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V O L . X X I I I N O. X X I X S carborough native Tim Smith joined the military right out of high school and now serves in the Army National Guard while managing a fleet of liquid-fuel delivery drivers for Dead River Co. e 25-year-old has been with the company since starting as an intern in December 2015 while an ROTC student at the University of Southern Maine, where he majored in media studies. He's found his military train- ing to be invaluable in his unexpected career, particularly in managing older, more experienced colleagues. "In the military I'm a rifle pla- toon leader so I have 45 guys that I'm responsible for," including several older subordinates who have seen combat. "e biggest thing that's helped me is learning to work with them and operate as a team," he says during an interview at Dead River's South Portland headquarters. He overseas 25 drivers during the current busy season, including folks in their 50s and 60s who have been with the company or in the industry for years, pulling hoses sometimes through two feet of snow to keep someone's home warm. "e most interesting thing to me," Smith says, "is the fact that in the wintertime, fuel and heat goes from being a commodity to a necessity, so we take our jobs very seriously in serving our customers." Smith is one of more than 100 vet- erans and active reservists employed at Dead River, about 10% of the company's workforce. Other Maine employers with a large veteran workforce include Tilson, the fast-growing telecom and information technology firm based in Portland; Pittsfield-based Cianbro, Maine's largest construction firm; and Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems, which is based in Brewer. Large veteran population Maine has close to 117,000 veterans, who account for about 11% of the pop- ulation. ey're less likely to find and get jobs than others. Data from the Maine Department of Labor shows that in 2016, 51.3% of veterans were in the labor force, compared to 65.8% of non-vets. at's largely a reflection of the high percentage of older veter- ans who are outside the labor mar- ket. Within age groups, labor force participation rates of veterans and non-veterans are similar. e unem- ployment rate for both groups was below 4% in 2016. For vets of working age, the good news is that more employers are recruit- ing from their ranks to staff jobs — in Maine and elsewhere — that they might otherwise have trouble filling. It's not just the technical and critical-thinking skills honed in the military they're seeking, but also the kind of dedication, team spirit and mission mindset that Guy Langevin looks for as Dead River's vice president of human resources and organizational development. A veteran himself, he joined the company eight years ago "When I came here," he says, "we started focusing on identifying transfer- able skills from military backgrounds. ere are inherent skill sets that are taught and trained — accountability, attention to detail, a focus on safety, adaptability to changing conditions … ose are incredibly valuable in the busi- ness world." He knows from experience, having worked as a cryptologic linguist and in military intelligence for five years in the U.S. Army. In traditionally male-dominated industries such as construction and technology, gender equity among veterans has been hard — but not impossible — to achieve. at's been made more challenging because of the fact that veterans far outnumber their female peers — in Maine by a ratio of 12-to-1. Out of 104 veterans and active reserve members employed at Dead River, seven are female. Guy Langevin, center, a veteran, is vice president of human resources and organizational development at Dead River Co. Here he meets with fellow employees and veterans, left to right, Tim Smith, delivery driver manager; Josh Stanclift, manager trainee intern; and Paula Kowalsky, credit manager, at Dead River's South Portland offices. AN ARMY OF WORKERS Maine employers tap into veteran talent pool B y R e n e e C o r d e s F O C U S D E C E M B E R 1 1 , 2 0 1 7 14 P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY

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