Lincoln’s Veterans Parade highlights military members in the workforce

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Hundreds turned out to watch the Veterans Parade on Sunday, which featured many veteran organizations, nonprofits and local businesses.

The theme this year was “Veterans in Business,” to showcase vets who have become business leaders and entrepreneurs after their service.

Officials said in 2021, more than 10% of new businesses were owned by veterans.

John Berry, CEO of Berry Law and an army veteran, said a lot of the skills he learned in the military translated to success in business and heading a company.

“To scale any organization, you need leadership and veterans provide that leadership,” he said. “They come with the batteries included, ready to go.”

Berry started his career as an active-duty infantry officer in the U.S. Army and finished as a Battalion Commander in the Nebraska National Guard.

Berry said after 20 years of service, he’s learned a lot of leadership skills he’s now passing on to employees.

“Veterans come with that base level of leadership,” he said. “More importantly they understand commitment, they understand duty and they understand how to work together as a team.”

Berry said being in the military allowed him to meet all kinds of people from across the country.

He said it’s all about being able to trust those people to be on your team.

“It wasn’t about who you were or where you’re from, whether you’re rich, whether you’re poor,” he said. “It was about ‘we’re a team, we’re accomplishing a mission.’ And what we care about is whether you’re the service member on my left or my right, I got to be able to trust you.”

Berry said his job at the parade was not just to celebrate the veterans, but to challenge them to build a better future for themselves, their companies and their families.

“The more leaders you can train, the better we feel about ourselves, the better we feel about our communities,” he said. “But more importantly, the more we are doing to make a difference.”