Photo By Tech. Sgt. Kathleen LaCorte | U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Lee A. Hoffmeier, aircraft armament systems specialist,...... read more read more
Subscribe
FORT WAYNE AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Ind. – The 122nd Fighter Wing has bragging rights for two members who are honorees in the Forty Under 40 Class of 2022. U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Lee A. Hoffmeier, an aircraft armament systems specialist, and Master Sgt. Joshua S. Pulfer, a munitions systems specialist, both drill status guardsmen, received the award along with 38 other honorees on March 24, 2022.
The Forty Under 40 award recognizes business leaders under the age of 40 who have excelled in their career and made influential contributions to the Fort Wayne community.
“Six years ago, I never thought it would be anything, I just wanted to do it,” said Hoffmeier as he shook his head in some amazement explaining how he started his small business, Fort Wayne Industrial Revolution. “I get asked to do some crazy things, that are seemingly impossible for a small guy like me. It’s wild.”
It all started six years ago when he needed a live edge epoxy-poured dining room table for his own home and could not find a reliable business to create the piece for him. He decided to make the table himself and even failed at his first attempt, but between his own research, YouTube videos, guidance from other experts and the school of hard knocks, he has built a successful small business that is booked solid through the end of the year.
“When you fail, you fail forward,” Hoffmeier said of his mantra forged from the very beginning of his small business venture. “When you learn from experiences, you apply those for the next time.”
Hoffmeier also fell into military service unexpectedly when the idea first crossed his mind as a senior in high school. He was pleasantly surprised by the camaraderie in the 122FW culture. After 23 years he still finds it different from any other place he has worked.
“If I can put in 30 years, I will," said Hoffmeier. "I just don’t know why I would ever want to leave at this point. You get to know people, make friends, lifelong friends and experiences and things you can take from your military career and apply them in your civilian career or just even your life, or instill in your children.”
Pulfer also shared a similar story explaining how the 122FW enriched his life unexpectedly as a teenager fresh out of high school.
“It was an accident,” said Pulfer. “I was curious about the prospect of joining the military and my best friend was going to join the 122nd and I came with him on a recruiting visit. It wasn’t scary to join the Wing because I had some familiar faces, but I had no expectation to go beyond six years because when you’re 18 years old, that’s the rest of your life. Once I was immersed in the culture of specifically munitions, it was a place I couldn’t imagine being without.”
Pulfer applies lessons learned through his 19 years at the 122FW to his civilian job, as he oversees roughly 80 personnel as assistant vice president of branches for 3Rivers Federal Credit Union. After 13 years at 3Rivers Federal Credit Union, he also brings specific skills from his civilian job back to his supervisory position at the 122FW. Both careers compliment each other specifically in leadership development and interpersonal skills.
“Having that ability to have a calm presence in those seasons of stress, I believe, came from training and experience that we’ve had as Blacksnakes in some pretty high stress times that we’ve been exposed to,” said Pulfer. “From a leadership lens, knowing who is in the room and who is represented in the room and also what talents to highlight and support, because when you’re looking at whether it be a branch team in a financial institution or a bomb build up crew on a deployment, a lot of similarities really, because you have a full spectrum of talents and perspectives and demographics represented so it’s about making sure they’re on the same page to achieve the same mission.”
Pulfer credits his success as a leader to the mentoring he received from leaders in both his military and civilian careers. He learned how important it is not to make it about yourself and to have a caring heart for others. He is passionate about sharing the lessons he learned from his own mentors with the airmen and employees under his supervision.
“My success, I credit a lot of it to having time spent with other leaders in my organization," said Pulfer. “I feel like that is the most exciting and that’s the most bucket-filling aspect of my role is having the opportunity to coach others. That’s what gets me really excited at work.”
Both Pulfer and Hoffmeier have a vision for the future and passion for what is coming next in their careers.
“The last three roles that I’ve had didn’t exist before I was in them,” said Pulfer. “I would like to continue to learn. I would like to continue to lead more people as I grow, but I don’t think that my next role exists yet. I feel like that’s something I can kind of create.”
Hoffmeier has already had the opportunity to meet people he would have never dreamed of, including Nikki Sixx from Motely Crue, all because of the table he couldn’t find six years ago.
“I think as a business owner you get connections; you develop relationships and trust and you really just have a different aspect on what life is at that point,” said Hoffmeier. “It’s just been a cool endeavor that I’ve never expected, period.”
| Date Taken: | 05.15.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 09.10.2022 13:24 |
| Story ID: | 428988 |
| Location: | FORT WAYNE, INDIANA, US |
| Web Views: | 665 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Blacksnakes are honorees in Forty Under 40 Class of 2022, by TSgt Kathleen LaCorte, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
