Lynn Roer, who’s director of event management and experiential design at Ogilvy, is now also volunteering as VP, chief development officer for Vets2Set, a newly founded not-for-profit organization looking to create production assistant job opportunities for U.S. military veterans. The goal is to place two vets on every shoot–advertising, TV, film and digital media—which in turn will help open the door to careers for them in the production industry.
Roer adds her expertise in media production and event planning and execution to the decades of experience in commercial production, advertising, and marketing provided by Vets2Set co-founders David Cohen and Peter Friedman. Cohen has served in such capacities as COO at Pure/Chemistry and EVP, creative services at Creative Bubble, while Friedman’s resumé includes having been head of production at McCann. The third Vets2Set co-founder is retired U.S. Army Colonel Maureen Weigl, brings extensive knowledge of human resource management and government interaction to the effort.
Roer’s appointment to the board of this veteran service organization was announced at the organization’s November launch co-sponsored by Samsung and ComcastNBCUniversal at Samsung 837 in New York. Al Roker Entertainment provided a taped on camera welcome message and interview with a veteran it hired through Vets2Set.
In addition to remarks from Vets2Set co-founders David Cohen, Colonel (ret) Maureen Weigl and Peter Friedman, the launch event featured remarks by Matt Miller, president and CEO of the AICP, who encouraged the audience of advertising, entertainment and media executives to make the hiring of two vets for every shoot a new standard for staffing.
The gathering at the Vets2Set launch included such industry leaders as Jeff Devlin, chairman, U.S. Government Practice at WPP; Rick Boyko, former co-president, chief creative officer of Ogilvy North America; Pamela Duckworth, head of fubo Sports Network; and Lisa DePoy, partner of 9thWonder, who flew in from Dallas to celebrate this new opportunity the advertising and entertainment industries now have to serve the veterans who have served others. On the military side, representatives from corporate veterans’ programs, the USO, New York State National Guard, and the Department of Labor were present.
Vets2Set operates a proprietary database of veterans’ profiles that enrolled employers can search by zip code. Employers hire and pay vets directly as they do any other production assistant. Vets2Set takes no fees from the vet or employer but rather depends upon tax-free donations to operate.
Given the large number of commercial shoots taking place every day, potential income for veterans hired as production assistants could range as high as a combined several million dollars each year. The November launch just prior to Veterans Day in New York City is designed to inspire not only commercial producers but also postproduction, digital media, and entertainment companies to commit to the program. Although most employment opportunities will remain in New York and Los Angeles, nationwide recruitment of veterans by the organization makes it possible to find veterans wherever a shoot takes place.
Veterans and employers can enroll in this veteran employment program here.
