GOJO Team Members and Military Veterans Phil Null and Joe Hoff Share Their Stories
Part of our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion journey at GOJO, is ensuring that all team members feel a sense of belonging. One way we do this is through storytelling. Personal stories create a shared understanding, helping us learn and appreciate our individual and collective foundations that give our lives meaning, texture, and direction.
This Veterans Day, GOJO honors the 120 GOJO Team Members who have served our country. Joe Hoff, a Public Sector Sales Manager and a Lieutenant Commander in the United States Navy Reserve, and Phil Null, a Quality Inspector at GOJO Wooster Campus and Military Veteran of the United States Army, generously shared personal stories of their military service with Team GOJO. This is their story.
Tell us how you decided to join the military.
Joe: My military journey started after high school when I enrolled in the United States Naval Academy. After receiving my B.S. in Quantitative Economics, I joined the United States Navy.
Phil: I grew up in Northeast Ohio in a poor family. After graduating from high school in 1981, I bounced from job to job until I just decided I wanted more in life. In 1984, at 21, I joined the United States Army through an Army recruiter I met in Wooster. While in basic training, I proposed to my girlfriend Karen and married her just before shipping off to my first 3-year duty stationed in West Germany. 
Both of our children were born in Germany during my first duty assignment. I never dreamed I would stay in so long, but I ended up staying in the U.S. Army for more than 21 years.
What was your role within the military?
Joe: I spent eight years on active duty as a Surface Warfare Officer, responsible for the safe navigation of ships in our U.S. Navy. I was stationed in San Diego, California, as the Gunnery Officer on a Frigate (warship), the USS RENTZ, and the ship’s navigator on a Destroyer (warships that provide multi-mission offensive and defensive capabilities), the USS KIDD. 
I finished my active duty time in Atlanta, Georgia, and joined GOJO in 2018 after I transitioned from active duty. However, I'm still in the U.S. Navy Reserves, serving as the Officer in Charge of Maritime Security Squadron TEN, Echo Company, 2nd Platoon. The security teams I lead are tasked with embarking Naval Logistics Vessels (ex., oil tankers) to provide armed security for those ships. I have 11 years of service in the United States Navy. I recently returned from a 17-month deployment with Expeditionary Warfare Group, Coastal Riverine Group TWO, and Maritime Security Squadron TEN. We were stationed overseas in Spain, Djoubuti, and Bahrain, and I spent time in each location as the commander for all three sites.
Phil: I was a Military Police Officer during most of my service. My military assignments have taken me around the United States and the world. 
Throughout my 21 years, I was stationed in Alabama, Panama, North Carolina (Fort Bragg), Cuba, Germany, Bosnia, Norway, Virginia, and South Korea. I was able to help many suffering in third-world poverty, and witnessed how truly blessed we are in the U.S. My last duty station was in Fort Knox, Kentucky where I finally retired in 2006. My wonderful wife endured every sacrifice and is still with me after over 37 years. With granddaughters now, I love my life, my growing family, and working at GOJO, where I love trying to make a difference for a better life for everyone.
What does it mean to you to serve your country?
Joe: I take great pride in my service, as less than 1% of Americans serve. I was able to travel to Asia, South America, Europe, and Africa while on orders, so it has provided me with a list of experiences that I wouldn't have been exposed to in another career path. Having my daughter and another one on the way, the meaning of Veterans Day has changed for me. I want to ensure my children understand what I and many others have sacrificed to serve our country. I want to raise children who appreciate our military veterans' commitment and sacrifices.
Phil: Military service forced my family and me to sacrifice many things over the years. I was separated from my wife and children a lot. My children couldn’t have lifelong friends since we moved so often. My greatest reward after proudly serving my country is that I was able to come home and rejoin the free American life I grew up with and then helped to protect. I originally joined for a better life, but I’m so glad I stayed in all those years for all the ones I loved and missed at home.
Northeast Ohio Veteran Day Events:
- Veterans Day Dinner Celebration, Nov. 10, 2022, American Legion Post #68, Wooster, Ohio
- Veterans Day Ceremony, Nov. 11, 2022, Veterans Memorial Park, Uniontown, Ohio
- Veterans Day 5K, Nov. 12, 2002, Cleveland, Ohio
- 10th Annual Veterans Day Event, Nov. 12, 2022, MAPS Air Museum, North Canton, Ohio
Learn more about Veterans Day using these resources: