Holly Donald Email and Phone Number

I am a diversified professional with over 20 years of experience in recruiting, marketing, human resources, leadership and training. I spent 20 years in Recruiting and Retention with the Illinois Army National Guard. From 2002-2009 I served as a recruiter. I was top ten 5 years in a row, awarded Recruiter of the Year and top seven in the nation in 2009. I received three Army Commendation Medals and the Meritorious Service Medal for these accomplishments. In July 2009, I was promoted to team leader and in 2010 promoted to First Sergeant putting me in charge of a regional recruiting team, 120 Soldiers, two civilians and a human resources administrator. In 2015, I was promoted to the State Retention Non Commissioned Officer in Charge. I completely revamped the Illinois Army National Guard Retention program. I wrote the Standard Operating Procedures, built a statewide retention team, raised our Retention Success Rate by 10% in 3 years, and became a retention liaison for the National Guard Bureau (NGB). This led to the adoption and nationwide mandate of my retention team model. Due to these accomplishments, I was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal. In 2018, I was deployed to Afghanistan and was the Senior Non Commissioned Officer in charge of a six man team and 350 Polish Army Soldiers. I led our team on numerous Guardian Angel missions and was responsible for all human resource actions for my team and Soldiers. I was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal for my accomplishments. In July 2022, I retired from the Army and began my career as the Senior Army Instructor for JROTC at Peoria Manual High School. I am currently in charge of the Assistant Army Instructor, all administrative actions, logistics, extra curricular activities, social media marketing, recruiting, retention, and curriculum mandated by both Cadet Command and the School District.