Bramer Group has also been integral in saving factories on the brink of closing and bringing much needed jobs to America.

On paper it seems to be all about numbers and regulations and incentives. But in reality it’s bigger than that. It’s about the people who are impacted.

Don recalls one particular instance which is seared into his mind. In just one month, Bramer Group saved 87 jobs in Tuscaloosa Alabama when it successfully advocated Congress to have the Pentagon reverse its decision on a weapons system that is much needed by our armed forces. That decision would have meant the closing of a company whose employees would have been devastated. Don traveled to that town shortly after those employees found out their jobs had been saved. While there, a young woman approached with tears in her eyes. “Thank you,” she said to him as she squeezed him in for a hug. 

That, says Don, is why he believes in what he does. Saving jobs that save families is worth all the effort. 

Once upon a time the door to our White House was open to Americans. Congressional constituents had easy access to their elected representatives and the process for advocating for personal and professional interests was more direct. It’s a lot more complicated today, says Don, to understand how the government operates.

That may be the understatement of the year, but it’s true.

That’s why Bramer Group serves as a guide to help its clients navigate the complex maps to Congress and the Administration.

So how does a farm kid from Kentucky wind up negotiating with Congress and influencing government policy, you ask?

Don Bramer traces his path back to 9/11

Before that infamous day, Don had been following a path that fate appeared to have mapped out for him. 

Mitch McConnel was a first term Senator when he stopped in to visit the fraternity he’d joined in his college days. It was there that Don was reintroduced to the man who’d campaigned and won a county executive campaign against Don’s uncle back when they were both County Commissioners. The men formed a friendship from that meeting.

Senator McConnell recognized the potential in Don and recommended that he apply for an internship with his staff. From there, says Don, “the dominoes fell” until he wound up working for then Vice President Bush.

Where he may have gone next is uncertain. Perhaps he would have returned to Kentucky to work in his family’s business, or perhaps he would have stayed his professional course. But the day this country was attacked, Don walked away from either of those paths to enlist in the United States Navy. Don’s critical thinking, attention to detail, and willingness to go above and beyond to serve his country made him a perfect fit for the Intelligence Field. 

Don Bramer has moved on from the Naval Reserves now. It’s a move that was right for him but which he did not make lightly. As he briefly discussed his military service, he explained the sentimental value of the lights shining on him. Two sides of the lights are molded as Ak47s. 

The beams spotlight framed pictures of his team from Fallujah, and of several of the men from the SEAL Team  that were killed in a helicopter crash. “Those are always on the desk,” he says as the weight of the wars and all he’s experienced in his service bears down on his voice. It’s a weight familiar to all who have served and sacrificed, and the families who must cling to the belief that there is a purpose behind the loss of someone they love.

Don’s move out of a full-time military position and onto the Reserves did not diminish his determination to serve. Enmeshed in the Bramer Group is the American Freedom Fund.

Two other veterans run The American Freedom Fund with Don.

Between the Bramer Group’s founders, they decided to turn their first Christmas party into an opportunity to select three existing Veterans Services Organizations and suggest that the employees donate to one of those three.