CINCINNATI, Ohio — One Ohio veteran is living proof that the duty to serve others and having the courage to think quickly under pressure never quite wears off.

Veterans Day is just around the corner, and Ohio Valley Goodwill Industries is honoring one of its own.

What You Need To Know

  • Ohio Valley Goodwill Industries paid special recognition to employee Jesse Walker

  • Walker is a 73 year old Marine Corps veteran and dock foreman

  • When a fire broke out at the distribution center, Walker was the only one in the building and called 911

Jesse Walker is the dock foreman at Ohio Valley Goodwill Industries Distribution Center.

He’s been involved with Goodwill for almost 23 years.

Walker is a Marine Corps veteran and served in Vietnam. After the death of his wife and close family, he fell on hard times.

Goodwill helped him find housing and as he says “brought him back to life."

Now, at 73 years old, he helps run operations.

“I got a person on the scale, he weighs all the clothes for me, then we take it to the line over there where the ladies are at and then they separate it from over there,” he said, while giving a tour of the facility.

Aug. 27, 2024, was like any other day.

Walker was the only person in the entire building at 4:30 a.m. when he heard something that just wasn’t right.

“The black stuff right here, that’s where the fire was," he said. "Right there. I was in the cafeteria and I heard something, boom. It was like a bomb going off. I went over there by the computer, and I looked through the door and flames started shooting up everywhere. I said ‘Oh my God, I better go call 911’ and that’s exactly what I did."

If it wasn’t for Walker’s quick thinking under pressure, the entire situation could have turned tragic very quickly.

However, it wasn’t only his action during the fire that caught the attention of the staff…but after.

“He was walking down the hallway to take some individuals into the cafeteria, and he was just so supportive to his fellow employees, even to the point where he put his arm around them and said ‘you go into the cafeteria, and I’ll be there in just a few minutes’,” Director of Shelter and Supportive Housing Susie Skeens said.

Every year, Ohio Valley Goodwill Industries hosts a special ceremony for veterans in their program.

Success stories are put in the spotlight and special recognition is given to veterans like Walker.

“Just to see someone like that in our agency, he needs to be recognized and celebrated,” Skeens said.

“It feels pretty good that I kind of helped everybody out," Walker said. "Plus, I saved the building, main thing too. But if I had to go back in to get somebody, I probably would have did it."

Ohio Valley Goodwill Industries has been hosting the special luncheon for veterans for at least 15 years.

Directors also awarded the ‘Veteran of the Year’ award to Army veteran Daniel Guidos.

He recently went through the Veteran Employment Program.

He’s now a Licensed Practical Nurse and the chief of a veterans ward at a local healthcare facility.