An opportunity to be of service to his fellow veterans was what drew retired Marine Sean-Michael Green to open a Stratford franchise of JDog Junk Removal & Hauling.
“What really appealed to me is I can help veterans in all sorts of ways,” Green said of the Pennsylvania-based JDog chain. “The folks who work for me are all veteran or veteran family members. When we serve veterans out in the community, we are able to connect with them on a different level.”
The Stratford JDog will celebrate its grand opening on Saturday with a food truck, music and other festivities at its location at 80 Century Dr.. As part of the event, veterans are invited to “shop” for free items at JDog’s warehouse, with non-veteran members of the public invited to buy.
JDog services the residential market and commercial service industry, offering junk removal and hauling. Some franchises also offer floor, upholstery and carpet cleaning, but the Stratford JDog focuses on junk removal.
“We are known for our military work ethic and employment of veterans,” the company said on its website.
Originally from Pittsburgh, Pa., Green was a self-described “horrible student” who chose to enlist in the U.S. Marine Corps right out of high school. He served four years on active duty, including in the first Gulf War, and then spent eight years in the Marine Reserve. His younger brother also joined the Marines, serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
After his time in the military, Green went on to college and then to work in academia, serving as a vice president for enrollment management at Albertus Magnus College and associate vice president of graduate enrollment and marketing at the University of New Haven.
Green then became an entrepreneur, starting several companies in addition to teaching as an adjunct management professor at the UConn School of Business. Among his enterprises is Honor Platoon Logistics, a delivery service that works with Amazon.com.
After his brother opened a JDog franchise in Pennsylvania, Green saw an opportunity to bring together his business savvy and compassion for fellow veterans in Connecticut.
“The veteran hook really, really appealed to me,” Green said of opening a JDog franchise. “It was an option to do something good. But the second thing that appealed to me was that it’s a very elegant business — people are paying us to remove items from their life, things that they can’t use anymore. But the items we’re taking away, somebody else would really want.”
Veterans moving into new housing can use the items in addition to the general public, keeping usable goods from ending up in the waste stream, Green said.
“We challenge ourselves to avoid the landfill at all costs,” Green said. “Everything we take, if there’s any life left in it, we want to find a home for that, make sure it goes to a good place.”
Green has also partnered his JDog business and its staff with Homes for the Brave, a local nonprofit that focuses on helping veterans experiencing homeless with housing and services.
Currently Green employs eight full-time workers, all veterans or family members of veterans.
“We only hire people that understand the military culture,” Green said. “When we serve veterans out in the community we are able to help them make space in their lives.”
JDog’s removal and hauling services can be booked online at the company’s website, jdog.com.
Contact Liese Klein at lklein@newhavenbiz.com.
