'Buy Veteran' Campaign Supports Local Veterans

Jack Farley served his country for more than 20 years as a pilot in the U.S. Navy. Now he serves the local community through his company .

It might seem like an odd career switch – and Farley is the first to point that out – but it's one that has worked out well for him.

“I actually have a chemistry degree, and everything I needed to know about water, I learned in the Navy,” he joked. Farley has owned the Pine Township business on Perry Highway for 22 years.

This Memorial Day, the National Veteran-Owned Business Association is urging consumers to “Buy Veteran” in honor of the men and women who have served our country. There are more than 40,000 veteran-owned businesses such as Farley’s in the greater-Pittsburgh region.

Through Valhalla Pools & Spas, Farley sells hot tubs, saunas and grills and the supplies and accessories for them. The company no longer installs pools, but it does service them.

“We really specialize in water chemistry as well,” he said.

Farley enjoys researching products and said he does it so that his customers don’t have to.

“People are busy and don’t have the time to do all kinds of research, and with us they don’t have to,” he said.

It is easy for people to participate in the "Buy Veteran" campaign, said Farley.

“People [who] served in the military, they have served our country,” he said. “So it is inherent in them to continue serving – they want to serve the customer.

“I was very fortunate in my career in the Navy and am proud to be a veteran," he added. "I think we owe it to our veterans to support them in their businesses.”

Marines veteran Joe Wadlow never planned on opening a pizza business. After 30-plus successful years as the owner of , however, he's glad he made that move.

“It was 1980, and I was in the real estate business. It was the worst time to be in real estate with the interest rates so high, so when a friend asked me for some advice starting a business, I was happy to help,” he said.

Wadlow said he soon found that he was helping his friend -- Domenic Ricci, who also is a veteran -- so much that it made sense for the men to become business partners.

“I figured I wasn’t making any money in real estate, so why not?” Wadlow said.

A Vietnam War-era vet, Wadlow is spending this Memorial Day in Washington, D.C., with fellow veterans who visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial once a year.

“I come to pay honor to my friends who lost their lives,” said Wadlow, who drives a motorcycle decorated with the names of soldiers who lost their lives in that war.

Now semi-retired, Wadlow has seven Monte Cello locations, including one in Pine Township. He, too, encourages people to "buy veteran."

“I’m not so foolish that I want or expect people to buy an inferior service or products just because a vet owns the company,” he said. “But all things equal, besides supporting our country, you are supporting those who risked their lives for our country.”

LLI Engineering and LLI Construction are two Wexford-based companies owned by veterans. The engineering firm is owned by two veterans and another partner, while LLI Construction is owned by the same two veterans plus a service-disabled veteran.

Jamie White is one of the veterans who is involved in both companies.

“LLI Engineering is actually over 100 years old. I worked there as an employee, and then we ended up buying it,” he said. White owns LLI Engineering with veteran John Shaginaw and Ernie Tillman, who is not a veteran. White served in the Army Corps of Engineers; Shaginaw is an Army veteran.

LLI Engineering works on large industrial properties, including the new Westinghouse complex in Cranberry Township, along with several other Westinghouse projects throughout the U.S., projects for the U.S. Postal Service, the Veterans Hospitals, and Vista Print.

“We are best known for high-risk projects,” said White.

The two veteran partners teamed up with disabled veteran and 26-year Navy Capt. Jay Smith to create LLI Construction, a company that works closely with LLI Engineering.

“We thought it made sense to have a company that would work with our design engineering talent to control costs and to fast-track the projects,” he said.

Those interested in supporting the veteran-owned businesses listed here or in locating other veteran-owned businesses may visit www.buyveteran.com for more information.