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Kevin Jackson

Thursday Oct 15, 2026

Category: Newsletter

VOB Roundtable Recap — Tuesday, October 13, 2026

This week's Roundtable had a little bit of everything: new faces, a big push on our social media, a lot of good talk about putting AI to work, and several offers of help for veterans that I'm excited to follow up on. Thank you to everyone who showed up and shared.
 

We kicked off with our new social media push. Alicia Nordman (social media manager and short-form video specialist, and VOB's social media lead; socialmedia@vobnetwork.org; aliciassocials.com) walked us through it. We launched Instagram, YouTube and TikTok on Sunday alongside Facebook and LinkedIn, and we were already close to 1,000 views. She shared our Linktree so everyone can follow every account in one tap. She also asked for short, steady 4K clips (your garden, a hobby, local scenery, your dog) that haven't already been posted on your own accounts. Folks can upload straight from their phones through the content portal on our website, right under the Roundtable Zoom link. Bill Haase (author of Our Mindset on Money and co-host of the Garage Talk podcast; bill@billhaase.com; garage-talk.com; moneymindsetmedia.com) asked about YouTube thumbnails, and Alicia's advice was simple: make a good one, write a strong caption hook, and never try to outsmart the algorithm with engagement bait. The most powerful free thing any of us can do is hit save (the bookmark icon) on VOB posts and watch them twice.
 

The proof that it's working showed up right on the call. Andrew Martinez-Alegria (Marine Corps veteran and HR consultant focused on talent development and employee retention for small and mid-sized businesses; andrew@soundtalent.co; soundtalent.co) found us through our LinkedIn page. Andrew served in the Marines from 1999 to 2008, and after a layoff late last year he's now building his own consultancy. His mantra stuck with all of us: "Don't self-select yourself out. Make the other side say no." Deb immediately wanted to connect him with Brian Nichols of Veteran Hiring Solutions. Shaun Penrod (Navy veteran and fractional CMO at Boundless Connections Marketing; boundlessconnectionsmarketing.com) welcomed him in the chat, and the two are setting up time to talk.
 

We also welcomed Cricket Wheeler (Program Director at Recovery Shot, a Ventura County nonprofit offering free golf therapy for veterans; cricketwheeler@recoveryshot.org; recoveryshot.org), who came as a guest of Nikki Gianni (retired Air Force officer and former federal contracting officer, now The GovCon Architect; nikki@govconarchitect.com; govconarchitect.com). Recovery Shot's veterans program pairs clinics with a pro at the Seabee Golf Course in Port Hueneme, and graduates get 24 free rounds with a buddy at Spanish Hills. Their 5th Annual Healing Through Golf Tournament is Monday, October 26 at Spanish Hills Club in Camarillo. They're looking for sponsors to send foursomes of veterans, and I've posted the flyer on Community News. 
Nikki also shared that she's uploaded a free recorded class to our course platform, and she passed along a couple of tools she's using: AppSumo for lifetime software deals and FuseBase for client dashboards.
 

From there the conversation turned to AI, and nearly everyone had something to add. Kathy Swanson (founder of Integrated Marketing Werx and host of the Automating By Design video podcast; kathy.swanson@mktgwerx.com; mktgwerx.com) shared that she's been automating marketing for over 30 years. She's now using AI to build Thrive Here, an app that brings people together for small in-person dinners and coffees, and she's documenting the whole build on video, "messy stuff" included. Mike Forrest (founder of ALMA, a voice-first AI companion app for seniors and veterans; mike@almamyfriend.com; almamyfriend.com) called in from the road. He told us he'd built a personal AI assistant this week that handles his scheduling, meeting prep and morning and afternoon briefings, and he offered to show anyone how. Frank DiBartolomeo (retired Air Force Lt. Col., speaking coach and author of Speak Well and Prosper; frank@speakleadandsucceed.com; speakleadandsucceed.com) described a National Speakers Association session with an "AI Dream Team" member who runs an entire business on AI agents, and he invited anyone interested to email him. Bill added that NotebookLM turned his book into a 33-minute AI-hosted podcast that, in his words, knew the book better than he did. The thread running through all of it: the answers you get are only as good as the questions you ask.
 

On the support side, Raymond Nahem (newly licensed social worker and certified grief educator focused on veterans and military families; rnahemtherapist@gmail.com) introduced himself. Raymond has completed military-culture training through the Star Behavioral Health Providers program, and he wants to offer virtual group sessions for veterans. He was clear that he came to connect, not to promote: "It's not about the money." Deb Plennert (founder of Precision With Honor Bookkeeping and Gold Star spouse; deb@pwhbk.com), who invited Raymond, offered him a crisis-line pipeline for his clinical hours. Deb also told Kathy about the Military Spouse Chamber of Commerce, which is free to join and is pushing to get military spouse-owned businesses recognized as their own business class.
 

Deb had three more things to share. The first was Mark Spenelli's (Army veteran building Nature's Edge, a veteran-centered glampground and housing community; natures.edge.glampground@gmail.com; naturesedgeglampground.com) housing stability project, which needs $250,000–$400,000 to secure the land. If you know a funder passionate about veteran housing, point them to Mark, Deb or me. The second was STAAJ for veterans (staaj.com/veterans), a visibility platform where veterans can showcase their businesses. Its merch store supports suicide prevention and crisis-intervention nonprofits. The third: Deb is taking on new bookkeeping clients and wants to add five more by year-end.
 

Bill gave us an update on the GLP-1 series he and PJ are producing on Garage Talk. It's a look at the economic and social effects 5, 15 and 30 years out, with the 30-year episode dropping this week. Bill also helps authors get published and distributed in the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand, without the ego-driven upsells authors usually get.
 

David Mohammed (Army veteran and founder of Mo-Blind Solutions, an AI automation consultancy; david@mo-blind.com; mo-blind.com) was juggling two calls but still contributed plenty in the chat. He's teaching a free class on building a professional portfolio website on GitHub (Thursday, October 15 at 6:30 PM ET). He's also looking for test users for two apps he's built: a dispatch-and-invoicing tool for trades businesses and a lot-inventory tool for car dealers. Richard Moyers (business profit coach at Business Profit Max; rich@businessprofitmax.com; businessprofitmax.com) shared an idea for discounted coaching for VOB members, which I'm reviewing now. His motto fits this group well: "Focus on revenue feeds ego; profits feed the family." Mark Miracle (Marine Corps veteran and fractional sales leader with Sales Xceleration; mmiracle@salesxceleration.com; salesxceleration.com) was with us from the start; he was one of the two Marks on the call. Michael Mayoral (Army veteran and financial advisor with Florida Financial Advisors; michael.mayoral@floridafa.com; floridafa.com) checked in through the chat ("Happy to be back!") before heading to a meeting.
 

VOB update: Our incubator veterans are now spread across 23 states, and the wider VOB network reaches 39 (counting DC). I'll be sending everyone the Linktree  and posting it to Community News. Please follow us on whichever platforms you use, save the posts you see, and send Alicia your video clips through the content portal.
 

Everyone is encouraged to complete their free VOB member profile. I can see that several people have registered but have not yet finished setting up their profiles. If anyone runs into difficulty completing their profile, adding a business listing, posting Community News, or navigating the site, please reach out — I'm happy to help.
 

Thanks to everyone who showed up, spoke up, and made an introduction this week. Every new face and every connection made here helps another veteran-owned business move forward, and that's what the Roundtable is for.

 

Mahalo, 

Kevin 🍍🇺🇸

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