Bridging the Gap for Veterans Through the Southern Nevada Chamber of Commerce

But there are people in the community obviously in our veteran community that struggle with certain things, having issues you know, or dealing with certain issues in their life where they really needed a program that could help them. they shouldn't be finding out about those programs or those resources just because they happen to know the right person.

Warriors fall in. It's time for formation. Today, i'm joined with an Air Force veteran originally from Southern California but currently resides in Sin City, las Vegas, where he operates as the president of the Southern Nevada Chamber of Commerce, which is an organization that is 100% committed to partnering with local businesses and the veteran advocacy groups to raise community wide visibility of veteran nonprofits and state sponsored programs for our very own military veterans and their families. Our guest today is none other than the Lester Lombad. I want to thank you for joining us early on the Morning Formation podcast, and I also want to say congratulations on your most recent achievement of getting a brown belt and presenting Jiu Jitsu Hey KP.

Thank you. Thank you for having me here on the Morning Formation podcast and thanks for the shoutout on the brown belt. That was a big step for me, thank you.

A lot of people really don't understand the amount of work, the amount of blood, sweat, tears, injuries that it takes to get to that level. That is a very elite level and my hat's off to you, man. One of these days I'm going to bring my gi to Vegas and I'm going to let you whoop up on me for a little bit and humble me out.

Man, air Force versus Army Yeah, i'm sure it'll probably be the other way around, but, like you said, it did take a lot of time to get to that point. I'm just excited to just keep working at things and keep improving.

Right on, man. Yeah, we always improve, even after we get out of service and we get older in our age. Always improving is definitely the right direction to be going in. I was checking you out on LinkedIn, man. I see you spent about six years in the Air Force and then you spent some additional time working on the civilian side. What was your career transition like and did it inspire you to do what you're currently doing today with the Chamber of Commerce?

So, yeah, it was about six, six and a half years or so and I went to go work as a defense contractor out in Washington DC almost immediately after I left active duty. My transition went very smoothly, very quickly. It took me about I think I was unemployed for about four days when I left service. But a lot of that just kind of came from me knowing pretty far in advance beforehand that I was going to be transitioning out. So I put in quite a bit of time researching and contacting different employers and just looking at different opportunities in the space that I wanted to be in at the time, which was the tech space. I wanted to see how that would translate out into the civilian sector. Luckily, at the time when I was transitioning out, the last unit and organization that I was with it was with the National Air and Space Intelligence Center over at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, which me taking that position. It required me to allow for an SSBI investigation to take place which granted me a TS top secret SEI clearance and that helped me in my transition a lot. But it's really very separate from what I'm doing now with the Southern Nevada Veterans Chamber of Commerce. A big reason for that, i guess, is there was a gap in time where and this isn't really mentioned on my LinkedIn profile, but it is a big part of my story where, when I transitioned out my wife we were newly married at the time my wife had just joined the military for the purpose of finishing school. She was applying for medical school at the time, and that was a big reason why we moved to Washington DC. So I immediately fell into the active, dependent military spells role. I didn't really realize what that was about, or if that was even a thing. I just thought it was a funny thing to tell my friends about that. I had just left active duty from, i had just left my active duty ID card and then three days later I'm going over to Bethesda, maryland, to get a dependent ID card. I got this big smile on my face on my picture, but that was about it. But then, seven years later, i resigned from my job from Raytheon and we moved overseas to Yakota Air Base, japan. That's when I realized that the military spells role was a significant thing. It was something that involved a lot of sacrifices. It had to give up my role with what I was doing in the civilian sector. So anyway, long story short, the reason why I bring all of that up is because once we left the different overseas locations that we were at six years later between Japan and England, we came back to the States and my top secret SCI clearance was expired. I could no longer use it. So when we got here to Las Vegas, i was just trying to think of things that made sense for me because of our family situation. We have four children all of them are young and two parents with a nine to five just doesn't work schedule-wise. So entrepreneurship was the thing that made the most sense to me, to give me the flexibility to still do my part for my family but explore other things. So that's what caused me to explore other things and that's kind of what brought me to where I'm at right now.

