By Frank Patterson
Greg Zilioli of Aurora has come up with an innovative way to thank military veterans for their service.
With his program, A Call to Shoulders, Zilioli welcomes veterans into his woodworking shop on Stolp Island in Aurora, where he teaches them a skill set they can use to make and sell products such as a seam liberator and a bolt-action pen.
The seam liberator is a seam ripper with some modifications Zilioli added to help his arthritic mother continue her hobby of making clothes for her grandchildren.
The bolt-action pen is a unique design, available in 10 varieties, each with a different campaign ribbon decoration which honors veterans from World War II to Operation Iraqi Freedom. It can be purchased at Tredwell Coffee, 14 W Downer Place, Aurora, or at www.acalltoshoulders.com
Zilioli is not a veteran, but was born at Fort Rucker in Alabama when his father was in military service. “What I’m doing is a bit of an homage to him,” Zilioli said.
As a child, Zilioli’s father contracted polio the Summer the vaccine was introduced. He survived the disease to go on to become a mechanical engineer and then, a doctor. His orders to go to Vietnam were changed within a month of being issued. Instead, he was asked to participate in a cost/benefit analysis regarding a question of retro-fitting helicopters with compression seats for the pilots.
Zilioli “was a freelance creative in the marketing and advertising world for 20 years,” he said. “I helped a lot of companies make a lot of money,” Zilioli said.
Toward the end of his advertising career, Zilioli went through a reflective period. “…it was that Christmas I heard about the 22,” he said, referring to “the 22 veterans who take their lives every day.”
“For whatever reason at that point in my life that was the message I needed to hear,” Zilioli said.
A Call to Shoulders was intended as an incubator for veterans to start their own businesses and some have proven the model to be successful.
Jen McDonald of Fox Lake served with the Army Reserve as a prison guard, guarding enemy prisoners in Iraq. She was the first success storyfor A Call to Shoulders. Ziloli taught McDonald how to make the seam liberators. McDonald made 20 of them in the two weeks leading up to Independence Day 2017, when a video was posted on the Facebook page of Quilters Quest in Woodridge.
“We had 10,000 views by the end of the Fourth of July,” Ziloli said. “And orders from as far away as Australia. So within a month of starting, she had everything she needed for her home business.”
McDonald said the program “…got me out of my comfort zone a little bit. It gave me purpose and something to work on.”
“Last Christmas I sold tree ornaments and pens at my neighbor’s salon in Mundelein,” she said.
“I love my basement workshop,” McDonald said. “It’s my happy place.”
Don Bozzi of Plano learned woodworking skills from the program. Bozzi served in Iraq, driving a truck. He worked as a truck driver in his civilian life until he had to leave his job in September 2019 due to a disability. Now, his full-time job is making and selling his products, including pizza slicers, bottle openers, and cheese boards, which he sells at fairs and online.
“It’s given me an opportunity to look at life differently. I’m making stuff of value,” Bozzi said. “If you can make good quality products, you can sell them.”
Aside from learning new skills and potentially starting their own businesses, the participating veterans derive emotional benefits…
“For me, it’s therapy,” said Al Scott of Aurora. “I come down here for the camaraderie of other veterans.” Scott said he has made more than 100 pens and has used his woodworking skills to make other tools, including an ice cream scooper.
Dennis Soszynski of Downers Grove said he made 18 pens. “Six for my grandchildren,” he said. “I enjoy coming here (to the woodwork shop).”
Both Scott and Soszynski served as Marines in Vietnam.
Initially, Zilioli expected younger veterans to show up in greater numbers, but the program seems to attract many from the Vietnam era. Zilioli attributes this to the life-changes those vets are facing. “As they’re retiring they are losing some of the coping mechanisms they’ve been using for years. Suddenly, they have too much time on their hands.
“I just had a guy in the shop yesterday, who said, ‘I don’t want to be sitting at home, watching TV’,” Zilioli said. “’You have saved me from that.’”
Having a meaningful activity to enjoy may be one of the great benefits of the program. McDonald said, “It gave me a purpose and something to work on.”
A Call to Shoulders is open by appointment, but Zilioli is flexible. Those who wish to learn more can send him an E-mail at greg@acalltoshoulders.com.