Celebrating Our Veterans’ Service to Country and Impact on Our Companies

On the cold morning of Monday, November 14, associates across The Johnson Group gathered under a tent at one of American Credit Acceptance’s office buildings to celebrate and show gratitude for our team members who have served our nation in the Armed Forces.  Veterans from each of the companies addressed the group, reflecting on their personal experiences in the military and the many ways those have positively impacted their transition to the business sector.

Mark Robinson, Director of Operations for the Industrial Division at JDA, shared some of his experience, having served for over six years as an infantry and reconnaissance officer in the United States Marine Corps.  Mark deployed three times to Afghanistan, Africa, and Colombia, South America during his service.

In his remarks, Mark shared, “Like many veterans, I got much more out of the Marine Corps than the Marine Corps got out of me.  We should be proud to be a part of the Armed Forces and utilize our personal growth for the common good.”

Mark has certainly used his own personal growth for good.  Upon completing his service in the Marine Corps in 2016, Mark enrolled at the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School, where he earned his MBA with a focus in Real Estate and Corporate Finance.  During that time, he interned with JDA and joined the Industrial team full-time upon his degree completion.  Starting as a Real Estate Manager, Mark has steadily grown into a key leader within the Industrial team, now overseeing operations for a division that continues rapid expansion across the United States.

His background and training in the Marine Corps have served him well.  In his reflections on Veteran’s Day, Mark summarized many of the lessons he learned as a veteran:

“As veterans, we learned to be brilliant in the basics and that good leaders must seek to serve their subordinates. In a divided society, we learned that our differences made us stronger, that our gender, race, beliefs, and backgrounds didn’t matter as long as we all endeavored together to do our very best at our role. We learned that we couldn’t survive alone, that having each other’s backs, working together, and trusting each other would lead to success. Finally, we learned to live life with intensity and to have a bias for action without losing compassion for mistakes made in good faith.”

Below, please enjoy learning about a few more of the many veterans who are part of The Johnson Group, and join us in thanking them for their service to our country and contributions to our companies.

Morse Code Analyst’s Military Experience Easily Translates to the Private Sector

After serving as a Morse code analyst in the United States Air Force, Sharon Thompson is quick to note that military experience easily translates to the private sector.

“I use many of the skills I mastered in the Air Force in my current position,” says Sharon, a 10-year USAF veteran who joined OTO Development as an accounts payable specialist in 2015. “The military taught me to pay attention to detail and to multi-task — the two strengths that most impact my job at OTO — and helped me develop a positive work ethic and a high standard of performance.”

Being able to listen and type simultaneously — accurately — is a talent Sharon honed during her Morse code days. It’s a skill she continues to put to good use, processing the heavy volume of invoices that cross her desk while also taking calls from vendors and responding to emails.

And here’s something only coworkers of a certain age can truly appreciate: Sharon handled administrative tasks for her base commander during the 1980s, utilizing the earliest iterations of the personal computer. Working in that era of nascent technology required her to be endlessly adaptable to ever-evolving systems — a flexibility she maintains to this day.

One common thread throughout her military and civilian careers is partnership, says Sharon, who holds an associate of arts degree from Spartanburg Community College and a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies from the University of South Carolina.

“Building strong relationships with colleagues, emphasizing solid teamwork — that’s important no matter what kind of work you’re doing,” she says.

Military Experience Expands Horizons

Marcus Pearson grew up in Metro Atlanta, Georgia. However, he will tell you that the town he grew up in was nothing like the big city surrounding it. It functioned like any small town in America. Everyone knew everyone, and very few people ever left. Marcus decided at an early age that his future would be different. He joined the United States Army at the age of 17 and was suddenly exposed to the world.

“I’m coming out of this small town environment, and now suddenly I am in the military, and I get exposed to the world. It gave me a chance to grow up and mature in a way I would not have been able to if I had not gone into the military,” says Marcus.

Marcus served four years in the Army, finishing his career as a specialist, and was stationed stateside in Arizona, Kentucky, and Georgia and internationally in South Korea. While in the Army, Marcus served as a Morse code interceptor before transitioning to driving tanks.

“Once I reclassed, I became a tanker. So I went from listening to Morse code to driving and shooting from tanks, which was super super fun. That is how I finished out my career,” says Marcus.