Man, you are so multi-sided. You're an Air Force veteran. You also understand what it's like to be a military spouse, not just a military spouse here in the States, but a military spouse in a foreign country, which that's truly being far away from home. You're having to learn how to do all the military spouse things that a lot of people kind of take for granted. You mentioned Wright Patterson Air Force Base. I went to college at Wright State University.

I remember you mentioned that to me in one of our past conversations. I actually literally right across the street from Wright State, off of Colonel Glenn Highway. I could walk into the campus from my apartment at that time.

What year was that?

That was from 2003 to 2005.

Yeah, so 2003 was when I graduated. We probably could have went to Semeron and had some parties, probably so. Yeah, it's funny how paths cross like that man. Yeah, so you're so multi-sat. You're literally a veteran, literally military spouse. Your wife is a professional as well. So you have four kids. You're into Brazilian jitsu Wow, you have so many things going on for you And you do such a meaningful job being the president of the Southern Nevada Chamber of Commerce. Would you mind talking to us about what the Chamber of Commerce is, about the impact that they provide for Southern Nevada's veterans and military community? Yeah, sure.

So with the Southern Nevada Veterans Chamber of Commerce, again, it started out really from a place of personal need because at the time when we first moved here, i personally experienced a lot of the struggles that come along with small business and entrepreneurship and figuring out that if you're not plugged into the right resources, if you're not plugged into the right people, you don't have a network in your community, then things can be really really challenging from a business standpoint. So ultimately, eventually I was led to seeking out resources for myself and I wasn't able to locate anything that resembled the Chamber of Commerce out here. And one thing led to another. I just started doing a little bit of research, started talking to some people, started picking up some ideas from different conversations about different resources, and it just made a lot of sense for me or somebody to start what would be eventually becoming the Southern Nevada Veterans Chamber of Commerce. But outside of the business development aspect of it, again it's more about awareness and visibility of available resources. And I think at the time, like I think originally, i met you through this app called Clubhouse, which was at the height of the pandemic. It was really really active and it was really really useful to me in terms of conversations that I was having with a lot of people from different parts of the country, some different parts of the world. But the reason why I bring that up is because during that time, while I was using Clubhouse, i would end up having all these conversations with these people from different parts of the country doing different things. Now I would learn about resources like Bunker Labs which is the hoodie that I'm wearing right now groups like that's the industry, groups like ACP, warrior Rising. I learned about all these different things. I started talking to these VSOs just in live conversation And these were things that I wasn't plugged into or aware of at all, mainly because, again, kind of going back to the whole concept of me being having transitioned out in 05 and then not really focused on any veteran resources after I immediately transitioned out, because really I was just focused on being out and moving on with my life. And then we moved overseas for six years and I'm a military spouse at that point. I'm not paying attention to any of those things. I'm not thinking about veteran employment, i'm not thinking about entrepreneurship resources. I'm not thinking about any of those things We're thinking about. What's the next thing we're going to do in Japan, what's the next country we're going to visit when we're living in England, kind of thing. And then when we eventually got here to Las Vegas, came back stateside. That's when the awareness of different resources really started to hit me, and through conversations with other people So anyway, long explanation short I just started to become aware of a lot of the resources that I didn't know about And I figured one. I knew that when I left service. I didn't know about these things and I probably should have. And now, at that point a couple of years ago, if I'm actively researching these things that I felt like I should have known about, then I also felt like another person in the community who wasn't as actively looking for these things and probably needed them more than I did, should have a way to locate, identify and navigate those resources. And that's kind of where the long explanation on how the thought process went. But again it all kind of stepped back to my own personal need for really business and entrepreneurship resources. But then the other area of resources when it comes to veteran employment, transition, career skills, transition, educational benefits and resources, veteran advocacy resources, there's this entire idea of an ecosystem that I felt like those resources could be tied together if we could create one singular brand that veterans in the community could connect with, which eventually developed in my mind to be that brand being the Southern Nevada Veterans Chamber of Commerce. Branding Just make it easier. That's kind of how I work my brain, at least.

