We say this often, but it’s nevertheless always worth repeating.
At Fox Associates, we’re incredibly fortunate to work with a dazzling array of partners in the media space. We have an inherent fascination with all of the disparate markets—from public works to numismatics and lots more—where we help associations and media companies grow their businesses. This month, we’re very happy to visit with Keith King, an old friend with whom we worked in the past at the Vietnam Veterans of America. Now Keith heads up the National Veteran Business Development Council, which is dedicated to helping veteran-owned businesses secure federal contracts.
We caught up with Keith earlier this month.
Fox Tales: Tell us how you came to form the National Veteran Business Development Council.
Keith King: I was an early adopter of federal contracting opportunities as a service-disabled veteran-owned business in 1999. For the next 14 years, I learned about the good, the bad, and the very ugly aspects of how the federal government worked, or more specifically, how its purchasing system functioned. During those years, I became aware of the concept of “supplier diversity.” Major corporations offered specific contracting opportunities to various demographics, primarily available to minorities and women. I wanted to know why veterans were not included.
Keith King.
Fox Tales: Is the certification program your main mission or are there several mutually supportive objectives?
King: Certification is our key service. Certification is far more difficult and in-depth than most business owners think. Additionally, corporations have specific rules regarding the requirements that must be met for your certification to be accepted for their supplier diversity program. We provide veterans with a wide range of matchmaking services, educational webinars, and training sessions, as well as numerous opportunities to meet and interact with our corporate members.
Fox Tales: Give us a sense of how many certifications, placements, matches, and the like the NVBDC has made in your 12 years.
King: It took us almost 15 months to learn and write the veteran-certification process. We were accepted by the national women’s and minorities certification groups to learn from them about what they do and why. Once we had written the program, we presented it to a large group of corporations and other certification organizations. With a positive review and encouragement, we launched our certification program in 2024. Since then, we have certified over 4,000 veteran-owned and service-disabled owned businesses.
Fox Tales: Where is there room for still more growth?
King: Along the way, we learned about a special group of corporations that belong to a trade association known as the Billion Dollar Roundtable (BDR). To join this group, each member must spend at least $1 billion per year on their supplier-diversity program. In 2017, we were accepted by the BDR members and designated as their only acceptable veteran-certification organization. As the members of the BDR began capturing and reporting their “spend” with our veteran and service-disabled veteran-owned businesses, we were stunned by the amounts. In 2023, the BDR conducted an economic impact study of its members. They reported $4.3 billion spent with our veterans and a total impact of $6.7 billion. There are many veteran-owned businesses that we want to get certified here in America. However, to answer your question, we are aware that there are thousands of American veteran-owned businesses operating worldwide. We are planning to announce our international initiative this year.
Fox Tales: Tell us about your journey from ad sales/ad representation and marketing, to the NVBDC.
King: My journey to a career in radio began in 1967, while I was in high school. Our speech teacher was a former disc jockey. As it turned out, my lunch and study hall times ran back-to-back, giving me two hours of time to myself. The teacher got permission to let me do a “show” in any room that the teacher would allow it, or any room throughout the building that wasn’t being used. My radio career was delayed for college and then the military, starting in 1969. I served in the Army from 1969 to 1971 with a tour in Vietnam during 1970. I re-started my radio career in 1974 at a station in Detroit.
Like many Vietnam veterans, I learned quickly that being a “Nam vet” was not advantageous to my career, so I removed it from my resume and never talked about it to anyone outside of my family. That changed in 1980 when I met another Nam vet who was trying to form a group to help get legislation written to change our health care and other benefits. That meeting changed my life. I became a veterans advocate. Within a couple of years, I helped form the State Council of the Vietnam Veterans of Michigan. Shortly after, I became the state commander. I would be appointed by the Governor to several positions to help the state deliver benefits to its veterans. Along with my career in radio and TV, I was normally the public relations guy regardless of whatever other title I held. By 2005, I was appointed chair of the National Public Affairs Committee for the Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA). I walked into a mess. Our bi-monthly magazine was being printed on old, dirty press stock. Our website was so poorly designed that you could get lost trying to follow a story that ran several pages deep. And those were just the beginning of the issues. One of my best decisions was to hire Fox Associates. It felt like I was working two full-time jobs, but it was worth it. With Fox’s help, we were putting out a product that our vets could be proud of.
Fox Tales: How does your own experience as a veteran influence your work now?
King: As I mentioned, I observed some individuals who were not veterans being issued national contracts. Through learning about supplier diversity programs, I became convinced that with the right people joining me, we could open doors for our veterans to participate in the billion-dollar markets that our corporations have created. As a veteran, I am now working on something I am proud of: Helping our fellow veterans have the opportunity to succeed.