El Paso Veterans Business Resource Center

02/05/2026

Please help pass this on to folks in your own circle - with the current administration trying to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion in government policies, we can ill afford to have the service of our women Veterans be neglected. It is imperative that the voice of our sisters in arms is heard.

10/15/2025

The County of El Paso Texas will be honoring Linda Mais, an outstanding Veterans Advocate on 20 October at the County Commissioners Court. This is a great opportunity to show your support and honor the hard work and dedication of local Veterans that put themselves in a position to help other Veteran - Vets Helping Vets - the best way to help another Veteran is to

10/03/2025

Interment for Peter G. Flore, one of the founders of the Veterans Business Association in 2006, will be at the Fort Bliss National Cemetery tomorrow, Friday the 3rd of October at the 11 am at the West Side Shelter.

08/12/2025

Trying after 5 years to start restart a Veterans Calendar - where to be - what's up - Veteran and small business centric - any help would be appreciated: email [email protected]

05/26/2025

Today is the last Monday of the month of May - knows as the unoffocial start of summer - but marked as a national holiday - Memorial Day - a day of rememberance and reflection on the cost of the freedoms that we enjoy today.
The cost of freedom is not free - here is an old piece that I penned about the cost of freedom and the lives lost that I saw during my time in the service - please take moment to read my story - one of the many millions that served during the Cold War:

There is a book by the title We Were Soldiers Once that tells the story of battles in the early days of Vietnam. Every soldier has war stories.

05/20/2025

From an old VFW Magazine from last year - this may be of interest to any Vietnam Vets out there:

05/13/2025

Small business owners should always look to special events and promotions as a low cost method of advertisining and promoting their business - such as supporting events in the Veteran community - here is a great oppoortunity to do both - get a wish list from the event coordinators and put your business in front of Veteran families preparing for the next school year!

05/08/2025

Back in the day, I was a member of the Texas Committee for the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (Texas ESGR), a DoD agency established to gain and maintain active support from all public and private employers with National Guard and Reserves employees. I rose to be an Ombudsman that would help employers and their employees that serve in the National Guard or Reserves to resolve any issues that may arise from their military service.

As an air defender stationed in Europe, we fired our missiles annually at the NATO Firing Range down on the island of Crete in the Aegean Sea. We were often flown down on C-130 aircraft provided by Air National Guard crews. Their missions relieved active-duty crews while the reserve crews had the experience of flying in the European skies.

ESGR is a volunteer organization operating in all 50 states. They work with employers to educate the business owners and managers on their rights and responsibilities when dealing with employees before, during, and after deployment. They also educate the individual on their responsibilities to the employer and their rights when an issue arises. There is a law – The Uniformed Services Employment & Reemployment Act (USERRA), that deals with employment and reemployment issues when the Guard and Reserves are call to service.

The fighting has stopped in most places, but the deployments continue. We should all support our National Guard and Reserve units with the same level of support we provide to those on active duty. Future enlistments and reenlistments among our National Guard and Reserve units will be based on how well we support the men and women who stand ready to deploy anywhere when our country calls.

Check out this handheld card that every employer and employee should have in their pocket that explains the basics of the USERRA. For more detailed information on the ESGR or becoming a volunteer, visit the ESGR website: https://www.esgr.mil

For all who serve – and for all that support the men and women that wear the uniform – HOOAH!

There is more of course, there is always more … sin fin …

05/02/2025

05-01-2025 Coffee with Veterans

I came out of my self-isolation this morning to attend Coffee with Veterans, sponsored by the City of El Paso office of Veteran and Military Affairs, and hosted at the DAV Chapter 187 on Diana in northeast El Paso.

This was my 2nd time attending this monthly event and I was impressed with the turnout.

For those among the Veteran community that say they want to help other Veterans, these monthly coffee sessions should be on your schedule as a “must do” to attend. Knowledge is power, and you can certainly gain useful knowledge of services available by participating in informal outreach events such as these.

The first goal is to reach out to individual Veterans that are “untethered”, that is not connected to many organizations and service providers here in the El Paso area; to educate them on the services available to Veterans throughout our community. The secondary goal is to inform and educate you as Veterans to be able to assist another Veteran in need and help direct them to the services that can best meet their needs.

El Paso has a strong network of support for small businesses and a strong network of support for Veterans, most of which is free. There are way too many businesses foundering because of lack of knowledge about the support available. The same is true for Veterans who find themselves spinning their wheels, not knowing where to go to get help. This monthly kaffee klatch is a way for you to arm yourself with knowledge and be prepared to reach out and help a Veteran in need.

For more information, the best place to start is the City website for Veteran and Military Affairs:

Learn about the Division of Veteran and Military Affairs that serves as a liaison between the City of El Paso, Fort Bliss and other outside agencies.