Support and Respect for Veterans Happens Every Day at TAMKO

By Karen L. Edwards, RCS Editor.

During November, RoofersCoffeeShop® will be spotlighting TAMKO military veteran team members.

We are reminded each November as Veterans’ Day arrives about the sacrifices that our military members make for our country through their dedicated service. Many of us do not always think about it throughout the year, unless maybe a family member or loved one is serving, but TAMKO does.

TAMKO’s support of two veterans, John Sweeny and Jonathan Marta, who were called to active duty while working at TAMKO, demonstrated the company’s level of commitment. John Sweeny shared in a company newsletter article, “I’ll never forget it – I called Tim (Whelan – Retired TAMKO Executive Vice President) up when I got the letter,” John said. “Here I am thinking, ‘I’m going to be the GM; this is a new plant and we’re supposed to be doing this whole thing together.’ But Tim’s first question to me was, ‘What can we do for you and your family during this time?’ I knew Tim well enough that I wasn’t surprised by his response, but I was still overwhelmed by it.”

TAMKO is committed to welcoming veterans into its family and supports them when their service is needed for active deployment. Approximately 15 percent of TAMKO’s team members are veterans. As Jonathan Marta shared in the article, “The fact that TAMKO employs so many veterans means that, to some extent, I have a shared heritage with a lot of the employees with whom I interact,” Jonathan said.

John shared that other than his faith in God and his faith in his family, faith in his coworkers and the company that graciously sent him off to serve his country is one of the things that got him through his 20-month deployment. “You have to have faith in your coworkers and your leadership that they will take care of you and do right by you,” John said.

The following information was provided by TAMKO about John and Jonathan’s service and military background.

John Sweeny

John Sweeny served in the U.S. Army as a Field Artillery Officer from 1998 to 2003. He graduated from West Point and was stationed in Fort Sill, Oklahoma and Fort Hood, Texas. He came to work at TAMKO as a Six Sigma Black Belt in Lamar in 2003, assisting with the construction and start-up of the Lamar North plant in 2004.

He was named General Manager of TAMKO’s former Chilhowie, Virginia plant that same year, but only days after he moved to Virginia, he was recalled to active service in 2005 for a 16-month “boots on the ground” deployment to Iraq. He was named Brigade Battle Captain with the 1st Brigade Combat Team of the 34th Infantry Division (Minnesota National Guard).

For his service in Iraq, he received a Meritorious Service Medal and the Iraq Campaign Medal. He also earned his Airborne Wings and Air Assault Wings while in the Army.

John was named Manager of TAMKO’s Engineering & Construction facility in 2009 and was promoted to his current title of General Manager of the High Street plant in 2017.

“I sought to be a good officer and a good citizen, and am incredibly proud of serving with, and leading young men and women in Iraq,” John said.

Jonathan Marta

Jonathan Marta spent nine years on active duty with the U.S. Navy. He was commissioned through the NROTC at Virginia Tech, and completed Naval Nuclear Power Training Command in Charleston, South Carolina before going to the Nuclear Power Training Unit in Ballston Spa, New York.

Jonathan served as a Submarine Officer aboard the USS Norfolk (SSN-714), a Los Angeles Class fast attack submarine out of Norfolk, Virginia. This included a 7-month deployment to the Persian Gulf for a fast-paced tour where his submarine was submerged for as many as 75 days at a time and the crew operated on 18-hour-day rotations.

He also served as Strategic Targeting Officer for Commander, Submarine Forces in Norfolk.

Jonathan joined TAMKO in 2014 and was promoted to his current role of Master Black Belt in 2020. In 2016, he found out he was being recalled to active duty for a 14-month tour as Anti-Terrorism Officer for Commander, Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa in Djibouti and Somalia.

“My experiences in the Navy, especially those experiences in the Horn of Africa, make me extremely grateful for the mode of life that we enjoy as Americans,” Jonathan said.

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