After leaving the military, Marcus found a home in customer service working for several organizations. Today, he is the Manager of Servicing in ACA’s Boise, Idaho office. Marcus moved his family to Idaho from Atlanta last year to advance and take on this exciting role, something he wouldn’t have considered had it not been for his military experience.

His experience in the Army showed Marcus how to overcome adversity. He says his experience built physical and moral character that has helped him in life. Marcus says, “I look at adversity as a challenge, and the military taught me to look at a difficult situation and not see it as something impossible to overcome, but to evaluate it and see the best way to approach the problem, to think strategically.”

Transitioning from the military to ACA, Marcus has found similarities in the culture thanks to the Guiding Principles. Marcus says, “The Core Army Values that I was exposed to at 17 became ingrained in me, and I see them in the Guiding Principles at ACA. I appreciate being able to identify and carry over those things the military taught me to be the servant leader I strive to be.”

It’s No Secret the Military Molds Strong Character…

After working hand-in-hand with the CIA, Patty Blackwell makes no secret about the positive impact her military experiences have on her civilian career.

“My military background played a huge factor in molding me into the person I am today – no doubt,” says Patty, who served 24 years as a U.S. Navy Master-at-Arms, First Class Petty Officer.  “My time in the Navy taught me you can handle any crisis, under any circumstances, with a never-quit mentality.  This helped me develop a strong work ethic that I still apply to my everyday life.”

Like many veterans, Patty has Sea Stories galore, including some memorable ones from her time in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. There, she worked alongside the CIA extracting and building databases for evidence in the top-secret Camp 7 (where the worst 14 terrorists are detained until trials, including the masterminds behind the 9-11 attacks and the bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen).

Today Patty works as a Corporate Purchasing Analyst at OTO Development.  Her tasks include tracking budgets for new hotel builds and extensive renovation projects.  Not quite as sensational as tracking evidence against terrorists, perhaps, but she loves her job and her team.

Patty says the strongest trait she brings to OTO is teamwork.  “I feel it is imperative to embrace our differences, channel our strengths as a collective group to achieve a common goal,” she adds.

After a quarter-century serving in the Navy, Patty appreciates finding herself at a company that makes decisions and executes strategies according to unshakable Guiding Principles.

“The Navy’s Core Values are Honor, Courage and Commitment, which align perfectly with the Guiding Principles we use here at OTO,” Patty says. “I still hold myself to those Navy standards and I have added the Guiding Principles as an even better marker as to the person, employee, and teammate I strive to be.”

Finding Community from Military to Corporate Sector

Operations Specialists in the United States Navy are critical vessels of information for everyone on the ship. They run the ship’s Common Information Center (CIC). It is at the heart of the ship’s ability to function effectively. This is where Aidan Duley began his 22-year career in the Navy.

“The CIC is where they use radar, all the comms suites, and shoot all the missiles and the guns,” says Aidan.

After beginning his career as an Operations Specialist, Aidan then applied for commissioning through the Limited Officer Duty Program and, after nine years, was selected and commissioned as a Surface Operations Officer.

Aidan says, “We are commissioned subject matter experts for our areas, and there is one LDO on the ship. My area of expertise was operations, meaning the ship’s CIC, and I was in charge of the ship’s defense and the variety of warfare areas. Those would be like anti-surface and anti-air defense.”

Aidan went on to teach carrier strike groups how to run an effective and efficient Common Information Center, mainly focusing on anti-air warfare defense. In total, he dedicated 22 years of his life to service in the United States Navy.

When deciding to retire from the Navy, Aidan was anxious about the future. “It was causing a lot of sleepless nights because you’ve only ever known one thing, and now you are going to do something totally different,” he says.

It didn’t take long for Aidan to find the confidence he was used to having when speaking with military members as he worked through the interview process. When he heard about the opportunity at ACA, he knew it was special.

Aidan says, “The Guiding Principles very closely aligned with the Navy’s Core Values and military ethos, so the transition from the Navy to ACA was pretty seamless. I was looking for a home. Spartanburg had been my home, but I was looking for a community to plug back into where I would be challenged. ACA was very welcoming and was exactly what I was looking for.”

Aidan is in his third month as Manager of Servicing in our Spartanburg office.