Springfield-based Hudson Hawk Barber and Shop has taken the first steps in a U.S. Department of Defense's (DoD) program that helps military personnel transition into civilian roles.
As part of the department's Skillbridge Program, Hudson Hawk co-founder Thad Forrester said the company has hired Weston Odneal, who joined the Air Force in 2017, as an intern focused on marketing and press-relations.
Odneal will receive training and hands-on experience and, in turn, the barbershop chain will get the opportunity to hire someone with a fresh perspective, Forrester said.
The DoD pays completely for Odneal's four-month internship as part of the Skillbridge Program. While Odneal, who started in his new role at the end of January 2024, will be Hudson Hawk's first participant in the program, the company is open to extending its involvement, dependent on how this experience goes, Forrester said.
“I'd never heard of a program like this,” Forrester said. “You know, I didn't know the military did stuff like this.
“They find people who are getting back into civilian life trying to look for opportunities to help them reintegrate. It's really cool that they do this.”
The DoD Skillbridge Progam allows a military member in their last 180 days of service to gain valuable civilian work experience through industry training, apprenticeships or internships. The program includes employers like Amazon, John Deere, Lockheed Martin, UnitedHealth Group and the U.S. Veterans Administration, according to the DoD website.
Linguistic background offers fresh perspective
Just months ago, Odneal was living in the United Kingdom doing linguistic work for the military. He knows seven dialects of Arabic as well as French, Odneal said. He took an 18-month training program at the Defense Language Institute to obtain his proficient language skills.
Odneal, who is originally from Mountain Grove, Missouri, said he enjoys reading Arabic.
“I think it's really interesting because characters are different and you kind of read right to left,” Odneal said.
Forrester said he thinks Odneal's extensive language knowledge will come in handy when drafting press releases and performing other marketing tasks for Hudson Hawk.
The whole process of hiring Odneal began in September 2023, Forrester said. Interviews followed in October and Odneal started in January 2024.
Hudson Hawk had to jump through some hoops to get enrolled in the program, Forrester said.
“To get accepted, we had to do a bunch of due diligence on our end,” Forrester said. “We had to put together a training program, put together kind of a schedule of weekly activities.”
The program will last four months. After that, Odneal could be offered a full-time position or he will leave the company for other opportunities, Forrester said.
“My goal is if we go through this thing and he ends up parting ways with us, that he leaves better than he came and we would do the same,” Forrester said.
