Latest news with #AlLipphardt
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ace Hardware Honors Memorial Day with Nationwide Tribute to Veterans
Along with Ace's annual 1 million flag giveaway in partnership with the VFW, explore top deals on grills, tools, outdoor equipment, and more OAK BROOK, Ill., May 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- In honor of Memorial Day, Ace Hardware is continuing its tradition of supporting the community by giving away 1 million American flags on Saturday, May 24, in partnership with the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW). Ace is also recognizing Memorial Day by offering customers significant savings on a wide selection of summer essentials. From May 13 through May 26, shoppers can take advantage of special discounts on grills, premium tools, outdoor equipment, patio furniture, and accessories from trusted brands such as Weber, DEWALT, Big Green Egg, and EGO. On Saturday, May 24, customers can visit participating Ace stores to receive a free 8" x 12" American flag while supplies last.* For each flag given to customers, a second flag will be donated to local VFW posts to be placed on veterans' graves in tribute. "Ace is proud to support this important initiative and offer American flags to both our customers and the VFW in remembrance of those who gave their lives in service," said Kim Lefko, Chief Marketing Officer at Ace Hardware. "With our stores nationwide, this is a special opportunity for Ace, our customers, and our team members to come together and honor the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice." "We are grateful to work alongside Ace to remember and honor those who have fallen in service to our nation," said VFW National Commander Al Lipphardt. "Memorial Day is a time to reflect on the sacrifices of our service members, men like Pvt. Lewis Sloan of East Point, Georgia, Cpl. Kenneth Adams of Santa Clara, California, Cpl. Philip Adams of Croton Falls, New York, Robert Waddell of Batavia, Ohio, and Rodney Loatman of Newark, New Jersey. These men served under my command when they paid the ultimate price for freedom, and this initiative ensures their service, and all who gave their full measure of devotion, will never be forgotten." While continuing this meaningful tradition, Ace is also helping customers get ready for summer with special Memorial Day deals. Whether upgrading the patio or preparing for summer cookouts, Ace Hardware provides a seamless shopping experience with convenient in-store pickup of online orders, ready within 15 minutes. Select deals are available exclusively to Ace Rewards members, offering additional value to loyal customers. Memorial Day Deals, May 13 – 26 Grills/BBQ Big Green Egg Large Ceramic Grill & Smoker Kit - $1,389.00, Save $150 Weber Slate 30" Rust-Resistant Griddle - $699.00, Save $100 Weber Genesis SA-E-325 Gas Grill - $899.00, Exclusive Color Traeger Woodridge Pro Wood Pellet Grill - $899.00, Save $100 Traeger Ironwood XL Wood Pellet Grill - $1,799.00, Save $200 Traeger Pro 34 Wood Pellet Grill - $499.00, Save $200 Weber Searwood XL 600 Wifi Wood Pellet Grill - $1,199.00 Buy the grill and get a Searwood XL 600 Front Folding Shelf FREE Gozney ARC XL 21" Outdoor Pizza Oven - $799.00, Save $100 Blackstone Iron Forged 4-Burner Outdoor Griddle - $499.99 Smokey Woods BBQ Grilling Pellets, 20 Lb. - 2 for $25.00 FOGO Premium Hardwood Lump Charcoal, 17.6 Lb. $16.95** Buy Three, Get One 10% off Sauces, Seasonings & Rubs Buy One, Get One FREE Meat Church and Loud Mouth Sauces, Seasonings & RubsFree assembly on grills $399 and up. Outdoor Equipment & Tools EGO POWER+ 56V 765 CFM Handheld Blower Kit - $299.00, Save $30** EGO POWER+ 56V Trimmed & Blower Combo Kit - $269.00, Save $50** EGO POWER+ 56V 16" Multi-Head String Trimmed Kit – Save $50 Instantly** EGO POWER+ 56V 3200 PSI Pressure Washer Kit - $699.00, Save $100** EGO POWER+ 56V Select Cut XP Touch Drive Self Propelled Mower Kit - $649.00, Save $150* EGO POWER+ 56V 42" Riding Mower Kit with Six 6 Ah Batteries & Charger – Save $500 Instantly** CRAFTSMAN Electric Pressure Washer – Save $30 Instantly** Save $30 Instantly on Select DEWALT 20V MAX Outdoor Power Equipment** DEWALT 20V MAX Trimmer & Blower Combo Kit - $199.00, Save $90** Toro Recycler Max SmartStow Personal Pace Self-Propelled Gas Mower - $499.00 Free assembly Buy a STIHL GTA 26 Battery-Powered Garden Pruner Kit Get STIHL AS 2 2.6 Ah Battery FREE Buy a STIHL FSA 57 Battery-Powered String Trimmer Kit Get STIHL AK 20 4 Ah Battery FREEBuy Milwaukee M18 FUEL Brushless Hammer Drill/Driver Kit or Impact Driver Kit, Get Milwaukee M18 REDLITHIUM 5 Ah Battery FREEBuy CRAFTSMAN V20 Battery & Charger Starter Kit, Get Two Select CRAFTSMAN V20 Power Tools FREESave $30 on Select DEWALT 20V MAX Power Tools, Speaker, Fan, Battery or TOUGHSYSTEM Tool Box** Yard & Garden Ace 6 Cu. Ft. Heavy Duty Poly Wheelbarrow - $119.99 Scotts Nature Scapes Color Enhanced Mulch, 2 Cu. Ft. - $3.33 each or 3 for $9.99* Miracle-Gro 1.5 Cu. Ft. Organic Raised Bed & Garden Soil or 25 Qt. Organic Outdoor Potting Mix - 2 for $14.00 Miracle-Gro 1 Lb. Garden Feeder Hose-End Sprayer or 2 Cu. Ft. Potting Mix – 2 for $30.00 Select Ace