Right. No, it was definitely a long journey and very similar to my own. I got out and I started working for a big company and I tried my best to shed my skin of anything military related, was ready to move on with myself, got another job, quit my first job after a year, like 80% of veterans do, and I always tell people I got out in 2007. The sexiest thing online back then was my space right, and we didn't have LinkedIn. We didn't have these things that are fingertips like we do today. I really think at times that this entire market is a little saturated and it's important for our military veterans, our military families, to pick out and align themselves with the best network out there, and I really feel like the Southern Nevada Chamber of Commerce and yourself, just knowing you from Clubhouse, you're definitely one of those Titans out there that can really, really efficiently and effectively help someone out, and I'm not just saying that. Going back to what you talked about with Clubhouse now, some of the deepest relationships that I created Was over that audio app, which is strange because it's all audio. There's no video. You don't know what people look like. You see a picture of them. That's it, right. But even to this day, like I still remain in contact with a lot of the people that Used to come to the military mix-up which I used to host on Friday nights, which that damn thing lasted for two to three hours at times. It kept it kept rolling, but like you said, man, it was, it was a. It was a great time to connect, a great time to network.

Yeah, i agree. Yeah, same with me. Like I still, i still keep in pretty regular contact with a lot of those people that I build relationships with. There's actually one guy who was just here in Las Vegas less than a week ago. He's one of my chamber members. He doesn't even live in Las Vegas, he was in Salt Lake City but he has his business Parts to be set up here in Nevada, so he travels into Las Vegas pretty frequently. But I met him on Clubhouse. His name is Eric ranks. He, over the vodka line, called 22 salute and You know it's. It's funny. I met him on Clubhouse and there's several other people. That's the clubhouse was Actually where I first heard of bunker labs and then I eventually ended walking through one of the bunker labs cohorts here in Las Vegas.

So, um, yeah, yeah, the times it was the same with me man I was. I was in one of the rooms one night and I was just talking and Ran into Jay Salters from Act Now Education now and he he contacted me and said, hey, let's talk offline. And next thing, you know, like I'm volunteering for Act Now Education and I had an interview with him The whole nine yards here I am now serving as a board member for the organization. So, yeah, some of the deepest relationships, most meaningful relationships, were created on an audio app, out of all things right. And so you've been working in southern Nevada and as far as the state of Nevada itself, i know some states are are very veteran friendly, some states are lesser veteran friendly when it comes to the benefits and things like that. But as far as like, through your research and everything, what benefits do you think are the most unknown or lesser known benefits That our veterans in Nevada would find quite interesting to to gain that knowledge today?

Um, i mean to be honest, like I don't know if there's any one specific benefit that I that comes to mind for me. I just, i just know that, whether you're talking about benefits or you're talking about actual programs, or You know initiatives or resources that are in that are available in the community It's you know a lot of them are, are not visible enough and not, you know, people are not made aware enough to know that these things are available, unless you're really really digging or if someone else is, you just happen to know the right person, right? One example is one of my favorite programs in the community. It's called the emerging vets and players program, mvp. I Love that. I love that program. Amazing community, amazing people. The culture in that program is phenomenal. I ran into that program sort of by accident Because, again, you know, like you brought up earlier in the beginning of this interview, brazilian jiu-jitsu training and competing in jiu-jitsu has been a major part of my life personally for the last 10 plus years, and The MVP chapter here in Las Vegas. They meet at extreme couture, which is owned by Randy couture for the UFC, so it's an MMA gym and the program is geared toward one professional athletes and two veterans, right. So When I first found out about that program, i Saw those two elements that were to the necessary elements to you know. You know as far as background and area of interest martial arts or jiu-jitsu and military background, and I had both of those things and I had never heard about this program until somebody who I just happened to know, who was also a veteran but didn't really have a background in jiu-jitsu or an interest in it, just brought me there. You know, and It's those types of things that even though you know and I say that with MVP also having a massive Marketing budget, a lot of people did know who they were. They see their commercials on the NFL, you know, during NFL Sundays, and I just completely, you know, went over my head apparently. So so I never knew about it until I actually went. And you know, the thing that kind of struck me about that was, i think, generally speaking, you know, like I'm doing, okay, you know like I'm, i don't, you know, have too many mental struggle. You know mental health struggles or anything right, or you know, but there are people in the community, obviously in our veteran community, that that struggle with certain things and if a person was to be Having issues you know, or dealing with certain issues in their life Where they really needed a program that could help them. They shouldn't be finding out about those programs or those resources just because they happen to know the right person. You know, and right, that's kind of how. So. Anyway, i just bring up that example because you know, as as amazing as that program is, i would have never have found out about it If I just didn't happen to know that right person. So, um, so again I'm going back to your question about Programs or or benefits that that are available to all of us. I think that there's. It really just kind of depends on the person, right, and what they're in, what their needs are and what can help them. Right, because there's so many, especially in a community like Las Vegas, there's, there's an abundance of resources here that a lot of people just don't know about.

