond Lettuce (www.beyondlettuce.com) came up with the idea of not only providing high-quality greens and herbs, but with the vision of designing a school bus to take on tour to schools in the local area that would teach students how to grow their own gardens. In addition, there was a visit from Arthur Toole, whose natural oil and joint relief ointment MegRelief, won $50,000 on “Veterans Shark Tank.”

Understanding the purpose of Veterans Grow America its impact on the local economy was why Manassas Vice Mayor Pamela Sebesky visited Jirani’s for the event. She emphasized how important it was to support these veteran entrepreneurs and their endeavors. Finally, Jirani’s received a welcome surprise from the Freedom High School choir, who sang a rousing acapella rendition of “Mary Did You Know?” Overall the Veterans Business Pop-Up was an incredible success and more events like this are scheduled throughout the upcoming year.

If you are a veteran entrepreneur who would like to connect and know how your business can be featured, please visit www.veteransgrowamerica.com.