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Supporting those who have served in the Armed Forces of the United States and their families. VetConnection is a West Virginia

based, non-profit group whose primary mission

is to ensure that returning veterans and their

families are treated with respect and assisted in

building a new life in our community. Our goal is to

connect returning veterans and/or their families

with the appropriate resources that are needed

to provide continuing healthcare, education and

employment opportunities.

VetConnection.org

Veterans Opportunity | 5Science & TechnologyVeterans Opportunity | 5Science & TechnologyVeterans Opportunity | 5Science & Technology

The oil and natural gas industry is expanding exponentially with an increase in regional development,

production and distribution of new energy sources. To � ll an increasing demand for workers, e� orts are underway to grow the oil and gas workforce by hiring veterans.

Unfortunately, typical hiring practices leave many quali� ed candidate resumes in the HR o� ce wastebasket. By incorporating technology into one’s job search, a candidate stands a much better chance of being seen. With Quick Response (QR) codes, veterans have an opportunity to leverage new media and mobile to stand out from their competition. QR codes enable a host of practical and useful applications. For instance, linking the QR code on the resume to a candidate video, mobile website or social media website (like LinkedIn) provide a simple and interesting way for recruiters to learn more about a candidate prior to an interview, saving the recruiter time and helping them hone in on most quali� ed candidates.

Helping Veterans Stand Out in the Hiring ProcessQR Codes

How do I create a QR code?

Mobile technology is opening doors across many industries and job seekers today. Before veterans get started, they should consider what content (video? mobile website? blog? etc.) they would like to deliver to a prospective employer. � en, � nd a reputable QR code creator, like NeoSphere™ Lite, which will allow you to create a code for free. Make sure to test the code to see that it brings a recruiter to the content that you intend them to see – and is in the right format (meaning optimized for the mobile device). Finally, make sure the QR code easily visible on the resume and include a call to action. For instance, “Scan the code to view my video resume.”

When veterans get creative in their use of QR codes, they will undoubtedly rise above their competition – achieving their desire for interviews and hopefully soon, a new role won’t be far behind. Get started today!

What is a QR code?

Most of us have seen a QR code on the back of our favorite product or within the pages of our favorite magazine. It’s the black and white square box that, when scanned with a barcode reader app (available for free from your phone’s app store), allow the user to access a range of content direct from their phone.

Why use a QR code?

Given the small amount of real estate on a resume and its ability to deliver a variety of content, QR codes have become a great way for job candidates to stand out from the crowd. For example, instead of including a DVD or cluttering a resume with additional information, a veteran can simply create a QR code and direct the hiring manager to scan the code and access the video from their mobile device. You can � nd a great example of how this can be done here. QR codes provide a simple way to communicate your message in a compelling manner.

By: Laura Marriott, CEO of NeoMedia Technologies

Corporate Info:NeoMedia Technologies, Inc. is the pioneer in 2D mobile barcode technology and infrastructure solutions that enable the mobile barcode ecosystem worldwide. Its solutions have transformed nearly 25 million mobile devices with cameras across 193 countries into barcode scanners, enabling a range of practical and engaging applications. With its suite of products, services and extensive IP portfolio, NeoMedia is able to offer customers a comprehensive end-to-end mobile barcode solution. NeoMedia’s current customers include international brands, agencies, handset manufacturers and platform providers.

Learn more at www.neom.com or visit us at one of the following online destinations:

www.linkedin.com/company/neomedia-technologies

www.twitter.com/neomediainc

www.pinterest.com/neomedia

6 | Veterans Opportunity Emerging EnergyEmerging Energy

In 1866, a Civil War veteran named Edward Roberts was awarded a patent for what came to be known as the Roberts Torpedo, which used � uid tamping to extract oil from the ground. It was a new technology that would end

up transforming the newly developed gas and oil industry.

New technologies continue to revolutionize the gas and oil industry, allowing for the extraction of unconventional energy sources that have become a driving job opportunity source for veterans.

“In recent years, technologies have been developed that allow us to produce oil and gas from the shale formations that before had not been commercially viable,” explained David Drennon with HG Energy. “But today, because of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, it has become economical.”

It should be noted that hydraulic fracturing is not a brand new technology. According to the American Oil and Gas Historical Society, the � rst commercial application of hydraulic fracturing – or fracking -- came in 1949.

“Today, hydraulic fracturing is applied to the majority of U.S. oil and natural gas wells to enhance well performance, minimize drilling, and recover otherwise inaccessible resources. In fact, roughly 90 percent of the wells in operation have been fractured — and the process continues to be applied in innovative ways to boost production of American energy in unconventional formations, such as ‘tight’ gas sands, shale deposits and coal-beds,” the Historical Society reported in an article titled “Shooters – A Fracking History.”

Even though it had been around for more than half a century, unconventional energy sources has boomed in recent years, largely thanks to horizontal drilling. For the � rst 150 years of the industry, the only way gas and oil could be extracted was via vertical drilling.

“But in recent years, technology has been developed that allows drillers to actually make a turn with the drill bit, and they can go out and drill horizontally through the formation,” said Drennon. � is means drillers can access a larger area of the reservoir.

� e horizontal drilling is partnered with the hydraulic fracturing. “In today’s horizontal wells, we use large volumes of water and are able to better produce the well and recover greater amounts of the hydrocarbons,” Drennon went on to say.

� e development of the these technologies has done more than simply allow oil and gas companies to expand into the extraction

of these unconventional sources. It means that the oil and gas industry can expand into areas of the country where drilling was never before an option. For example, while western Pennsylvania is home to the � rst oil well in the United States and the oil and gas industry thrived in the Alleghenies, northeast Pennsylvania had no history of oil or gas exploration. Horizontal drilling changed that.

“Geologists knew the Marcellus Shale formation was there,” said Drennan, “but in the past, it has never been economical to go and drill there.”

While the drilling for shale gas and other unconventional energy sources has provided an economic boost to northeast Pennsylvania and other areas throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest, like any industry, there are peaks and valleys in production. � e unusually warm winter of 2011-2012 reduced the demand for natural gas, supplies got too high and prices dropped. In some situations, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the drilling boom produced too many wells than the market needed. Some operators have turned o� their wells because they don’t want to sell the natural gas at low prices.

� is summer and fall, the industry has faced another challenge, courtesy of Mother Nature. � e drought that has impacted much of the country is now a� ecting the energy industry. Each shale well takes between two and 12 million gallons of water to frack. � at’s 18 Olympic-sized swimming pools worth of water per well, according to CNN Money. As landowners, communities, and state governments put restrictions on water use and water access, well production has slowed.

It has slowed, but it hasn’t stopped. Wells are still being built, and extracting these unconventional energy sources requires a large work force. According to Drennan, it takes about 400 people to drill and complete a well, and that requires expertise in a number of di� erent trades and professions. Sites need truck drivers, mechanics, and welders, as well as geologists, accountants, and lawyers.

As it was a veteran whose invention revolutionized the way oil was extracted 150 years ago, it seems � tting that the exploration for unconventional energy sources would be a natural � t for today’s veterans. � e skill set that veterans bring from their years in the military is ideal for the oil and gas industry, especially in these new areas of extraction.

“People who come out of the military are well trained in areas of technology, instrumentation, automation, and those things lend

INNOVATION& EMERGING ENERGY SOURCESThe driving force behind employment and business opportunities for Vets within the Oil & Gas Industry

How the Unconventional Aspects of Oil and Gas Industry Are Driving Job Opportunities for Veterans

Veterans Opportunity | 7Emerging EnergyEmerging Energy

themselves well to the oil and gas industry,” said Drennan. � e spirit of teamwork and the ability to adapt to sometimes adverse working conditions are other skills veterans o� er. “People in the military understand the necessity of doing one’s part to get the mission accomplished, and that’s exactly what we do in the gas and oil industry.”

Within the industry itself, there is always a huge need for truck drivers, welders, and general laborers. But the job opportunities aren’t con� ned speci� cally within the areas of building new wells. An entire infrastructure of industries has popped up surrounding the gas and oil industry’s exploration for new

energy sources – starting with the actual infrastructure, like road and bridge construction. Since wells are often built in rural areas, small towns are ideal locations for new restaurants. � e employees working on the wells need a place to live, and with it is a boom in manufacturing of mobile homes and RVs for inexpensive and portable housing options.

� e race to replace traditional fossil fuels, along with the new drilling technologies, has opened up a myriad of opportunities for veterans surrounding this search for unconventional energy search.

WEST VIRGINIA:David Drennon is currently employed by HG Energy,

LLC as the company’s Marketing and Transporta-tion Manager, overseeing all of the company’s natural

gas sales, transportation and purchase contracts. HG Energy is a relatively new company, being formed at the beginning of 2011 and it has its roots in the West Virginia assets that formerly belonged to East Resources, Inc. (HG Energy is cur-rently actively drilling in the Utica shale on acreage it controls in Monroe County).

Before HG Energy, Dave spent the previous ten years with East Resources as their General Manager of its WV pipeline & utility operations. Prior to that, he spent twenty years with Pennzoil Exploration & Production Company, also in West Virginia. Dave is � nishing his third year as a Director of the Independent Oil & Gas Association of West Virginia and is the current Chair of their Communication and Education Committee.

Over the years Mr. Drennon has assumed leadership positiones in numerous Oil and Gas related organizations and initiatives that forward safe development of West Virginia’s energy re-sources on behalf of Miss Utility of West Virginia, the state’s

underground facilities protection organization, the Indepen-dent Oil and Gas Association (IOGA of West Virginia and Just Beneath the Surface - just to name a few.

A 1980 graduate of Glenville State College with a Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics.

Industry Exectutive Pro� le

underground facilities protection organization, the Indepen-

VIEW VIDEOHERE

8 | Veterans OpportunityBusiness Enterprise8 | Veterans OpportunityBusiness Enterprise8 | Veterans Opportunity Business Enterprise Roundtable

VETERANS OPPORTUNITIESVETERANS OPPORTUNITIESEntrepreneurs Discuss

in Oil & Gas

Main Points:

How to Succeed Play to Your Skills Industry Training a Plus Identify an Industry Need Finding the Right Opportunity Get out & Network Meet Industry Professionals Don’t be Intimidated You Can Make it if You Try

Stanley RichardsonVeterans Opportunity Magazine

Debora ChizPresident/Owner: Nova Safety & Health Consulting, Inc.

Greg HenthornManaging Partner: Kinetic Clean Energy, Inc.

Travis BuggeyPartner: Kinetic Clean Energy, Inc.

