At Molson Coors, we are proud to employ more than 500 American military veterans. They are soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines. We're proud of their service, and proud to call them colleagues.
Today we are highlighting several Molson Coors vets who belong to our veterans' employee resource group, Molson Coors Veterans Group.
Don Desfosses, senior utilities technical specialist at the Golden Brewery
1: What branch did you serve?
I served the U.S. Navy Reserves as a lieutenant commander.
2: What is your proudest moment of service?
I’m very proud of my time supporting the Navy nuclear research submarine, NR-1. We completed a mission in the Mediterranean with Robert Ballard, retired Navy scientist who discovered the Titanic originally, finding artifacts on the sea floor, which proved trading routes existed in B.C. times. It was an incredible discovery to be a part of and a highlight of my Reserve support time.
3: What are some of your greatest accomplishments as an MCVG member?
The coat drive we hosted exceeded all of our expectations in terms of participation and amount of cash donations that were received to purchase new coats for those in need. I get a feeling of pride and satisfaction when our group reaches out to troops deployed and provides a little joy to them with our care packages. My son was a recipient of one of our shipments. He and his team were quite appreciative of the gesture. And helping out homeless Veterans who need help is quite rewarding as well.
Lyndsey Tollis, asset care planner in technical services at the Golden Brewery
1: What branch did you serve?
I served the U.S. Navy as an ETN2 nuclear electronics technician and second-class petty officer.
2: What is your proudest moment of service?
Our aircraft carrier, the USS Ronald Reagan, was able to assist Japan by delivering supplies and support quickly after the country experienced a record earthquake and subsequent tsunami and failures at their civilian nuclear plant. This improved our relationship with Japan, and the Reagan is now stationed at Yokosuka Naval Base.
3. What are some of your greatest accomplishments as an MCVG member?
The coat drive we hosted at the Golden Brewery. The entire brewery, guests included, came together to donate money, coats and time to give to veterans and their family members who are in need.
Jacob Davis, manager of asset care in Golden
1: What branch did you serve?
I served the U.S. Navy as a machinist’s mate for 10 years, and I was a U.S. Navy Reserve lieutenant.
2: What is your proudest moment of service?
I was extremely proud of being a plank owner, which means an original crew member, for the USS Ronald Reagan. I am also proud of being selected for a direct commission program through which I became a Naval officer.
3. What are some of your greatest accomplishments as an MCVG member?
I always look forward to Veteran’s Day ceremonies. We all get to come together and share in our comraderies and tell stories about our time in service. It’s always a very proud moment for all of us.
Marc Messerschmitt, line lead at the Trenton Brewery
1: What branch did you serve?
I served the U.S. Army as a major in the Army Rangers.
2: What is your proudest moment of service?
As tough as it was, I’m so proud of when I parachuted into Afghanistan shortly after 9/11 in response to the terrorist attacks.
3. What are some of your greatest accomplishments as an MCVG member?
I love all the local events that we put on to support Ohio’s veterans. Those all feel like the most rewarding part of being involved in MCVG.
Tony Nolan, senior utilities technical specialist at the Golden Brewery
1: What branch did you serve?
I served the U.S. Navy.
2: What is your proudest moment of service?
My proudest moment in the U.S. Navy was our bootcamp graduation ceremony. I was so proud to have survived and to proudly march past dignitaries and guests.
3. What are some of your greatest accomplishments as an MCVG member?
We held a Veteran’s Day ceremony that included Mounted Color Guard and other fantastic Army Veteran guest speakers that our brewery community in Golden really appreciated. It felt so great to be a part of the event and work to put it all together.