Fiberglass Handle Yard & Garden Tools - $21.99 each Scotts Professional Landscape Fabric, '4 x '50 - $19.99 Ace Metal Oscillating Sprinkler - $29.99 Ace SmartFLO Max 50' Premium Garden Hose - $34.99** Suncast 150' Capacity Hose Hideaway - $49.99** Scotts Turf Builder Triple Action Weed & Feed - $23.99** Save $3 Instantly on Select Roundup and Ortho WeedClear Weed Killers** Save $10 Instantly on Spruce Weed & Grass Killer, 64 Oz. & Scott EZ Seed, 10 Lb. ** Scotts Turf Builder Lawn Soil, 1 Cu. Ft. - 2 for $12.00 Ace 1 Gal. Home & Garden Sprayer - $16.99 Scotts GrubEx Season Long Grub Killer, 14.35 Lb. - $27.99** Select Black Flag Insect Killers – 2 for $10.00 Spectacide Triazicide Lawn Insect Killer Granule, Ready to Spray or Concentrate - $7.99** GardenTech Sevin Insect Killer - $14.99 each** Liquid Fence Deer & Rabbit Repellent - $27.99 each Ace Wild Bird Food, 20 Lb. - 2 for $18.00 Ace 5 Lb Safflower Seed 5lb Black Soil Sunflower Seed - $9.99 each Songbird Selections Wild Bird Food, 5 Lb. - $11.99 each Pocket Hose 25 Silver Bullet 2.0 Expanding Garden Hose - $19.99 Paint Buy One Get One 50% off Clark+Kensington & Royal Interior & Exterior Paint Gallons Select Purdy or Wooster Paint Applicators Scotch Blue Pro Sharp Multi-Surface Painter's Tape Minwax Wood Finish Penetrating Stain Save $10 Instantly on Cabot Exterior Stain** Save $5 Instantly on Thompson's WaterSeal Wood Sealer** Ace Rust Stop Spray Paint – 2 for $12.00 Ace Premium Spray Paint + Primer – 2 for $10.00 Buy DAP DryDex Heavyweight Spackling get Warner Putty Knife FREE Zinsser Bulls Eye 1-2-3 Primer - $26.99* Patio Furniture & Accessories Mix & Match Patio Sets Stackable Woven Chair - $69.99, Save $10 42" Round Metal Dining Table - $149.99 Living Accents 9' Market Umbrella - $44.99 each Umbrella Base - $29.99 each 3-Person Cushioned Canopy Bench Swing - $229.99** Claude 4 Pc. Deep Seating Set - $649.99** 10' x 10' Fabric Arched Pergola - $399.99** YETI Roadie 15 Hard Cooler - $200.00 Feit Electric 24' Color-Changing LED Filament String Lights - $44.99 Stanley The Quencher or IceFlow 30 Oz. Tumbler - $35.00 ^All deals available only at participating stores, subject to change.**Ace Rewards member exclusive. In addition to exceptional savings, Ace Rewards members enjoy unique benefits designed to make shopping at Ace even more rewarding and convenient, including same-day and next-day delivery from local stores on qualifying orders. A new, ongoing benefit for Ace Rewards members now includes free assembly for grills, priced at $399 and up. Becoming a member is easy and free, and membership provides access to exclusive sales events, points on every purchase, and personalized coupons throughout the year. Sign up in-store or online to start enjoying the benefits right away. Visit to learn more. All Ace customers can take advantage of in-store pickup of online orders, ready within 15 minutes, making it easier than ever to get the products they need whenever they need them. For additional information and to explore even more holiday offerings, head to *Flags will be available at participating Ace stores while quantities last. Limit one 8" x 12" flag per customer. No purchase necessary. About Ace HardwareAce Hardware is the largest hardware cooperative in the world, serving more than 8,700 locally owned and operated stores around the globe, while providing the best products, services, and operating methods to almost 5,200 Ace retail stores in the United States. Ace Hardware's family of brands includes Ace Hardware, Emery Jensen Distribution, and independent retailers worldwide. Headquartered in Oak Brook, Ill., Ace operates an expansive network of U.S. distribution centers, along with international capabilities in Ningbo, China, and Cuautitlán Izcalli, Mexico. Since 1924, Ace has been a part of local communities, known as the place with the helpful hardware folks. For more information, visit or About the VFWThe Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. is the nation's largest and most established major war veterans organization. Founded in 1899, the congressionally chartered VFW is comprised entirely of eligible veterans and military service members from the active, Guard and Reserve forces. With more than 1.4 million VFW and Auxiliary members located in nearly 6,000 Posts worldwide, the nonprofit veterans service organization is proud to proclaim "NO ONE DOES MORE FOR VETERANS" than the VFW, which is dedicated to veterans' service, legislative advocacy, and military and community service programs. For more information, or to join, visit our website at Contact: media@ MEDIA ASSETS: Product Lifestyle and Still Images View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Ace Hardware Corporation Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
VFW condemns federal layoffs as ‘indiscriminately harming' veterans
