U. S. 军队
作者:Stefan Yablonski
Steven Mollica’s career has gone to the dogs — and he couldn’t be happier.
Mollica, 陆军预备役的一等中士, 还有他的妻子, 兽医Andrea (Dattellas) Mollica, 带了将近4个,000-square-foot vacant 富尔顿 building back to life and transformed it into a new state-of-the-art pet care facility.
他们于2022年1月在西纬801度开始建造飞盘堡. 百老汇，前甜蜜灵感店的所在地. 它于2022年4月11日正式开放.
“I picked the location because it was the only thing available in the city of 富尔顿 that could meet my needs. 其他可用的属性都太小了, 太居住或需要太多的工作,他说. “它接近一切, but not close enough to where there would be an issue with noise or any complaints.”
生意一直在稳步增长.
“The word is spreading about the services we offer and many of our customers are pleased with our services,他说. “We have new services and features in the works that will hopefully increase customer and pet satisfaction.”
他的愿景是让企业支持其他退伍军人.
“当我购买产品在我的公司出售时, I first try to find a veteran-owned business that sells the products that I’m looking for. 我卖的狗粮来自布法罗一家退伍军人经营的企业. The coffee I sell is a veteran-owned coffee business in Virginia,他解释道. “并不是每个退伍军人经营的企业都有我需要的产品或服务, 所以我不能总是选择老兵开的公司. 然而，它们通常是我的第一选择.”
他加入了美国现役部队.S. 军队 as an air defense artilleryman; served on active duty for four and a half years at Fort Bliss and Fort Hood, 都在德州.
“I completed a 15-month combat tour in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom VII-VIII.”
Mollica joined the military when he was 19 — because “I didn’t think I had much going for me at the time.”
He said he barely graduated high school because he didn’t value an education. Because of that, he was “rightfully denied enrollment into college,他补充道.
他在配送仓库上夜班.
“考虑到这一切, I figured I didn’t have much going for me at that time and needed to make a drastic life change if I wanted a better life for myself,他解释道. “这是我加入并继续服务的动力.”
当他退役的时候, 他回到了锡拉丘兹, enrolled in the criminal justice program at Onondaga Community College — graduated summa cum laude with a 3.8平均绩点.
然后，他参加了奥农达加县惩教官考试.
“我在考试中得了高分, eventually interviewed and selected to attend the Onondaga County Correctional Academy,他说. “I graduated from the academy and started a short career working for the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office in the custody division at the Justice Center in downtown 锡拉丘兹.”
He worked for approximately 10 months before taking the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office Police test. He scored high on that test as well and was selected to attend the CNY Regional Police Academy.
“I graduated from the academy and worked the next 10 years with the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office in the police division. 我的任务包括公路巡警, 战术反犯罪巡逻队副队长, 纽约认证特警特工和侦探,他说.
“After spending much time in downtown 锡拉丘兹 during the rioting and civil unrest of 2020, we made a family decision some time after that I needed to make a career change so I could be there for my family,他补充道. 于是就有了头脑风暴和飞盘堡的创建.”
此外，在离开现役军队后，他加入了陆军预备役. He was a trained intelligence analyst and did that job for several years and earned high level recognition for some of his work before making his third — and final 军队 job change as an animal care specialist.
“This is the military equivalent of a veterinary technician in the civilian world. My job is responsible for caring for all the military working dogs and privately owned animals on government installations under the supervision of a U.S. 陆军兽医，”他解释道. “This job is vital to ensuring the health and safety of the military working dog community throughout the world.”
He said he chose to start Fort Frisbee because it complemented the experience he has had in his life.
“我的妻子是一名兽医，也是富尔顿动物医院的老板, so I’ve spent much of my adult life talking with her about animal medicine and observing the work she performs on a daily basis,他说. “With the knowledge I’ve gained from her and the knowledge I learned through my military career, 从事畜牧业似乎是一个合乎逻辑的选择.”
He has a lot of pets — two dogs, one cat, one rabbit, four birds and one tortoise.
“My wife has owned the 富尔顿 Animal Hospital since 2014 and has done a phenomenal job with managing staff, 病人护理和业务运营,他补充道. “She’s an excellent role model for me and anyone looking to start or improve a business. She won the SBA small business excellence award several years back and has been doing great things ever since.”
Growing up Mollica was a very active kid; he played baseball and football.
“我也积极投身于创业,他说, 添加, “I don’t think I knew what that term meant at the time —but that was what I did!”
During his middle school years, he was very big into learning magic tricks.
He spent hours learning from books and the early days of the internet — using what he learned to host a few neighborhood magic shows. “我大概有5到10个孩子来，我收了门票. 我还提供了一个抽奖活动，孩子们可以额外付费购买. I held a few shows in the neighborhood before my life interests changed,他说.
在那之后，他会在收费的情况下清扫附近的车道. 之后，他会建立一个收费的小规模网站.
“I taught myself a lot as a kid and I used what I learned to try and make something from it,他说. “这就是我早期的经商经验.”
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