Texas Veterans Summit Focuses on Serving Veterans Through Coordination and Collaboration

Warrior Gateway‘s Serena Hayden and Nathalia Magri attended the Texas Veterans Commission 14th Annual Veterans Summit this week in Austin, Texas.  The summit focused on serving veterans through coordination and collaboration, and brought more than 600 providers of veteran services and 80 exhibitors under one roof.

Warrior Gateway hosted an exhibit table, and participated in several of the breakout sessions featured during the summit.

“With approximately 1.8 million veterans across Texas, it’s vital that all organizations work together to address the unique needs of the military community,” Serena said.  ”The Veterans Summit provided an incredible platform for building partnerships and learning how to best impact the men and women who serve our country.”

In closing, Col. David W. Sutherland, Special Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff – Warrior and Family Support, spoke about the resiliency, strength and courage of the military community.  Specifically, focusing on the “Sea of Goodwill” and the importance of partnerships.

Serena, who led Sutherland’s public affairs team while deployed to Divala Province, Iraq, from October 2006 through December 2007, was highlighted during the speech as the colonel highlighted the strength of the military community through the Army’s Warrior Ethos – “I will always place the mission first.  I will never except defeat.  I will never quit.  I will never leave a fallen comrade.”

“I am grateful to the Texas Veterans Commission for bringing all of these military-focused organizations together,” Serena continued.  ”Warrior Gateway is eager and looking forward to working with the many organizations we had the opportunity to learn about.”

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Warrior Gateway Heading to Texas for the “14th Annual Veterans Summit”

Two members of the Warrior Gateway team will be attending the “14th Annual Veterans Summit” at the Crown Plaza, Austin, Texas January 31st-February 1st.  The Summit will feature various breakout sessions for attendees to attend; topics include: veteran-owned businesses and property tax exemptions, housing claims, mental health, grants, and much more.  There is no cost to attend the Summit, but attendees must register online to attend.  Go to www.tvc.state.tx.us and click the “Submit Registration” link.

Focused on serving veterans through coordination and collaboration, the annual summit is put on by the Texas Veterans Commission, whose mission is to advocate for and provide superior service for veterans in the areas of claims assistance, employment services, educaiton benefits and grant funding that will significantly improve the quality of life of Texas Veterans and their families.

Connect with us!

If you are attending the Summit, stop by the Warrior Gateway table and say hello!  Meet members of our team, and learn more about our mision to support the military community and their families.

Engage with us on Social Media

Follow the Warrior Gateway Twitter and Facebook accounts for Summit updates and photos.

Drupal Engineer

Every day we use the power of other people’s opinions, insights and experiences to make decisions.  The same way we look to Yelp to help us find where to go to dinner, Rotten Tomatoes to help us decide what movie to see or Trip Advisor on where to vacation and what hotel to stay in.   So why don’t our veterans have those same tools available to them when decided on where to go for healthcare, job opportunities, family assistance or education and training?

WarriorGateway.org is harnessing the power of technology and collaboration to help today’s veterans make better decisions about what government program or non-profit organization to go to for help.  Warrior Gateway leverages the social dimension by encouraging these “voices of the veteran” to include ratings about the quality and effectiveness of those services and to include short comments and tips to help other community members decide where to go.

We are dedicated to empowering our veterans to share their experiences and help the overall community but also, give them a voice to highlight those programs and organizations that are not meeting their needs.  Launched in March 2010, the Warrior Gateway is the only effort that is focused on providing these individuals with a forum to publically share their experiences.  It’s about time our veterans had a voice.

Warrior Gateway is growing our technology team and we are seeking a motivated Drupal engineer.  Here are the details of the position:

Tasks:

  • Lead the web application development of multiple Drupal-based web portals
  • Work on the development of our API & Platform strategy
  • Develop Drupal modules for our partners and customers
  • Work as part of agile team environment in a startup environment
  • Able to take on tasks beyond your scope of responsibilities to achieve results
  • Write code!  You will be responsible for developing features for our multiple web properties as well as the platform infrastructure

Technical Requirements:

  • You must know & love Drupal inside and out as you will be the sole engineer in this position
  • Experience managing multiple Drupal properties
  • Experience building and managing Drupal modules

“Nice to have” Requirements:

  • Mastery of XML & XML Schema
  • Experience with XPath & XQuery
  • Knowledge of MarkLogic Server and developing on the MarkLogic platform
  • Substantial experience with Linux
  • Experience building web applications using Java, Java Web Services, Javascript & JQuery
  • Experience with JPA and/or Hibernate
  • Experience with HTML,CSS and Web 2.0 elements
  • Experience with Apache and Tomcat
  • Deep experience with XML and related technologies
  • Browser-side client technologies including AJAX, HTML, CSS, cross-browser compatibility issues, performance and optimization techniques
  • Experience with agile software development (i.e.; Scrum)
  • Ability to manage and respond to changes in priorities
  • JPA/Hibernate, or similar Experience
  • REST Web Service client and/or Server
  • Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or equivalent
  • Experience with Agile methodologies

General Requirements:

