Evergreen Purple Heart Program for Wounded Warriors

This program got its start in the summer of 2007 when Thomas A Wiggins, a former Walter Reed wounded warrior introduced the concept to Walter Reed wounded at the Mologne House.  Its purpose is to encourage Wounded Warriors (WW) from the Iraq and Afghanistan War to apply for jobs at Evergreen Aviation, which maintains a diverse number of job opportunities in the company

Candidates who are selected by Evergreen would be able to work for Evergreen during the day, attend college courses at night at a local college, and live in housing in the vicinity of Evergreen.  The company would assist the wounded warrior in getting into college and in obtaining housing. 

EVERGREEN INTERNATIONAL AVIATION

Evergreen Aviation is a privately held diversified company located southwest of Portland in McMinnville, Oregon.  The company includes specialized helicopter aviation services; air cargo transportation for major airlines and freight forwarders; aircraft maintenance and repair services; helicopter and fixed wing aircraft sales; airport logistics and ground handling operations; complete helicopter component repair and overhaul; and agricultural and nursery products.  Delford M. Smith is the owner and founder of the company.

Evergreen has a family of ten companies, employing some 5,000 workers worldwide and servicing customers in 170 countries.  Although primarily an aviation oriented enterprise, Evergreen has a non-profit component, the Evergreen Humanitarian and Relief Services, Inc, which supports local and international humanitarian and relief projects. 

It also has the Evergreen Aviation Museum and the Captain Michael King Smith Education Institute that is named for Del Smith's deceased son. The museum is one of the largest aircraft museums in the world harboring the famous wooden flying boat "The Spruce Goose".  Michael Smith in collaboration with his father started the museum and provided the initiative for the educational institute.

The Application and Selection Process:

Mentors of the West Point Wounded Warrior Mentor Program can carry out initial interviews of interested WWs for the Evergreen program by using our current interview form supplemented by a resume.

Resumes for Evergreen should begin with a synopsis of what the WW wants to do, his expectations, and personal goals.  It should include the areas that the WW would like to receive training in; such as security, administration, helicopter maintenance, finance, etc, that would lead to his job assignment at Evergreen.

The next section of the resume should include the soldier's skills and military background if they are not already provided on the interview form.

Finally, there should be some reference to the injury the soldier incurred, the WW's mobility and any limitations that the WW thinks might affect the kind of job he/she could do at Evergreen.

John Herren, Cl '58, who is the Evergreen POC for our WW program, will forward these interviews to Tom Wiggins at Evergreen.  He will provide the interviews to the personnel office at Evergreen who will consider each application.

If the personnel office believes the WW candidate is a possible fit for employment at Evergreen, it will notify its Washington D.C. office.  Mr. Sam White, a senior Vice President of Evergreen will then conduct a personal interview of the candidate.

If the results of that interview are favorable, arrangements will be made for follow-up interviews either in Washington or at Evergreen's headquarters in McMinnville.  Mr. White will keep John Herren and the WW involved advised of the outcome of these interviews.

A Note for all mentors and their interested WW:

Evergreen has a certain culture and work ethic and looks for individuals who have a positive attitude, that are motivated, and who can think like an entrepreneur.  A wounded warrior that Evergreen employs will receive training, exposure to different Evergreen companies and be mentored until he/she settles into a certain job.  Advancement within the company will depend on the performance of the individual.