Amazon held a ceremony at its fulfillment center in Upper Bern Township near Shartlesville on Wednesday honoring the 246th birthday of the U.S. Marine Corps.
“What you’ve seen today is the real Marine Corps birthday ceremony and we wanted to share it with all of you,” said Dan Miller, director of regional sales for Amazon and a Marine Corps veteran.
The Shartlesville facility was chosen in part for its proximity to the birthplace of the Marines and played host to Amazon employees who are also military veterans from across the region.
“We chose this location — as I’m sure many of you drove here were going, ‘Where are we headed,’ — because 246 years ago on this day 75 miles southeast of us the Marine Corps was founded in Tun Tavern in South Philadelphia,” said Miller, who helped organize the event as a member of the Warriors@Amazon employee resource group.
As part of the celebration, which included formal traditions such as the Marine birthday cake, Amazon also awarded a donation of $5,000 to the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 216 in Hamburg.
Members of the VFW were on hand for the check presentation.
“Amazon partners with local communities to do a lot of things,” said Melissa Nick, vice president of North America customer fulfillment for Amazon. “We give up hours, we give up service and we also give up financial resources to be close to our local communities.”
Nick outlined the purpose of the VFW, noting the role the organization played in her grandfather’s life after he returned home from World War II.
“The VFW works to foster camaraderie among us veterans of overseas conflicts,” she read. “The VFW works to serve our veterans, the military and communities. And the VFW advocates on behalf of all veterans.”
In a statement, Amazon noted it currently employs 40,000 veterans and military spouses, with a goal of bringing that number to 100,000 by 2024.
“My hope out of today … is that our Amazon Warriors will walk away recognizing that Amazon would not be the successful company that it is today without our veterans,” Nick said. “So, thank you.”
Miller indicated that the mission was accomplished.
“I’m significantly more emotional than I thought I was gonna be,” Miller said. “What an awesome day.
“My worlds are certainly colliding today and I couldn’t be more excited and it couldn’t mean more to me.”
Source: Berkshire mont
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