VOB Network | Community News

Kevin Jackson

Saturday Jul 04, 2026

Category: Events

250 Years of Building Something Worth Fighting For 🇺🇸

250 years ago, a small group of people decided freedom was worth fighting for and built a nation on that bet.

This 4th of July marks America's 250th birthday. A quarter of a millennium of a country still figuring itself out, still being built by the people who show up for it.

At the Veteran-Owned Business Network, we see that spirit every day in the veterans we work with men and women who already gave everything once in uniform, and are now building something new: their own businesses, their own futures, their own way of continuing to serve.

Grit in the armor. Gold in the heart. That's not just our creed, it's the story of this country too.

Happy 250th, America. 🍍🇺🇸

And to every veteran turning their service into something new: we see you, and we're honored to walk beside you.

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VOB Roundtable Recap — September 8, 2026

Aloha VOB family — great turnout this week, with a nice mix of incubator progress, tax season commiseration, and a full open floor on the social media push we're building.

Jennifer Barrows (Board Chair, Launchpad Foundation; jbarrows@barrowsdevelopment.com; launchpadtv.com) updated us on Launchpad's veteran entrepreneur training, fresh off the Governor's Summit for Veterans Affairs in Columbia, SC, with Myrtle Beach, Greenville, and Charleston next on the calendar. Frank DiBartolomeo (President, DiBartolomeo Consulting International; retired Air Force Lt. Col.; frank@speakleadandsucceed.com; speakleadandsucceed.com) offered to help her in Charleston, then introduced himself as a public speaking coach with 30+ years of experience — worth a call if that's ever tripped you up.

Tax season had everyone's sympathy: Mark Salmon (enrolled agent, Alpharetta GA; mark@marksalmon.tax; marksalmon.tax) is racing a client's return to the finish line, and Dorothy Smith (Founder, DMS Bookkeeping Inc, Memphis; dorothy@dmsbizhelp.com; dmsbizhelp.com) confirmed the crunch is universal right now, mentioning she uses TaxDome for client uploads. Mark Spenelli (natures.edge.glampground@gmail.com) gave us the latest on his veteran-focused RV campground/tiny-home project and on QRF Up (qrfup.org), the veteran-crewed NASCAR sponsorship effort now planning through 2028 with a Homestead-Miami appearance this November. Mark Miracle (Fractional Sales Leader, Sales Xceleration; Owner, Miracle Sales Advisory Inc., Denver; salesxceleration.com) rounded out our trio of Marks.

Richard Moyers introduced himself as a business coach and Marine/Army veteran who helps small business owners get their time back, with a couple of ordnance and warthog stories along the way. Ed Jarecki, joining from Saint Croix, reintroduced his work helping veteran entrepreneurs bring military discipline into how they run a business — we're setting up a follow-up call. Jake Droge ("The Flagman"; jdroge@university-bank.com; university-bank.com) is chasing states 23 and 24 in Indiana and Ohio this weekend on his way to all 50.

Laura Cross (White Sands Self-Care; whitesandsselfcare@gmail.com; whitesandsselfcare.com) shared her holistic health work and the AO voice scan, and later offered a practical tip: WeTransfer as a free backup for large files. Tracy Lynn Baker (Keller Williams, Cincinnati) is planning "For the Love of Veterans," a February event on veteran benefits and loans, and is looking for speakers and Cincinnati-area connections.

On VOB's end, Nakisha is launching the first VOB Veteran Journey Series event on September 17 — a monthly Hawaii pilot following the VA's journey map from transition through end-of-life planning, which we intend to expand to other cities and eventually a culminating event on the USS Missouri. Kelvin Ching (Executive Managing Director, Mod Financial, Kaneohe HI; kchingandassociates@gmail.com) helped me land on the program's name and is also working with me on a feral swine grant.

We're standing up a social media effort led by Alicia Nordman and will be implementing a phone-friendly way for members to upload high-res and 4K content without email compressing it. Laura's and Dorothy's tips above are feeding right into that build — a full announcement is coming once the portal's live.

Courses page is ready for those of you that want share and/or host a course on our platform, reach out to me if that something you're interested in.

