Meet Our Team

Hiring Our Heroes: Tony Grandprey

Cox Communications is pleased to partner with Hiring our Heroes to provide help and support to veterans, transitioning service members, and military spouses as they find meaningful employment opportunities outside of their military careers. Through the Corporate Fellowship Program, Cox is providing on–the–job training and helping our service members bridge the gap between their military service and civilian careers. Here, we’re learning about January 2021 fellow Tony Grandprey. 

Military service is a tradition in Tony Grandprey’s family.  

When Tony decided to enlist in the Marine reserves as an infantryman, he was following in the footsteps of three older brothers who also served. 

Tony committed to a commissioning program and spent more than seven years on active duty as an infantry officer. After two deployments, he was assigned to the Marine school of infantry, where he spent another three years managing curriculum development for the Marine Corps’ entry-level population and leading instructors in student training operations.   

“It’s funny how diverse a career can be in the military,” Tony said. “Looking back at my experiences outside of the hours and hours of training exercises and planning sessions, there are some pretty unique moments. Fortunately, I was never called to combat but I’ve become quite appreciative of what a single sentence rolling across the bottom of the screen on CNN or Fox News could really mean. Regardless, I am thankful for these experiences because they’ve given me years of experience leading cross–functional teams in dynamic and constantly changing environments.” 

Now a January 2021 member of Cox’s Hiring Our Heroes program, Tony resides in Boise, ID and works in field technical project management at Cox Communications. 

“Hiring Our Heroes is flooding me with resources and connections for those who’ve been in my shoes recently and are willing to help,” Tony said. “The Engineering Management Office (EMO) of Cox first started helping by identifying my skillset and experience as a possible solution to some of their current challenges. It also allowed me to immerse myself into another culture and increase my overall skills by learning from a larger pool of diverse talent.” 

Tony has found networking to be a valuable exercise during his transition to a civilian career. 

“If someone is willing to share their story with you over a cup of coffee (or similar event), take the opportunity,” he advises fellow veterans. “I’ve spoken to a lot of vets and learned something new every time. It’s also how I found out about Hiring Our Heroes and contributed to my decision to pursue the program and accept a fellowship opportunity with Cox.” 

He added that team camaraderie has made for a pleasant experience as a new employee. 

“Although we are virtual, I feel incredibly welcomed to the team and am quickly developing personal connections with the group.” 

Click here to learn more about Cox’s support of the military community.