NORTHFIELD, Ill. — One of the Chicago area’s largest companies spent Tuesday reminding its workforce that recognizing veterans means doing more than taking a holiday every November 11.
Medical supply manufacturer Medline is making an effort to hire those who’ve served.
A U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopter landed at the company’s Northfield headquarters Tuesday as Stu Schneider, the executive vice president of the Medline brand, welcomed members of the Illinois National Guard.
“The veterans that are here are very proud to be able to show some of the tools of their trade,” he said.
They showed Medline employees military equipment, giving them a new appreciation of the skills required for military service.
Medline is one of hundreds of companies nationwide emphasizing hiring military veterans, a years-long effort that is showing results: the national unemployment rate is historically low at 4.1%, but veteran unemployment is now even lower, dropping to 2.8% in October.
Theresa Nichols was a sergeant in the U.S. Air Force who served for six years, including a deployment in Operation Desert Storm.
“A lot of companies don’t put the action behind supporting veterans. This is a show of support,” she said. “Once I became a civilian, I was looking for an opportunity to use all of the skillsets that I learned in the military.”
She knew she would thrive in large organization and used her supply chain skills to secure a job at Medline. She is the company’s director of customer supply chain.
“We ensure that everything gets from the manufacturer to the customer and that is very important to me,” she said.
Medline employs 6,500 people in Illinois, more than 1,000 of the company’s workers have served in the military.
Chad Harris is Medline’s Director of Business Planning and Analytics. He’s also the captain and commander of the 333rd military police company in the Illinois Army National Guard.
“It’s such a rare opportunity that I get to wear both hats today,” he said. “I’m physically wearing both my Medline and military uniform on the same day, and it’s great.”
A $23 billion medical manufacturer recognizing military experience can translate to corporate success.
“We believe that the skills and experience that they achieve in the military – during military service – are very transferrable into the workplace and into our particular industry,” Schneider said.