Goodwill Manasota director named Woman Veteran of the Year

In March 2001, as U.S. Air Force veteran C.J. Bannister ended her military service, she felt lost.

Then 25 years old, the former military paralegal struggled with the transition from a staff sergeant to a civilian.

“People gave me automatic respect,” Bannister said of her time in the military. “When you get out, nobody looks at you that way.”
 

Bannister understood that her military experience could translate to a career in the civilian world. But she didn’t understand how until she got a helpful call. Bannister received a callback about a position that she had applied for with a law firm. The position had been filled, but the employer — a veteran who was a judge advocate general — wanted to help her decode her resume to make her military experience relatable.

“We don’t speak in code in the civilian world,” Bannister said. “If it wasn’t for him, who knows how long it would have been?”

That adjustment is what Bannister hopes to help guide returning veterans through with her team at the Goodwill Manasota Veterans Services Program. Bannister joined the program in September 2014 as director and also served as a Goodwill Ambassador and on the board of directors.

“I was that lost soul when I first got out,” Bannister said. “I see the same look in their eyes and that look of worry that says ‘Am I going to make it on my own?’”
 

For her services and dedication to helping reconnect veterans to the community, the Sarasota County Veterans Commission honored Bannister with its Woman Veteran of the Year award. The awards are based on nominations that are then selected by a committee.

“She was very instrumental in the SERV (Special Emergency Resource for Veterans) program through Goodwill Manasota,” said Ted Smith, president of the Sarasota County Veterans Commission.

SERV pledges that 100% of funds benefit veterans in need of assistance.

“She was really important in forming the SERV fund because veterans were coming in with immediate needs that couldn’t wait,” said Kelly Davis, marketing and PR coordinator of Goodwill Manasota.

Bannister recalls local veterans who have come for help at her office: Around eight months ago, a Marine walked into her office at 4:50 p.m. on a Friday. He had served six tours in Iraq and was 80% disabled. He hadn’t received a payment check from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and needed to pay the power bill for his family. With SERV, his bills were paid.

“The more our community knows about our program, the more veterans we can help,” Bannister said.