NOVEMBER 1, 2022

GovX and Veterans Canteen Service Renew

Partnership for Veteran Shopping Site

ShopVCS.VA.Gov is Available to Veterans, Their Families, VA Volunteers and VA Employees

“We are honored to continue our partnership with Veterans Canteen Service to support the veteran community,”

- Alan Cole, GovX CEO.

SAN DIEGO, CA — GovX, the leader in military and first responder shopping services, has renewed its partnership with Veterans Canteen Service (VCS), a service within the Department of Veterans Affairs offering retail items and services to veterans. Following the success over the last four years, this partnership will continue to provide veterans enrolled in the VA healthcare system, their families, VA volunteers and VA employees with access to great prices on a wide catalog of brands and products on ShopVCS.VA.Gov.

“We are proud to continue our business partnership with GovX,” said James Leahy, Executive Director of Veterans Canteen Service. “Our relationship has strengthened through the pandemic, and we are grateful to continue the VCS benefit to our 9 million veterans enrolled in VA healthcare, their families, caregivers and fellow VA employees.”

ShopVCS.VA.Gov, powered by GovX, launched in 2018 to help expand shopping benefits to the VCS community beyond brick-and-mortar retail stores. A division of the Department of Veterans Affairs, the VCS online store features deals on thousands of products from hundreds of top brands including Under Armour, Ray-Ban, YETI, Dell, Vortex Optics, Garmin, and many more. Partnering with GovX allows the VCS community a streamlined ordering process, online payment options, complete mobile functionality for smartphones and tablets, and accessibility features for the visually impaired.

Since the full-featured ecommerce platform for veterans launched four years ago, the site has enrolled over half a million verified members. Beyond providing exclusive discounts and services available only to authorized members, the platform also gives back to the veteran community. Proceeds from the site’s purchases go back to VA programs established for the health and well-being of our nation's heroes, such as the VA’s national rehabilitation adaptive sports games, suicide prevention, Fisher House, women veteran programs, national disaster relief, homeless veteran programs, and more.

“We are honored to continue our partnership with Veterans Canteen Service to support the veteran community,” said GovX CEO Alan Cole. “At GovX, our mission is to ensure our community of service members have access to benefits that best support them and their families. We are proud of what the ShopVCS online experience for veterans and their support systems has accomplished so far, and look forward to what more the partnership will bring to those who have given so much for our country.”

Veterans Canteen Service was established in 1946 to provide articles of merchandise and services at reasonable prices to veterans enrolled in the VA healthcare system. Their goal of incorporating a strategic veteran-centric approach that emphasizes the importance of service to veterans and supporting the VA's overall mission continues with the renewal of the online ShopVCS catalog.

GovX is proud to serve those who serve and their families with a platform where members can get the best discounts, support the important work that many nonprofits and organizations are doing for the community, and help other businesses learn how to best support service members. To learn more about GovX, please visit www.GovX.com.

The VCS online store, powered by GovX, offers thousands of products and services to authorized VCS customers at exclusive rates. Please visit shopvcs.va.gov to sign up or learn more.


About GovX

GovX.com is for men and women of service. A members-only online destination for military and first responders, the site offers thousands of products from hundreds of brands at exclusive, below-retail pricing. Members include active and veteran U.S. military, firefighters, law enforcement officers, federal agents, healthcare workers and personnel from related government agencies. For more information, visit http://www.govx.com.

ABOUT VETERANS CANTEEN SERVICE

The Veterans Canteen Service is a network of retail stores that was established in 1946 by the Department of Veterans Affairs. They operate a variety of retail, food, and vending services across the country, and proceeds from sales support crucial VA programs. Their veteran-centric approach emphasizes the importance of providing for the men and women who've served in the Armed Forces and their families. Visit www.vacanteen.va.gov to learn more.

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CHRIS BOHNERT - CPO

Chris joined GOVX in 2015, bringing more than 15 years of product, marketing and general management experience in the consumer internet space. As head of Product at GOVX, Chris leads product management, design and business intelligence for the entire product portfolio.


Chris began his career at Active Network in 2002 and helped grow the company from start-up to a successful IPO in 2011. During his time at Active Network, Chris managed several teams and product-lines, including the flagship media property, Active.com and the eCommerce division.


In 2012, Chris joined Takelessons, an online education marketplace matching students with qualified teachers. As VP of Product and Technology, he led a cross-functional team, including engineering, product management and design.


