John Emswiler is one of the founding members of Moving Veterans Forward and is the President of Moving Veterans Forward of North Central Iowa. John is a retired Army First Sergent and an Iraqi war Veteran. John also recently retired from Law Enforcement after a career that expanded 33 years.

When he left the Army, John searched for a way to continue giving back to the community. After resuming his career in law enforcement, he met Ron Hernandez, the founder of Moving Veterans Forward. Emswiler jumped at the opportunity to assist fellow veterans. While the VA helps find housing for veterans in the Nebraska/Iowa area, Emswiler, Hernandez and Moving Veterans Forward work together to help move the vets in and provide furnishings for their new homes.

Ron Hernandez is a disabled Veteran who is the recipient of two Purple Hearts. Ron has served in multiple combat zones and retired at the rank of Master Sergeant.

Ron Hernandez came up for the idea for Moving Veterans Forward. It was founded to help homeless Veterans in Iowa and Nebraska get housing. Our main goal is to give these veterans the boost they need to turn their lives around and become self-sufficient.

In addition to helping our Veterans get housing, much of what we do involves collecting furniture, clothing and other household items.

Moving Veterans Forward relies entirely on supporter donations to complete its mission. Any household items donated go directly to veterans in need. Any money the group receives is applied to the cost of storage units used to hold donated items until they can be given to veterans and the transportation costs accumulated during the move-in processes.

To date, Hernandez, Emswiler and Moving Veterans Forward have assisted over 2100 veterans with moving into and furnishing their new homes.