Yeah, no, i agree 100%. I mean there are a ton of programs, a ton of nonprofits out there, a ton of you know partnering, i Guess, entities out there that help out the veteran community. But the challenge is is marketing, getting the information out there and then folks understanding, because a lot of times, even when I mentioned my own nonprofit that I'm a part of, people automatically wrap their arms around their VA education and go not, you're not getting my VA education And I'm like no, no, no, like this does not involve any VA education at all. People don't realize that there's Programs out there that are completely free to veterans and spouses that don't even touch The the VA education stuff. It's just based off the fact that you are part of the military community. That allows you access to it. So just the overall sheer Ignorance and knowledge is a challenge to get out sometimes when I'm talking to people one-on-one about Even the nonprofit that I'm part. So I can't imagine what that's like for you. And since you've been Working for the Chamber of Commerce there in southern I don't want to say Las Vegas, because Las Vegas isn't southern of odd It's you know. So Nevada does have other areas too. It's mostly right. It's kind of like talking about Chicago and Illinois. Right, chicago is Illinois, but You know, overall, the partnering, the partnering that you've been doing, what has that been like for you since you started working for the Chamber of Commerce there in southern Nevada?

So, as far as community partnerships, i Feel like that that's definitely one of the areas that have went most successfully Since, since everything started, at this point we're sitting at about somewhere around 70, 75 different community partnerships with different veteran nonprofits That function in different areas. So really there's there's four areas I call them our mission cornerstones and There's four cornerstones that that that I personally identified in the very beginning, which were veteran employment, veteran entrepreneurship, veteran education and veteran advocacy. So within those four areas, one number one priority was to not reinvent anything that exists in one of those areas, because there's not a need to recreate something That already, that already exists. I think that that's That's a big problem actually, and a lot, and not only here in this local community but in Probably all communities where you know somebody has an idea and they're like, oh, let me go start a nonprofit, you know, but there's probably four or five or six other groups that are that have already thought about them, that are doing it, so Just contribute to it instead, instead of trying to reinvent or recreate it. So that was kind of the number one priority was to identify as many programs as possible and Build a relationship with them that then make sure that they were legitimate and then, on that, once that was done, continue that relationship building process, so that way, you know, it would be clear that nothing needed to be reinvented, and so that that's kind of how it's went. You know like being able to identify a lot of existing programs. Most of them are local, but a lot of them have a national presence again, like MVP being one of them. Act now education That was a program that I learned about a while back, also on clubhouse. And then you know like finding out about all the different resources that was available through them. And then here locally, the local SVA chapter, student veterans of America. They have a strong chapter over a UNLV called the UNLV rebel vets program. Which is a strong community-based group over, you know, on campus of made up of veterans and veteran connected people that that are doing great things academically, you know, and so You know just kind of going to your question about How, how that's looked as far as Community partnerships and everything you know like that's really been a major focus was to create those partnerships because, ultimately, one of the biggest goals was to to promote resource collaboration and we needed partnerships in order to do that, you know, to be able to to form the right collaborations around the community. So so that's kind of why we've went in that direction was to a, you know, to ultimately get to that point where we can promote maximum collaboration.

