Heroes Work Here: Fred Emmons

U.S. Navy vet Fred Emmons works in ESPN’s ESS–Transmission Engineering Support department.
(Hannah Worster/ESPN)

Editor’s note: In March, the Walt Disney Company and President and Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger announced an important new initiative to recruit and hire military veterans across all segments of the company.

Heroes Work Here. Employ excellence. Hire veterans” is Disney’s pledge to find career opportunities for 1,000 veterans over the next three years. The company has launched a national campaign to encourage all employers to hire veterans. Additionally, employees will be encouraged to serve veterans organizations through Disney’s VoluntEARS program.

In honor of ESPN’s Salute to Veterans Week, Front Row spotlights an ESPN employee who also is a military veteran. Today’s profile is Fred Emmons, a 21-year U.S. Navy veteran and nine-year employee who works in ESPN’s ESS–Transmission Engineering Support group.

Emmons is a senior transmission systems engineer and while “the department name and organization has changed over the past nine years, my role has remained the same. I support the systems used to digitally encode all ESPN content and securely deliver our content via satellite to our cable and direct-to-home affiliates.”

Emmons in his Navy uniform.

Hometown: Bristol, Conn.

Branch of Service/Rank: U.S. Navy (1970-1991); Fire Control Technician Chief Petty Officer, FCC (SS/SW)

Where and when did you serve?: Fleet Ballistic Missile Submarine Deterrent Patrols (1972-1979) Homeport: Groton, Conn. and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; Instructor, USN Submarine School, Groton, Conn. (1980-1985); Persian Gulf Region Deployments (1986-1989) Homeport: San Diego, Calif.; Operation Desert Storm (1990-1991), NWS, Seal Beach, Calif.

Favorite sports teams: San Diego Chargers/Padres

Why did you march in the Connecticut Veterans Parade? In order to support and recognize the contributions of fellow veterans and active duty military personnel.

How does your military experience help you in your current role? The military provided me with technical training, leadership, and motivation.

What does the military teach you that can be applied to civilian life? Organizational skills, people skills, leadership skills. Duty and honor are foremost in the expectations of the military.

Closing thoughts? It is an honor to work for an organization like ESPN that displays so much patriotism and expresses such gratitude for those who served.

The submarine Emmons was stationed on from 1972-1979, the USS Robert E. Lee SSBN 601, underway in Pearl Harbor, HI (1979). (Emmons/ESPN)
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