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Coldwater native Bryan Bills is in the running for Military Friendly's Veteran of the Year 2026 award.
Bryan Bills, a 2013 Coldwater High School graduate and Ohio National Guard Army veteran, is in the running for Military Friendly's Veteran of the Year 2026.
Military Friendly, which touts itself as a national movement connecting veterans, employers and schools, named Bills Ohio Veteran of the Year 2026 in June, advancing him to its national competition, where he is vying for the Veteran of the Year title in the higher education category.
"I thought it was just a state award, then all of a sudden it's a national (competition)," Bills, 31, told The Daily Standard. "It's kind of cool to get recognized by that caliber of a (veteran-owned organization)."
The public can vote for Bills through July 4 at militaryfriendly.com/oy/veteran/state/.
Military Friendly describes Bills as an Army veteran with the Ohio National Guard, mentor and higher education advocate "whose leadership continues to strengthen veteran success across Ohio and beyond in meaningful, measurable ways."
"After serving two deployments to Afghanistan, and two stateside in support of COVID, Bryan turned his commitment to service into a mission of helping military-affiliated students navigate college, benefits and career transition," the biography reads. "A Bowling Green State University alumnus, MBA graduate and doctoral student, he has supported veterans through peer advising, mentoring, tutoring and campus programming while advancing initiatives that build community and opportunity. Bryan's work reflects a deep belief that service does not end with the uniform … it evolves into advocacy, education, and empowerment."
Winning the national award, Bryan said, would hopefully serve as an inspiration for other veterans.
"I hope somebody sees it and they think, 'What if? What if that could be me?'" he said. "I don't think enough veterans realize what is achievable. Because what they do is an awful job in the military of brainwashing you into thinking that the only thing you will ever be good at is the military."
This is not the case, he said.
"But it takes that mentorship, that time," he said. "There is light on the other side of here. You can do these things."
In fact, a 17-year-old Bills wouldn't recognize the man he would grow up to become, he said.
Today, Bills has 12 years of experience with the U.S. Army Engineers, a bachelor's degree and an MBA. He's employed as a workforce development coordinator while continuing to work toward earning his doctorate in leadership studies at Bowling Green State University.
"All of this is icing on the cake," he said. "I didn't even think I was going to get a bachelor's, let alone a master's, and the doctor thing, I just like to tell people, 'I'm too stupid to quit.' … This is kind of for myself. It's just to prove that I can do it."
Bill's pathway to the military was cemented during his junior year in high school while studying electronics at Tri Star Career Compact. A military recruiter paid a visit to the classroom one day.
"He was like, 'You like what you're doing right now. You're in this vocational school because you think it's something you're going to do, you think it's something you're going to do long-term. … You could do this in the military,'" Bills said.
Bills was taken by the speech and a month later enlisted with the Ohio National Guard.
He spent the summer after his junior year undergoing basic training before returning to complete his senior year, graduate and head out for job training at Fort Gordon in Augusta, Georgia, for about five months.
Following the completion of job training, he started his first freshman semester at Bowling Green State University in spring 2014. Shortly before finals, he was called to service in Afghanistan.
"I talked to my professors, and I told them, 'Hey, this is what's going on.' … All the professors basically gave me a high-five. They were like, 'Good luck, go get them,' sort of thing. So I got all A's that first semester. They didn't even make me take finals."
The military office at Bowling Green State University was instrumental in helping Bills transition between classes when he had to assume Ohio National Guard duties.
During his first deployment to Afghanistan, Bills was tasked with consolidating bases.
"We found the important stuff, the high-dollar valuable stuff, and we salvaged what we could into bins," he said. "It got flown back home wherever and everything else was bulldozed."
After his first deployment, Bills returned home for four or five months before being called to duty again.
"This time we were rebuilding the bases back up. … Essentially all we were at the end of the day … was construction workers with guns, " he said. "Different presidencies, I think different initiatives."
At Bowling Green State University, Bills worked as a peer advisor for veteran education and, for a year, served as a full-time military program coordinator.
"There's this often defeatist attitude that veterans have, that school isn't for me," Bills said. "They don't even give it a shot because they don't see people doing it very often. I wanted to be that person (to guide them through the process)."
A military program coordinator, he said, has to help get veterans into the right headspace.
"You've got to meet them where they're at and … bring them to the higher education level of thinking," he said.
Military Friendly said Bill's accolades reflect both performance and service - Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal, Army Commendation Medals, Army Achievement Medals, Sapper Spirit Award, P.A.V.E. Mentor of the Month, Commandant's List, multiple state and reserve-component recognitions and repeated Dean's List honors.
"He also invests in the next generation through leadership and volunteerism, serving as faculty advisor to BGSU's Student Veterans of America chapter, previously elected SVA President and Military Senator, and leading fundraising that sent student veterans to the SVA National Conference," militaryfriendly. states. "His community service includes Habitat for Humanity and Salvation Army support, plus ongoing mentorship to transitioning service members through Service to School and other platforms."
