This November 28 and 29, veterans from across the country will gather at the Crowne Plaza Desmond Hotel in Albany for the annual Veterans in Economic Transition Conference. Launched in 2016, VETCON is an annual conference dedicated to the education and professional growth of veteran business owners and entrepreneurs by providing seminars, workshops, and networking opportunities, including a forum for NYS Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Businesses (SDVOBs) to connect with New York State agencies and authorities and develop business opportunities through NYS contracts.
Among the hundreds of NYS SDVOBs that have attended VETCON is Syracuse, NY-based Industry Standard USA, founded by Chris Dambach, a United States Marine Corps combat Veteran who served in Iraq.
“I can vouch for the knowledge and opportunities that come from attending VETCON,” said Dambach who is also a VETCON Alliance board member. “Veterans and business owners learn so much in the VETCON educational sessions, and the structure of the conference allows me to ask questions to like-minded individuals. One year, I had an employee issue that I wasn’t sure how to address. I ended up speaking to another veteran business owner over lunch, and he explained how he dealt with the same issue. I ended up using the knowledge he passed along, and it worked out very well.”
This year will be Dambach’s fifth VETCON. His company is a Certified SDVOB & DBE that focuses on General Construction and Excavation Services. “I went into VETCON for education. Little did I know, I’d be walking away with so much more,” Dambach said. “After chatting with some teams at VETCON regarding the New York State Thruway projects, we ended up winning three of the rest stop projects, which ended up being a multimillion-dollar contract.”
Recently, there has been greater push for recognizing and supporting SDVOBs. Carmine Fiore, a disabled U.S. Army Veteran, is suing the New York State Office of Cannabis Management over marijuana licensing. According to Fiore in an article published in the Cannabis Association of New York, veterans bring a unique perspective and skill set to entrepreneurship, and should have the opportunity to pursue cannabis licenses in the state. VETCON is aimed at helping people like Fiore, who may feel cast aside by the system and are unsure of what to do next.
“The brave men and women who have served this country deserve to be acknowledged,” said Anthony Kuhn, Chairman of the VETCON Alliance and founding partner of SDVOB Tully Rinckey Kuhn PLLC. “VETCON helps veterans strengthen the ways they utilize the skills gained through military experience to help them grow professionally. It’s always incredible to hear success stories, like those from Chris at Industry Standard. Along with our partners at New York State OGS, we will continue to do what we can to provide these valuable resources for our veteran business owner community.”
Dambach said he’s had so much success from VETCON, that he feels it’s his time to give back. He said the next step could be to become a sponsor of future conferences.
This year’s conference will again feature two awards programs. The Veterans in Business Awards highlight multiple veteran owned businesses that have exhibited exemplary achievements in areas of patriotism, leadership, community service, business activity, and more. The VETCON Business Plan Competition offers aspiring or recently formed veteran businesses a chance to pitch their business plans to a panel of judge and compete for cash prizes.
For tickets and additional information about attending or sponsoring VETCON 2023, the Business Plan Competition, or the Veterans in Business Awards, visit http://.VETCONNY.com, email INFO@VETCONNY.com or call 518-218-7100.
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