TV Shows has also been added to the Resources drop down.⚡

Everyone is encouraged to complete their free VOB member profile. If anyone runs into difficulty with a profile, business listing, or Community News post, reach out — happy to help.

Thanks again to everyone who joined, shared, asked, offered, and connected — exactly what we want the VOB Roundtable to be.

Mahalo,

Kevin 🍍🇺🇸

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VOB Roundtable Recap — September 2, 2026

This week's Roundtable had a little of everything — new faces, a few laughs at Kelvin's expense (long story with a shared Zoom link), and a lot of people building things that matter. Here's the rundown.

We started with Jessica Olma (Owner/Founder, Scribe Syndicate; jessicaolma@scribesyndicate.com; scribesyndicate.com), based in the Denver metro area, who shared that her business has evolved well beyond its content-writing roots — she's now doing AI consulting and helping small businesses build repeatable systems and workflows around their operations.

From there we went to Deb Plennert (Founder, Precision with Honor Bookkeeping — deb@precisionwithhonorbookkeeping.com), who gave an update on QRF Up, the crisis-intervention and suicide-prevention nonprofit she's involved with, which has rescheduled its relaunch for November 6. She's also working to secure funding for a veteran-supportive campground property and continuing her work with Sentinel Veteran AI Solutions, a platform focused on closing the dangerous gap between a veteran asking for help and actually getting it.

Jake "The Flagman" Droge popped in between work calls just long enough to let us know he's now registered for half-marathons in Indiana and Ohio, bringing his all-50-states flag-running total to 23 and 24 states completed, before he had to run.

Gb De Leon (Independent Health & Life Insurance Broker, USA Benefits Group — gdeleon@usabg.net) reminded everyone why protecting your "why" matters — one serious illness without the right coverage can undo everything you've built. He's building toward funding regenerative agriculture and ranch opportunities for veterans, and his LinkedIn videos (yes, including the one where he stepped in something unfortunate chasing a cow) continue to be must-watch content.

Mark Spenelli shared where things stand with his and his wife's RV campground startup, which will dedicate a portion of profits to veterans, first responders, and active-duty military people in crisis. They have their eye on a property in Kentucky and are hoping the pieces fall into place soon.

Alex Snyder (Partner, Kaplan Family Financial) shared exciting news — he's brought estate planning and financial planning together under one roof in Massachusetts, partnering with a law firm so clients no longer have to run between two offices to get aligned advice. He's now in talks to expand the model into Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Florida, and as the practice grows, he and his partner plan to make a portion of their estate-planning services free for veterans.

Dr. Gina Danola ("Dr. D") walked us through Veterans One Source, the website she built for transitioning service members, veterans, and military families to find local — and international — events and resources, searchable by city, installation, or even a virtual hub. It's a fantastic resource, and everyone should check it out and add their own veteran-centric events to the calendar. Her husband, James Di Nola (jdinola@vetsone.org), the other half of the Veterans One Source team, spoke to the mission behind the site — free promotion for anything veteran-related, from events to content creators, filling a gap left by programs like Military One Source that stop serving people the moment they leave uniform.

Alicia Nordman (social media management and short-form video editing) is building out a social media team for VOB and put out the call for content — photos, video, anything veteran-related and high quality. The ask is simple: send what you've got, and she and the team will turn it into the kind of content that actually moves on social media.

We had two new faces join us this week. Ed Jarecki (President, Jarecki Business Coaching & Concepts — ed@jareckibcc.com; jareckibcc.com) introduced himself as a business and executive coach working with owners in the $1M–$10M range, with a background spanning engineering, IT, and enterprise architecture leadership. He also shared his connection to a human-emotion-analysis technology tool being applied in the mental wellness space, particularly around PTSD treatment support — a topic that drew immediate interest from the group, including a sharp follow-up question from Joel Elfman about whether the tool draws on Paul Ekman's work in micro-expressions — a sharp question given Joel's own background. Joel is Founder and Chief Hypnotist/Mindset Coach at BodyMind Hypnotic (bodymindhypnotic.com), integrating hypnosis, NLP, and somatic work to help clients with stress, habit change, and confidence. Good to have him back with us this week.

