Why Aaron Jones Sr. Deserves NFL Salute to Service Award Tonight
MINNEAPOLIS/GLOBAL — As the NFL prepares to announce its 15th Annual Salute to Service Award winner tonight at 9 PM EST, an unprecedented coalition has emerged. The National Invest In Veterans Week® Deployable Domain Network—spanning 18 states and territories from FloridaVeterans.com to PuertoRicoVeterans.com—has united behind Minnesota Vikings running back Aaron Jones Sr.
This isn't celebrity endorsement. It's peer validation from within the veteran community itself.
Aaron Jones Sr., son of two U.S. Army Sergeant Majors with 50+ combined years of service, has built the A&A All The Way Foundation—a model of sustainable veteran and military family support. In 2024, he received the Jeff Shuford Empowerment Through Advocacy Award from National Invest In Veterans Week, recognizing his measurable impact, sustainable programming, and community investment.
LTC Rickey L. Pope (Retired), President of National Invest In Veterans Week, states: "Aaron Jones Sr. represents the gold standard of military family advocacy. He's built what we all strive for: measurable impact, sustainable infrastructure, and authentic commitment validated by those who've worn the uniform."
Tonight's decision matters globally. The world watches whether the NFL recognizes authentic impact or something else.
Phil Hulett, Anaheim Ducks: The Case for National Invest In Veterans Week®
Legendary Anaheim Ducks voice Phil Hulett is calling for a national shift from "symbolic applause" to "economic action." By highlighting legislative success in South Carolina and Douglas County, Oregon, Hulett underscores that the true way to honor veterans is through hiring, mentorship, and supporting veteran-owned businesses during National Invest In Veterans Week® (March 1–7).
National Invest In Veterans Week® Responds to Congressman Bilirakis’ Call to Invest in Military and Veterans
National Invest In Veterans Week® welcomed renewed calls from Congress to invest in military families and veterans, highlighting housing, economic stability, and entrepreneurship as inseparable priorities. As policymakers push for safer living conditions and stronger support systems, NIVW President Angel Shuford emphasized that sustainable veteran success begins with foundational investments that allow veterans and military families to thrive, lead, and build long-term economic impact nationwide.
National Invest In Veterans Week® Reflects on Canadian Parliamentary Call: “Invest in Veterans, Not Loblaws”
A 2022 exchange in Canada’s House of Commons—captured in the debate titled “Invest in Veterans, Not Loblaws”—offers a timely international lens on the principles that define National Invest In Veterans Week®. As Canadian lawmakers warned against outsourcing veteran services to profit-driven conglomerates, the moment underscored a shared global truth: veteran care and economic empowerment must be rooted in accountability, reinvestment, and veteran-centered leadership. Preserved on record, the debate reinforces why National Invest In Veterans Week® continues to advance a cross-border mission focused on investing in veterans—not around them.
National Invest In Veterans Week® Commends Wisconsin's Historic Budget Investment in Veterans Following 2025 Observance
In the days following National Invest In Veterans Week® 2025, Wisconsin delivered a decisive policy response. Governor Tony Evers’ 2025–2027 budget commits more than $250 million in combined tax relief, housing, mental health services, cultural preservation, and capital upgrades for veterans—demonstrating how states can translate recognition into real, structural investment. Wisconsin’s approach reinforces a central principle of National Invest In Veterans Week®: veteran empowerment is strongest when economic policy, healthcare, housing, and workforce development move together.
From Washington to Canberra to Ottawa—How 2025 Became the Year Veterans Took the Global Stage
In 2025, National Invest In Veterans Week® crossed a historic threshold, becoming more than a commemorative event—it became a global strategic framework. For the first time, the movement achieved a triangulated presence across the United States, Canada, and Australia, setting a new international standard for veteran investment and empowerment.
In the United States, the week was formally recognized in the Congressional Record, with lawmakers acknowledging the role of veterans in national economic development. In Australia, the Returned & Services League (RSL) incorporated NIVW-aligned reforms into its official 2025 Election Asks, calling for systemic changes in defense funding, veteran healthcare, and institutional oversight—marking the first appearance of NIVW principles in legislative policy demands abroad. In Canada, national media and regional business coalitions echoed the movement’s values, laying the groundwork for a North Atlantic Veteran Investment Framework.
Academia followed suit. In January 2025, Harvard Catalyst, the translational science hub at Harvard Medical School, endorsed National Invest In Veterans Week® as a model for integrated veteran transition policy, praising its synthesis of healthcare, entrepreneurship, and workforce development. This represented the first formal integration of the initiative into an academic institutional model.
Meanwhile, the private capital landscape evolved. In March, ITA Growth Partners was launched as the first institutional family office dedicated exclusively to investing in veteran-owned enterprises, formalizing the role of veterans not just as entrepreneurs but as durable economic contributors. It was a turning point—the first emergence of veteran-centered institutional capital.
At the core of these advancements lies a deeper shift. 2025 marked the first full-scale philosophical reframing of veterans as a systemic capital class—not as recipients of aid, but as originators of value. As policymakers, investors, and educators aligned behind this principle, the world began to see military service not just as honorable sacrifice, but as strategic national investment capable of generating long-term societal return.
In every sector and across three continents, 2025 was the year veterans stopped being celebrated only in ceremony—and started being positioned at the center of global systems.
ITA Growth Partners Launches as National Invest In Veterans Week® Becomes First U.S. Veteran Business Observance Celebrated Internationally
In a landmark announcement timed with National Invest In Veterans Week® (March 1–7), ITA International unveiled the formation of ITA Growth Partners, a dedicated family office investing in veteran-owned businesses across all sectors. This move, led by the Melo family, signals a bold recognition of veterans as high-performance business leaders—and represents a strategic shift toward long-term, values-based capital deployment that aligns with the initiative’s founding philosophy: that military service is an investment in the nation, and one that demands an institutional response.
The launch of ITA Growth Partners adds substantial momentum to National Invest In Veterans Week® as it continues its expansion beyond U.S. borders. On March 4, 2025, Canada became the first international participant in the observance when Northern Ontario Business published “Investing in Veterans: A Call to Northern Ontario’s Business Community”. The article urged Canadian industries to embrace veteran entrepreneurs as a skilled labor solution, echoing the same economic logic advanced by the U.S. initiative.
This milestone affirms National Invest In Veterans Week® as the first U.S.-based veteran business observance to be celebrated internationally. Its transnational traction is built upon a foundation of legal, legislative, and rhetorical validation: a federally registered trademark, multiple gubernatorial proclamations, and two entries in the U.S. Congressional Record (May 24, 2023, and March 8, 2024) that embedded its core language—“Investing in Our Veterans”—into the official record of American civic discourse.
Veteran Business Empowerment Proposals 1-3
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Purpose: Translate military skills into recognized civilian certifications, supporting career growth or entrepreneurial ventures in technical fields.
Benefits: Enhances veterans’ qualifications for competitive industries, creating new career pathways and opportunities for veteran-owned businesses.
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Purpose: Offer tax incentives to veteran-owned businesses to encourage entrepreneurship, ease financial burdens, and stimulate growth in veteran-led enterprises.
Benefits: Reduces startup costs, enhances profitability, and enables veteran-owned businesses to reinvest in expansion and job creation, boosting local economies and supporting veterans in building lasting businesses.
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Purpose: Provide fast-track training for veterans to transition into high-demand careers, with immediate placement in essential industries.
Benefits: Supports veterans in building stable, fulfilling careers, and strengthens the workforce with dedicated, skilled professionals.