Veterans Opportunity | 9Enterprise RoundtableVeterans Opportunity | 9Enterprise RoundtableVeterans Opportunity | 9Business Enterprise Roundtable

Debora Chiz:

I worked for OSHA for twenty years and I’m a mining engineer. And, I did safety & health. And, being that the need for the safety and health end of it. I opened up my own business and I go out and do safety and health audits. I do a lot of training, I do the safety on WVU Oil and Gas, the OSHA ten hour forklift Hazwoper. I do any kind of training that they need in the oil and gas industry.

Stan Richardson:

So you play to your skills?.... Yes, well you have to…Which, is what we are advocating for veteran women.

Debora Chiz:

Well, there is another point to look at, women, men and I kind of don’t like separating the two, because I’ve always been you know you get jobs in what you can to do. Um there are veterans that are coming out that maybe are not able to do the physical work. And you said exactly, ( it could apply to them as well) it could apply to somebody that doesn’t have all there;… something has happened to them. We actually know a GIS tech at an oil gas company up in New York who is in a wheelchair, and she is one of their best. She’s a geologist, and she’s one of their best employees. And, she does an awesome job, and I know we are going to get veterans that are, that have disabilities after coming out. And, they are going to need to be able to do something like that. So some training, some technical training, and what Greg just mentioned would be something very good for them to pursue something like that.

Stan Richardson:

So, what are some of the � rst things, what’s one of the � rst things that you did when you decided to start your company? Did you look at the demand? Is that one of the � rst things that you did?

Debora Chiz:

Yeah, Yeah, I looked out and um, what companies were requiring, cause a lot of their own gas companies, a lot of the producers they’re requiring the training, because they’re using all the subs, so they’re trying to keep their training above and beyond, they’re trying to keep it up to par, so that we do not have any accidents out in the industry.

Stan Richardson:

Okay, And when it comes to advice that you would o� er, Greg, what about playing to someone’s strength? What, how do you address that? How would you advise someone in the military, a woman in the military who is looking

for something outside of the industry, the labor part of the industry, but may not be thinking about some of those things that you raised? How could they or what should they do to kinda match their experience with the possibilities even though it might not be as obvious?

Greg Henthorn:

Yeah, that’s a very good question, I think what I would do if I were in that position, is I would look at; I would try to identify what are these types of jobs that are created from shale gas. And, just looking at it from that picture, you have the extraction piece that we’ve been talking about, which for the most part it has a lot, it is very labor intensive. Although, there are components of extraction that are not labor intensive, as we’ve discussed, acquiring the leases and the title abstracts. And then you have the whole pipeline pieces of securing rights of way so that someone can build gathering lines and pipelines and all those sort of, I would try to identify all those di� erent types of opportunities. And maybe that’s something the Veterans Opportunity Network can help to provide as a resource as well, and you have those opportunities and then do some research around what each one of those are, to understand. Are there physical requirements, are there training requirements, do I need a college degree, do I need certi� cation, do I just need to get good at this particular skill? What are the things that it requires? And, then I would probably try to talk to somebody that does that kind of work. If I could just try to � nd somebody that does that kind of work and ask them how they got started and how they got going.

I will say something about oil and gas that is maybe compared to manufacturing or other things; in that oil and gas has a lot of companies that could…, there are a lot of contractors that do di� erent roles. And a lot of things are subbed out to entrepreneurs, and small businesses. And so, if you spend some time talking to people in the industry, I think that maybe you can � nd those things where you have the skills sets that map well with what some of the needs are, ( the demand) exactly.

Stan Richardson:

And did you for example, did you go about networking within the industry? How did you go about doing that?

Debora Chiz:

I spend a very large amount of time going to functions, PIOGA functions out of New York, um setting up tables, booths, talking to people, and now that the oil and gas industry is really taking o� , you could probably go to something every week, right? You could. � ere’s functions all the time, you could possibly go to every function there is. And, its amazing every function I go to, you � nd somebody

10 | Veterans OpportunityBusiness Enterprise10 | Veterans OpportunityBusiness Enterprise10 | Veterans Opportunity Business Enterprise Roundtable

that has something or gives you an idea, (right) or you gain some kind of insight ( right), into what is needed or what you could do. So networking things, for example like this, is very valuable to learn what’s out there.

Greg Henthorn:

And I’ll tell you what, in networking, I would not hide the fact, if I were a veteran. I would not keep that a secret ( No); I think that’s a good thing. I think just in general, culturally, within the oil and gas sector, that’s, that’s gonna be looked upon favorably for all the right reasons. I think generally a lot of people in the oil and gas sector; view themselves, just in general, maybe slightly compared to the average population. � ey, they view themselves as doing something important to the country, I mean you know energy independence, and all these kinds of things, it just seems to be a theme that runs throughout the sector. So, you know I don’t, I wouldn’t be a– hesitate at all to share that with others.

Debora Chiz:

Right, I think veterans are more, they’re more disciplined, and I think they are not afraid of hard work, and I think that they would be very, very good candidates for work in the oil and gas industry.

Greg Henthorn:

Yeah, and frankly when I talk to people in the oil and gas sector they talk in general that the younger people today just aren’t as hard workers, in general just across the board. ( � at’s right) So that probably… ( A lot of veterans that I talk to they’re very respectful, they’re very hard workers)(Yeah, yeah) ( Absolutely)

Travis Buggey:

It’s critical for veterans to get out and network and get out to these events, ( absolutely, absolutely) because you don’t know who you’re going to run into. You may, it may take two or three meeting for you to kinda get your, your ( bearings, yeah) bearings and � gure out exactly what your role might be. You need to get out and get the word out and meet people and get involved. And, you’d be surprised at just by going to two or three events in a row; you’ll kinda start to piece things together and to learn about the industry. It’s critical that you get out. And, 90% percent of life is showing up. So, you just need to get out and get involved with things, things won’t come to you. You have to go get things.

Debora Chiz:

And that’s a very, very good point. Because when I started my business, being a “women” in the oil and gas industry,

Greg Henthorn:

No, but that whole dynamic, ( that’s exactly right) I mean it applied to me to ( absolutely) it is not unique to women you know, I was just every bit as intimidated ( that’s right) as you described when I � rst started reaching out.

Stan Richardson:

So it really does matter to loose your inhibitions ( that’s right speak up) and to get out there ( speak up) and because if you don’t ask, and you don’t put yourself out there your not going to get any results. Well, I think we’d all agree on that one. ( Yeah)

even though my husband is in the…, a petroleum engineer in the industry, it’s very hard and it’s very intimidating. When you walk into a big show or you walk into a meeting and there’s all these guys maybe in suits or big and you don’t know who they are, so it’s an intimidation factor. And, if you get a women, you get a veteran, you get someone that really doesn’t feel comfortable….., um what I started doing was just walking up to people and saying “hello my name is Debbie, how are you?” and, shaking their hand. And, you get a lot of response its amazing. But, it’s tough to do that, it’s tough to get to that point. So, if you start getting out there and what do companies want? � ey want people out there that are forward that are going to try work.

Veterans Opportunity | 11Enterprise RoundtableVeterans Opportunity | 11Enterprise RoundtableVeterans Opportunity | 11Business Enterprise Roundtable

Four Things to Know Before Applying for a LoanWe have all heard the phrase “Cash is King,” and small business owners know that better than anyone. At some point or

another, many small business owners need to apply for � nancing to keep the cash � owing, hire new employees, expand inventory, and grow the business. Below are four key things you should know before applying for a loan.

Prepare, Prepare, Prepare!

Preparation is key when applying for a loan, and organized preparation is even better. � is means that your business plan should be updated, your � nancial statements should be in order, and you should be able to verify all of the information that you give to your lender. Remember that box of saved business receipts? A lender will expect this information to be organized in a spreadsheet or software, like QuickBooks, to help you better manage your business � nances. � is preparation will go a long way toward showing that you can manage the lender’s money well, too.

Know How Much YouWant to Borrow

� is may seem obvious, but you would be surprised to learn that many small business owners haven’t � gured out how much money they really need to borrow. It is very important to know exactly how much you need, what it will be used for, and how you plan to pay it back. No lender wants to hear “I’ll take as much as you can give me.” Your loan request should make sense based on your business history, projections, your speci� c needs, and the amount of personal investment you have in the business.

Know the Process

Every lending institution has a process for making loans and asking questions up front sets reasonable expectations and shows your lender that you care. You should have a good understanding of the documents you need to submit, the expected timeline, and the di� erent levels of approval. Also, don’t be surprised if your lender has additional questions for you after you submit your complete application. � is is typically part of the process, and while it does not guarantee a loan approval, it does keep the process moving.

Remember – Less Isn’t More When Applying for a Loan

Less isn’t more – more is more. When it comes to getting a loan, the more information you provide about your business, the better. Your lender will need the full story and as much background as possible to make a good decision. Remember that your lender is on your side and wants to give you a loan if possible. But checks and balances are important for everyone. Providing your lender with more information will result in a faster decision-making process for both of you.

Bridgeway Capital, located in Pittsburgh, Pa., provides � nancing and education opportunities to ignite growth across western Pennsylvania. A nonpro� t founded in 1990, Bridgeway Capital serves 15 counties and manages $54 million. Since inception it has placed more than 760 loans, injecting $84 million in capital directly into the region, and creating or preserving over 5,000 jobs. With a blend of entrepreneurial vision, regional knowledge and operational expertise, Bridgeway Capital helps make western Pennsylvania a thriving region for all. For more information, call 412-201-2450 or visit our website at www.bridgewaycapital.org.

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Veterans Opportunity | 13Human ResourcesEmployment & Human Resources

Where the Entry Level Jobs for Veterans Are in theOil and Gas Industry

While the rate of unemployment for veterans, age 18 and older is down from 8.1 percent in 2011 to 6.7 percent in 2012, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that there are 735,000 vet-

erans looking for work. In July 2012 the unemployment rate for veterans fell to 6.9 percent, the lowest level in more than three years. � is may re� ect the impact of federal and state govern-ment programs that help returning vets, including assistance with transitioning into jobs.

In 2011, 21.6 million men and women ages 18 and over were veterans. Veterans are more likely to be men and more likely to be older than nonveterans.

Returning veterans who struggle to � nd jobs in a tight economy face multiple challenges says Frank Vitale, co-founder of Vet-Connection.Org, a veteran and the Sr. Vice President of Clear Mountain Bank in Morgantown W.Va. “A job gives you a sense of empowerment, a sense of accomplishment and purpose. When you don’t have those things you begin to get introspective and begin to think why don’t I have a job and why aren’t things going right for me? I’ve sacri� ced so much for my country.”

