Four Wisconsin organizations partnering to host Operation Hire in Manitowoc

Rich Palzewic

Staff

February 10, 2025

MANITOWOC – To help Wisconsin businesses effectively integrate veteran talents into their workforce, four Wisconsin organizations – Progress Lakeshore, the Chamber of Manitowoc County, the Lakeshore Area Human Resources Association and the Wisconsin Veterans Chamber of Commerce – are partnering to host Operation Hire.

The event – which costs $30 – will be held from 8 a.m. to noon March 5 at the Farm Discovery Center (7001 Gass Lake Road) in Manitowoc.

Organizers said proceeds from the event will be donated to Veterans 1st of NEW – a Northeastern Wisconsin 501(c)(3) organization helping veterans by providing them with Rapid Re-Housing (a nationwide re-housing initiative) and supportive services – followed by the opportunity to move into affordable housing after completing counseling, job training and job placement.

Veterans 1st, according to its website (veterans1stnew.com), provides veterans in the region a place to call home with wrap-around services to help them succeed with a purpose and a desire to become self-sufficient.

“This event will be insightful and designed to help businesses understand the value of hiring veterans and how to create a supportive work environment tailored to their unique needs,” Abbey Quistorf, executive director of The Chamber of Manitowoc County, said. “Attendees will gain practical strategies and resources to attract, retain and engage veteran employees, ensuring their workplace is inclusive and veteran-friendly.”

Quistorf said the event is ideal for employers seeking to harness the “exceptional skills, discipline and leadership” veterans bring to the workforce while fostering a culture of support and understanding.

Each partner, she said, brings something “different to the table” for the event.

“With hiring veterans, the Wisconsin Veterans Chamber of Commerce has expertise in that area,” she said. “For the chamber and Progress Lakeshore, we work hand-in-hand with businesses daily, so we have a great market to reach our local businesses. With the Lakeshore Area Human Resources Association, they are the pipeline to the HR directors within those businesses and organizations.”

Jamie Zastrow, executive director at Progress Lakeshore – the economic development organization serving Manitowoc County – said as they talk with business owners and leaders, they have learned things about workforce retention.

“Workforce retention is a hot topic right now across all industries,” she said. “At a lot of conferences I’ve attended, I’ve heard about the uniqueness of hiring those who are leaving military life and entering civilian life and how to recruit those special skills and talents. You’re always looking for a different way to bring skilled people in.”

Zastrow said it’s not enough anymore to just post openings on Indeed – “you need more.”

“You can’t just post jobs online anymore and think you’re going to fill all your openings,” she said. “As I’ve gone to more events, I got to thinking, ‘We can do this in Manitowoc.’ Our businesses and HR directors just need the playbook on what to do.”

Quistorf said she is “pleasantly surprised” at early registration numbers.

“(At the end of January), we already had 14 people signed up,” she said. “Our chamber hasn’t sent it out to our membership yet – it’s (just) on our website – but once it’s sent out more, I’m sure registration numbers will increase. I’m encouraged by the early response. We’re not limiting attendance to only members of our organization – anyone is welcome to attend.”

For more information on Operation Hire, view the list of speakers and to register, visit chambermanitowoccounty.org.

Perfect for HR departments

Kelsey Tienor – the HR manager at The Metal Ware Corporation and the president-elect for the Lakeshore Area Human Resources Association Board – said she has noticed a shrinking talent and candidate pool to choose from.

“Different generations come into and leave the workforce,” she said. “Obviously, a very large generation of workers is leaving, phasing into retirement. How do we continue to attract quality employees? We have to get creative, and one of those ways is by hiring veterans.”

Tienor said veterans bring many skill sets to the workforce.

“They are highly adaptable, work well under pressure and have a strong work ethic,” she said. “I think that’s something all HR directors and business leaders can agree on – veterans are really good assets for an organization.”

Nikki Paider – the HR manager at Redline Plastics and the president of the Lakeshore Area Human Resources Association Board – said hiring veterans is also a good way to give back to them for their service.

“From the other side, we recognize the service veterans have done for us, but sometimes, people might not recognize the skills and how they can directly translate to the workforce,” she said. “We want to help bridge that gap so veterans who have given so much for our country can find jobs and be successful when they’re back in the civilian world.”

Zach Zabel, vice president of the Wisconsin Veterans Chamber of Commerce, said there are several hurdles veterans face when leaving military life.

“This is a big area of my research,” he said. “There is an issue for many veterans when they transition from active duty to civilian life. Part of what we can do in the short term is having events like this – practicing those best practices. There are probably about 250,000 active duty transitioning service members yearly. We’re trying to enhance the interest (in hiring veterans) in the State of Wisconsin.”

Veteran-friendly vs. veteran-ready

Zastrow said every business wants to be known as veteran-friendly, but it needs to go a step further.

“I think being veteran-friendly is simply hiring veterans out of patriotic support,” she said. “Of course, they have great skills and we want to employ them, but the veteran-ready piece is more about transitioning their lifestyle to being a civilian and corporate culture that supports veterans and their families, etc. That’s why we’re bringing in a panel of employers and HR directors (for this event) who are in that veteran-ready category. They can show what it’s like – and what to do – to be a veteran-ready employer.”

Both Paider and Tienor said they will be learning right along with others at the Operation Hire event.

“Even though we are partnering for the event, my organization needs help (to become veteran-ready),” Paider said. “I’d say we are currently veteran-friendly but haven’t taken the next steps yet, nor do we know what next steps to take – we’re wanting to learn.”

Zabel said many businesses in Wisconsin and nationwide are veteran-friendly and have staff who want to provide opportunities for veterans.

“They just don’t know how (to become veteran-ready),” he said. “Hopefully, this event will give people lots of insight.”