Chris earned a BA from the University of Arizona and an MBA from San Diego State University.

ADAM HOMZE - VP ENGINEERING

Adam joined GOVX in 2014 as the Vice President of Software Development and is responsible for leading the software development group, how our applications are built, and scaling the GOVX tech stack.


Since 2005, Adam has actively participated in the growth phase of several startups; holding multiple technical and leadership positions. Over that time, he has developed a wide range of skills to tackle the challenges inherent in building technology companies.


Adam earned a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of California, San Diego.

AARON PELANDER - CHIEF BRAND OFFICER

As the leader of the Brand Marketing team at GOVX, Aaron is responsible for crafting and executing a comprehensive brand strategy that supports GOVX’s business goals and mission. Working closely with the wider marketing and creative teams, Aaron brings the GOVX identity to life through creative storytelling, consistent brand messaging, strategic marketing channel investments, impactful partnerships and sponsorships, and alignment with key non-profit organizations, all aimed at increasing GOVX brand awareness and recall.


Before joining GOVX in 2014, Aaron held senior marketing and management roles at the Active Network and Provide Commerce. He earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of Arizona and his MBA from San Diego State University.

AMBER MILLER - CRO

Amber joined GOVX in early 2014 to head up marketing and member acquisition. She has been leading the Ecommerce efforts since 2016 focusing on the 2 most important customers at GOVX: our deserving members and the brands that provide outstanding products to members.


Prior to GOVX, Amber worked at Active Network for close to 10 years developing a business unit responsible for selling and fulfilling advertising for some of the world’s top endurance events.


Amber holds an MBA from University of San Diego and a B.A from University of California, San Diego.

JOEL PASION - CCO

As Chief Creative Officer, Joel oversees all branding, web, print and other design requirements of the Company. Prior to joining GOVX, he served as Chief Creative Officer for AnyArt, Inc., which operates the AnyArt e-commerce website. Before that, he served as Creative Director for ClosingCorp, a real estate data provider serving large banks and real estate companies. Prior to ClosingCorp, Joel was the Creative Director for Epic Cycle Interactive, a San Diego web and design agency working with major league sports teams.


Before relocating to San Diego, Joel taught web, multimedia and technology courses at the University of Saint Francis in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He earned a B.A. in Biology from St. John’s University.

ROB MORRISON - CTO

Rob serves as CTO for GOVX and oversees all software development associated with the GOVX.com Web site as well as integrations with Vendor-Partner ERP/ecommerce platforms.


Prior to joining GOVX, Rob was a Partner with Kore Technologies, where he architected and developed the company’s ecommerce web platform used by large institutions to facilitate transactions through integrations with large enterprise systems.


Prior to joining Kore Technologies, Rob was a technical lead with Intuit, which owns Quicken, QuickBooks and other financial and accounting software applications.


Prior to his work at Intuit, Rob was Manager of Advanced Product Development for Epicor where he managed a large-scale Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system designed for Microsoft BackOffice.


Rob received a B.S. in Computer Sciences from East Carolina University.

CAROL SCHNUGG - CFO

Carol serves as Chief Financial Officer for GOVX and oversees all financial, accounting and administrative matters for the Company as well as negotiating and administrating Brand-Partners’ wholesale pricing. Prior to joining GOVX, she served as Controller for Billabong’s Sector 9 company, where she oversaw its acquisition by Billabong and was recruited to oversee all financial and accounting matters along with managing its e-commerce site.


Carol previously owned and operated her own accounting and tax practice and was an accountant with Deloitte & Touche.


Carol received a B.S. in finance from San Diego State University and is a Certified Public Accountant.

ALAN COLE - CEO/PRESIDENT

Alan began his career as co-founder and President of DELTYME Corporation, a San Diego-based web services firm working with national clients including Target, Cisco Systems, Costco and Garden Fresh.


After stepping away from an operating role at DELTYME, Alan attended business school at the University of Texas with a focus on entrepreneurial management. During his time in Austin he took on due diligence responsibilities at Gefinor Ventures (an early stage venture firm) and worked in marketing and business development roles in several Austin-area startups including Convio and Metreos.


Alan ultimately moved back to San Diego to join Active Network, where he held executive responsibility for the company's $50M Media + Marketing division. After six years with Active Network, Alan moved on to serve as COO of TakeLessons, an online education marketplace connecting students with qualified teachers. In late 2016, Alan joined GOVX as CEO.

Alan holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from Santa Clara University and an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin.