Community Spotlight: Goodwill CEO Presented with Thomas Paine Award

Bob Rosinsky

VENICE – Florida Veterans for Common Sense presented the annual Thomas Paine award to Bob Rosinsky, president and CEO of Goodwill Manasota on Jan. 25 at the Jacaranda Country Club. This prestigious award is presented to a deserving person who has made an outstanding effort to assist veterans and has made a positive contribution to our communities, state, and nation.

Bob Rosinsky instituted The American Veterans and their Families Initiative in 2013. This program, at no cost to veterans, has helped hundreds of veterans with their reintegration into the civilian work force. The initiative has helped veterans with employment services, financial assistance, health benefits, housing assistance and more.

Goodwill has also produced a very successful Veterans Resource Guide to assist veterans in simplifying their transition process. This extensive reference lists and describes resources available to veterans from the Federal government, state, and local communities.

Rosinsky’s attitude is best characterized by his instructions to staff managing the veteran program, “…find those veterans who really want to help themselves, and we’ll do whatever in our power to help them - nothing is off limits.”

Bob Rosinsky’s ‘can do’ attitude to help veterans is in the tradition of Thomas Paine, who wrote the famous words in The American Crisis, “These are the times that try men’s souls…” which General George Washington read to his troops.

Thomas Paine was a revolutionary soldier and author of Common Sense, The Crisis Papers, and The Age of Reason. Paine’s Common Sense stirred the colonists to seek independence. Some historians assert that without the pen of Paine, George Washington would have wielded his sword in vain.

For more information about the Florida Veterans for Common Sense, visit floridaveteransforcommonsense.org.