No doubt, networking with the right people Is definitely something over the years that I've learned as well. Like even even your circle, your personal circle, right? They always say that if you're hanging out with four idiots, then that makes you the fifth idiot, right? I think it's also. It's the same thing with like with me and podcasting. I want to make sure that I connect with people that are authentic and genuine in their own word On what their intentions are. I think the veteran community is very guarded. We always feel like we're gonna get sold the, the, the used car. That's a lemon that's sitting right off a base there, right? So I think that's a. That's a big barrier for us to break down. And partnering is something that I think that's why Clubhouse was so successful to develop those deep relationships, because it wasn't so much about visual. It was more about listening to the soul, listening to where people were coming from, how authentic were they, were they willing to stay in The pocket and actually explain who they are Versus us being tricked by by visuals and things like that. So You know, i, i my hats off to you, man. It's, it's been great connecting with you And it's been great talking to you again over the span of the last couple years or so. It's been great getting to know you as well. Over the horizon, what do you think Are some of the big plans coming up for the Southern Nevada Chamber of Commerce?

Um, i mean, you know, on a local level, the the goal is to just continue to push forward, continue to grow the Brand awareness of the chamber, you know, mainly again because the larger that our brand grows in my mind, the more that we're able to grow collaboration among all the groups that are connected to our brand, and then that's really the goal is. I mean to simplify it and explanation as much as I can. It's basically a resource hub, right, that we're trying to create, and so the more that we can promote what we're doing, the better that we can promote what everybody else is doing That's connected to us, but outside of the local area, some of the other areas that make the most logical sense would be communities like San Diego, hawaii, where, again, strong veteran presence in communities like that. But I don't know how much ecosystem presence there is in cities like that, because I don't think it really matters where you're at, unless there's something that's going to bring everything together, especially with certain anchor groups like the different VFW posts that are doing certain things, like the USO, or you know newer programs like MVP, bunker Labs, you know, that are well known. Then once you bring those programs together, then it becomes very easy to attract the other programs that may not be as well known in any city. So, like if we were to take this template that have been focused on for the past almost two years year and a half, two years, you know and apply it in other cities like San Diego, hawaii or other places, then, yeah, then we would want to accomplish the same thing, and that's really what I'm looking at eventually is to be able to get to that point and do that.

Yeah, most definitely. I really feel like living here on the West Coast as well. I feel like we get kind of left out. Sometimes Everything is all about Eastern Time Zone, you know, dc Virginia area That's all I ever hear about. I guess out here we're a little more spread out, but we do have a huge presence, i mean just on the island of Oahu and then Southern California. You've got Pendleton out here, you know, and you got several bases out here too. So the West Coast is definitely important and we definitely need to have that outreach out here as well. So I can attest to that for sure.

And when you I mean especially like using a place like Hawaii as an example, right, and I think it's very comparable to a place like Las Vegas, even though, obviously, las Vegas is not an island the 9th island not for people from Hawaii. But you know, when you look at Oahu, you know all branches of the military exist there, right? So as a result of that, there's going to be a big veteran population. But when you think of Hawaii, nobody thinks about that fact. You know about the fact that there is a large military presence there, that all branches of the service exist there. They think of it being Hawaii, just like they do with Vegas, right? They don't think of Vegas being a significant military community, which it is. It's about 10 to 11% of the total population out here in Clark County is comprised of veteran connected people. So that's, you know, 10% or 11% of the population is roughly about 270,000 people here in Southern Nevada that are veteran connected, and that's a lot of people. But people don't think about that. They think about what Las Vegas is famous for, which is, you know, hospitality, gaming, entertainment, all the things Vegas is known for. But you know, that's a big thing that I'm trying to help promote is the fact that Vegas and Southern Nevada you know Nevada as a state is a significant military state, military community And there's a lot of resources that are available for our military community too.

Yeah, no doubt I can tell you this much that when I got out of the Army I had the hardest time because I was stationed in Scofield Barracks in Hawaii at the time. Anytime I had a interview or I had a follow up interview for a civilian employer or a prospective civilian employer, i would get some of the most ridiculous requests. Like literally, i was active duty, full time captain in the Army, working in the S3, and I would get a phone call from Johnson, johnson or just some company And they would say, hey, we want to do a follow up interview, we need you in Baton Rouge tomorrow. You know, can you be there? And I'm like I got to be in Baton Rouge tomorrow. Like I live in Hawaii. It takes me six hours just to fly over the ocean to get to the mainland And then I got to jump on another flight to get to Baton Rouge. Like it's going to take and you're telling me today to be there tomorrow. Like it's not that easy. And you would think that in 2007 that we would have a general understanding of the geographical location, of where the islands are. But I guess because they cut it out and they stick it down to the next, to the Baja of Mexico or Baja of California. A lot of people think it's like right there And it's totally not dude. It's like and I missed out on a lot of opportunities because of my geographical location, of being stationed in Hawaii a lot, and I was really at a disadvantage for being there at the time. There were a few companies that understood, but for the most part, you know, a lot of them didn't. They didn't know how to work with that, with my geographical location. So if there's anything you know out of this interview, lester, that you'd like for people to know about the Southern Nevada Chamber of Commerce, what would it be?

