Mercury Marine held its annual Veterans Day celebration Friday at the company’s headquarters in Fond du Lac, Wis.
Brig. Gen. Brian Winski, a Wisconsin native, was the featured guest during afternoon festivities.
Winski, the Army Operations, Readiness and Mobilizations director at the Pentagon, joined Mercury Marine president John Pfeifer, Wisconsin Department of Veteran Affairs administrator Ken Grant and Wisconsin Department of Labor secretary Ray Allen in welcoming Mercury veterans and other community leaders to the company.
“We are proud of Mercury’s Military Veterans Network, a group that recognizes and values the strengths of and the sacrifices made by our military veterans and their families,” Pfeifer said in a statement. “The Mercury Military Veterans Network seeks to unite, promote, honor, attract and engage all Mercury Marine military veterans, past and present.”
Winski’s visit is part of a Meet Your Army initiative (#MeetYourArmy) in which senior Army leaders engage with the community to help connect the country with the Army.
Mercury Marine was recently named one of five “2016 Veteran-Friendly Workplace” finalists by USO Wisconsin. Mercury was recognized for its efforts at the Oct. 22 USO Wisconsin “Heroes of Wisconsin” Gala at the Italian Community Center in Milwaukee.
Earlier this year Mercury held a career fair for veterans that the company said attracted candidates from around the state.
Mercury said it is looking to fill close to 100 openings at its global headquarters and continues to work with the state Department of Workforce Development to locate and attract employees. Mercury said it has seen continued growth in veterans employment at its global headquarters and over the years has grown to more than 3,000 employees in Fond du Lac, hiring many veterans in the process.
“We continue to grow, innovate and expand our manufacturing capacity,” Pfeifer said. “Mercury continues to offer not just opportunities for jobs, but the chance at a long and successful career in manufacturing.”
