In celebration of Veteran’s Day, Dream Vacations is awarding five military veterans with free travel franchises as part of its 6th annual contest, “Operation Vetrepreneur: Become Your Own General.” Currently more than 30 percent of franchise owners within Dream Vacations are military veterans and over the past six years, the travel agency franchise has awarded 30 free franchises valued at $381,000 to deserving military veterans.
“Just like military veterans are the backbone of our country, they are also the backbone of Dream Vacations and we are honored to be able to provide them with our business opportunity,” said Debbie Fiorino, senior vice president of Dream Vacations, in a written release. “Every year I am impressed by the high caliber of applicants we receive, but I am confident that this year’s winners will be joining their peers of past winners as some of our must successful owners.”
Recognized in 2017 with highest honors at the International Franchise Association’s (IFA) Franchising Gives Back Awards, the annual “Operation Vetrepreneur: Become Your Own General” contest was open to former members of any of the five branches of the U.S. military (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard) who are retired, off active duty and/or honorably discharged prior to the contest start date this past May. Candidates participated in a rigorous three-part application process which included creating a business plan, video essay and phone interviews. More than 1,500 people have applied for franchise ownership through Operation Vetrepreneur. This year’s winners are Navy Veteran Nicholas Johnson-Moyneur of St. Charles, Mo.; Air Force Veteran Michelle McGinnis of Oklahoma City; Air Force Veteran Cynthia Seymour of Syracuse, N.Y.; Fredrick Wilkins of Ridgeway, S.C.; and Navy Veteran Brian Williams of Austin, Texas.
“Winning Operation Vetrepreneur has been a dream come true. I have always had that entrepreneurial spirit and Dream Vacations offers the support and professional expertise to allow me to live my passion,” said Vetrepreneur Winner Moyneur. “As a Navy Veteran, I have been blown away with the level of commitment that Dream Vacations has to the military community. I am truly honored to join the Dream Vacations family.”
Dream Vacations is committed to giving back to the military community and offers an enlistment package valued at no less than $5,000, to assist veterans in transitioning back to civilian life. New franchise owners can select one of three perks — receiving up to $7,000 back based on sales through the Earn Back promotion, a $1,000 marketing credit, or waived administrative fees valued at $1,350. Additional benefits for military veterans include a 20 percent discount off the initial fee, waived training fee for a business partner, veteran-themed marketing assets, the ability to hire active-duty military spouses as associates at a discount, LeisureCare Travel Insurance discounts for veterans, travel discounts for military customers, access to veteran networking groups and the ability to move residences and stay in business.
Dream Vacations supports military veterans and is consistently recognized by leading industry publications as a veteran-friendly franchise. As a member of the IFA’s VetFran initiative, Dream Vacations is the only travel franchise to receive a five star ranking. Other national accolades include number one rankings by Entrepreneur magazine on its “Top Franchises for Veterans” list, Military Times “Best for Vets: Franchises” list and Forbes “10 Top Military-Friendly Franchises.” Additional recognitions include inclusion on G.I. Jobs annual “Hot Franchises for Veterans,” US Veterans magazine’s “Top Veteran-Friendly Companies”, USA Today’s “50 Top Franchises for Military Veterans” and recognition by MSC Cruises in its Seaside Salute Award.
Dream Vacations is committed to being “Rich in Diversity” and empowers all owners, franchisees and employees to reach their highest potential by leveraging their broad range of talent, experiences, personalities, viewpoints and ideas to generate business growth.
Military veterans who have a passion for travel and entrepreneurism who are interested in opening a Dream Vacations travel franchise, please visit www.DreamVacationsFranchise.com or call 888-249-8235.
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