The national leader of the Veterans of Foreign Wars criticized the ongoing mass layoffs of government employees, arguing that veterans — who account for nearly one-third of the federal workforce — are disproportionately affected. VFW National Commander Al Lipphardt, a Vietnam War veteran, condemned the layoffs in a statement Tuesday. He said veterans were being 'hit hard' by the firings, which have affected thousands of workers across various government agencies during President Donald Trump's first month in office. 'Since the federal government is the single largest employer of veterans in the nation, it's veterans who are being indiscriminately harmed in this bull-'DOGE'-ing of the federal workforce,' wrote Lipphardt, using a play on words about the new agency tasked with carrying out the cuts, the Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE. According to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, 636,937 veterans were employed by the federal government as of September 2021. That number equates to about 30% of the federal workforce. Nearly 90% of those veterans received veterans' preference, a policy that gives job candidates a boost in the hiring process if they are disabled veterans or served on active duty during certain dates or military campaigns. Half of the veterans in the federal workforce as of September 2021 were designated as disabled, meaning they were discharged from the military with a service-connected disability. In a 2021 report about veterans in the federal workforce, the Office of Personnel Management lauded a recent increase in the rate of disabled veterans who were recruited into government jobs. 'This performance reflects consistency and robust application of veterans' recruiting efforts concerning disabled veterans,' the agency wrote. There is no official figure available for the employees fired since Trump launched an effort to shrink the federal workforce, and it's unclear how many of them were veterans. VA fires 1,400 more staffers in second round of workforce reductions Lipphardt said the VFW, which comprises 1.4 million members across 6,000 posts, has heard from some veterans who were affected. Their layoff emails, shared with VFW leadership, were 'disjointed,' 'inconsistent' and given 'little to no oversight or thought,' Lipphardt wrote. He argued that DOGE made decisions using algorithms and email distribution lists, rather than using more nuanced means to solve complex problems. 'I was wounded in combat during the Vietnam War. I am thankful that the medics who treated me chose not to take my whole arm for the sake of efficiency,' Lipphardt said. 'It took a trained eye, a skillful hand and human intuition to fix me up and get me back in the fight. In my experience, those operating with a scalpel have a better chance at saving limbs than those who operate with a chainsaw.' So far, many of the layoffs have been carried out by the wide-ranging firing of employees on probationary status, a designation that's generally given to workers who are on the job for less than a year and means they had yet to gain civil service protection. However, Lipphardt said some of the veterans who reached out to the VFW had worked for the government far longer and were 'caught by a formality in administrative statuses.' 'A lot of these aren't brand-new, off-the-street employees,' he wrote. 'These are employees who have been serving the American people for years, in uniform and in civil service. … These veterans are now being told their skills are no longer useful to the government.' Lipphardt conveyed concerns about the well-being of the veterans who had found purpose in government work and were abruptly fired, and he said the American people were suffering a loss of 'technical expertise, training and security clearances already bought and paid for by taxpayers.' As one of the country's largest veterans service organizations, the VFW lobbies Congress and testifies before lawmakers about issues that affect veterans, service members and their families. On March 4, Lipphardt will testify during a joint hearing of the House and Senate veterans' affairs committees — an annual event when multiple veterans organizations tell lawmakers about their priorities for the year. Lipphardt said he would use the opportunity to urge Congress and the Trump administration to 'put an end to the indiscriminate firing of veterans in the government workforce.' He called on VFW members to gather on Capitol Hill that day to make the same demand. 'It's time to apply pressure and stop the bleeding,' he wrote.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
'These Are Human Beings': VA Fires 1,400 More Employees It Considers Nonessential
The Department of Veterans Affairs fired 1,400 more employees Monday, bringing the total number of dismissals in the department to roughly 2,400 under the Trump administration's effort to slash the size of the federal workforce. The workers -- more than 3.3% of the department's probationary employees -- were union members considered to have "non-mission critical" positions, according to a VA news release Monday evening. The move follows the firings of nearly 1,000 probationary employees Feb. 14, some of which were walked back later when they were determined to be essential employees. The announcement drew sharp criticism from the Veterans of Foreign Wars, which issued the first major statement since the firings began from a national veterans service organization. The ongoing cuts may disproportionately affect vets, since they make