� e faster these returning veterans are able to get into the work-force, the more productive and successful they will be, and the more readily they will assimilate back into civilian life, says Vi-tale. � ose who don’t quickly � nd jobs, he says: “May turn to drugs and alcohol to satisfy some pains and also may struggle to have a place to live.”

While services are available to help veterans through resources like the Veterans Administration (VA), Vitale says that many veterans over the last 10 years are unlikely to engage the VA. Why? � ere are a lot of reasons, he says, but “chief among them is that when a vet separates they want to be separated—they want to be done with the military.”

According to a 2011 poll by Monster.com, common challenges that veterans face in returning to the workforce include:

Finding a job that matches what they want in terms of • salary, location, etc.Finding opportunities for which they are quali� ed• Having employers understand their skills and experience• Applying military skills in nonmilitary settings•

� e good news? � e oil and gas industry represents a rich source of entry level jobs for veterans—from drilling jobs, to jobs in sur-veying, procurement, scheduling and various trades. � e jobs site oilandgasjobsearch.com recently listed almost 12,000 oil and gas jobs, about 1100 in North America.

Danielle Boston is a (title) with (company) and says: “� is is really an exciting time for our industry.” In speaking about the Marcellus Shale Coalition—which is producing natural gas in the Marcellus and Utica Shale plays in Pennsylvania, she says: “When one considers the wide range of options being explored

in renewal or alternative energy sources – such as solar, wind or hydro power – for this region of the country a viable natural gas industry can be a major contributor to the economy.”

� ere are a wide array of jobs available, she notes, adding that not all jobs are directly in oil and gas—some represent compa-nies that serve the oil and gas operators.

Boston’s � rm has identi� ed what they are calling “six high pri-ority occupations.” � ese include derrick operators, rotary drill operators, service unit operators, roustabouts, welding and brais-ing operators and truck drivers. “CDL licensed truck drivers are in very high demand right now,” she says. About 70-75 percent of these jobs are blue collar she says—jobs that don’t require a two or four-year degree.

One potential drawback is that, for most people, most of these jobs will require a relocation or time away from home. “� is industry is a very mobile industry,” says Boston. “It’s also a 24/7 type operation. Typically they are going to be working longer hours—a lot of 12 hour shifts, and two weeks on with one or two weeks o� .”

� e work environment can also be demanding and much of it outdoors, which can be great on warm, sunny days, but not so great on cold, rainy or snowy days. But, she adds: “� is can be a good � t for veterans because they’re no strangers to long hours, hard work and working in these conditions.”

� e pay is good—starting salaries range from $13-19/hour and, in certain areas of the country (like Pennsylvania) opportunities are plentiful. “We’re thinking that within Pennsylvania we’ve impacted about 90,000 jobs in 2010 and, by 2020, we perceive that this industry will grow and probably impact more than 200,000 jobs,” says Boston.

Top Natural Gas Producers—2012http://www.ngsa.org/Assets/top%2040%202012%202nd%20quarter.pdf

ExxonMobil• Chesapeake Energy• Anadarko• Devon Energy• BP•

Hydraulic Fracturing—“Fracking”—Rocks the Gas Industry

Hydraulic fracturing—or “fracking”—is a technique used to free natural gas found in shale rock formations through a mix of water and sand injected into the rock at very high pressures. � e injection creates fractures in the rock and allows natural gas to � ow. It’s big business—since 2007 more than 4500 wells have been drilled in Pennsylvania (http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/cepr-blog/fracking-nonsense-the-job-myth-of-gas-drilling).

Encana• ConocoPhillips• Southwestern Energy Co.• BHP Billiton • Chevron•

by Lin Grensing-Pophal

14 | Veterans Opportunity EmploymentEmployment & Human Resources

To make fracking possible, sand is required and sand mining has increased signi� cantly around the country. � e rapid in-crease in the use of this technique is opening up signi� cant job opportunities at an entry level. A study commissioned by the Marcellus Shale Coalition and researchers with Penn State Uni-versity estimated that gas drilling would support 216,000 jobs in Pennsylvania alone by 2015.

Careers in the Oil and Gas Industryhttp://www.oilcareers.com/content/career/careers.asp

Searching for oil and gas• Exploration• Drilling• Well services•

According to OilCareers.com, a UK-based site, there are both onshore and o� shore installations. Onshore installations are on land and usually close to the sea. � ey receive oil and gas from o� shore installations via pipeline or tanker. � ese installations may prepare liquid gas products for further re� ning, but they are not the re� neries. � ey also may take the natural gas and make it suitable for piping into the National Grid. At some installations gas liquids are processed.

Production• General operations• Business support•

Employment by OccupationData series Employment, 2011

Geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers 7,310

Petroleum engineers 15,720

Petroleum pump system operators, refi nery operators, and gaugers 6,260

Roustabouts, oil and gas 7,740

Wellhead pumpers 7,510

(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)

� e site outlines di� erent types of companies that employ peo-ple o� shore:

Operating companies: hold the exploration and produc-• tion licenses and operate the production facilities. Most of them are international companies, working in many di� er-ent parts of the world.

Drilling companies: contracted to undertake the drilling • work, and often operate and maintain their own mobile drilling rigs. Like the operating companies, they tend to work globally.

Major contractors: provide integrated operations and main-• tenance services to the operating companies. On some in-stallations they employ almost all the regular o� shore per-sonnel (the ‘”core crew”). Some are very large international companies, while others are small by comparison.

FPSO operators: operate and maintain � oating produc-• tion storage and o� oading units that are designed to re-main on station for months or even years on end, and are packed with equipment for processing oil and gas.

Service companies provide specialist assistance to both • operating and drilling companies, e.g. well service � rms, drilling mud suppliers, cementing companies, well testing specialists, seismic � rms, divers, caterers, etc.

Financing Small Business Growth

412.201.2450 • bridgewaycapital.org

Veterans Opp Network Ad_Layout 1 11/13/2012 9:50 PM Page 1

Veterans Opportunity | 15Human ResourcesEmployment & Human Resources

Employment by OccupationData series

Wages, 2011

Hourly Annual

Median Mean Median Mean

Geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers $62.23 $67.02 $129,450 $139,390

Petroleum engineers $65.20 $72.55 $135,620 $150,890

Petroleum pump system operators, refi nery operators, and gaugers $28.02 $28.07 $58,280 $58,390

Roustabouts, oil and gas $16.06 $17.11 $33,410 $35,590

Wellhead pumpers $20.51 $20.69 $42,660 $43,040

(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)

Earnings and Hours of Production and Nonsupervisory EmployeesData series Back data May 2012 June 2012 July 2012 August 2012

Average hourly earnings $28.09 $28.32 $29.06 (P) $28.58

Average weekly hours 45.1 46.3 47.1 (P) 46.9

*(P) Preliminary(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

A Revolution in New Job CreationA new HIS study America’s New En-ergy Future indicates that the revolution in unconventional oil and gas production is having a signi� cant impact on job cre-ation, economic growth and government revenues. Some highlights:

Employment in the entire upstream • unconventional oil and gas sector on a direct, indirect, and induced basis will support nearly 1.8 million jobs in 2012, 2.5 million jobs in 2015, 3 million jobs in 2020, and nearly 3.5 million jobs in 2035.

� e jobs created tend to be high • quality and high paying. Workers associated with unconventional oil and gas are currently paid an average of $35.15 per hour—higher than the wages in the general economy ($23.07 per hour) and more than wages paid

in manufacturing, wholesale trade and education, among others.

Subsequent reports will focus on the economic impacts on a state-by-state level and the potential for a U.S. manufacturing renaissance fueled by abundant energy supply.

Annual SPE Salary Survey Shows Continued Growth TrendCompensation in the petroleum industry in 2011 continues to follow the growth trend of recent years, with an overall increase in average base pay globally of 6.5%, which is slightly higher than the average self-reported increase of 5.9% among survey participants. Mean base pay increased from USD 139,194 in 2010 to USD 148,301 in 2011.

BLS Occupational Stats for Oil and Gas Workers

Quick Facts: Oil and Gas Workers

2010 Median Pay $37,640 per year$18.09. per hour

Entry-levelEducation

Less than high school

Work Experience in a RelatedOccupation

None

Number of Jobs, 2010 134,800

Job Outlook, 2010-20 8%

Employment Change, 2010-20 11,200

16 | Veterans OpportunityCareers & Education16 | Veterans OpportunityCareers & Education16 | Veterans Opportunity Careers and Education

OIL AND GAS INDUSTRYOil and gas companies in the Northeast need entry level workers, and are

actively seeking veterans to � ll jobs in a quickly expanding industry.

The Marcellus Shale is a sedimentary rock formation 6,000 to 9,000 ft. below the earth’s surface covering

an area of about 95,000 square miles in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, and a small portion of Maryland. It is the second largest known quantity of natural gas outside Saudi Arabia. Scientists estimate this shale deposit could hold as much as 500 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, enough gas to power the entire country for 25 years. Combine that with the fact that the Marcellus Shale is located in close proximity to the heavily populated northeastern corridor of the U.S., where energy demand is high, and it’s not small surprise that drilling is booming in the region. “� is industry,” says Byron Kohut, Director, ShaleNET Western Region, “is going to explode.”

Most of the drilling involves hydraulic fracturing (also known as “fracking”), a process which � rst came to the U.S. in 1947, introduced by British energy production company Halliburton. With the introduction of horizontal drilling, its use has expanded exponentially. Oil and gas companies use fracking where rock formations are fairly impermeable and, thus, very slow to release oil and/or gas. To increase the speed of extraction, drillers pump � uid into the ground, made up mostly of water but also with sand and chemical additives, under pressure to

What’s Required of an Entry Level Employee in O & G?Kohut says the O & G industry is actively looking for entry level workers right now, and they don’t require prospective employees to have industry experience. “� e expertise comes from the company,” Kohut says. “� ey hire entry level folks and train them.”

� at being said, veterans are, in Kohut’s opinion, “ideal candidates” for O & G jobs. All those skills that helped you persevere in demanding conditions while serving your country transfer well into getting a job in this industry. Here’s why:

Oil and gas workers generally have • to work long hours, sometimes 12-hour shifts with schedules like two weeks on and one week o� . While the average civilian worker doesn’t � nd this appealing, military personnel are used to tougher work schedules.

As in the military where work runs • 24/7, the same is true in drilling operations, which run 24 hours a day, seven days a week year-round.

O & G industry jobs generally require • hard work in the outdoors. Former military personnel are accustomed to working in tougher conditions and bad weather.

crack the rock and allow the reserves to release.

