Women Veterans ROCK! Names A. Michelle Gardner-Ince as 2014 Honoree of The Year

WASHINGTON - Sept. 24, 2013 - PRLog -- The Women Veterans ROCK! Advocacy Campaign for Women Veterans and Military Families announced today that retired Colonel A. Michelle Gardner-Ince has been named Women Veterans ROCK!’s 2014 Honoree of The Year.

Each year, the Women Veterans ROCK! Rally and Veterans Day Celebration in Washington, D.C. puts a female face on Veterans Day by honoring Women Veterans who have served and passed on, as well as those who have served and live on.

This year, Women Veterans ROCK! will recognize retired United States Air Force Colonel A. Michelle Gardner-Ince’s 27 years of military service and her ongoing leadership in the growth of Veteran Enterprise in America.

An active enabler of Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses and Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB/VOSB), Gardner-Ince currently serves as the Director of the Center for Veterans Enterprise (http://www.va.gov/osdbu/) at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Washington, D.C.

During Gardner-Ince’s term, the Department of Veterans Affairs enhanced the Verification Assistance Program to improve Veterans’ understanding of the Veteran-Owned Small Business Verification process, while simultaneously instituting processes which would reduce the risk of ineligible firms gaining access to funds earmarked for SDVOSBs and VOSBs.  These efforts have helped transform the Veteran Verification application process, which once took more than four months to complete, into a process which averages 30 days.

Through proactive leadership and taking “the voice of the veteran” into consideration, Gardner-Ince implemented various tools to make the Veteran experience with the application process easier and user-friendly.

“Under Michelle’s leadership, the Department of Veterans Affairs has made great strides in creating opportunities for our nation’s Veterans,” says Deborah Harmon-Pugh, Campaign Chair of Women Veterans ROCK!

“The Women Veterans ROCK! Advocacy Campaign is dedicated to supporting Women Veterans who work to overcome barriers to veteran business enterprise by becoming recognized as a Veteran-Owned or Woman-Owned Small Business and A. Michelle Gardner-Ince’s continued service to the Women Veterans Community embodies all of the characteristics that are demonstrated by The Women Veterans ROCK! Honoree of The Year,” says Harmon-Pugh.

On Veterans Day, November 11, 2013, Gardener-Ince will be honored by the Women Veterans Community and receive the 2014 Honoree of The Year award during the fifth annual Women Veterans ROCK! Rally and Veterans Day Celebration in Washington, D.C.

The event will be held at The ARC Theater of Performing Arts located at 1901 Mississippi Avenue S.E., Washington, D.C. 20020.  Admission to the Women Veterans ROCK! Rally and Veterans Day Celebration is free and open to the community but advanced registration is required.

Women Veterans and Military Families interested in registering for the Women Veterans ROCK! Rally and Veterans Day Celebration can visit WomenVetsRock2013.eventbrite.com for more information.  Group registrations are available.

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About Women Veterans ROCK!

"Women Veterans ROCK!" is a Coalition of Women Veteran Organizations and Women Advocacy Organizations Supporting Women Veterans & Military Families.  Sponsored by The Healthy Caregiver Community Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community organization, it provides a variety of resources and services to Women Veterans in the areas of: Housing; Employment; Education; Financial Stability; and Health & Wellness. For more information, please visit WomenVetsRock.org (http://www.womenvetsrock.org/).