Brad Keselowski’s Checkered Flag Foundation Announces Program for Wounded Vets

For more information:  Andrea Ross 419-905-1591 or andrea@checkeredflagfoundation.org

For more information about Waste Management: Jenny DeVaughn jdevaughn@wm.com

For Immediate Release

Brad Keselowski’s Checkered Flag Foundation Announces Program for Wounded Vets

 MOORESVILLE, NC (April 20, 2012) – Brad Keselowski's No. 19 Checkered Flag Foundation Dodge Ram will highlight a proactive veterans hiring program during this weekend's NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Kansas Speedway.

Driving for his own team, Brad Keselowski Racing, Keselowski's hood will carry the message of Waste Management's proactive veteran hiring program. In addition to being the nation’s largest environmental services provider, with approximately 44,300 employees, Waste Management is also a leader in recruiting and hiring veterans, which is what attracted Keselowski to the program.

"About 1 in 12 employees at Waste Management are veterans and the organization is consistently recognized to be military friendly," Keselowski said. "It made sense to me to highlight their hiring program through my foundation, which works to support those who have sacrificed for the rest of us. As more and more men and women leave their respective branch of service proudly after serving long tours away from their families and friends, it's good to know that there are organizations like Waste Management that proactively seek to hire them upon their return.

About 3,500 veterans currently work for Waste Management. The organization has been named top Military Friendly employer by "G.I. Jobs Magazine," "Military Times," and the Department of Defense.

A veteran himself, Wes Reel, staffing manager with Waste Management said, “I have always loved being part of a winning team, which is why I loved serving in the military before I joined Waste Management. When I wore the uniform of the United States Navy, I worried that nothing could ever replace the mission and purpose I felt by serving my country. I now take great pride in being a small part of a company that is helping to change the world by making our environment better.

"We are actively seeking veterans to fill roles at all levels of the organization, from the Operational Front Line to the Corporate Headquarters," Reel continued. "A partnership with The Checkered Flag Foundation brings us one step closer to its goal of remaining a best place to work for veterans."

For real Veterans’ testimony from real WM Employees, click here (http://youtu.be/jocWOQo1yjs) to view the video. Follow this link: http://wastemanagement.jobs to view a list of all of WM’s current openings.

Brad Keselowski's Checkered Flag Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization that supports those who have sacrificed for us, including military, veterans, first responders and their families, among others. For more information on CFF, you can visit http://checkeredflagfoundation.org or check out the Checkered Flag Foundation on Facebook at www.fbook.me/CFF and on Twitter at @BKCFF.

Checkers or Wreckers: NASCAR Driver, Brad @Keselowski's Twitter Press Conference #TPC

When I arrive at the race track, my heart beats faster and I can't wait for the engines to start. Tonight I was excited to attend the first Twitter press conference coordinated by Brad Keselowski. For those of you who aren't familiar with NASCAR or the Nationwide races yet, Brad grew up in a racing family and is a respected driver for Penske Racing. He joined Twitter in May of 2009.

In a green-white-checker finish, on-air racing personalities often mention that it is either checkers (you win) or wreckers (you wreck and lose).

Here are some good and not so great moments of tonight's Twitter Press Conference:

Wreckers:
Brad started the press conference using the web application of Twitter. There isn't anyone who monitors an active social media presence that would have recommended it. There are too many tweets to follow and you miss out on finding out who the real influencers are by not using a more robust social media tool. During the chat, Brad switched to Twitter for iPad and still missed out on some opportunities to maximize his time during the chat session.

Checkers:
The concept was like other Twitter chats, except that Penske Racing set up guidelines for the media to be able to ask him questions directly first. Fans were encouraged to tweet to any media member about specific questions that they had. Brad also introduced each media person that he took questions from to the fans. I liked this aspect, because it brought a level of professionalism to the chat.

Wreckers:
Active Twitter fans are used to a fast-paced chat session. When Brad tweeted answers or comments during the chat, he usually didn't use the pre-determined #TPC hashtag. He would also just reply directly to a person. If you weren't following that person, you may have missed the tweet too. This made it difficult for fans to follow the tweets. It also made it seem at first as if Brad wasn't participating or answering any questions from the media.

Checkers:
Brad was extremely transparent about any question that he chose to answer from the media. My favorite question was asked by Bob Pockrass with SceneDaily.com: If you win at the Brickyard, how long does your kiss of bricks last and how long before you wash your lips? This translates well with his target audience. By genuinely connecting with the media and his fans, the #TPC tweets reached 134,996 people during the most active part of the chat session.

Based on Brad's work ethic, I know that his next Twitter Press Conference will be faster with even better results.

Update on Wednesday, July 27, 2011 at 11:01PM by Jenny DeVaughn

Brad was kind enough to retweet my post and thank me for the feedback.