On today’s episode, we honor veterans and celebrate the men and women who have served this country. Veteran Gordon Logan joins to talk about his service in the Vietnam War and how he’s continuing to serve his community through a unique scholarship he created called “Help A Hero,” which provides scholarship assistance to pursue higher or technical education when members leave the military. We discuss the specifics of the scholarship program and how you can get involved.
Gordon Logan is a veteran and founder of Sport Clips, a national franchise with almost 1,900 salon locations. He’s gone from U.S. Air Force pilot to Wharton/MIT graduate, successful franchisor in all 50 states and Canada, and “Entrepreneur of the Year” by the International Franchise Association (IFA). In 2013, he created the “Help A Hero” scholarship which has raised $11.4 million to provide 2,400 scholarships to veterans in need from all branches of military service.
TRANSCRIPT
Beverly Hallberg:
And welcome to She Thinks, a podcast where you’re allowed to think for yourself. I’m your host, Beverly Hallberg, and on today’s episode we honor veterans. Lifting up the men and women who’ve served this country. Veteran Gordon Logan joins us to talk about his service in the Vietnam War and how he’s continuing to serve his community through a unique scholarship program he created called Help a Hero. It provides scholarship assistance to pursue higher or technical education. When members leave the military. We’ll discuss the specifics of the scholarship and how you can get involved.
And before we bring him on a little bit more about Gordon. Gordon Logan is a veteran and founder of Sport Clips, a national franchise with almost 1900 salon locations. He’s gone from US Air Force Pilot to MIT graduate, successful franchiser in all 50 states plus Canada and recognition of being Entrepreneur of the Year by the International Franchise Association.
In 2013, he created the Help a Hero scholarship, which has raised $11.4 million to provide 2,400 scholarships to veterans in need from all branches of military service. And it’s truly an honor to have you on She Thinks today. Gordon Logan, thank you so much for being here.
Gordon Logan:
Well, thank you Beverly. Thank you for that glowing introduction. I hope that I can live up to it.
Beverly Hallberg:
Well, I thought before we would get into the important scholarship program that you’re talking about today, we would just talk a little bit about you as a veteran. I know on behalf of all our listeners, we want to say thank you for your service, especially your service during the Vietnam War. I was hoping we could just start by talking a little bit about you being an Air Force pilot and what it was like to serve in that war when so many people lost their lives and it was such a hard war for so many reasons.
Gordon Logan:
Well, I flew very little in Vietnam actually. I did most of my flying in Cambodia when the Khmer Rouge were trying to take over the country and unfortunately they were successful. I got there towards the end of the Vietnam War, so I flew a little bit in Vietnam. But like I say most, mostly it was supporting [inaudible 00:02:27] when it was in under siege and delivering various supplies to pretty remote jungle strips. But it was an interesting experience. I didn’t have the same traumatic experience that many of our troops did, especially Marines and Army that were on the ground and engaged in close combat. So I’m thankful that I had the opportunity to serve. I flew all over the world, spent a lot of time in Europe and some in South America and as well as Southeast Asia. But it was a great experience and I feel like it’s made a big difference in my life.
Beverly Hallberg:
And two questions for you on that front. First of all, what would be helpful for civilians to know about veterans and what they face? I know every situation is different, but what is the best way to honor them? And second of all, we also have what seems to be a low signup rate in the military these days. What would you say to encourage young people to be part of the military?
Gordon Logan:
Well, I think Veterans Day is a nice recognition to say thank you to all who served, the sacrifices they make. And not only them, but their families make. Military families don’t get nearly as much credit as they should. The military’s a great experience. You get a lot of responsibility at a very young age. You learn a lot about team-building, leadership. It is a transformational experience for many young men and women. And I don’t know any veterans that regret having served. I mean just everybody feels like it was an honor to be able to do that and everybody gained a lot from that experience.
The educational benefits in training, the military is really the largest occupational training organization in the world. And no matter whether you’re a pilot or a technician of various types, the training is just absolutely exceptional which helps prepare people for future careers as well.
Beverly Hallberg:
And you had a very interesting career transition. You went from being a pilot to where you are today, which is owning hundreds of salons across the country and even Canada, as I mentioned in the bio. How did you go from military service? How did you go from pilot to hair salon owner?
