Florida s Veteran Impact
As the population of veterans shrinks, states are competing to attract retired veterans, who bring federal dollars and job skills. Florida is trying to stay at the top of the pack.
Among the major factors that spurred Florida’s growth after World War II was the in-migration of hundreds of thousands of Americans who had trained at the 172 military installations the state hosted during the war. At the height of the war, Camp Blanding, a National Guard training facility 43 miles southwest of Jacksonville, was bigger than all but the three largest cities in Florida, with 55,000 soldiers stationed there.
Governor DeSantis and FDVA Deputy Executive Director Hartsell Highlight 2020 Successes Impacting Florida Veterans einnews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from einnews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
By ILEANA NAJARRO | Tampa Bay Times | Published: December 23, 2020 TAMPA, Fla. (Tribune News Service) Sara Ferrera needed something new. Back in the Army, she worked as an analyst in an office. After leaving active duty, and later the Reserves, she then quit her civilian job to pursue a college degree. When that didn’t pan out, she stumbled across the Veterans Florida Agriculture Program. A pilot program that began in 2018 through the nonprofit Veterans Florida, the six-month paid fellowship offers veterans with no prior knowledge hands-on experience in agriculture. Veterans Florida partners with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences on the program. After the fellowship, it helps participants find jobs in the agriculture industry, said Joe Marino, executive director of the nonprofit.