VETRN’s President, Lee Goldberg, Program Manager, David Ferrara, Instructors Jeff Marquez, Walter Schuppe and Steve Awtrey are proud to announce that on December 20, 2025, VETRN graduated thirteen veteran, service-disabled veteran and family member participants from twelve states across the USA from its May 2025 VETRN MBA Online program.
Kevin Safley, owner of Town Center Automotive in Clackamas, Oregon, was the Keynote Speaker. A VETRN graduate, Kevin spoke about the significant value the VETRN program has been to his business, as he has been able to substantially increase his footprint, revenue and profitability as a result of instituting and diligently following the growth plan initiatives and key financial, operating and cash flow metrics he developed while attending the VETRN program. Guests included Mark Williams, the VBOC Director from the SBA Office of Veterans Business Development, VETRN Board members, SBA District Directors and regional VBOC Directors who congratulated and supported the VETRN graduates from their local geographic market areas.
VETRN is proud to be an SBA Resource Partner and Grantee. Currently in the 4th year of an SBA grant to train veteran and service-disabled veteran small business owners in how to successfully grow their businesses, VETRN accepted 10 additional qualified applicants into its October 2025 cohort, which will graduate in April 2026. To be accepted into the VETRN Program, which is all about putting together a 3-year growth plan or a 12-month turnround plan, applicants must have been in business for one or more years, have a sustainable revenue model and be ready to scale. Applicants who do not meet the qualifications for the VETRN Program are referred to the SBA for further resources and assistance in their local geographic market area.
With the May 2025 VETRN graduating class, VETRN, which started in 2013, is now in its 12th year of successful programming. Upon the graduation of both May 2025 and October 2025 cohorts, VETRN will have graduated more than 150 graduates with over 100 professional resources available to support the graduates as they continue their journey to grow their businesses and become successful.
VETRN wishes to thank all its graduates, mentors, guest experts, panel judges, professional resources, board members and advisors for your continued support of our program, with a special thank you to the SBA for recognizing the value of the VETRN Program by including VETRN as an SBA Resource Partner and Grantee.