Gordon Logan:
Well, after I got out of the Air Force, I flew in reserves for about two years, went back to graduate school, you got an MBA in finance and accounting. And I worked with Pricewaterhouse and their consulting group for about four years. And then the entrepreneurial bug got me and I became a franchisee of a system that’s no longer around called Command Performance and eventually another franchisee and I bought that system and that’s how it got to be a franchisor. And then in the early ’90s we were looking at the business and which niches were being properly served and which were not. And no one was paying any attention to the men and boys market. And so it’s always good to be the only one in a niche or the opportunity to be the dominant player in that niche.
So we sold the other franchise and focused our energies on Sport Clips and we started our first prototype store in Austin, Texas in 1993. Operated it for a couple of years to make sure everything was working properly and started franchising in 1995. So we’ve been franchising now for 27 years and like any other business, the first few years were a struggle. Things didn’t just take off like a rocket ship, but we had steady growth. It took us about five years to get our first 50 open. And two years after that we opened number 100. And for many years after that, until just a few years ago, we were open in 100, 150 locations a year.
Beverly Hallberg:
And any advice you would give to somebody young listening to this who is thinking about being an entrepreneur and starting businesses?
Gordon Logan:
Well, it’s easy to underestimate how much hard work it’s going to be, how much capital it’s going to require. For anybody who’s a military spouse. There’s a wonderful organization based in San Diego called the Rosy Network, and they really focus on helping, especially young women get into entrepreneurial avenues and giving them support they need. And in a franchise, one of the reasons why franchises are successful is you go into a business that you really have not no experience in. Like I had never owned a hair salon before I got into franchising. But the support mechanisms around that, somebody else has already made a lot of mistakes. And the business of a franchisor is to help their franchisees avoid that. And the Rosy Network does that a lot. They have about six or eight branches around the country to help young ladies who are going in into entrepreneurial adventures to avoid mistakes others have made. It’s a real strong networking opportunity. So really strongly recommend any military spouses look into that program.
Beverly Hallberg:
Well, obviously you value work and you see that there is intrinsic value in that people feel good when they are working. And correct me if I’m wrong, but I think that’s one of the reasons you decided to give back in the way that you have, which is to start a scholarship program called Help a Hero. Tell me about the importance of the scholarship and why you decided to start it. In 2013?
Gordon Logan:
We started working with the VFW, I think it was 2008, and they had a program called Operation Uplink, which gave free phone calls home to soldiers and airman and so forth of military stationed overseas and in hospitals. And then when the troops started coming home, we felt like we needed to transition to a more lasting program.
And so we created the Help a Hero Scholarship program in 2013 working in partnership with the VFW Foundation. And as you mentioned, we’ve raised over $11 million for over 2000 scholarships to date. And that it really helps a lot to supplement the help that is available through the GI Bill and otherwise. It is up $5,000 a semester paid directly to the educational institution and it can be applied for multiple times.
So we have a number of people who’ve taken advantage of that, who’ve gone through graduate school, have gone to medical school, law school, and it enables them to graduate without a tremendous debt burden. It’s just another way we have of saying, “Thank you. We appreciate your service and sacrifices you’ve made for us,” and to give them a good start on their civilian career.
Beverly Hallberg:
And correct me if I’m wrong, but it sounds like the veteran can choose wherever they want to go to school or what type of education they would receive, whether that’s higher education or technical education, they just apply for the scholarship and the money can go to the place of their choosing correct?
Gordon Logan:
That’s true. We have a wide variety of trades and occupations, everything from truck drivers to doctors and lawyers. The four largest concentrations seem to be engineering and in computer sciences, but a lot of healthcare and business and accounting as well.
Beverly Hallberg:
And I think it does go back to the question that I asked you earlier, which is, what is the benefit of signing up for the military? There’s so much that can be transitioned over to the civilian world now maybe there needs to be a formal certificate that shows that you have a degree in it, but do you find that the military background does prepare you for a lot of jobs that are necessary here in the states?