According to estimates from the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, 90 percent of oil and gas sites in the U.S. use fracking to improve production. And when you consider that a single well site requires 400 people working at nearly 150 di� erent occupations, the opportunities for careers in the O & G industry are enormous. � e Pennsylvania Statewide Marcellus Shale Workforce Needs Assessment projects the industry will create 25,000 to 30,000 new jobs through 2014.

ShaleNET is Looking for Veterans

To help � ll all of these new jobs, the U.S. Department of Labor created ShaleNET, a $4.96 million grant designed to help prospective employees obtain the training and resources necessary to acquire and retain jobs in the expanding O & G industry. ShaleNET is focused primarily on the Marcellus and Utica shale regions of the northeast.

ShaleNET is actively recruiting veterans, and 10 percent of its classes at participating community and technical colleges are made up of former members of the U.S. military. Many educational sites o� er classes exclusively for veterans, and the DOL is pushing for vet recruitment through ShaleNET.

Where the Programs Are

Westmoreland County Community College, Youngwood, Penn.• Pierpoint Community Technical College, Fairmont, W.V.• West Virginia Northern Community College, New Martinsville, W.V.• Pennsylvania College of Technology, Williamsport, Penn.• Eastern Gateway Community College, Steubenville, Ohio• Broome Community College, Binghamton, N.Y.•

For a complete list of ShaleNET approved training programs, visit http://www.shalenet.org/Assets/ApprovedTraining.pdf

Where the Jobs Are

For more information on available jobs in the O & G industry and training and placement assistance, check out these resources:

www.ShaleNET.or• gwww.RIGZONE.co• m www.pioga.org• www.MarcellusCoalition.or• g

by Deborah R. Huso

Veterans Opportunity | 17Careers & EducationVeterans Opportunity | 17Careers & EducationVeterans Opportunity | 17Careers and Education

O & • G is a mobile industry, and workers often have to travel away from home, a reality veterans understand.

How To Get the Knowledge You NeedFortunately, nearly 50 percent of jobs in the O & G industry do not require a four-year degree, and 20 percent fall under the general labor category. � at’s good news for vets, only 10 percent of whom have advanced degrees. Partnering with ShaleNET, many area colleges o� er 120-hour training programs that will qualify

workers for entry level positions in the drilling industry. Westmoreland County Community College in Youngwood, Penn., for example, o� ers a Natural Gas and Oil Technology curriculum with 19 credits (that can be used toward an associate’s degree) that will qualify students who complete it for jobs like electric installer, measurement and regulation technician, � eld safety representative, and crew member for drilling operations.

To get into these training programs, ap-plicants must have a valid driver’s license, undergo a � ve-panel drug screening, and score 70 percent or higher on a math placement test.

Where the Programs Are

The above colleges currently offer training programs for certifi cation in the following high-demand O & G industry jobs:

Floor hand• Roustabout• Welder’s helper• CDL driver• Production technician•

18 | Veterans OpportunityCareers & Education18 | Veterans OpportunityCareers & Education18 | Veterans Opportunity Careers and Education

going on deployment; it might have been his fourth deployment in twenty years. Well, we knew that taking him into class, but we also know that the industry looks favorably upon people who do have the deployments. � ey work with them closely. We match them up with Halliburton, which is a global company. Halliburton hired him immediately. I believe he is working as a mechanic for them, and I’m not sure exactly what job it is, but Major Lavelli talked about the fact that he did go on deployment about 8 or 9 months after he took the job. Halliburton is fully aware of that and they’re waiting for him to return. So, they hired him knowing that he was going on deployment.Stan Richardson: Do you see a need for companies that are operated within the oil and gas space to learn from the experiences of other companies in dealing with veterans like Halliburtons, is there any such thing as best practices?Dr. Kohut: I believe Chesapeake has actually one of the better programs for hiring veterans, is it Chesapeake or, but they’ve created an intake process and hiring mechanism for veterans, other than that I am not really sure.Stan Richardson: But, I guess my question is, is there something to be learned from Halliburton’s experience? Is there something that Halliburton can or would share with in a forum, let’s say, with others participants and companies that kind of presents what they’ve done and succeeded with?Dr. Kohut: O yeah, they’ve presented at our quarterly hub meetings, both at Penn

Dr. Kohut: � e veteran is an ideal candidate for employment in natural gas; work hard, long hours, leadership, follow, safety regulation - they’re gone away from home for some time. So they have the experience and the work ethic that the industry is really looking for, and so far we’ve been very successful with our veteran graduates. But, also with the veterans who just come for career awareness and exploration, and � nding them jobs has been pretty easy to say the least. Stan Richardson: How do H.R. people respond to being introduced to a veteran who’s gone through your program? What’s their reaction? Or at least what are some of the results in the way that they’ve responded? Dr. Kohut: Well, they want to know what’s their military occupation is � rst of all, and their immediately thinking how they can match that up. If there is a truck driver in the military, then they know that there can be a CDL there. H.R. responds great to our veteran, our veteran candidates. Just last week we had a major event downtown Pittsburgh where we were invited to speak about ShaleNET it was with the Allegheny Conference. And I invited Major Guy Lavelli, he is a Major for the National Guard. He himself has participated in the program, not as a candidate, but he came through the class with us. Soldiers, he helped me place soldiers into the program. And, he spoke about a gentleman who got a job, right out of the class, and this gentleman went to our class. A four week roustabout program here in Youngwood, and he had a mechanics background. He also was

Dr. Byron Kohutinterview

Career Guide to Regional Oil and Gas Training ProgramsIntroducing ShaleNET: Entry Level Occupation Training

Dr. Kohut: Well, I am Dr. Byron Kohut. I am the Western Hub Director for Mar-cellus ShaleNET at Westmoreland County Community College. And, I oversee the im-plementation of the Marcellus ShaleNET grant. Stan Richardson: And, what is ShaleNET?Dr. Kohut: ShaleNET is a 4.96 million dollar United States Department of Labor Education and Training Administration community based job training grant, aimed at providing job placement assistance, job awareness, career exploration and training for individuals interested in entry level positions in the natural gas industry. Stan Richardson: And how does the ShaleNET program, how is it being used to assist workers and then Veterans?Dr. Kohut: Well, ShaleNET provides an industry overview into natural gas, speci� cally, Marcellus in Pennsylvania, but also Utica. Any jobs that you can � nd in natural gas, ShaleNET provides the access to that information. Provide an industry overview, realistic job previews of several di� erent � eld operation positions in natural gas. People access our ShaleNET site. � ey learn about, it’s about a two hour education on-line, they register, they go through the industry overview, the realistic job previews; and then they either explore jobs through our partner sites, the Pennsylvania workforce development system, the Ohio workforce development system, Western Virginia and New York. So, each state has a workforce system that they can register for services and jobs, and training. For the veterans we provide cohort classes, so we will put together ShaleNET class just for veterans. In the past we’ve worked with the National Guard mostly. � e Army Reserve has now learned about our program. I attend workshops; I serve on an advisory board for recruiting for the Army Reserve. And, everyone of our classes we require at least 10% of our students to be veterans, and for the most part we average between 4 and 7 veterans for our classes.Stan Richardson: Why such an emphasis on veterans?Dr. Kohut: Well it answers the question of how do we support the veterans, the Department of Labor encourages all grant participants to work with veterans, work with the veterans leadership program, the V.A., and we know through our experience with the industry that the veteran is an ideal candidate for employment in natural gas.

Veterans Opportunity | 19Careers & EducationVeterans Opportunity | 19Careers & EducationVeterans Opportunity | 19Careers and Education

College and Technology and here, and their H.R. and recruiting specialist would present to our audience. You know, how they work with veterans, how they work with the hiring process, and those panels, they do learn from each other. But, I do � nd that those companies they do know each other very well, they participate in almost every job fair, across the region so,Stan Richardson: And, What about service providers, not service providers but veteran organizations, are they aware of what the industry might want from veterans? And, can the industry learn from a VLP for example?Dr. Kohut: I think they’re both learning, my example is that I pretty much attend every veteran’s leadership program, job fair, returning soldiers, hiring soldiers, hiring our heroes event that I can. My partner David Pistner, at Penn College does the same. Everybody that works with ShaleNET has participated in the veterans program. Actually that’s how I started my work with the National Guard was at the yellow ribbons events. And, there was a big yellow ribbon event at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh. And, that’s where I met the Colonel Barrier, Colonel Gray Barrier, he over sees the Western Pennsylvania National Guard. And at the time Major North, which was one of his subordinates, we spent a couple of hours that day just talking about how we can get the soldiers involved. And, that’s how our cohort class grew and that’s how we’ve continued our relationship with them, � nding jobs, putting students in the classes, so we attend every thing veterans we possibly can. Actually this is the � rst week that I have to., I am canceling on � ursday, because of a rig tour for the current students that we have today. But, there is veteran’s leadership program in Altoona on � ursday, and I might send my technician though so, there’s opportunity for her to be there.

may go, that’s how they’re called. And, we have three training providers there to so, their task is to reach out to veterans groups and that would be the Stanley Technical Institute, West Virginia Northern Community College, and Pierpont Community Technical College. Part of their duties as ShaleNET training providers is to reach out to the veterans, place veterans in the program, and help � nd veterans jobs. So, we started with that and then any guidance you have.Stan Richardson: When you look at outreach to veterans do you have a speci� c criteria, for example if someone is a senior, a young person - I read where in North Dakota they are hiring a lot of seniors citizens to work, as roustabouts and other positions like that and I say seniors citizens 55 years old 50-55. And which makes me ancient, so, but if these are people in a population group that is being recruited in North Dakota is this also, something, when you look at a veteran is there like, I know you can’t discriminate in terms of age or anything like that or even sex, but is there certain criteria or certain occupation types, where you…..?Dr. Kohut: Well, I don’t hire anybody, so, to get into the training program you have to pass some basic assessments; drugs, background and a physical. So, a disability…, you know if you can’t walk working on a drilling rig might not work for you, (exactly) so, we have a CDL program, but our four other programs are very general labor, and labor intensive. So, it’s di� cult if you can’t pass the general physical. (So, you actually, when you meet a veteran, you assess their condition, their physical condition and then do they go through a physical before they get into the ShaleNET program?) Did you say veteran? Or anyone? (Veteran or just anyone, anyone, any worker) Yes, Yes, we do a pre-occupational medicine physical. So can you lift 80 pounds, blood pressure, basic family history. We’ve kind of adopted the general pre-occupational testing, because we know when you get a job as a � oor hand, they’re going to put you through a days worth of physical. � at means squatting for twenty minutes, that means picking 80 pounds up continuously for an hour. We know that they do go through some rigorous physical testing. � e veterans we have worked with, they have yearly physicals. � ey have, you know, you have some criteria you have to meet as a soldier, basically on the daily basis. And, when you work with the veterans we do reach out to the majors and the leadership, and when we ask them to put your hands…, put your feelers out

