Navigator earns national honor

For the third consecutive year, Navigator Development Group Inc. has been honored by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) with a 2020 HIREVets Platinum Medallion Program Award.

This is the only veteran employment award at the federal level. Navigator is among 58 companies that have received the award for three consecutive years since the award was first presented in 2018.

In a recent virtual ceremony, the U.S. Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia said 675 businesses of different sizes nationwide met the criteria this year to recruit, employ, and retain veterans. “We honor the companies and organizations that have recognized veteran’s unique capabilities,” he said. “This represents a 60 percent increase over the number of awardees last year.”

Scalia noted that since 2018, medallion recipients collectively had hired more than 37,000 veterans.

“These organizations are helping military men and women find careers where they can apply the skills and leadership they gained through their service in the armed forces,” he said. “These companies are providing veterans not just jobs, but also networking opportunities and tuition assistance, as well as other forms of support.”

In a letter to Keith Gay, owner and CEO of Navigator Development Group Inc., Scalia thanked him for recognizing the value veterans bring to the workplace.

Gay said veterans make up more than 75 percent of Navigator’s workforce. “Veterans provide a solid work ethic, bring unique skill sets, and have an unwavering dedication to continue serving our nation’s warfighters,” he said.

Recipients of the HIREVets Medallion Program Demonstration Award were evaluated based on a range of criteria, including veteran hiring and retention; availability of veteran-specific resources; leadership programs for veterans; dedicated human resources; and compensation and tuition assistance programs for veterans.

In 2017, President Donald J. Trump signed into law the Honoring Investments in Recruiting and Employing (HIRE) American Military Veterans Act, creating the HIREVets medallion program.

Navigator was initially founded in 1997 to provide contractor support needs to the U. S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence. With its headquarters near Fort Rucker and a regional office in Huntsville, Navigator draws top-quality professionals from numerous military career fields.