March 20, 2023
Zachary Green is our Veteran of the Week!
Zachary Green’s U.S. Marine Corps. experiences forged his successful business trajectory for years after hanging up his dress blues. Green joined the United States Marine Corps in 1992. This included receiving infantry training at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, attending the U.S. Army Field Artillery Training Center in Fort Sill, Oklahoma and then joining the U.S. Marine Corps 1/24th Weapons Company while attending Bowling Green State University. He served as a cold-weather infantry fire direction controlman for 81mm mortars until 1996 and then spent the remainder of his tour with the 14th Marines Communication Company.
Green also participated in several major training events, including one of the largest peacetime CAX (Combined Arms Exercises) in Twentynine Palms and his work with U.S. air, armor and infantry units in the SEAD (Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses) component of the operation. In 1993, he attended the Marine Corps (OCS) Officer Candidate School / (PLC) Platoon Leaders Course in Quantico, Virginia where he graduated top of his company. Green then left the U.S. Marine Corps in 1999 with a deep love and respect for the military and its founding principles. Affected by the events of September 11th, he again formalized this commitment to community and the safety of others while serving as a volunteer firefighter for the next 10-plus years.
In 2019, Green and his family became permanent residents of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina after vacationing on the Island for more than 20 years. The Green family home is now only a few short miles from the Parris Island Marine Corps Recruit Depot, were’ Green’s military journey began three decades ago. As an active community resident, Green spends every Tuesday participating in the Share the Legacy program at Parris Island, where he actively speaks with the graduating U.S. Marines about honor, courage and commitment and the ways these fundamental values will positively impact their lives long after they leave active service. In addition to these efforts, Green is also a member of the Parris Island Living History Detachment, where he represents the Marines of WWI. This includes joining with the recruits on the final leg of the grueling Crucible, while carrying the same period specific weapons and wearing the very gear and uniforms that their Marine forefathers wore in battle during WWI.
Recently, Green captured the very sentiments he learned as a US Marine and firefighter when he authored the international best-selling book titled Warrior Entrepreneur-Lessons From The Battlefield To The Boardroom. This was followed by the 2022 launch of Warrior Enterprises LLC, a Small Business Administration (SBA) Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) and then the 2023 introduction of the Warrior Academe. Both programs were developed specifically to combine historic and modern warrior principles with the hands-on skills needed to launch successful businesses and grow new ones in challenging markets that include the trades and agricultural field – industries that are presently plagued by the ongoing retirement of skilled workers and the dearth of quality labor. Green is now working to have the Warrior Academe program costs covered by the Montgomery GI Bill.
Green is the founder and former CEO of MN8 LumAware/Foxfire, which he grew from the trunk of his car into a $30 million organization whose customers include the U.S. Government, The Home Depot, Kroger, General Electric Aircraft Engines, and Procter and Gamble. Throughout his business career, Green has also received numerous honors that include the President of the United States “E” award for exporting and being named the Exporter of the Year by the Ohio Small Business Administration for his successful efforts that exported his products to 25 separate countries. As a result, Green has also been featured in Entrepreneur Magazine, the front pages of Yahoo.com and MSN.com, USA Today and numerous other local and national media outlets. He has also testified in front of the US House of Representatives Small Business Committee, was named Entrepreneur of the Year by Former Ohio Governor John Kasich, selected by the Obama White House as one of 10 entrepreneurs to represent the United States at the Global, and elected to the Wyoming (Cincinnati), Ohio City council in 2018.
In his spare time, he can often be found at industry events speaking about the Warrior Spirit and its value in overcoming adversity and fostering ongoing growth through life and business.
We thank Former SCDVA Secretary Will Grimsley Zachary Green for Veteran of the Week!
