Copyright Charleston Post and Courier
NORTH CHARLESTON — Everett Weston’s business was born from tragedy after a friend he served with in the military took his own life after he was discharged. The Army veteran said his friend struggled not only with how to work through challenges so many soldiers face post-service, but he didn’t know how to ask for help or where to get it. Losing a friend was a “stark wake-up call” for Weston, who admitted he wasn’t addressing his own issues from his time at war, but rather using alcohol to mask his own pain points. He eventually started therapy, and talking to someone helped him dramatically, he said. But if Weston could struggle even with a strong support system of family and friends, he realized how much harder it must be for veterans who were isolated. On Dec. 4, 2014, a year to the day after his friend died, Weston formed the nonprofit Heal our Heroes to bring awareness to issues facing veterans and break the stigma associated with mental health. HOH connects veterans with “direct and easy access” to private mental health care versus “dealing with the red tape of government,” Weston said. The small nonprofit of volunteers has since raised hundreds of thousands of dollars — all poured back into the community, whether to organizations supporting veterans or individual vets and their families. In the early 2020s, Weston got the idea for a business that could bring in even more funds to the nonprofit and provide direct services to veterans in the form of stable jobs. It’s now days away from opening. Located in North Charleston, his Heroes Car Wash business near the Joint Base has a mission to only hire veterans and provide training for future career growth, be it in management or in ownership someday. Weston understands many probably don’t dream of working at a car wash post-service, but Heroes will provide gainful employment to veterans — who often struggle to find work after years of service — as well as stability, support and access to HOH’s resources. “Mental health is one piece of the puzzle when it comes to providing veterans with a better path post-service,” Weston said. “The other piece is aligning with task and purpose and building community.” Even when Weston left the Army more than a decade ago, he wasn’t sure how his role of finding bombs in Iraq and destroying them would convert into a day job. “I was extremely overwhelmed when I thought about how to find a successful pathway to a career,” he said. “What I learned, though, was it’s not about technical skills that you learn in the military … it’s about the soft skills and the leadership execution, planning and communication.” With that in mind, he knows how reliable veterans are and how committed they are to showing up on time and following orders. They can also learn most anything on the fly. Many just need the opportunity. Weston and his partner, Mount Pleasant resident Nick Paine, hoped to open for Veteran’s Day on Nov. 11, but as any business owner knows, timelines are unpredictable. The launch date is more realistically in early December now. The car wash will be part of a massive growing industry, with an estimated 60,000 around the U.S. and expectations that will double by 2030 — up from about 17,500 in 2020, according to estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau. A car wash is also a business model the partners didn’t need to invent in from the ground up. As it is, Weston — who has a full-time day job as a software salesperson — has attended car wash maintenance school to learn the ins and outs of the business, down to grease and oil change schedules. He will provide day-to-day oversight during the initial phase as they get their fledgling business off the ground. Paine said expanding is not a matter of if, but when. “None of us have built a business from the ground up, from dirt to what will be a tunnel wash,” he said. “So we want to get our arms around site one and build out a team we can rely on before we turn to sites two and three.” The duo haven’t just invested their time into the veteran-owned business, they’ve put up their own money, too. “I pretty much cleared out my savings to make this happen,” Weston said. “We need to make sure the first one is going in the right direction. If we overextend ourselves, they’ll all fail.” Paine fully believes in the model — and Weston. “I’ve always looked up to Everett, and I tell people all the time he has a tremendous heart. He’s always thinking about other people before himself,” Paine said. The Heroes Car Wash mission was not only interesting as a businessman, but hit him on a personal level as his father served 26 years in the Army. “It’s the impact that this could have on both friends in the local communities, as well as people I don’t know that I know need the support,” Paine said. “For me it was a no-brainer to work with someone I admire and respect, but also to have a meaningful impact where we live.” For service members looking to post-service life, the S.C. Department of Veteran Affairs announced in October the official launch of SC Smart Start, a comprehensive virtual transition assistance program designed to simplify the transition from military to civilian life.
