PONTE VEDRA BEACH — The Patriots’ Outpost tent at TPC Sawgrass was bustling Saturday, March 8, as THE PLAYERS Championship hosted its 14th annual Military Job Fair, an event often hailed as the unofficial kickoff of the tournament.
The event has grown steadily each year, both in terms of employers represented — more than 30 this year — and job seekers.
“Within the first 15 or 20 minutes we had, I think, 50-plus people here,” said retired Brig. Gen. Michael P. Fleming. Fleming chairs the Jacksonville Military Veterans Coalition, which partners with the tournament annually to present the job fair.
One of the prospective employers was Clay County, which has hired about a half-dozen veterans or soon-to-be veterans over the five years it has had a table at the job fair.
“It’s an absolutely wonderful event,” said Clay County Manager Howard Wanamaker. “We love participating, and we’ll continue to participate in the future.”
Wanamaker said veterans possess qualities that employers value: experience, knowledge and leadership capabilities.
He said Clay County has a lot of available jobs, listing the various departments where they can be found: Public Works, Engineering, Fire (“We’re always looking for firefighters”), Parks and Rec, Facilities, Libraries and IT.
“Definitely IT,” he emphasized.
He said the county was prepared to hire on the spot, should the occasion arise.
“Our HR team is ready,” he said. “They have department heads ready, available by phone, if they want to interview a candidate or set up a personal interview later in the week.”
A veteran himself, having served 26 years with the U.S. Navy, Wanamaker has been through the process of transitioning to civilian life. Upon retirement in 2016, he was hired by the Hanania Automotive Group and, in fact, represented that business at THE PLAYERS’ Military Job Fair as an employee there.
Of his military service, he said he wouldn’t change a thing.
“I would encourage our youth … to join the military and have a great career,” he said.
One of the qualities employers like about veterans is their dependability, according to Fleming. And, though some jobs require specific skills acquired before applying, that isn’t always the case.
“Most companies say, ‘Look, you give me somebody who really wants to work hard, who’s going to apply themselves, and we can teach them the job,’” Fleming said.
Still, there are some things to unlearn before transitioning to civilian life.
“One of the challenges we have with veterans is to get them to talk about themselves when they’re talking to employers,” Fleming said. Members of the military are often taught to think less of themselves and more of the team. But in civilian life, they must learn to talk about their individual accomplishments.
It’s also necessary to avoid talking in jargon and acronyms, something often found in military conversation.
Fleming has long been an enthusiastic participant in the annual job fair.
“As a retired military member, I have the ability to give back through this, and it does my heart good every time,” he said.
In addition to employers, CareerSource of Northeast Florida was onsite to help veterans who wanted assistance with their resumes, and a photographer from Optum was available to take professional photos of interested attendees.
Wanamaker encouraged any job seeker unable to attend the event to go to claycountygov.com to view available jobs. Simply googling “Clay County jobs” will also take people there.
THE PLAYERS Championship will be held March 13-16 this year at the Players Stadium Course in Ponte Vedra Beach. For more information, go to theplayers.com.