Mark Salmon (IRS Enrolled Agent, tax professional — mark@marksalmon.tax; marksalmon.tax) reminded everyone that C-corps on extension have until October 15 to file, and shared a great example of digging a client out of a mistaken state tax assessment — a reminder of the value of having someone who knows how to fight for you when the state gets it wrong.

We closed out with Bill Haase (financial literacy author and podcast host, Money Mindset Media — moneymindsetmedia.com), who gave an update on his new podcast with PJ, which is already up to 31 subscribers, and shared he's making progress toward getting clearance to bring his financial literacy program into a prison setting.

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 again to everyone who joined, shared, asked, offered, and connected. This is exactly what we want the VOB Roundtable to be: veterans and supporters helping each other find the people, tools, services, and opportunities that move missions forward.

Mahalo,

Kevin 🍍🇺🇸

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CSA Hot Jobs — Week of August 26, 2026

Client Solution Architects (CSA) sent over their latest openings for transitioning service members, veterans, and MILspouses. Several of these are remote or tied to Pensacola, San Diego, Oak Harbor, and DC — worth a look if you or someone in your network is job hunting.

VP, Business Development — Remote
Electronic Classroom Technical Support Specialist — Oak Harbor, WA
IT Helpdesk Technician — Washington, DC
Electronic Classroom Technical Support Specialist — Port Hueneme, CA
SQL Database Administrator — Pensacola, FL
VMware Systems Administrator — Pensacola, FL
Operations Support Technician — Pensacola, FL
Senior Configuration Management Lead — San Diego, CA

All open roles and future postings are on CSA's site at csaassociates.com, and you can follow CSA Careers on LinkedIn and Twitter/X for new listings as they come up.

🍍🇺🇸

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VOB Roundtable Recap — August 25, 2026

We had a full house this week, with several new faces alongside some familiar ones, and the kind of cross-pollination that makes these Roundtables worth showing up for every Tuesday.

I opened introductions with Joshua Wood (Certified Franchise Consultant with New Leaf Franchise, which he runs alongside his wife Shalisha; joshua@NewLeafFranchise.com; newleaffranchise.com), who explained that he and Shalisha help veterans in transition explore business ownership through franchising, at no cost to the veteran, partnering with close to 800 national brands and connecting people to discounted, veteran-friendly SBA financing.

Next up was Mike "Buzz" Mallon (Founder & Managing Partner of Storyteller Promotions, a full-service promotional products and branding company, and a Marine Corps veteran; buzz@storytellerpromotions.com), who also runs a veteran-owned networking group called Tropic Thunder that meets weekly.

I had to publicly thank Kelvin Ching (Executive Managing Director at Mod Financial, offering tax-free retirement strategies, business financing, and high-yield savings options insured up to $50 million; KChingAndAssociates@gmail.com) for picking me up at the hospital and taking me to lunch while I was on Oahu for my mom's medical procedure— Nakisha Jolanda Gregory (Navy veteran, founder of Gift Opener LLC, host of Confidence On Command Live; giftopenerllc.com, nakishajgregory.com) had joined us as well. Nakisha's building out our live event series in Oahu — the first is September 17, with a second locked in for October 15 — both feeding into a bigger kickoff event we're planning for April aboard the USS Missouri in Pearl Harbor. The idea behind that whole series is to connect the VA's own "Journeys of Veterans Map" framework to real, in-person access to the VA, VRE, Vet Centers, and other government resources, and Nakisha's already running with it.

Frank DiBartolomeo (retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, professional speaker and presentation coach at DiBartolomeo Consulting International, author of Speak Well and Prosper, and host of the Successful Speaking for Technical Professionals podcast; frank@speakleadandsucceed.com) offered his interview and presentation coaching to any veteran who could use it. I let him know about the podcast page we've built on the VOB website — embedded, free, and another platform for him — and invited him to post there.