Stan Richardson: What do you think a veteran needs to know to take advantage of the ShaleNET program?Dr. Kohut: You ought to know where the sight is, ShaleNET.org. Talk with their leadership. You know many of the leadership in Pennsylvania, military leadership, know about the ShaleNET program now. We continue to work with the state leadership. My boss and you know our partners, they work at the state level, at the national level, with di� erent… with veterans groups, active and retired veterans. ShaleNET.org, just start looking for natural gas jobs, I think most of the veterans groups that I’ve met are now realizing that those jobs are here. I guess we could look to Texas and Okalahoma and see what their experience with veterans has been, because they’ve been going at it for twenty years down there. Troops2roughnecks, that’s the group, there’s a website troops2roughnecks, and I think that, that Chesapeake site. And that might be the group, where you know that’s a model for veterans leadership or -- veteran’s jobs. ShaleNET spans anybody from all walks of life can enter ShaleNET but, you know just our outreach to the veterans is how we get them involved and they’re learning. Stan Richardson: Now you mentioned West Virginia how would you connect to let’s say Lt. Colonel Milton Berger in West Virginia and what they’re doing down there, how would that work with ShaleNET?Dr. Kohut: Actually, I’ve been doing most of my military contact through Colonel Barrier, with the National Guard, it’s the army National Guard, he’s been a champion of our program since we’ve met. And I’ve reached through him, especially through the Pennsylvania area, but West Virginia we reach out to the workforce development system, the state workforce, West Virginia workforce, I think they

20 | Veterans OpportunityCareers & Education20 | Veterans OpportunityCareers & Education20 | Veterans Opportunity Careers and Education

there and see if anybody wants to be a niche on that program, and we do rely upon them, they provide some physical background on them they, their work out schedule, their physical assessments, so we work closely with them when we’re putting students into the program. Stan Richardson: Do � nd that to be an advantage over having to do it yourself ?Dr. Kohut: O Yeah, Well, the one thing that the students are required to pay for when they get into our class, cause it’s free training, we ask that they provide for the physical, three assessments, the physical, the background check and the drug screen. So, when we work with the National Guard and the Army they provide the testing for us. Stan Richardson: How do you account for psychological issues? Cause, it is a pretty stressful situation, guys and par-ticularly talking military, people are away from home, post deployed troops might want to have like a job as soon as possible, because of family issues and things like that but maybe experiencing like pressures at home, how do you deal with that?Dr. Kohut: I guess as any other human being, you’re sitting in class with people you tend to get to know them, you start to realize what their strengths are and what their weaknesses are and part of our class is to build that readiness and that awareness and to draw it out of them actually. Are they a team player, you know, are they aware of their surroundings, do they have the PTSD? I mean spending forty days with an individual you do get to know them, 30 to 40 days depending on our programs, and you know where a person might be stronger, in what position in the � eld. So, but you know in any class you do, we lose track of people here, some people just disappear, phone numbers change or they get a job. So, I’d like to think that by the end of the class…, we don’t have too many drop outs, you know, one or two and they’ve taken jobs, the people who drop out are taking jobs. But, yeah, I’m no counselor, and but I am a person. So, I do work with them closely. � e instructors are veteran instructors, so they know also how to work with anybody who is having a concerning class. We have a whole sta� of folks that are in the college, all colleges have…, anyone who is providing our training has a sta� on duty that can handle any student related issues. (pause)We always…, we’re going to pursue more grants. � ere is training grants from the Feds, Department of Labor, energy

in West Virginia so we know they’re drilling away. (And bringing in a lot of people from outside the state; where the state wants local people working is that correct?) We all do right, but you know Pennsylvania has seen that for the last four years, the drillers your expert, so we’re not going to get drilling jobs right away. And, but any entry level jobs you just have to � nd your way in and its happening. So, In Pennsylvania it has occurred and its continuing to occur, all students in our class today will � nd jobs in that industry. Stan Richardson: Tell me about the, this phenomena or at least the agenda were states are trying to get and people in these communities, stakeholders are trying to get local people jobs.Dr. Kohut: Well you know as we see in Pennsylvania the expertise comes with the rig, comes with the company, they hire entry level folks so that they can teach them, they can train them on their equipment, on their techniques. So, what we provide is that a ready person alright, we know when they get to a big company that does drilling, we know that they are going to be trained, they don’t want, energy doesn’t want us to train their people on how to drill the hole, they want us to teach them how to stay in a job, how to shop for time on a job, and then yes, slowly replace the Oklahomans and Texans and the people who are from outside of here. � ose people want to go home. � ey want to work in the Gulf and Texas. But, if they don’t have three people within their company that can replace the senior three people, they can’t move on, so… (Does ShaleNET e� ectively build regional and local workforces?) Sure, like I said, its one month at a time. Every time one of our students is promoted within the industry that opens up another door for a local person and it also gives a senior Texan the opportunity to take a job back home or go back to Texas. So, that work, that career path is just beginning here. And those entry people are so important because nobody with the expertise can move on, so the experts are still working in the entry level positions because there is no one in those positions to take, to let them move on and that and that’s very important actually to this entire industry. Because most drilling rigs will only hire one new person at a time, you know safety and leadership comes into concern too, you can’t hire ten people because they won’t know what they’re doing on the rig, so you can only hire one or two new people at a time, that’s a time consuming process, right?. (So, are we done? (yeah) well I think we…..)

starting to do produce, and education. State grants, workforce provides stipends basically for training. But, the curriculum is the most viable piece of this. � ere has not been a curriculum to address entry-level natural gas work until now. Stan Richardson: What about Houston is there a school?Dr. Kohut: We talk with Navarro Community College down there, they do associates degrees, so there’s a lot of, well, there’s not a lot of us I should say that again, but there is only a few associate’s degree programs for petroleum engineering or natural gas operations. What we’ve down here is we’re using ShaleNET to learn how to develop fast track. You know people don’t want to go to college. Fast track workforce programs get them into that , the curriculum has been built, that process is there, but Westmoreland County Community College built an associates degree program. Based on what we’ve learned from ShaleNET and another grant we received from the Trade Adjustment and Assistance, the T-A-A-C-C-C-T grant, TAACCT grant, we’ve developed 19 grant certi� cates that will stack on, all the way up to a bachelors. Stan Richardson: Just tell me what your challenges in West Virginia in expanding the program there.Dr. Kohut: Just getting it up and running. We haven’t run a class in West Virginia yet but, our partners are good at running programs. Pierpont Community Technical College has a gas program that they’ve been operating for a couple years now. We’ve done the training for the training providers. We’ve provided enough assistance that we think they need and we believe that they’ve scheduled some classed to run. And, they’re working closely with their state workforce system to register the students. � e Mac system is the West Virginia workforce system. And, so, we work closely with them. We’ve done some training. We do “go to” meetings and training sessions for workforce professionals at the state level. So they know what ShaleNET is, how it’s used. I’ve conducted onsite training in West Virginia. (How did that impact the workforce in West Virginia? Having ShaleNET) We hope positively, (what do they have in...) A good history of coal and energy, so they know what energy is about. And there are hard workers anywhere, we just have to show them where the jobs are and the companies that are working there. You know we visited some rig sites

Northridge Plaza II115 VIP Drive, Suite 210Wexford, PA 15090-7906(724) 933-7306

Pennsylvania: The Keystone to America’s Energy Future | www.pioga.org

The members of the Pennsylvania Independent

Oil & Gas Association raise a rig to your leadership, service and dedication to the

United States of America.

Veterans are in high demand in our industry.

Join us in the opportunity to secure

our country’s energy future.

22 | Veterans Opportunity Vets Helping VetsVets Helping Vets

“We are a virtual-based resource that connects military veterans and their families with employment, education and healthcare services,” says Vitale. “Additionally, we bring a great deal of attention to the needs of veterans as we advocate for them and their needs.”

According to Vitale, the impetus for the website came from the military’s top brass.

“Admiral Mike Mullen – the 17th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Sta� – visited Morgantown during his 2010 ‘Town Hall’ tour,” he says. “� e admiral challenged the community to develop a grassroots e� ort to support returning veterans and their families, particularly in the areas of education, employment and healthcare.”

“Following the historical visit, my three partners -- Delbert Royce, a managing executive at Blaine Turner Advertising, Mark Carter, a vice president at hydraulic equipment manufacturer Swanson Industries, and Ken Busz, president of the Morgantown Area Chamber of Commerce -- visited the Pentagon at the invitation of the Joint Sta� and began to develop the plan for what would become VetConnection.”

In addition to dozens of education and healthcare connections, the website provides 180 links to employment resources, ranging from direct job o� ers to resumé-writing tips. Among the employment o� ers, the oil and gas industry is particularly well-represented.

“Oil and gas needs aggressive, hardworking and, particularly, young people. It’s a great match for returning veterans,” says Vitale

One reason is that younger veterans are highly motivated to seek employment opportunities after separation from the military. “� e quicker they get into the workforce, the more successful they tend to be,” says Vitale. “With jobs, they’re much more likely to assimilate into civilian life and steer clear of alcohol and drug abuse. Jobs mean community. A job provides purpose and keeps vets from becoming too isolated and introspective.”

“Only 42% of eligible veterans use VA bene� ts,” claims Vitale. “When veterans separate, they want to be done with the military even though there are bene� ts to utilize.”

Many veterans prefer the local community for jobs and support.

“� ey want to really disconnect from the government,” says Vitale.

� at makes civilian organizations like Veterans Opportunity Network and VetConnection.org so important.

“Vets are more open to seeking our services,” explains Vitale.

Response to the VetConnection website, in fact, has been quite positive, according to the bank executive. “Veterans and their families are very appreciative and value the support.”

Still, the site’s greatest success might be its ability to ignite the community’s passion and purpose to help veterans integrate into civilian life.

Summing up, Vitale says: “We’ve brought a sense of awareness, an urgency to ‘do something big’ and give back to those that have themselves given so much. Our Morgantown community, West Virginia University and our partners have all answered the call to make life better for military veterans and their families.”

