Bulova Supports Veterans Through Veterans Watchmaker Initiative
As a proud Founding Sponsor, Bulova has pledged funds to support the Veterans Watchmaker Initiative (VWMI), which officially opened its doors on September 13th of 2017 in Odessa, DE. The mission of the VWMI is to give disabled veterans the opportunity to rebuild their lives by learning the skills of mechanical watchmaking at no cost to them, while simultaneously supplying an understaffed profession with a new crop of well-trained experts. VWMI was inspired by a post-WWII program at Bulova that trained disabled veterans. Founded by Arde Bulova in 1945, the Joseph Bulova School opened in 1946 and operated for several decades before it was phased out in the 1980s when electronic watches became popular. Since then a new demand for mechanical watches has resulted in a shortage of watchmakers. “Bulova is proud to make this contribution the Veterans Watchmaker Initiative for several reasons,” notes Robert Christiano, Bulova’s Executive Vice President of Global Marketing. “By supporting the needs of men and women who have personally sacrificed to protect our nation, VWMI reprises a worthy program from Bulova’s past. And it will provide the new technical experts we need to keep our industry strong and moving forward.” For more information, visit www.bulova.com
Contact:
Adrienne Forrest
VP Bulova Corporate Sales
corporatesales@bulova.com
Julian “Jack” Smith, Bulova School of Watchmaking class of 1960 (left), greets Carl Rosen, Bulova Historian and Retired COO.
Jack Smith, proud member of the Bulova School of Watchmaking class of 1960, at the VWMI Grand Opening ceremony.
Carl Rosen (left), Bulova Historian and Retired COO, tours the VWMI history gallery with Sam Cannan, Chairman of VWMI the Veterans Watchmaker Initiative Inc., during the new school’s Grand Opening.
Jack Smith, proud member of the Bulova School of Watchmaking class of 1960, at the VWMI Grand Opening ceremony.
Carl Rosen (left), Bulova Historian and Retired COO, tours the VWMI history gallery with Sam Cannan, Chairman of VWMI the Veterans Watchmaker Initiative Inc., during the new school’s Grand Opening.