Jake "The Flagman" Droge shared his story: he's an Army National Guard veteran who started running half marathons during COVID, carrying an American flag, after a humbling first attempt at getting back in shape. He's up to 22 states and aiming for 26 by year-end, and says the running has been a real help with his PTSD. He heads to Indiana and Ohio next month for back-to-back weekend races, and we're working on getting some travel support behind him — it's good for him, good for VOB visibility, and a story worth sharing further.

Rajiv Jadhav (CEO of Rsquare Media, an online reputation and AI-search-visibility firm based in New York City; linkedin.com/in/rajivjadhav) isn't a veteran but came in with real energy — he's on a mission to fight homelessness and poverty through AI-driven economic opportunity, a talk he gives at the United Nations a few times a year, and he's looking to connect with the VA community and any channel partners interested in referral commissions.

David Mohammed (AI transformation and automation consultant, founder of Mo-Blind Solutions, based in Tampa; david@mo-blind.com, mo-blind.com), attending for the first time, walked us through how he helps small businesses fix their processes first, then layer in AI — voice agents that catch missed calls, custom CRMs, and AI-visibility work (AEO) so businesses show up when people ask ChatGPT or Gemini a direct question instead of Googling keywords. He's also volunteering with several veteran-focused organizations and is looking for a sponsor for a free PMP training cohort for military spouses.

Dr. Gina Di Nola ("Doctor D," Founder of Di Nola Consulting, a PMI Authorized Training Partner; drdinola@dinolaconsulting.com, dinolaconsulting.com) announced she'd just launched Military Spouse University the week prior, helping military spouses build careers around the unique nuances of military life. She's also behind Veterans OneSource, an event calendar and resource map she built herself with AI. Deb asked about pathways for VOB to get credentialed for VR&E educational benefits so Gina's PMP and CAPM training could count toward that — something we're actively pursuing.

Dan Ricks (Founder, President & CEO of Bright Water Consulting, providing COO, CIO, and EOS integrator services for 23 years now; dricks@brightwaterconsulting.com), also new this week, offered his technology and process-improvement expertise to any of our businesses that could use it. Mark Miracle (USMC combat veteran '87-'93, owner of Miracle Sales Advisory in Aurora, Colorado; mmiracle@salesxceleration.com) introduced himself as someone who helps business owners build or fix their sales engine.

Mark Spenelli (Army veteran; building Nature's Edge, a veteran-centered RV park and glampground community; natures.edge.glampground@gmail.com) He and his wife Nicky are also part of the QRFup team as well, and their race event has shifted to the weekend of November 6th through 8th at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Deb Plennert gave the QRF Up update: their focus remains crisis intervention and suicide prevention, working in partnership with 988, with 250 housing units in Florida (soon adding roughly 200 more) offering veterans up to two years of housing, therapy, and training pathways — including a very cool outdoor-guide certification program in Colorado covering backwoods horsemanship, fly fishing, and even avalanche rescue. They're running a silent auction right now, and Deb's been working hard to get a veteran named Christina, who lost use of her arms and legs to an IED and is currently experiencing homelessness with her teenager, closer to family and stabilized.

We also caught up with Bill Haase (founder of Money Mindset Media, author of Our Mindset on Money) on his Missouri event planning — connecting him directly with Scotty at HonorBox, who builds custom memorial dioramas we'd like to bring on stage at the ceremony. Bill's also launching a financial-literacy and career-planning program in Indiana prisons next week, helping parolees build real life and financial plans before release, with eight or nine more states already interested.

Mahalo,
Kevin 🍍🇺🇸

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QRFUp.org Fundraising-Auction Event

Deb Plennert flagged this one — QRFup is running an online auction to support their mission of getting veterans, first responders, and their families immediate mental health support.

Take a look and consider placing a bid: https://events.givehub.com/auctions/55

🍍🇺🇸

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Kevin Jackson

250 Years of Building Something Worth Fighting For 🇺🇸

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Related News

VOB Roundtable Recap — September 8, 2026

VOB Roundtable Recap — September 2, 2026

CSA Hot Jobs — Week of August 26, 2026

VOB Roundtable Recap — August 25, 2026

QRFUp.org Fundraising-Auction Event

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