From Jim

Dear SamTrans Family:

“The eleventh day of the eleventh hour of the eleventh month…,” the day once regarded as the end of World War I, the “war to end all wars,” November 11th has evolved to be a day to honor and celebrate Veterans for their service and sacrifice for all of us. Sadly, WWI was not the “war to end all wars,” in fact fighting and war may never cease, making it even more important to recognize the brave sacrifices of those who have served our country.

I am proud of each of the Veterans in our SamTrans family. I am proud because as an organization we recognize and celebrate our Veteran’s service and sacrifice.  To observe the importance of our nation’s Veterans, today we are running “SamTrans Salutes America’s Veterans” and “Caltrain Salutes America’s Veterans” messages on all our buses and at Caltrain stations.

As an agency, we are committed to serving those who have sacrificed for our country through the establishment of a Veterans Mobility Ambassador Program that enlists Veterans familiar with our services to help train fellow Vets on the use of the Caltrain and SamTrans systems.

The District also actively works to recruit Veterans using the Veterans Affairs Vocational Rehabilitation service, the online job recruitment service HireAHero.com, and by participating in job fairs specifically targeting Veteran recruitment like the one recently held by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce at AT&T Park.

I recently learned that when professional football teams and sports television networks have recognized military service during some of their games they were paid to do so.  Shame on them.  Patriotism and celebration of military service ought not to be for sale or done because “it is good for business.”

To be honest, I don’t care whether it is “good for business” or not. It is the right thing to do.

I want to extend my personal thanks to each Veteran here at the District and to those in our community and to each of your families for their sacrifice and support.

I also want to send my best wishes to all our active duty military personnel here and abroad.

Jim

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