FOOD & FARMING

VETERANS CAREER FAIR

March 5, 2010 * 9 AM – 4 PM

Veterans Memorial Building

1351 Maple Avenue, Santa Rosa

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Military Veterans – explore the exciting opportunities and viable futures that exist in farming and food industry careers today. (Register online here or download the printable Veterans Registration Form.)

Prospective Employers – consider the unique advantages and proven track record of hiring military veterans. (Register online here)

Now is the time when farmers and vintners do most of their hiring. This event is designed to bring them together with veterans seeking openings in food and agricultural careers. This event combines employment, training, educational and business opportunities to help veterans select and plan the career paths that meet their needs.

Download the printable  Career_Fair_Flyer.

ORGANIZING PARTNERS

• North Bay Veterans Resource Center, Santa Rosa (John Baskerville, Training and Employment Supervisor)
• Veteran Business Outreach Center (VBOC), Sacramento (Coreena Conley, Director)
• Swords to Plowshares, San Francisco (Dave Lopes, Director of Employment and Training)
• The California AgriAbility Program, University of California-Davis (Martha C Stiles, Program Director/Principal Investigator)

ORGANIZING SPONSORS

• California FarmLink (Steve Schwartz, Executive Director)
• Community Alliance with Family Farmers (Diane Del Signore, Executive Director)
• Marin Organic (Helge Hellberg, Executive Director)
• Sonoma County Farm Bureau (Lex McCorvey, Executive Director)
• Sonoma County Winegrape Commission (Nick Frey, Executive Director)
• Sonoma County Vintners (Honore Comfort, Executive Director)

EDUCATIONAL PARTNERS

• Santa Rosa Jr. College Agriculture Department (Casey Cole Gatrell, Department Chair)
• Sonoma State University Agriculture Department (pending)
• University of California, Davis, Agriculture Department
• Culinary Institute of America, Napa, California
• Humboldt State University Veterans Office and Admissions (Kim Hall)

STAFFING

• FVC Executive Director, Michael O’Gorman (michaelo@farmvetco.org)- Before starting the Farmer-Veteran Coalition Michael had farmed for forty years. Since 1990 he has worked as Production Manager for three of the nation’s largest organic companies. He is currently an advisor to Jacobs Farm/Del Cabo.
• Coast Guard Veteran Michael Porter (michaelp@farmvetco.org) – Michael just retired from twenty years in the Coast Guard as Information Systems Technician. Michael is working as Director of Career Development for Farmer-Veteran Coalition.
• Navy Veteran Jennifer Fusaro (jenn@farmvetco.org) – Jenn is currently doing her Master’s Thesis at Humboldt State on how the farming community and the veterans community can work together to solve America’s need for new farmers. Jenn will be Regional Program Director for Mendocino, Humboldt and Del Norte counties.
• Army Veteran John McLaughlin (john@farmvetco.org) – John grew up on a 1200 acre family farm in Merced County before entering the Army and suffering the effects of an IED explosion in Iraq, for which he received a Purple Heart. John will be Regional Program Director for Napa, Sonoma and Solano.
• Events Coordinator, Linda Speel (linda@farmvetco.org) - Linda lives in Petaluma, CA and has a long history of event planning and coordination. She worked along side Michael O’Gorman at the conception of the FVC assisting in many phases of the project.
• Media and Community Director, Cliff Figallo (cliff@farmvetco.org) – Cliff is one of the early pioneers in online community and serves as FVC’s Webmaster and media developer. Twitter @farmvetco

Seed money for the event has been provided by Metabolic Studio, a direct charitable project of the Annenberg Foundation and the Goldhirsh Foundation.

The mission of the Farmer-Veteran Coalition is to mobilize our food and farming community to create healthy and viable futures for America’s veterans by enlisting their help in building our green economy, rebuilding our rural communities, and securing a safe and healthy food supply for all. The Farmer-Veteran Coalition (FVC) is a project of Community Partners of Los Angeles and a proud member of the Coalition for Iraq + Afghanistan Veterans (CIAV).