'Hiring Our Heroes' Employment Fair Set for May 8 in Yazoo City

JACKSON, Miss. – Entergy Mississippi, Inc. is taking a lead role in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s “Hiring Our Heroes” nationwide campaign to connect 100,000 veterans with job opportunities.

Entergy has signed on as a top sponsor of the hiring campaign, which targets all unemployed veterans but focuses on those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The drive’s latest job fair will run in association with the Mississippi Governor’s Job Fair Network event from 9:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. Tuesday, May 8, at the National Guard Armory in Yazoo City. A second job fair took place in April in Biloxi.

“We believe businesses of all sizes have a duty to recruit the men and women who have made such extraordinary sacrifices for our country,” said Haley Fisackerly, president and CEO of Entergy Mississippi, Inc. “Just as importantly, we need the type of disciplined, organized and skilled workers you regularly find among veterans.”

Edward Nash is one of those types of workers. He works for Entergy Mississippi and for the U.S. Military.

“I was working on one of Entergy’s underground crews when I deployed to Iraq in 2009,” said Nash, a cable splicer in the company’s Larson Street office in Jackson. “Three supervisors worked on all of my paperwork, and they made sure everything went very smoothly for me. I was able to relax and know that everything was being taken care of.”

“Once I was deployed, my co-workers sent care packages to me--things like food, socks and cards that everyone had signed,” he continued. “When I came back from deployment, Entergy just asked me what date I’d like to return. That was it. I was able to pick back up right where I left off.”

Fisackerly noted that Entergy Mississippi currently has more than 30 employees in the National Guard or Reserves, with more than half of those either deployed or on active duty.

Entergy and the rest of the utility industry face a growing challenge in the years ahead as members of the Baby Boom head toward retirement. More than 50 percent of the industry’s workforce is 45 years of age or older.

“We are excited that Entergy is stepping up as a leader in the utility industry to hire veterans — not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because it’s right for their business,” said Kevin Schmiegel, vice president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and executive director of Hiring Our Heroes. “Entergy’s commitment to help veterans find jobs in Mississippi and across America is an example for other companies to emulate, and we welcome their representation on the chamber’s national Veterans Employment Advisory Council.”

The Veterans Employment Advisory Council includes such companies as 3M, Wal-Mart, Union Pacific, Federal Express, and Chesapeake Energy. Entergy has joined the council’s “Chairman’s Circle” of top corporate sponsors, which includes companies like Capital One and CVS Caremark.

The Veterans Employment Advisory Council is committed to five principles: 1) hiring veterans and military spouses; 2) sharing best practices and adopting next practices for veteran and military spouse employment; 3) reporting measures such as job opportunities, interviews and job placements; 4) providing mentors to help transitioning service members and military spouses, and through the chamber’s grassroots network 5) enlisting the commitment of thousands of small and medium-sized businesses across America to do the same.

Since March of 2011, “Hiring Our Heroes” has hosted 130 hiring fairs in 45 states and the District of Columbia, connecting more than 100,000 veterans and military spouses with 5,000 different employers. More than 9,000 have gotten jobs.

Entergy Mississippi, Inc. provides electricity to more than 435,000 customers in 45 counties. It is a subsidiary of Entergy Corporation. Entergy is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. Entergy owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, and it is the second-largest nuclear generator in the United States. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.8 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.

-30-
entergy-mississippi.com
Twitter: @EntergyMS