  • Disciplined engineers who will….
    • Deliver code that can be maintained and extended
    • Follow architectural guidance
    • Test their code before they deploy it
    • Complete 100% of work tasks or notify in-house team of gaps in deliverables
  • Communicative engineers who can deliver…..
    • Javadoc (or equivalent)
    • Class Diagrams
    • Flow & Sequence Diagrams
    • High Level Diagrams
    • Wiki or other site to tie work products together

Nice to have:

  • Understanding of search technologies
  • Understanding of semantic web and thesaurus management systems
  • Experience in using JQuery, Dojo, Prototype or other JavaScript frameworks

Other:

  • Interested in working for a aggressive start up with a non-profit mission
  • Interested in supporting veterans and wounded warriors; former military experience a plus
  • This position can be based anywhere in the Continental US

If you’re interested in joining the team, please provide a cover letter along with your resume.  In the cover letter, please tell us what inspires you about the Warrior Gateway and why you think you are the perfect applicant for this position.  This is a key position and a unique opportunity to join a growing organization with a uniquely inspiring mission.

Email all applications with a resume and cover letter to: resumes@warriorgateway.org with Drupal Engineer in the subject line.  Applications without a cover letter will not be looked at nor considered.

 

Families of Fallen Heroes are Honored and Celebrated at Miss America 2012

Warrior Gateway is a proud sponsor of the 19 wives, daughters, and mothers of fallen service members to be recognized as Honorary Miss America’s at the 2012 Miss America Crown Celebration and who will be VIP guests at the Saturday night Miss America Finals.

Las Vegas, NV January 13, 2012

For the third year in a row, Project Gratitude brings 19 families of fallen service members to Las Vegas to be recognized as “Honorary Miss Americas” at the 2012 Miss America Crown Celebration on Friday, January 13. For the grand finale, the families will watch the Miss America pageant (live on ABC 6 PM PST) Saturday night from their VIP seats.

Warrior Gateway is honored to be a sponsor of Project Gratitude in supporting the wives, daughters and mothers of our fallen military members. Initiatives such as Project Gratitude show how communities across the nation can step up to work together and support the families of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. As the Project Gratitude sponsor for the Miss America Crown Celebration Gala, we are proud to join these families of our fallen in Las Vegas for the Miss America pageant,” said Devin B. Holmes, CEO of Warrior Gateway. “Warrior Gateway remains committed to supporting all members of the military community as they return home and seek out their new normal life.”

Got Your Back Network is pleased to partner with the Miss America Organization to provide a very unique and “once in a lifetime” experience for surviving wives and their daughters. Shared experiences are the highlight of memories and we are happy to be able to plan, organize and implement the Project Gratitude event.” said Kathleen Gagg, Executive Director of Got Your Back Network. “We thank all volunteers, contributors and organizations that have made Project Gratitude possible.”

“We started Project Gratitude out of a deep, heartfelt sense of gratitude and highest respect for the ultimate sacrifice that was made by our nation’s fallen heroes and their families,” explains Sharlene Hawkes, former Miss America and President of Remember My Service Productions. “By recognizing each of the women and their daughters as honorary Miss Americas–and giving them the VIP experience that Miss Americas have received over the years–it is just our way of doing what we can to pay tribute to these great Americans.”

See press release on PR Web at: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/1/prweb9107694.htm

For more information about the event, please visit the Warrior Gateway Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/warriorgateway

For real-time event updates and photos, please follow Warrior Gateway on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/warriorgateway

 

Widows and Daughters of Fallen Military Get Their Own Miss America Experience

Warrior Gateway has partnered with Got Your Back Network, The Miss America Organization and others to form an iniative called Project Gratitiude.  Project Gratitude, in its third year, will take 22 wives, daughters, and one mother of fallen service members on a unique, once in a lifetime experience this week with the Miss America 2012 pageant in Las Vegas.  The highlight of their visit will be a ceremony Friday evening January 13th when each will be pinned by former Miss Americas with a crown pin, symbolizing their status as the newest honorary Miss Americas.  The families will travel from around the country courtesy of Air Compassion for Veterans and American Airlines Veteran’s Initiative.

“We started Project Gratitude out of a deep, heartfelt sense of gratitude and highest respect for the ultimate sacrifice that was made by our nation’s fallen heroes and their families,” explains Sharlene Hawkes, former Miss America and President of Remember My Service Productions.  ”By recognizing each of the women and their daughters as honorary Miss Americas – and giving them the VIP experience that Miss Americas’ have received over the years, it is just our way of doing what we can to pay tribute to these great Americans.”

Project Gratitude is a great example of how communities can step up, work together, and support our military community and their families.

Warrior Gateway is honored to be a part of Project Gratitude in supporting widows and daughters of our fallen military members.  Initiatives such as Project Gratitude show how communities across the nation can step up to work together and support the families of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.  Alongside Got Your Back Network and The Miss America Organization as well as other partners, we are honored to join these families of our fallen in Las Vegas for the Miss America pageant,” said Devin B. Holmes, CEO of Warrior Gateway.  ”Warrior Gateway remains committed to supporting all members of the military community as they return home and seek out their new normal life.”

Keep in touch with us throughout the week for updates, photos, and much more:  FacebookTwitter, Foursquare

If you would like further information on Project Gratitude, please visit the Got Your Back Network website.  If you are interested in supporting the initiative, please click here.