Staff Reports
Military Friendly, the veteran‑support arm of VIQTORY, this week rolled out its 2026 Veteran of the Year and Vetrepreneur of the Year honorees. The announcement — timed on the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks — names national winners across categories from corporate leadership to community impact. It’s a welcome reminder that America’s veterans keep serving after they hang up the uniform, even if too many institutions still treat those sacrifices like a seasonal PR opportunity.
Military Friendly names 2026 winners and explains the process
The new class of honorees was chosen from hundreds of nominations through a multi‑stage process that included public voting, a peer council score, and panel interviews. The headline national winner is Ryan Groves of Mississippi, named National Military Friendly® Veteran of the Year. Other national winners include Joshua Copeland in Corporate America, Dave Underwood for Community Impact, Bryan Bills in Higher Education, and Valerie Sudduth in Advocacy. On the Vetrepreneur side, winners range from Gary Travis for Emerging to Anthony Suppa for Restaurant innovation.
Why Ryan Groves and these veteran awards matter
Groves is the sort of veteran story that shouldn’t be rare: a retired Chief Warrant Officer Three, combat wounded, a Purple Heart and Bronze Star recipient who now leads projects for the National Park Service. That transition — from battlefield leadership to protecting public lands and managing big projects — is exactly the kind of post‑service contribution these awards are supposed to spotlight. Military Friendly’s Veteran of the Year 2026 pick is a good one. But a nice title and a press release aren’t a substitute for real, long‑term job pipelines and clear hiring commitments from the private sector.
Vetrepreneurs and the real test: jobs, not just awards
The Vetrepreneur winners show another side of veteran success: entrepreneurship. Whether it’s small restaurants or service firms, veterans build businesses that hire other veterans and support communities. That’s worth celebrating. Still, the sober view is this: awards and online profiles are helpful for visibility. What veterans need more than anything is steady access to capital, ex‑mil talent pipelines, and fewer bureaucratic hurdles. If Military Friendly and VIQTORY want these honors to mean more than a press hit, they should push employers to turn recognition into hiring commitments and franchise opportunities that actually scale.
So yes — tip your hat to the Veteran of the Year 2026 winners and the Vetrepreneurs honored. Ryan Groves and the others earned the recognition. Now let’s turn applause into action: hire them, buy from their businesses, and make sure our communities invest in the next mission veterans choose. Military Friendly does solid work connecting vets to opportunity. The country should do even better.
