‘Hiring Our Heroes’ Employment Fair Set for May 15 in Sherwood

Sherwood, Ark. — Entergy Arkansas, Inc. is taking a lead role in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s “Hiring Our Heroes” nationwide campaign to connect 100,000 veterans with job opportunities.

Entergy has signed on as a top sponsor of the hiring campaign, which targets all unemployed veterans, but focuses on those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The drive’s latest job fair is from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday at Sherwood Forest, 1111 West Maryland Ave. in Sherwood. As of May 11, 75 employers and more than 300 job seekers had registered to participate.

As an added attraction, the Entergy Indy car will be on display at the event.

“We believe businesses of all sizes have a duty to recruit the men and women who have made such extraordinary sacrifices for our country,” said Hugh McDonald, president and chief executive officer of Entergy Arkansas, Inc. “Just as importantly, we need the type of disciplined, organized and skilled workers you regularly find among veterans.”

Adam Zomant is one of those types of workers. He works for Entergy Arkansas coordinating tree trimming work in northeast Arkansas.

Zomant was active-duty in the U.S. Army for 10 years, then joined the National Guard while working as a tree trimmer. The Guard deployed him to the Middle East in early 2004. On April 24, 2004, a mortar round struck Camp Taji in Iraq.“Four of my buddies got killed and six, including me, were severely injured and shipped back to the United States.”

Zomant tried to resume his career as a tree trimmer, but the injuries to his arm were too severe to continue with the hands-on work. However, as he helped manage contract tree trimming crews during restoration after hurricanes Gustav and Ike, he worked closely with Entergy management, which noticed his work ethic and skills at coordinating tasks.

“They told me my military background says to them that I have the ability to work with a team and that I’m self-motivated.”

Zomant joined Entergy full-time as an operations coordinator in 2008. “Entergy does support the veterans and the soldiers. Everybody’s really grateful for my service to the country.”

Entergy and the rest of the utility industry face a growing challenge in the years ahead as members of the Baby Boom head toward retirement. More than 50 percent of the industry’s workforce is 45 years of age or older.

“We are excited that Entergy is stepping up as a leader in the utility industry to hire veterans — not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because it’s right for their business,” said Kevin Schmiegel, vice president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and executive director of Hiring Our Heroes. “Entergy’s commitment to help veterans find jobs in Arkansas and across America is an example for other companies to emulate, and we welcome their representation on the chamber’s national Veterans Employment Advisory Council.”

The Veterans Employment Advisory Council includes such companies as 3M, Wal-Mart, Union Pacific, Federal Express, and Chesapeake Energy. Entergy has joined the council’s “Chairman’s Circle” of top corporate sponsors, which includes companies like Capital One and CVS Caremark.

The Veterans Employment Advisory Council is committed to five principles: 1) hiring veterans and military spouses; 2) sharing and adopting best practices for veteran and military spouse employment; 3) reporting measures such as job opportunities, interviews and job placements; 4) providing mentors to help transitioning service members and military spouses, and through the chamber’s grassroots network 5) enlisting the commitment of thousands of small and medium-sized businesses across America to do the same.

Since March of 2011, “Hiring Our Heroes” has hosted 130 hiring fairs in 45 states and the District of Columbia, connecting more than 100,000 veterans and military spouses with 5,000 different employers. More than 9,000 have gotten jobs.

Entergy Arkansas provides electricity to 692,000 customers in 63 counties. It is a subsidiary of Entergy Corporation. Entergy is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. Entergy owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, and it is the second-largest nuclear generator in the United States. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.8 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy has annual revenues of more than $11 billion and approximately 15,000 employees.

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