A lot is made about the transition veterans make from military to civilian life. The change can be stark, and therefore fraught with many challenges. A lot of the discourse around this transition, especially in the national conversation, centers on the obstacles. However, when you speak with Bayson Kees, you’re reminded that military experience can also imbue veterans with a set of skills and values that uniquely position them for a successful career.
Kees is a local business owner and an Army veteran (101st Airborne Division, HHC 327th Infantry Brigade and 326th Engineer Battalion) who served two deployments in Iraq. During his service, he worked as a (63B) Light Wheel & (52 D) Generator Mechanic as well as a Wrecker Operator. This specific experience has served him well and has become very relevant in his civilian career.
“The military taught me perseverance, attention to detail, discipline and leadership which is a huge part of running a fleet of heavy equipment and dealing with the elements. My time spent in the maintenance field and with heavy equipment operation definitely plays a big role in day-to-day life,” Kees explains. These qualities, which are crucial to forging a successful path for oneself have become increasingly rare. But as Kees puts it, “Veterans are taught a set of core values that seem to stick with them for life.”
The military also bonds people in a way that very few other experiences can, making it fertile ground for friendships, partnerships, and opportunities. During Kees’s transition out of the military, he happened upon Shane Lyons, who is a veteran of the Navy. The two became fast friends – and eventually, business partners.
Lyons and his brother had owned a garbage collection company together and decided to hire Kees, helping him obtain the necessary license and knowledge needed to start his civilian career. Eventually, the two friends took stock of their experience, industry knowledge, resources, and skillsets, and made the bold decision to start Evergreen Waste, a local waste disposal company, in 2017. As Kees recounts, they started with, “1 truck, an order of 500 trash cans, and high hopes.”
But Kees had more than hope. He had experience with customer service, mechanical skills, and route operations. Lyons also had experience in route operations, as well as a background in sales. And in addition to their respective experience, they shared the values that the military had instilled in both of them, which Kees describes as, “a sense of trust that is priceless.”
Fast forward to today, six years later, and both the Nashville area and Evergreen Waste have seen a lot of growth. Evergreen currently has 8 employees, 5 trucks, and over 8,000 stops. “We are very proud of the job we have done,” notes Kees. And they should be. Not only do they perform a vital service for the community, but they also prioritize hiring veterans.
As Kees had noted previously, there’s a shared value set when working with other veterans and a level of trust that’s unparalleled. This makes hiring other veterans a desirable goal for Kees and Lyons – and it gives veterans a helping hand, much like Lyons did for Kees. So while veterans can face a lot of difficulties as they readjust to civilian life and begin their careers, it’s worth noting that there are many businesses specifically seeking men and women with military experience. For many veteran-owned businesses, candidates with military experience signal a shared work ethic and a type of internal fortitude that gives them a competitive edge.
There are also many communities, like our own, who are eager to support small and veteran-owned businesses. This is something that Kees is eminently grateful for. “I am most thankful for this community that we live and work in for supporting veteran-owned businesses and giving us an opportunity to continue serving in another way.”
To be the kind of community that gets to count Kees, Lyons, and the like amongst us, the privilege is entirely ours.
I am most thankful for this community that we live and work in for supporting veteran-owned businesses and giving us an opportunity to continue serving in another way.