DOVER, Del. - Veterans, transitioning service members and military families gathered in Dover Tuesday with one goal in mind: preparing for the next chapter after military service.
The Hiring Our Heroes Career Summit, hosted by Wilmington University in partnership with Dover Air Force Base and Hiring Our Heroes, brought together more than 35 employers with thousands of open positions, giving attendees the opportunity to network, build professional connections and explore career opportunities.
The event also featured workshops focused on resume writing, interview preparation, salary negotiation and other tools designed to help military families successfully transition into the civilian workforce.
Dennis Bronzo, an organizer with Hiring Our Heroes, said access to career resources can make a significant difference for service members leaving the military.
"It's extremely important to have the resources," Bronzo said. "I've transitioned out of the military two times. The first time when I got out, I had no resources, no support, and I ended up back in the military three years later."
Bronzo said many military members spend decades building careers in uniform, while spouses often relocate frequently, making it difficult to establish long-term careers of their own.
Career summits like this one are designed to connect military families with employers who understand the value of military experience and are actively hiring.
According to Bronzo, Hiring Our Heroes hosts dozens of in-person career events each year across the United States and internationally, helping thousands of service members, veterans and military spouses connect with employers. Some hiring events even result in on-the-spot job offers.
Army veteran Foster Trader attended the summit and said the information available was far more extensive than what he received when he retired from the military.
"When you get here, I got a lot of information that I didn't get a few years ago that I wish I had got like three or four years ago," Trader said. "It's very vital because a lot of people don't have access to resources, and the veteran earned it."
For military spouse Antonietta Servodio, whose husband is preparing to retire after more than 20 years in the Air Force, the summit provided valuable guidance for the entire family.
"It's very important," Servodio said. "It kind of opens and gives you more lenses of what's out there and what you can do and rebuild a new identity because it's a new chapter of his life that's very, very different compared to military."
Her husband, Matthew Amiot, said after spending nearly a quarter-century in the same profession, learning how to market his skills for the civilian workforce has become one of his biggest priorities.
"I've had the same job for 24 years," he said. "Just learning how to market myself and make myself competitive as I transition to becoming a civilian is something I just got to learn and figure out."
Bronzo said the organization's support extends beyond the day of the event. Career specialists continue working with participants by reviewing resumes, offering career coaching and connecting them with employers until they find meaningful employment.
"The last thing we want them to do is get out and suffer and not have that opportunity and end up as a homeless veteran or an unemployed veteran," Bronzo said.
Organizers say while transitioning from military to civilian life can be challenging, connecting veterans and military families with the right resources early can help make that transition a successful one.
