--SUPERS --
No Shot Date
Bristol, PA

:20-:23
Courtesy Dave Devanzo

:24-:33
Dave Devanzo
U.S. Navy (Ret.)

1:08-1:12
David E. Griffith
President & CEO, Modern Group Ltd.

1:13-1:16
Jason Blair
U.S. Navy (Ret.)

1:16-1:23
Jerry Miller
U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.)

--LEAD IN --
Some inspiration here, for the men and women who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, who are coming home.
On this Memorial Day weekend, Christine Romans looks at one company with a mission to hire veterans.

--REPORTER PKG-AS FOLLOWS --
FOR DAVE DEVANZO TO FIND A JOB, ALL IT TOOK WAS A SIGN.
I'd been driving past that modern sign probably for 18 years.
THIS BILLBOARD OFF I-95 OUTSIDE OF PHILADELPHIA.
CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT COMPANY MODERN GROUP WANTS TO HIRE PEOPLE JUST LIKE HIM... VETERANS.
HE RETIRED FROM THE NAVY IN AUGUST AFTER 29 YEARS.
It was a bit of a shock I think for me. I put all my applications out, all the work I had done, I put my feelers out there and got little response, very little response. And so I saw the sign out front so I called the Hr department, sent them my stuff, and the rest is history.
AND THAT'S WHAT LED HIM TO A JOB AS A SHOP TECHNICIAN HERE.
I will tell you this, my first ever job interview, and I'm 47 years old now, happened at modern group, so it was a change, definitely a change,
DAVE GRIFFITH IS MODERN'S PRESIDENT AND CEO. DOZENS OF APPLICATIONS POURED IN.
You can imagine the visibility that that sign gets.
HE'S HIRED MORE THAN 27 VETERANS AND RESERVES FROM ALL BRANCHES OF THE MILITARY.
They tend to be more disciplined, more focused, more sensitive to the customer, I think there is a great attention to detail with folks coming out of the military.
He's shown me quite a few things around here.
Yeah we help each other. We're all on the same team. Inevitably our mission is to get the entire job done and keep this company rolling.
THERE'S A HUGE PUSH TO HIRE MORE VETERANS.
THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FOR POST 9/11 VETERANS HAS BEEN STEADILY IMPROVING: 9.2% IN APRIL.
BUT IT IS STILL HIGHER THAN THE NATIONAL AVERAGE.
SOME 40 MAJOR US COMPANIES HAVE PLEDGED MORE THAN 100,000 JOBS TO VETERANS BY 2020, INCLUDING TIME WARNER, THE PARENT COMPANY OF CNN.
ALREADY THIS YEAR, 12,000-PLUS VETS HAVE BEEN HIRED.
THE FIELDS THAT HAVE BEEN HIRING VETERANS? GOVERNMENT, HEALTHCARE, TECH, AND MANUFACTURING.
I feel very strongly as CEO, that our obligation is to honor that service, if we can do that in such a way that we can hire these young men and women, and bring them onboard and still do good for our company and our stakeholders, I can't imagine why I wouldn't do that.
What we deal with in the military is nothing more than really a snapshot of society anyway, so coming here, working with these guys here I think was the perfect transition.
-----END-----CNN.SCRIPT-----

--KEYWORD TAGS--
EMPLOYMENT SOLDIERS WORK WAR JOB