Gannon & Scott Inc. is a longtime Cranston-based company that specializes in recovering valuable metals from torpedo batteries, coatings used for stealth technology, and jewelry byproducts.
But to fuel its refinery operations, the small business is drawing upon another precious resource: military veterans.
Gannon & Scott is one of 13 companies in Rhode Island that have received the HIRE Vets Medallion Award, the only federal-level veterans employment award. Nationwide, 1,600 private employers have received the annual award since the program’s inception in 2018, which was established by the U.S. Department of Labor as a result of the Honoring Investments in Recruiting and Employing American Military Veterans Act.
“If there are multiple candidates for a position, if all other qualifications are equal, we’ll certainly give extra weight to the veteran candidate,” said Chris Jones, president of Gannon & Scott who served in the R.I. Army National Guard for eight years. “They always seem to possess a can-do attitude and are very reliable, in general.”
Jones says his father-in-law, Jack Gannon, the third-generation owner of the 105-year-old family business, spent many years in the R.I. Air National Guard and retired as a major.
“That definitely influenced our hiring philosophies very early on,” Jones said. “We naturally had a pool of veterans in our employment. … Gannon & Scott owes a lot of its success to them.”
Also, Jones says he believes hiring veterans may be a boost for the company when it’s under consideration for a defense contract. The HIRE Vets Medallion Award, given to companies that certify at least 7% of new hires or retained workers are veterans, is a sort of seal of approval.
“In our business, we see at times a little bit of added goodwill when we have opportunities to go for Department of Defense contracts or anytime we’re working with defense contractors. It’s something viewed favorably,” Jones said. “In terms of the medallion, I think it’s been nice from a standpoint that it has provided awareness to other employers that this recognition is out there and available if you put in a little extra effort to hiring veterans.”
For the U.S. Department of Labor, the annual award is another way to help address the veteran unemployment rate, which stood at 3.2% in April with 8.5 million veterans in the civilian labor force. By comparison, the overall unemployment rate was 3.9% in April.
In Rhode Island, the veteran jobless rate averaged 2.5% in 2023 with 25,000 vets in the state’s civilian labor force, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
It’s also about filling jobs in the coming years.
“There are numerous positions that‘ll be available over the next 10 or 15 years over every industry,” said James D. Rodriguez, the Department of Labor’s assistant secretary for veterans’ employment and training service. “We have an opportunity here to fill a lot of employment gaps with veterans who are highly skilled and capable to come and make a difference in whatever mission the company has laid out.”
In addition to the hiring benchmarks – a “gold” medallion is given to baseline awardees and a “platinum” is presented to employers that hire 10% of their workforce from the veteran community – the HIRE Vets award also requires participants to offer veterans resources, development programs and benefits.
Rodriguez says those resources and benefits include “adaptations,” or accommodations, for veterans with disabilities. Rodriguez says another fitting benefit is granting a special “military leave” for when workers need to attend appointments for services offered through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
“Adaptations for a vet with a disability – once we put them in place for veterans – they benefit all employees,” Rodriguez said. “That’s something often overlooked.”
Rodriguez says one type of helpful employee development program he’s seen provided by businesses is a veteran- and military spouse-focused employee resource group, and another type is a veteran mentorship program that supports employees as they transition into the civilian world.
Back at Gannon & Scott, which operates another refinery in Arizona, employees are offered tuition support and informal mentorships, Jones says. The company has a total of 61 employees, 39 of them based in Cranston, with 13 military veterans within its ranks.
Other companies with Rhode Island connections that have been recognized for hiring veterans through the HIRE Vets Medallion Award include Amgen Rhode Island, Attollo LLC, Research and Development Solutions Inc., Rite-Solutions Inc., SEACORP LLC, Veterans Assembled Electronics LLC, Electrolizing Inc., Attain Technology Inc., Torden LLC and Bentley Builders LLC.
Jones says he and his company’s veteran employees draw upon what they’ve learned during their time in the military to accomplish Gannon & Scott’s mission, which includes using its smelting, stripping and chemical processing plants to reclaim silver from torpedo, mine and missile batteries.
“Throughout my professional career, about 34 years, I don’t think there’s a day that goes by that I don’t think consciously or subconsciously relating to something I’ve learned in the military,” he said.
