VSF 2nd VP, Ben Keen Named National Staffing Employee of the Year

For Immediate Release

American Staffing Association Names IT Professional and Veterans Advocate as 2016 National Staffing Employee of the Year, Announces Sector All-Stars

Alexandria, VA, Sept. 28, 2015—The American Staffing Association today announced that information technology professional and veterans advocate Ben Keen is the 2016 National Staffing Employee of the Year. For the first time, ASA also unveiled National Staffing Employee of the Year All-Stars in five industry sectors—engineering, IT, and scientific; health care; industrial; office–clerical and administrative; and professional–managerial. These announcements mark the beginning of National Staffing Employee Week, Sept. 28–Oct. 4. The week honors the contributions of the more than three million temporary and contract employees on assignment in support of U.S. businesses and the nation’s economy every day.

National Staffing Employee of the Year

Engineering, IT, and Scientific Sector All-Star

Ben Keen

A veteran of the U.S. Army, Keen turned to staffing for employment after transitioning from military to civilian life—however, this transition was not easy for him. After completing multiple combat deployments, including being part of the initial invasion into Iraq as a member of the Army’s historic 101st Airborne Division, he was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Keen has since found the inspiration to help others like him, and founded Steel City Vets—a nonprofit organization that provides a variety of vital services to veterans who call the Pittsburgh metropolitan region home. Keen appreciates the flexibility that contract staffing provides. It allows him to serve as a nationally recognized veterans advocate, oversee his organization, and spend valuable time with his young children. Keen currently is an employee of TEKsystems on assignment in Pittsburgh as a technical operations analyst with the PNC Bank.

“It is truly humbling to have been selected as the 2016 American Staffing Association National Staffing Employee of the Year,” Keen said. “I am honored to join the growing list of amazing previous honorees who have embraced the key staffing industry messages of ‘bridge’ and ‘flexibility.’ It is my desire that through this award other veterans may see that while the transition is not always easy, hard work and dedication can pay off in some amazing ways.”