up more than 28% of the VA workforce and account for the same share of the federal workforce. Read Next: 'People Are Very Scared': Trump Administration Purge of JAG Officers Raises Legal, Ethical Fears VFW National Commander Al Lipphardt said fired veterans weren't "brand-new, off-the-street employees," but were those who had served the country for decades in uniform and civil service. "There are bigger ramifications in firing veterans than just faceless workers being let go. The American people are losing technical expertise, training and security clearances already bought and paid for by taxpayers," Lipphardt said in a statement Monday night. "We're losing people who are genuinely committed to the mission and find a continued sense of purpose in what they do." VA Secretary Doug Collins described the dismissals as "extraordinarily difficult" but said the savings in salaries and benefits -- an estimated $83 million a year -- would go toward serving veterans, families and survivors. In fiscal 2023, the VA's budget was nearly $304 billion, including mandatory spending such as disability payments and pensions. "These moves will not hurt VA health care, benefits or beneficiaries. In fact, veterans are going to notice a change for the better," Collins reassured beneficiaries in a statement Monday. The VA has almost 450,000 employees, nearly 92% of whom work in health care and health administration and support services. It has roughly 40,000 probationary employees, most of whom were exempt from being fired because they serve in mission-critical positions, according to the VA. The Office of Personnel Management's directive to dismiss personnel across government agencies who had not yet gained civil servant employment protections has affected nearly 6,000 veterans, according to a fact sheet issued Tuesday by House Democrats Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the Appropriations Committee ranking member, and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, ranking member of the subcommittee that funds the VA. According to the lawmakers, 258 veterans were among the first 1,000 personnel fired by the VA, and more than 2,300 veterans are expected to lose their jobs this week at the Defense Department. "This move should outrage anyone who respects our veterans and service members and believes our promises to them should be upheld. We have repeatedly asked the Trump administration for additional information on the exact number of veterans they have fired and what they plan to do to support them," DeLauro said in a news release. Republican lawmakers say they are watching the reductions closely. During a joint House and Senate Veterans Affairs committees hearing on veteran service organization priorities Tuesday, Chairman Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas noted that the VA has established a process allowing for exemptions and he has asked the department for further details. "VA must be forthcoming and transparent to Congress, to [veteran service organizations], to the public, to its workforce, regarding workforce strategy," Moran said. Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., a Marine Corps veteran who chairs the House Veterans Affairs Committee, said he believed Collins will "right-size and reorganize the VA." "I trust Secretary Collins doing the right thing for veteran taxpayers. One, because he is himself a veteran and two, because he knows the mission in serving veterans. As chairman and as a veteran myself, my mission is the same: Veterans -- the people sitting in front of us right now -- are my No. 1 priority, not protecting bureaucracy," Bost said. During the same hearing, however, Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, noted that employees who may be considered "nonessential" provide valuable service to veterans. The debate over who is considered "non-mission critical" arose following the Feb. 14 firings, which included two employees at the Veterans Crisis Line, the hotline that provides support and services to suicidal veterans. In a statement issued Feb. 20 in response to media reports and Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., who raised concerns about the potential harm to veterans, Collins noted that no Veterans Crisis Line responders were fired. But the two who were fired were administrative staff and a supervisor -- personnel deemed critical to crisis line operations by a VA Office of Inspector General report last year. They have since been reinstated. "The person who answers the phone can be as important as the person who delivers the care," King said. "If a veteran calls for a health care appointment and there's no one there to answer the phone, that's a denial of benefits, just as sure as if they can't see the doctor." During the hearing, DAV Executive Director Randy Reese agreed. "We view the series of actions from return to work, hiring freeze, delayed resignation, probationary employee terminations. All is just unprofessional. That's not how you treat people. You don't treat your own staff that way. These are not widgets. These are human beings," he said. Related: Elon Musk Aide Is Now Working at VA and Accessing Its Computer Systems
