Wounded vet Joe Deslauriers finds fulfillment in engraving business
The Destin Log | by Tina Harbuck | February 2022 | Link to Article He loved his job in the military as part of the explosive ordnance disposal team, but after stepping on an IED that resulted in the amputation of an arm 4 inches below the elbow and both legs above the knee, Joe Deslauriers is finding fulfillment in his custom engraving business. Deslauriers, 43, of JR’s Custom Metal Engraving, is a retired master sergeant, father of two, and lives in Emerald Bay in Destin, where he has set up shop for his business adventure. “I spent about four years on the couch trying to figure out what I was going to do,” said Deslauriers, who noted that he went through serious depression after he was injured in 2011. Deslauriers then found out Semper Fi & America’s Fund had an apprenticeship program. “My case worker got me in touch with the program and I started working from here. They helped me buy one of the machines and Homes for Heroes bought one of the other machines,” he said of the tools that engrave anything from paper to steel. He started his business in 2019, but it’s been off and on. “I was finding that there was a lot of need for it,” said Deslaurierrs, who added he can do jobs with very little overhead. “I do it for interacting with the community,” he said. He has done engraving for a neighbor’s softball team, things at Destin Elementary School and even the signs over the classrooms and name plates. Click here to continue reading “Wounded vet Joe Deslauriers finds fulfilment in engraving business” article.