Gordon Logan:
Well, there’s no question. Some are more directly transferable like a diesel mechanic for example, or a pilot. But just the experience you get in the military, the training you get, being part of a team, and executing systems to have the focus on mission accomplishment that’s in the military, failures are not an option. And you really learn how to adapt to changing circumstances and make the best of sometimes a bad situation. So all of those are life skills in addition to technical skills that will serve veterans well in their future careers.
Beverly Hallberg:
Well, I want to take a minute to talk to you, our listeners. You may know the Independent Women’s Forum is the leading national women’s organization dedicated to enhancing people’s freedoms, opportunities and wellbeing. But did you know that we are also here to bring you women, and men on the go, the news? You can listen to our High Noon podcast, an intellectual download featuring conversations that make free society possible. Hear guests like Ben Shapiro and Dave Rubin discuss the most controversial subjects of the day or join us for Happy Hour with At the Bar where host Inez Stepman and Jennifer Braceras chat on the latest issues at the intersection of law, politics, and culture.
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Well, Gordon, I want to talk to you a little bit about what applying for the scholarship is like. So people who are listening, let’s say we have veterans listening who are interested in the scholarship. What are some of the prerequisites for being able to receive this scholarship?
Gordon Logan:
Well, it’s available to Active Duty, Reserve, National Guard, and Veterans. And the more information on the application process can be found on vfw.org under resources and To Help a Hero scholarship application is there. It’s fairly simple, straightforward application. It’s available to E-4 and below because we felt like the enlisted troops were the ones that probably needed the help more. And as the scholarships are awarded, we use an independent third-party group to evaluate the scholarship applications, then that’s what they do and help various types of scholarships. So very objective process. But I do encourage veterans or our active duty to apply and we’re close to the deadline for the spring semester now through November 15th. So there’s only about another week available, but it’s a fairly short application and easy to do. So I encourage them to take advantage of them.
Beverly Hallberg:
And also I know that you’re looking to raise more money. Do you have a certain goal you’re trying to reach and if people are interested in donating, where can they go to help out?
Gordon Logan:
Yes, we have a goal this year of $1.7 million. We’re closing in, this is the last week of our campaign and they can go to sportclips.com and there’s an opportunity there. They can text Hero to 71777 and donate that way or come into any Sport Clips. We’re in all 50 states. Come into a Sport Clips location and make the donation directly there. Of course, if you want to get a haircut while you’re there, that’s fine too.
Beverly Hallberg:
It can do both. It can do both. It’s a one stop shop for both things that you need. And just final wrapping up in our conversation today, any success stories that you can share on how important the scholarship has meant to some veterans?
Gordon Logan:
Well, I could name my whole long list of people who’ve taken advantage of this and how much difference it’s made to them and their families. Because many of these veterans are married and they have several kids. So every little bit of help really makes a big difference. And like I mentioned, they come out of the education without having really burdensome student debt. So it’s really a great help to them to get through without having to worry about that so much. We get letters and comments all the time from veterans saying how much it meant to them and their families. So it is something that really does make a difference in people’s lives.
Beverly Hallberg:
Well, in closing, I want to remind people that it’s called Help a Hero, and Gordon, remind me again where people can go if they want to donate.
Gordon Logan:
They can text Hero to 71777 or go to sportclips.com/hero. And that will also give you a list of the participating locations that will give free haircuts to veterans and active duty this Friday, Veterans Day. And that’s most of our locations. And we’re also donating $2 for every haircut that day, which may not sound like much, but that’ll amount to over a $100,000 in that one day.
Beverly Hallberg:
Well, it’s a great thing to do, especially on Veterans Day. Gordon Logan, we appreciate what you have done to set up the scholarship program, Help a Hero. We hope people donate. And we also thank you so much for joining us on She Thinks Today as well as your service. Thank you so much.
Gordon Logan:
Thank you, Beverly. Appreciate you having us on.
Beverly Hallberg:
And thank you all for joining us. Before you go, Independent Women’s Forum does want you to know that we rely on the generosity of supporters like you. And investment in IWF fuels our efforts to enhance freedom, opportunity, and wellbeing for all Americans. So please consider making a small donation to IWF by visiting iwf.org/donate. That’s iwf.org/donate.
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