Melissa Michaelis works hard at attracting veterans to Winnebago and Worth counties – even when it takes six years for her work to be completed.
Michaelis, executive director of Winn-Worth Betco, a regional economic development organization created to help those two counties, recently received a special Home Base Iowa Community Champion Award for her long effort to get every city and county government in the region signed up as a Home Base Iowa community.
“Melissa didn’t just help one city or one county become Home Base Iowa-certified, she helped build an entire regional culture of support for veterans,” Jamie Norton, director of Veteran Workforce Services for Iowa Workforce Development, said when the award was presented at the end of April. “Her leadership has ensured that veterans and their families know they are welcomed, valued, and supported no matter which community they choose to call home.”
Across Iowa, more than 140 communities have agreed to offer incentives and friendly employment opportunities in a bid to help veterans and their families find a new place to call home. HBI certifies these “Home Base Iowa Communities” after each community develops its own incentives (for example, financial assistance with relocation or temporary property tax breaks), approves a resolution of support, and agrees to display HBI signage.
HBI shares the list of designated communities, as well as a list of more than 2,600 Iowa businesses who have pledged to hire and support those who have served, with veterans and transitioning service members who express an interest in relocating to Iowa.
Michaelis credits her predecessor with the original idea to get every city and county government in Winnebago and Worth to sign up as an HBI Community, but it was Michaelis who offered to assist communities with funding the incentives. In April, the city of Fertile became the last of 14 cities in Worth and Winnebago counties to sign on board.
“All of them only have City Council meetings once a week, and three or four of them only meet once a month,” Michaelis said. “What I thought would be a one-year-plan became a six-year plan.”
She estimates that program has lured between four and six veteran families to the region within the last few years.
“As a Veteran Career Planner, I see first-hand how much local support matters to veterans as they transition to civilian life,” said Todd Blanchard, who works with veterans through IowaWORKS. “Melissa’s initiative and persistence have strengthened the entire support system around them. Because of her efforts, veterans aren’t just finding jobs, they’re finding communities that genuinely want them.”
For more on the available incentives and other assistance available to transitioning veterans, visit IWD’s Home Base Iowa website.