Cross-Branch Veteran Recognized for Supporting Military Spouses, Base Community

By: Allison Stevens

In 2012, Matthew Chapman, a bomb expert with the US Army, received another order to move, this time to Georgia. His wife, Debbi, planned to continue working as an intensive care nurse in her new home state, but renewing her license in yet another state (she had already done so several times) would take many months and cost a small fortune.

In the end, she decided it wasn’t worth it. She gave up her career, along with her professional identity and salary—which was higher than her husband’s.

Chapman is one of countless military spouses across the country who experience unemployment and lost earnings due to a patchwork of state laws that keep them from working as nurses, teachers, accountants and other professions that require licensure.

Their plight inspired Dan Rhoades to take action.

A “cross-branch” Veteran who settled in Georgia after many moves himself, Rhoades made “licensure reciprocity” a top priority as senior advisor of the 21st Century Partnership, a nonprofit that works to strengthen central Georgia’s economy and protect its local air force base. In this role, he worked with military advocates and state lawmakers to advance legislation that would remove legal barriers to nurses, teachers, accountants and other licensed professionals who want to move an out-of-state practice to Georgia.

That effort finally paid off last spring, when the state enacted legislation to allow new residents to work under occupational licenses granted by other states. The bill serves as a model for other states and the federal government, which last year enacted a law aimed to make it easier for military spouses to maintain consistent employment when moving.

“It took the whole community, even the whole state, to fix the problem,” Rhoades said. “But it got through.”

Defense Community Champion

That legislative victory is one reason Rhoades, a longstanding member of Navy Federal Credit Union, has been named one of this year’s 19 Defense Community Champions by the Association of Defense Communities (ADC), a network of some 300 defense-heavy communities and states across the nation.

This year’s honorees hail from all 4 corners of the country, from cities like Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Fairbanks, Alaska, to small cities like Enid, Oklahoma.

They’re local heroes like Bob Brown, chair of the Harford County Commission on Veterans Affairs near Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. After serving in the US Army, Brown uses his perch to help Veterans access resources and services, ranging from childcare and healthcare to affordable housing and furniture.

They’re people like Victor Medina, a retired Army Veteran and Purple Heart recipient in San Antonio, Texas, who supports the Alamo Area’s military community through the Traumatic Brain Injury Foundation, a nonprofit he founded. And like John Tindall, a retired Army Reserve Veteran who—at 80 years old—continues to support families of deployed Servicemembers through the nonprofit he helped found called Kentuckiana Cares.

“These men and women go the extra mile for their communities,” said Keith Hoskins, executive vice president of branch operations at Navy Federal Credit Union, the official sponsor of ADC’s Defense Community Champions. Over the last 4 years, the credit union, which serves members of the military community, has contributed more than $300,000 to the program. “They go above and beyond not only to support individuals and families in the military community but to help make their entire defense communities strong,” added Hoskins, a member of ADC’s presidential advisory council.

National recognition

In recent months, Navy Federal and ADC have paid tribute to service champions at a dozen recognition ceremonies across the country. Three national honorees, including Rhoades, will receive special recognition at ADC’s national summit in Arlington, Va., from March 31 to April 2. The others are Brittany Smart, an advisor for defense, community and research at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks, and John Cooper Sr., chair of the Niagara Military Affairs Council in New York.

During the summit, leaders will promote Rhoades’ story—through video compilations and other materials—about his work to strengthen the military community, local schools and regional economy in central Georgia. In this role, he helped stave off relocation of missions from nearby Robins Air Force Base; successfully advocated for a new solar energy plant in support of the base, and secured millions in federal grants that he and others have used to infuse local curricula with science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) learning opportunities.

The funds paid for mobile science labs, technology “boot camps,” high school robotics teams, 9 STEM scholarships and more than two dozen other STEM events in the area, including a pair of “startup innovation” fairs. So far, the funds have supported nearly 2,000 students, many in rural and underserved areas. Today, the region is known as “tech corridor” with good jobs in the defense industry.

Now president of the Museum of Aviation Foundation, Rhoades has his sights set on a national STEM academy and training programs for local teachers. Meanwhile, the Middle Georgia—Robins Air Force Base Sustainability Plan has won numerous awards and industry honors for sustainability planning and environmental resilience.

“The initiatives Mr. Rhoades helped spearhead resulted in a wave of innovation throughout middle Georgia, transforming the region into a hub of localized creativity and entrepreneurship,” according to the ADC. Rhoades responds that the award recognizes far more than his work alone. “I’m not getting this award. Middle Georgia is getting this award, and I just happen to be the face.”

Learn more about Navy Federal’s commitment to military communities.