Photo By Sgt. Ian Leones | Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael J. Pornovets, religious program specialist with...... read more read more
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GULFPORT, Miss. - When Michael J. Pornovets enlisted in the Navy, he planned on making it a lifelong career.
“I wanted to do 20 years,” said Pornovets, an easygoing man with dark, brown hair. “My whole family was in the military. My mom and dad were Army veterans, and my grandfather was a Navy veteran.”
In his nine-year career as an active duty religious program specialist, Pornovets traveled across the world, visiting diverse locations from Croatia to Curacao.
Due to force reduction in the Navy, however, he was forced to leave active duty four years ago.
Pornovets, now a Reserve petty officer 2nd class with Company A, 4th Medical Battalion, 4th Marine Logistics Group, decided he wanted to continue to serve military members in his civilian life.
A veteran of the wars in the Middle East, Pornovets served one tour in Iraq and two tours in Afghanistan. Gaining the trust of the troops he served with, Pornovets lent an ear to those struggling to cope with daily military life.
“As an RP, I am the guy who has to be quiet and just listen,” Pornovets said.
Some troops get overwhelmed and don't know how to cope with the stress of military life, he said. They get beaten down when they really need encouragement.
“That's what RPs and chaplains exist for. Our time is dedicated to take care of those troops and to take the time to find out what will make them successful in the military.”
During one of his most challenging assignments, Pornovets spent nine months in Korangal Outpost, Afghanistan, a location known for the intensity of fighting between the International Security Assistance Force and insurgents.
“Korangal will change the way you live your life,” Pornovets said. “You watch a lot of friends die.”
According to the New York Times, 42 Americans died in the Korangal Valley and hundreds were wounded before the closure of the outpost in 2010.
“When you’re in a place like that, you remember names,” Pornovets said. “You know moms’ names, dads’ names, brothers’ names and sisters’ names. You know who has girlfriends, fiancées, wives and you know all of their names. To come home and know people gave their lives early, and their families are out there with an empty seat gives everything a new meaning.”
A lot of guys beat themselves up after coming out of a place like that, Pornovets said. They wonder why they are able to enjoy their lives when others have lost theirs.
"One individual's parents who I talked to said to me, 'if you're not pushing your life to the extreme and doing what makes you happy, then why are our service members dying?'" he said.
From the Front Line to the Store Front
With this in mind, Pornovets decided to push himself to start his own company and create new opportunities for troops coming off the battlefield.
"I decided I wanted to do something different and create job opportunities for service members exiting the military,” he said.
While transitioning from active duty to the Navy Reserve, Pornovets took his childhood passion of kayaking and turned it into a business called Everything Kayak based in Gulfport, Mississippi.
“I’ve been kayaking since I was twelve,” he said. “I never really thought it would become a business, nor did I expect it to be a successful one.”
Despite facing initial challenges financing his endeavor, Pornovets’ original 800-square-feet store has evolved into a 10,800-square-feet facility and was named one of the fastest growing sporting goods stores in the Southeast United States.
“To do what he's done with his business in less than four years, it takes a really special person to do that,” said Gordon G. Tomb, store manager for Everything Kayak and a retired master sergeant in the U.S. Army. “He has no formal training, but he has good vision, he can set goals, and he is good with people.”
Pornovets regularly hires veterans to work at his store.
"I am definitely pro-veteran,” he said. “I focus on that because they bring something to the table that most of the other people don't bring. They have the work ethic and responsibility to be trusted with management and operations."
Pornovets says he doesn’t count his staff as employees. They are his team. Without his team, he can’t be successful.
“As far as they are concerned, I'm their brother and they don't want to fail their brother,” he said. “It's a good feeling knowing I have people who have my back when I'm at annual training and I'm not at my store for two weeks.”
Pornovets continues to work hard in order to grow his business and to help other veterans achieve their own dreams. In addition to hiring veterans, he sponsors kayak trips for wounded service members and helps with an organization called Boots to Business, which teaches veterans how to open up their own businesses.
| Date Taken: | 07.20.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 07.27.2015 14:23 |
| Story ID: | 170581 |
| Location: | GULFPORT, MS, US |
| Hometown: | GULFPORT, MS, US |
| Web Views: | 33 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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