Profi le : Connections Count SaysVet-Turned-BankerFrank Vitale

Brian Thomas, the bank’s president and CEO Frank Vitale, Vet-Turned-Banker

FRANK VITALESeven years ago, two century-old West Virginia � nancial institutions joined forces to become Clear Mountain Bank. � e bene� t of combined force strength is something Frank Vitale, Clear Mountain’s senior vice president, knows from his 17-year military career. Vitale, together with other Morgantown area business luminaries, recently established VetConnection.org, a website serving West Virginia veterans.

Veterans Opportunity | 23Vets Helping VetsVets Helping Vets

DAVE GREENAWALTRetired Marine Veteran Dave Greenawalt with 20+ years of service as a mechanic, service manager, training instructor and recruiter, now a employment special-ist with Cleveland Brothers Equipment company. “

Cleveland Brothers has known that for it to be successful, its customers must succeed.

“Our People Make the Di� erence”

BRAD ZIGLERBrad Zigler brings his experience as the head of marketing, research and education for a derivatives exchange and an investment fund manager to the � eld of � nancial journalism. Brad’s feature articles have appeared in numerous � nancial publications over the past twenty years. In addition to his regular columns and articles, Brad’s also been named an editor and � nancial correspondent for the European Press Network and National Public Radio.

CURTIS L. COYDeputy Under Secretary for Economic Opportunity

Mr. Curtis (Curt) L. Coy is the Deputy Under Secretary for Economic Oppor-tunity, Veterans Bene� ts Administration, Department of Veterans A� airs. In this role, Mr. Coy oversees all education ben-e� ts (GI Bill), loan guaranty service (VA loans), and vocational rehabilitation and employment services for America’s veter-ans. Mr. Coy was a career Naval O� cer retiring in 1994 from the Navy as a Com-mander in the Supply Corps. Mr. Coy be-gan his military career as an enlisted service member in the Air Force and a member of the 1975 graduating class at the U.S. Na-val Academy. Mr. Coy attended the Naval Postgraduate School where he attained his masters´ degrees in Acquisition/Con-tracting Management and Materiel Lo-gistics Support, has served as an Adjunct Associate Professor for the University of Maryland University College (UMUC) Graduate School of Management and Technology and also been a guest lecturer at the Naval Postgraduate School.

of our broadcast, and bring together our print and digital network to best serve the economic interest of “new millennium Veterans.

Deborah Cottrell is a Veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps; she served as a Primary Marksmanship Instructor for the M-16 and 9MM weapons. Her military career included stations in Camp Pendleton, CA; Okinawa, Japan; Fort Lee, VA; and Paris Island, SC. After her tour-of-duty, she served with the Pennsylvania National Guard in the Military Police.

Her motivation is helping Veterans through the transition from active duty to civilian life, job placement programs, and by helping to our homeless Veterans. � rough her volunteer work with local and National veterans organizations. Moreover, her commitment to educating the public on Veteran Awareness includes being a supporter and advocate of the VA healthcare system. Needless to say we are excited to have Marine Veteran, Deborah Cottrell as a Veterans Opportunity Network and Magazine correspondent.

DEBORAH COTTRELLMarine Veteran

When Veterans Opportunity Network (VON) � rst launched as a radio show in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, Marine Veteran, Deborah Cottrell, was asked to join our broadcast team because of a unique video demo tape she submitted that revealed a natural talent for communicating using the visual media. What VON producers recognized, immediately, was that there was also more to Ms. Cottrell’s visual presentation – there was actually a very disciplined worker and journalist under the surface of her on camera presence.

Now that the Veterans Opportunity Network has transitioned from radio with a new regionally distributed television show, “Veterans Opportunity Magazine – TV, Veteran Deborah Cottrell is an integral part of this successful move to broadcast television programming. According to Executive Producer, Stanley J. Richardson, “Deborah represents the changing face of the Military Veteran population and often o� ers a fresh perspective on the content

to be continued on page 33

24 | Veterans Opportunity Vets Helping VetsVets Helping Vets

Veterans Opportunity Magazine begins its tour of regions of the country where the development and commercialization of unconventional Oil and Gas sources is a major factor in regional economic

development, which include opportunities for the region’s Veteran population to take advantage of career, employment and business opportunities.

Leading the way in encouraging Veterans to pursue economic opportunities are Veterans like Frank Vitale, Senior Vice President of Clear Mountain Bank, a North Central West Virginia regional community bank. � e bank has its headquarter in Morgantown West Virginia, which is very near South Western Pennsylvania, a major geographic location where Natural Gas reserves are being extracted.

More importantly, what has drawn us to Frank Vitale is his commitment to engage the private and public sector in delivering economic improvement opportunities for Veterans who live within the communities served by Clear Mountain Bank.

So when Veteran Opportunity Magazine was invited to attend an annual “Hire a Hero” event in Morgantown West Virginia, it was no surprise that Frank Vitale was viewed as the key promoter and person spearheading the event

What really impressed us and gave us insight into why Frank has been successful in mobilizing the Public and Private sector to be supportive of the regions Veterans is that he understands the value of “community” – a word that that he uses within the context of all that he is committed to and supports with his time and energy on behalf of Veterans.

Everyone needs a partner and an ally - which is akin to mentoring – a key factor in Veterans successfully navigating upward mobility, even a successful private banking executive like Frank Vitale. In our coverage of the event it was clear that Frank is not alone in his e� orts on behalf of the region’s Veteran community. Clear Mountain Bank President and CEO, Brian � omas, is a reliable ally in Frank’s outreach and community service activities.

His opening statement at the “Hire a Hero” event held in Morgantown in November 2012, says it all:

“We all have someone to answer to. We all have someone, more importantly, that we need their support in order to do what we do. And the person that I need support from, and he lends it regularly, and that’s our President of Clear Mountain Bank - our President, and CEO - and I’m also proud to call him our leader- and that’s Brian � omas. � ank you. � ank you, Brian.”

Soon afterward, Frank made a point of introducing me to his mentor and underscored his earlier comments, “… we wouldn’t be able to do these sort of events.”

And then typically of Frank’s ability to connect people with shared interests (after all he is a founding member of the regionally focused website, VetConnection.org) Brian and I (Veterans Opportunity Magazine) were encouraged to explore the signi� cance of the Bank’s role in being supportive of Veterans gaining the information and access that they need to derive bene� t from public / private partnerships.

What follows is an edited transcript of my interview with Clear Mountain Bank President and CEO, Brian � omas:

� omas: I think Frank is the person who deserves the credit for really creating awareness for our bank. Frank served in the military and is very involved and really passionate about helping veterans. After he talked to me, we thought, that as a bank this is a perfect opportunity - it’s exactly who we are. We are a community-bank and we have a lot of veterans in the community that we can support - we can help. � ey’ve done a lot to help us, not only by � ghting and serving our nation, but they’re also our customers. So, we need to give back too - and that’s essentially how we got involved, is through Frank - but it really made a lot of sense for our company.

Richardson: Where’s the opportunity in this market right now?

� omas: Well, I think that one of the opportunities is the Marcellus Shale. Of course, as we’re talking right now, the price for natural gas has fallen substantially. So I think there’s a reduced amount of drilling activity. But America needs energy. � e prices will probably go back up. As drilling starts, there are a lot of di� erent things that drilling companies need - � ey need people who can operate heavy equipment to excavate sites, build

An Interview with“the Person Who Regularly Supports Frank Vitale”:Clear Mountain Bank President and CEO, Brian Thomas

Veterans Opportunity | 25Vets Helping VetsVets Helping Vets

roads. So there’s room for people who are excavators. Maybe they have an excavating company. � ere’s room for people who own trucks or maybe a small trucking company because they have to haul gravel - stone to help build those roads. A lot of farms are involved locally, so a small company that builds fences - to fence in sites - there’s opportunity there. I know one local company, the gentleman is a diesel mechanic, and he started - just himself - going out and servicing diesel engines on these sites. Generators - they have a lot of diesel equipment. He’s now grown his business into one that employs about � fteen people doing that. So, if someone had experience, in say the Army, or the Navy, or one of the many armed services working on diesel engines, or mechanics, I think there’s a lot of opportunity for them to start their own business - to be of some service.

Technology is also a big area. Not only in Morgantown - because you have the university - but as you go down to Fairmont (WV), you have the high tech consortium. So if someone had skills in software programing or hardware - lots of opportunities there. I think there’re many opportunities in government contracting, especially locally. � ere’s a lot of government agencies here. We have the National Energy Technology Lab, we have FBI centers in Bridgeport, NASA. � ere are a lot of Federal agencies here that need small businesses to provide certain services. Anywhere from just simple cleaning, to planning events, to servicing hardware. Maybe it’s computers, things like that. We have a couple of businesses locally where people have done just what we’re talking about. � ey’ve started small, got a government contract, and then grew their business from there. Being a veteran would a� ord them some additional opportunities in that contracting � eld. Again, I think that government contracting could provide opportunities because veterans have skills they can develop, put them to work, and then start a business and get out in the market and seek contracts. And there are many organizations locally, maybe not a lot, but there’s some accessible small business development organizations locally that will help people learn how to get involved with government contracting - how to navigate all the di� erent things they have to do in order to get from start to obtaining an actual contract. I’m sure there are people locally who would help mentor those folks as well.

Richardson: Oh, I’m sure of it. Like Frank and Clear Mountain Bank.

Richardson: So what’s your outlook on the small business opportunities for veterans?

� omas: Locally, here in the Morgantown area, I think there are a lot of opportunities for veterans. � is is a growing area. It’s probably one of the fastest growing areas in West Virginia. Small businesses are what we focus on because we are a community-bank. We’re also one of the smaller banks, so the kind-of businesses that we help are the small businesses, the one person, two employee, and � fty employee type enterprises. So small businesses are really the drivers of job creation. � ey drive job growth. So if we can help a veteran start a new business or grow a business area, we think that’s a win-win for each job - helps a veteran and so many spino� s come from that too.

Richardson: Absolutely.

� omas: So if they create one job, it probably creates three or four other jobs in the community as spino� s. So we really like having that opportunity to work with veterans and all kinds of business owners to try to grow their business.

Richardson: Do you have partnerships with the SBA, smaller funding corps that you mentor, that you do business with?

� omas: Yeah, we have a lot of partners that we work with. We work with the Small Business Administration. We work with the USDA. � e USDA has several initiatives for rural small business people that veterans can obviously take advantage of. We work with people that are partners of the SBA, capital corporations - those organizations that help inject some capital into a small business that may not have enough cash of their own to get to where they need to be. � ere’s just a whole plethora of places that people can get help, veterans can get help � nancing their business. I think the important step is just for them to take the � rst step and come talk to us - or really most banks in town are all familiar with the programs, but veterans just need to come talk to us. I mean we don’t require a fancy business plan, they just need to have an idea, come talk to us and we can help point them in the right direction. � e university locally has a small business development center that will sit down with someone and help them take an idea, put it on paper, create a plan, teach them how to go to a bank, and where to raise capital. West Virginia has a development o� ce that will help small business, veterans…

Richardson: With small business development?

