Old Dominion University's Hampton Roads Veterans Business Outreach Center (HRVBOC) and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) will host "Valuing our Veterans," a Veterans Day observance, on Thursday, Nov. 6 at MacArthur Memorial in downtown Norfolk.

The event, which runs from 9:30-11 a.m. at the memorial at 198 Bank Street, features an address by Maj. Gen. Rex Spitler, newly appointed Deputy Chief of Staff, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC). Vice Admiral (Ret.) David Architzel, Old Dominion University's Director of Military Affairs, will serve as master of ceremonies for the event.

HRVBOC Director Cherylynn Sagester said the purpose of the event is to honor those who have served, a goal that is strived for every day at the Veterans Business Outreach Center and ODU Business Gateway.

"Everyone is familiar with the old adage talk is cheap. We strive not to just talk, but to act," Sagester said. "What better way to give back than to deliver value through providing entrepreneurial support and services to those who have served their country, individuals who now want to serve their families and the community through building a successful small business?"

The HRVBOC offers numerous services to area veterans with a business, or an interest in starting one, including:

• Delivering business counseling, coaching, mentoring, training and education classes, workshops and conferences, particularly to veteran and military retirees who seek to become entrepreneurs;
• Assisting entrepreneurs in acquiring start-up funding for their business, and acting as a referral service to other business and veteran resources and organizations;
• Conducting outreach and advocacy for veterans throughout the Hampton Roads community, with regional military and veteran organizations, academia, and industry; and
• Encouraging continued life and career success for veterans upon completion of their military service by providing mentorship opportunities.

All services are provided free of charge to veterans through the HRVBOC.

The Nov. 6 Valuing our Veterans event will include a networking session for veterans before the observance, which begins promptly at 10 a.m.

The Hampton Roads Veterans Business Outreach Center is a grant-funded program through the U.S. Small Business Administration, and managed by the ODU Business Gateway and ODU Research Foundation. It works with other programs and resource partners in the University and around the area to provide needed entrepreneurial support for business-minded veterans and their families. The HRVBOC serves the mid-Atlantic region, with responsibility for these services in the states of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania and Washington D.C.

Old Dominion University has a campus-wide commitment to supporting and nurturing entrepreneurs. That endeavor was strengthened significantly by the donation of $11 million by the Strome Family Foundation, led by alumnus Mark Strome '78 and his wife Tammy Strome. ODU's Strome Entrepreneurial Center opened in September and is open to students across campus.