For the second year in a row, MOAA has been awarded a Hire VETS Medallion Award from the Department of Labor’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS) in recognition of its recruiting, employment, and retention of veterans. 

MOAA was one of 849 recipients of a medallion in the award’s fourth year. Honorees were announced Nov. 10.  

The HIRE Vets Medallion Award program was established by The Honoring Investments in Recruiting and Employing American Military Veterans (HIRE Vets) Act of 2017. Businesses and organizations are categorized by size; MOAA earned a Gold award in the medium-size tier.

To earn Gold, the awardee must have at least 7% of veterans among new hires in 2020, or retain at least 75% of the veterans hired in 2019 for at least 12 months. Also, at least 7% of the overall employee body must be comprised of veterans.  Notably, more than 30% of MOAA’s staff is made up of veterans or military spouses.

“Veterans are the heart and soul of our organization, whether they are members or staff,” said Lt. Gen. Dana T. Atkins, USAF (Ret), president and CEO of MOAA. “They are MOAA’s raison d’etre; we exist to protect the rights of military servicemembers and their families. We believe that veterans on our staff possess a unique insight into the needs and lifestyles of our members, because they lived it, too.”

Other Gold award winners included Booz Allen Hamilton, CACI International, General Dynamics Mission Systems, Leidos, and Verizon. The full list of this year’s awardees is available on the HIRE Vets website.

 “The veterans on our staff are the embodiment of our maxims ‘Never Stop Serving’ and ‘serving those who serve,’” Atkins said. “ We see their level of dedication and hard work every day. So, it is incredibly gratifying that they are also receiving recognition at the highest level because they are truly committed to supporting our nation’s heroes.”