� omas: Absolutely. So there are dozens of organizations that will help, but one of the problems that I think I see is there are so many that may not work with each other. Veterans need to have somebody they can go to, who say, “Here are the programs that are available to you” so that they can pick and choose or maybe combine them. So I think we need to do a better job as a banking industry maybe, or economic development groups, getting all that information in one place so we can hand it somebody and say, “Here’s all your options.” For example, Frank and the bank, or other people we know that have been successful in getting a government contract. We would love to help put someone trying to do that together with one of our customers who’s doing it successfully and say, “Here, can you guys talk? Teach the person trying to get into it, what to do.”

26 | Veterans Opportunity Vets Helping VetsVets Helping Vets

There’s no doubt that young veterans need education assistance and job training after separation. � e unemployment statistics alone make a compelling case.

� e average unemployment rate reported in 2011 for vets aged 18-34 was 14.5%, fully 2.6% higher than the rate for non-vets of the same age.

While the unemployment rate for older veterans is notably lower, it still runs ahead of that for those who haven’t served in the miltary. Many vets in the 35-60 age bracket, in fact, have been stymied by today’s changing career market.

Luckily, the nation hasn’t lost sight of the older vets’ plight. In November 2011, President Obama signed the Vow to Hire Heroes Act which provides, among other things, resources speci� cally targeted to older vets. � e Veterans Retraining Assistance Program (VRAP), for example, grants up to 12 months of training bene� ts for unemployed veterans to transition into more than 200 high-demand career � elds, including:

Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers•

Petroleum Pump System Operators, Re� nery Operators • and Gaugers

Welders, Cutters, Solderers and Brazers•

Training is available for up to 99,000 vets aged 35-60 who are not otherwise eligible for VA education bene� ts. Under VRAP, participants receive education assistance equal to the current full-time Montgomery GI Bill - Active Duty rate of $1,564 per month.

VRAP is well on its way to ful� lling its mission. Since May 2012, nearly 83,000 veterans have applied to participate in

the program and more than 68,000 have been approved for training.

“� e surge of veterans applying for VRAP demonstrates the critical need for this program in providing unemployed veterans the opportunity to � nd employment in high-demand � elds,” says Secretary of Veterans A� airs Eric Shinseki.

VRAP goes a step beyond education and training to provide program graduates personalized career assistance. Veterans completing their education or training program are eligible to leverage specially designed Department of Labor programs.

VA Deputy Under Secretary for Economic Opportunity Curtis Coy explained that VRAP’s reaches out to a segment of the veteran population that may not have regular interaction with VA and consequently may not know about potential bene� ts and opportunities.

“Anyone who knows an unemployed veteran can help us get unemployed veterans the job retraining they need through VRAP,” says Coy. “We’re counting on the continued help of Veterans Service Organizations and the Department of Labor, as well as the American public, to reach as many eligible veterans as possible.”

Potential applicants can learn more about VRAP and apply online at http://bene� ts.va.gov/vow/education.htm or call VA toll-free at 1-888-GI-BILL-1. Information about the Department of Labor’s programs for veterans is available at www.dol.gov/vets. Veterans can also visit the nearly 3,000 One-Stop Career Centers across the nation, listed at www.servicelocator.org.

VRAP, however, is time-limited and will terminate by March 2014, so interested veterans should submit applications as soon as possible.

THE CLOCK IS TICKINGBrad Zigler, a contributing writer / editor to the Veterans Opportunity Magazine is a Vietnam, Air Force Disabled Veteran

For Older Vets’ Job Training Assistance

Veterans Opportunity | 27Vets Helping VetsVets Helping Vets

Veterans Helping Veterans:

Mr. Curtis (Curt) L. Coy is the Deputy Under Secretary for Economic Opportunity, Veterans Bene� ts Administration, Department of Veterans A� airs. In this role, Mr. Coy oversees

all education bene� ts (GI Bill), loan guaranty service (VA loans), and vocational rehabilitation and employment services for America’s veterans. Mr. Coy was a career Naval O� cer retiring in 1994 from the Navy as a Commander in the Supply Corps. Mr. Coy began his military career as an enlisted service member in the Air Force and a member of the 1975 graduating class at the U.S. Naval Academy. Mr. Coy attended the Naval Postgraduate School where he attained his masters´ degrees in Acquisition/Contracting Management and Materiel Logistics Support, has served as an Adjunct Associate Professor for the University of Maryland University College (UMUC) Graduate School of Management and Technology and also been a guest lecturer at the Naval Postgraduate School.

Mr. Curtis Coy

While much focus has been devoted to education and training for our younger Veterans, we have not lost sight that we have another group who has served our

Nation with distinction. Many of this group may already have some education and training, they need additional assistance to prepare them for a changing career market.

In November 2011, the President signed into law the Vow to Hire Heroes Act. � is Act does many things to prepare Veterans for careers after military service, including one provision that speci� cally targets older veterans. � e Veterans Retraining Assistance Program, better known as VRAP, is designed to give up to 12 months of bene� ts for unemployed Veterans to jump-start into a new, high-demand career � eld. � is provision speci� cally applies to unemployed Veterans who are between 35 and 60, and not eligible for any other education bene� t. � e law limits the bene� t to 99,000 Veterans. Since May, 2012, over 75,000 Veterans have applied and over 62,000 have already been approved to participate in the program.

VRAP doesn’t end with the provision of education; it goes one step further by assisting Veterans � nd a career. When a Veteran completes the education or training program, they are then eligible to leverage the Department of Labor programs designed for Veterans.

Help get the word out - make it a point to tell someone who may know an unemployed Veteran now, as the program will end by March 2014.

For information on the Veterans Retraining Assistance Program, visit:http://bene� ts.va.gov/vow/education.htm or call 1-888-GI-BILL-1.

Rosye Cloud is the Director of Policy for Veterans, Wounded Warriors and Military Families.

Building Careers for Our Older VeteransCourtesy of the White House BlogPosted by Rosye Cloud on November 16, 2012 at 06:41 PM EST

VIEW VIDEOHERE

28 | Veterans Opportunity

Select Energy Services

In 2007 Select Energy began operations in Gaines-

ville, Texas. Today, Select Ener-gy Services is headquartered in Houston, Texas, and has grown to become a company with over $1 billion in revenues and more

than 5,000 employees. we have done just that. It’s simple to us. According to the company, “Every day is an opportunity for us to work hard, prove our experience, put safety � rst and maintain 100% client focus. After all, we believe that is the only way to operate successfully in the oil and gas in-dustry.”

Select Energy provides services to more than 400 customers in every major shale play throughout the United States and Canada. � e company reports that it”…delivers innovative and e� cient end-to-end water solutions and well site services to oil� eld operators through two primary divisions WaterOne™ and WellOne™.”

Select Energy Services, takes pride in de-claring that its most valuable assets are the more than 5,000 hard working employ-ees -- that they refer to as their team. � e company recruits high caliber talent and challenges team members to continue to grow in parallel with the organization. Ac-cording to Select Energy Services, theirs is “…a culture where people care about the communities where we work and care

Pennsylvania Independent Oil and Gas Association (PIOGA)

Regional Oil and GasIndustry Advocate

� e Pennsylvania Independent Oil and Gas Association of Pennsylvania (PIOGA) is the principal nonpro� t trade associa-tion representing Pennsylvania’s indepen-dent oil and natural gas producers, market-ers, service companies and related businesses. PIOGA member companies drill and oper-ate the majority of the state’s crude oil and natural gas, including the Marcellus Shale.

PIOGA represents over 950 members, in-cluding oil and natural gas producers, drill-ing contractors, service companies, manu-facturers, distributors, professional � rms and consultants, royalty owners, and other individuals with an interest in Pennsylva-nia’s oil and gas industry.

For more information:PIOGA 115 VIP Drive, Suite 210,Northridge O� ce Plaza IIWexford, PA 15090-7906P: (724) 933-7306 F: (724) 933-7310

Independent Oil and Gas Association West Virginia (IOGAWV)

Regional Oil and Gas Industry AdvocateIOGA of West Virginia, Inc.

300 Summers Street, Suite 820Charleston, WV 25301Voice: (304) 344-9867 Fax: (304) 344-5836E-mail: info@iogawv.com

about each other. We are fast paced, in-novative and strive to provide exceptional customer service—24/7.”

For more information contact:Select Energy Services1820 N I-35Gainesville, TX 76240Phone: 940.668.1818www.selectenergyservices.com

DIRECT

ORY Organizations & Associations

Business Enterprises

Veteran Owned

Government

NOVA Safety and Health Consulting, Inc.

Oil & Gas Independent Service Provider

For More Information Contact:Debbie Chiz1192 Townline RoadNorth East, PA 16428814.882.4822 (P)814.725.5556

Kinetic Clean Energy, LLC.

Oil and Gas Market Maker714 Venture Drive, Suite 169Morgantown, WV 26508www.keneticcleanenergy.com

Veterans Opportunity | 29

Asayo Creative, Inc.

Asayo Creative is a bold, innovative marketing and

design agency located in Mor-gantown, West Virginia. Asayo was founded with one goal in mind — World Domination.

Since conquering the planet is still a few years away, we have instead

focused on assembling a group of the area’s most talented individuals in marketing and design.

Combining experience, motivation, pas-sion for design and an in-depth knowledge of web, print, mobile and audio/visual tra-dition and trends, Asayo Creative will help you develop A Style All Your Own.

