The loyal veteran

(Baonghean) - Born in 1956 into a poor farming family in Thanh Yen commune (Thanh Chuong district), in 1974, while still in 10th grade, Mr. Nguyen Thu Thuong enlisted in the army in response to the sacred call of the Fatherland. After a period of accelerated training at Regiment 22, he was assigned to Division 341, fighting on the Southern battlefield. In 1978, he was transferred to study at the No. 2 Construction Vocational School in Thanh Hoa, and then worked at the Nghe An Fuel and Materials Company. In 1999, the company was dissolved, and he retired, pondering how to start a business. In April 2000, Hoa Thuong Limited Company was established with a capital of 1 billion VND, specializing in the business of construction materials, goods transportation, and construction projects.

Veteran Nguyen Thu Thuong and his comrades look at the photo signed by General Vo Nguyen Giap.

"Every beginning is difficult," and in the early days of starting the business, the company faced numerous challenges. Everything had to be rented or borrowed, resulting in huge investment costs and meager revenue. Furthermore, they had to cover debts and employee salaries. Years of savings, the sale of their wedding rings, capital from colleagues and friends, and borrowed money were all poured into the project. The constant urge to generate profit, maintain the trust of colleagues, and ensure stable employment and income for their children motivated him to devise ingenious strategies for business development.

What's remarkable is that all five members of the Board of Directors of Hoa Thuong Company Limited are veterans. Every year, the company regularly organizes activities to visit former battlefields and locate the graves of fallen comrades; builds houses of compassion for impoverished veterans; regularly visits and gives gifts to families suffering from illness and hardship; cares for orphans and elderly people without support; contributes 300 million VND annually to the local education promotion fund; and from 2005 to the present, has donated approximately 1.5 billion VND to support people affected by floods and natural disasters...

For his contributions, he was honored with the "Gold Award" for outstanding veteran entrepreneur by the Vietnam Veterans Association; and was recognized as a successful veteran businessman at the provincial level for many consecutive years. In particular, in 2011, he was honored with a Certificate of Merit from the Prime Minister and was recognized as an exemplary veteran.

Thanh Phuc