Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has recognized this to be Veterans Small Business Week in Michigan, “to celebrate the positive contributions made by veteran-owned small businesses to our local communities and economies across Michigan,” the governor’s office stated in a news release.

“During Veterans Small Business Week, let’s support Michigan’s strong, local veteran-owned small businesses and celebrate the huge impact they have on our economy,” Whitmer said in the statement. “Michigan’s entrepreneurs and small business owners move our state forward. They create good-paying jobs and make our cities and towns better places to live and work. Many are owned and operated by Michiganders who served our nation in uniform and continue to make a difference in their community. This week and every week, let’s support our veteran-owned small businesses.”

According to the statement, Whitmer has worked to ensure Michigan’s veterans and their families have the opportunities and support they need to succeed. She has signed legislation to reduce barriers to professional licensure, creating an expedited path for veterans and their families to practice their licensed profession in Michigan, easing the pathway to reciprocal licenses through expedited processing and waiving initial license and application fees.

Veterans interested in registering a business in Michigan may also qualify for a waiver of fees for profit corporations, limited liability companies and nonprofit corporations. For more information, go to https://www.michigan.gov/lara/bureau-list/cscl/corps/how-do-i/services/waiver-of-fees-for-veterans. …

For more information on professional and entrepreneurial development for veteran-owned businesses, small business training and counseling, networking opportunities and mentoring programs, the MVAA advises going online to the websites for Veterans Entrepreneurship, the U.S. Office of Veterans Business Development or Michigan SBDC.

Michigan is committed to making the state the premier choice for military service members, veterans and their families to live, work, serve and play, according to the MVAA. In support of this effort, the MVAA helps connect veterans with federal, state and local benefits and resources they earned for their service. To learn more about employment, health care, education and quality-of-life benefits, veterans can contact the Michigan Veteran Resource Service Center at 1-800-MICH-VET or go online to www.michigan.gov/MVAA.

The governor’s proclamation can be viewed at https://www.michigan.gov/whitmer/news/proclamations/2023/10/31/veterans-small-business-week.

— The Iron Mountain News