Media and Design Services939 Canyon RoadMorgantown, WV 26508O� ce: 304.413.0100Fax: 866.882.4315contact@asayocreative.com

Morgantown Area Chamber of Commerce

Regional BusinessCommunity Development

� e Morgantown Area Cham-ber of Commerce (MACOC) is a non-pro� t, member based organization with over 400

members throughout the region

Byron Kohut, Ed.D.Director, ShaleNET Western RegionWestmoreland County Community CollegeYoungwood, PA 15697-1898724-696-4593

Western Hub Technician: Elaine FisherRegions covered by county: Huntington, Fulton, Bedford, Somerset, Cambria, Blair, Fayette, Westmoreland, Indiana, Arm-strong, Butler, Greene, Washington, Bea-ver, Lawrence, Mercer, Clarion, Venango, Crawford, Erie, Warren, Forest, Allegheny, and select counties in New York, Ohio, and West Virginia

David PistnerDirector, ShaleNET Eastern RegionPennsylvania College of Technology – DIF 29One College AvenueWilliamsport, PA 17701570-327-4775

Eastern Hub Technician: Wanda EngelRegions covered by county: Mi� in, Cen-tre, Clinton, Lycoming, Columbia, Mon-tour, Northumberland, Union, Snyder, Wyoming, Susquehanna, Bradford, Tioga, Sullivan Cameron, Clear� eld, Je� erson, Elk, McKean, and Potter

GJK Art

GJK o� ers the best in � gurative art paint-ing with distinctive works that re� ect American diverse culture and heritage. Within the pages of Veterans Opportunity Magazine, GJK Art showcases America at work – a special collection of paintings depicting US Veterans pursuing their op-portunities.

For more information: Log on to Facebook

and state. Founded in 1920, the Chamber has been active in the progression of Mor-gantown and serves as the voice of busi-ness to local, state and federal government agencies.

Dedicated to the Business, Community and Vision of the Morgantown area, the Chamber o� ers a wealth of services and knowledge bene� ts to our members to help them succeed and prosper. � rough networking opportunities in our Business After Hours and variety of other meetings and events, from educational seminars and member-to-member referrals, the Cham-ber gives you the resources and tools that you need to succeed. We are focused on the future of the Morgantown area and creat-ing a business atmosphere that bene� ts the development, growth, and expansion of businesses in our area.

For more information:Morgantown AreaChamber of Commerce1029 University Avenue, Suite 101Morgantown, WV, 26505Phone: 304.292.3311 Fax: 304.296.6619E-Mail: info@morgantownchamber.org

ShaleNET

ShaleNET is a 4.96 million dollar United States Department of Labor Education and Training Administration community based job training grant, aimed at provid-ing job placement assistance, job awareness, career exploration and training for indi-viduals interested in entry level positions in the natural gas industry.

30 | Veterans Opportunity

American Oil & Gas Reporter (AOGR)

For Veteran Entrepreneurs seeking to start run or grow

a business within the Oil and Gas sector, the American Oil & Gas Reporter (AOGR) is a must read. AOGR dedicated oil

and gas publication devoted to the exploration, drilling, and production. � e magazine is also an independent industrial trade publication that serves as the O� cial Publication for 28 associations of indepen-dent oil and gas producers and operators.

Each AOGR issue provides valuable in-sight into the business of oil and gas, with news from association executives and com-mittees, views from Wall Street analysts, and � eld success stories from industry peers keeping readers in the know. From chief executives to operations managers and � eld technicians, AOGR delivers the business, � nancial and technical information readers need to succeed.

� e American Oil & Gas ReporterP.O. Box 343Derby, Kansas 67037-0343

Phone: 316-788-6271Fax: 316-788-7568Toll Free: 800-847-8301

ClearMountain Bank

Cleveland Brothers Equipment: Heavy Equipment

On Jan. 1 1948, Cleve-land Brothers was formed. In 1965, Roy stayed at Cleve-land Brothers while Bob moved to New York to pursue other dealer opportunities. Bob and Roy’s father, C.W. “Dad” Cleveland, was hired as the pur-chasing agent for the company. Roy’s son, Jay, began working at his father’s company in 1961. In 1963, Bill Kirchho� married Jean Cleveland, Roy’s Daughter.

In 1988, Jay Cleveland Jr. joined the com-pany and is currently president/chief ex-ecutive o� cer. Tom Kirchho� joined the company in 1994 and is currently the ex-ecutive vice president and chief operating o� cer of the company. As Jay and Bill’s sons take the same path, Cleveland Broth-ers remains a family oriented business. Meeting the needs of its customers has al-ways been Cleveland Brothers’ focal point.

On October 10, 2005 Cleveland Brothers acquired Beckwith Machinery Company. In addition Cleveland Brothers also ac-quired One Call Rentals, a network of Cat Rental Stores in Western Pennsylvania and Northern West Virginia. One Call Rentals handles Caterpillar compact construction equipment and allied equipment such as air compressors and aerial lifts.

� e transition allowed the Cleveland Brothers family of companies to serve 59 Pennsylvania counties in an area that stretches from the Northeast corner of the state throughout all of Central and West-ern Pennsylvania. Included in this new ter-ritory are 17 counties in Northern West Virginia and 2 in Western Maryland.

Every action the company takes, every de-cision it makes, is evaluated in terms of the

September 2012: Clear Mountain Bank, Bruceton Mills, West Virginia is rated as a Superior 5-Star bank according to BAU-ERFINANCIAL, Inc., the nation’s lead-ing bank rating and research � rm. � is rating indicates that Clear Mountain Bank is one of the strongest banks in the nation. A recent press release indicates that Clear Mountain Bank has earned this highest rating for the latest 36 consecutive quarters. Moreover, to accomplish this feat, Clear Mountain Bank excels in areas of capital, asset quality, pro� tability and much more.

As noted by, Karen L. Dorway, president of the rating � rm, “Consumers and busi-nesses alike have come to depend on Bau-er’s 5-Star rating system as they navigate through their banking choices,” comments “� ey know to look for the 5-Star logo to ensure that the trust they have in their bank is well-placed. Under the leadership of Mr. Brian � omas, president and CEO, the dedicated team at Clear Mountain Bank has earned that trust and respect.”

Clear Mountain Bank is a locally-owned and managed community bank serving Monongalia, Preston and Garrett counties.

BAUERFINANCIAL, Inc., Coral Gables, Florida, the nation’s leading independent bank and credit union rating and research � rm, has been reporting on and analyz-ing the performance of U.S. banks and credit unions since 1983. No institution pays BauerFinancial to rate it, nor can any choose to be excluded. Consumers may obtain free star-ratings by visiting www.bauer� nancial.com.

PO Box 205Bruceton Mills, WV 26525

Phone: 304-379-2265Email: support@clearmountainbank.com

Veterans Opportunity | 31

impact on its customers and how they will pro� t. From the very beginning, Cleveland Brothers has known that for it to be suc-cessful, its customers must succeed. � is philosophy has guided the company for over � fty years and placing the customer � rst will continue to be our focus.

“Our People Make the Di� erence”

For Employment Contact:Dave Greenawalt, Recruiter4565 William Penn Hwy, Murrysville, PA 15668 (866) 551-4602

VetConnections.org

erans make it easier on veterans to � nd the services and programs that are available to them. Consequently, Vet Connection came out of that. According Chamber President, Ken Busz, “It has as its root a website that has many of the programs we can locate that veterans and families can take advan-tage of to help them...if nothing else - it has raised the conscious level of people in this community to the plight of veterans that they (may not) realize just what a veteran’s up against we they come back from active service and that’s what Vet Connections is designed to do. Help them get the help and opportunities available to them that they might not know about otherwise.”

Launched by the Morgantown, West Vir-ginia Chamber of Commerce, President Ken Busz explained in a recent interview with Veterans Opportunity Magazine, that the web based nonpro� t began with a visit of then Chairman of the Joint Chief of Sta� almost 3 years ago, to Morgantown. “He wanted to see how returning veterans were being integrated back into the community in regards to education, healthcare, and em-ployment.” Before the former Chairman left town, a core group of Chamber mem-bers answered the Admiral’s call to action and four key members lead the way. Serv-ing as the organization’s founders, along-side Chamber President, Mr. Busz - Frank Vitale, a Gulf War era veteran and Senior Vice President with Clear Mountain Bank, Mark Carter, Chamber Board Member,

and Vice President of Business Develop-ment for Swanson Industries and Del-bert Royce, Vice-President of and Partner in Blaine Turner Advertising teamed to help vet-

"Helping Veterans Attain Personal and Economic Success"

Are you a 35 to 60 year-old unemployed Veteran looking for a new career?

Veterans Retraining Assistance Program(VRAP)

Provides eligible Veterans with education

Now accepting applications

For more information visit

Veterans Opportunity | 33Vets Helping VetsVets Helping Vets

PublisherJohnson Media Tech, Inc. (SDVOB, Wounded Warrior Firm)

Executive TeamMelvin L. Johnson, President (U.S. Army Vet)Stanley J. Richardson, Executive / Managing EditorJoyce A. Johnson, Business AdministrationNaomi Moye, Business Development Consultant

Creative George J. Kramer, Art Director/Associate EditorTudor Maier, VOM Design/LayoutAsayo Creative, VOM Logo & Ad DesignsPhoto credits Magazine Cover adapted from photo courtesy ofHart EnergyEntrepreneur Roundtable Discussion Oil and Gas pipeline photo courtesy of Hart Energy

EditorialSue Marquette Poremba, scporemba@verizon.netDeborah R. Huso, writer@drhuso.comLin Grensing-Pophal, lin@lingrensingpophal.com

Brad Ziegler, writer/contributing editor (U.S. Air Force Vet)Carol Hasegawa, Education/Career Content AdvisorDeborah Cottrell, VON/VOM Correspondent (U.S. Marine Vet)C.Richard Gillcrese, Audio/VideoTalisa Morton, TranscriberNneka Martin, Transcriber Mable Morton, Transcriber

Advertising SalesVeterans Opportunity Network, Media Sales

MAJORRICHARD “BRETT” SIMPSON Former Army Major Richard “Brett” Simpson is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York with a Bachelor of Science De-gree in Systems Engineering.

During his 12 years of active Military Service, that included a successful Com-mand overseas, Mr. Simpson was hand selected to serve as a Board Recorder for the Department of the Army Secre-tariat for Officer Promotions, Schooling, Command Selections Lists, and Special Selection Boards in Alexandria, Virgin-ia. Mr. Simpson was then assigned to the Warrior Transition Unit in Alexandria where he � nished his Honorable Service and career as a U.S. Army Major.

As a resident of Morgantown, West Vir-ginia, Brett has used his vast experience in working with transitioning soldiers at all levels. He also built a career around pro-viding this expertise to military a� liated and civilian care providers that serve the interest of Veterans, transitioning military personnel, their families and their com-munity stakeholders. Brett Simpson has proven to be a valuable asset to his commu-nity. His “down‐to‐earth” mindedness, cre-ative thinking and positive attitude have served him well as a civilian. Moreover, his professional military career as well as his working knowledge of all aspects of the transitioning soldiers’ experience from a regimented Military system to civilian life, have made him a “go-to” person in the Morgantown area for “OUR HEROES” who are seeking economic improvement opportunities within a growing community of “Veteran Opportunity Providers.”

Vets Helping Vets