Again, i think it's just a. The priority is awareness, resource awareness. For us, like again, our focus, it's kind of two-fold as far as our mission goes, because we are a Chamber of Commerce, so we focus on business development and veteran entrepreneurs, military spouse entrepreneurs, and also our membership base is open to veteran supporters as well. We have non-veteran connected businesses in our membership base too, just because it's my opinion that you don't have to be a veteran to support the veteran community. So that should be a community wide effort. But anyway, outside of us being a Chamber in the community and doing the things that we do as a Chamber, it's about providing greater awareness of resources that aren't necessarily business-related or career skills-related, but quality of life-related overall. And I think that the more that everybody in the community can become aware of what's going on, so what some of the issues actually are in the veteran community, and then the resources and the solutions that are available in the veteran community, and pair those things together, then that's really what I would like to see more and more and more over time with our organization.

Right, yeah, it's all about awareness, right, and just to final out the episode today, it's been great hearing all about your background, where you come from. We have a very, very similar journey. It's so funny how we literally cross paths there in Dayton Ohio, right across the street. We were probably at the pub at the same time at some point having a beer, and we just didn't know it. What piece of advice would you have for veterans out there who are not currently taking advantage of any benefits And are yet unhappy with their current situation?

Oh man. Well, hopefully, if we're talking about this area geographically, hopefully we'll be able to gain some reach to help educate people that are in that situation. But with folks who are aware of what their available resources are if they're veterans and they know what's out there, they're just not bettering their own situation then you've got to use what's available. We all have to use what's available to us The benefits that are available to us, your VA home loan, understanding why that's so important, why that as a financial tool, why that's so powerful. Your educational benefits, your GI bill plus 9-11 GI bill, why all those things are so uniquely powerful to our community to help us move forward both individually and as a community, are super important. But yeah, i would say just kind of knowing what's out there and taking full advantage of it. There's too many resources out there to not take advantage of.

Yeah, knowledge is power. Definitely, knowledge is power. And, if anything else, at least contact someone like Lester. if you're in the southern Nevada area, contact Lester, connect with him on LinkedIn, connect with him on Instagram, facebook and ask, say, hey, this is my current situation, this is my goals, these are the things I want to do. Let him know, because maybe there's a connection out there that he can help you out with. And, with that being said, lester, how can our listeners contact you to follow up on anything that we mentioned on the show today?

Yeah, so you can always go to our website, which is wwwSNVCCorg That's sierranancyvictorcharlycharlyorg. You can also email me at lesterlumbad at snvccorg, and I will definitely respond to your email and try to get you plugged into what you need.

So if you're watching this on YouTube, check out the description. I'm going to make sure I put those links down there in the description. If you're listening to this on a podcast, scroll down to the show notes. You can see the links that he just mentioned down there as well. Connect with Lester and see if the Southern Nevada Chamber of Commerce can do something for you, because at the end of the day, it's all about reaching back and helping out our community that needs that much needed help transitioning out of the military, or even if you're making that midlife transition. maybe you've been doing something for a number of years and you're a veteran, or you're a military spouse and you want to do something else. There's a lot of options out there. So please connect, network with folks within our community that are interested in helping you. resource Lester. I just want to thank you for joining us today on the Morning Formation podcast.

No, thank you for having me man. It was a pleasure, Thank you.

Hey, the honor is all mine, man. Thank you for getting up early on this Sunday morning and spending some time with me and letting our audience know all about you. For everyone else out there, as always, i want you to stay tuned, stay focused and stay motivated. Warriors fall out. We are the company We like to do beating.

And we like to do beating Push up, stand up, push up, stand up.