MERRILLVILLE | When Melinda Rayter started looking at franchises with her friend Flo Bringas a few years ago, the duo were drawn to the idea of a UPS Store because it was a good fit with Rayter's career as a nurse anesthetist and as a captain in the U.S. Army Reserve.

"You know what, I have a lot of interests," Rayter said. "I was always interested in business. ... It's a nice adjunct."

Equally nice was the opportunity to save money on the franchise fee through VetFran, the award-winning, International Franchise Association program which has helped make it possible for 1,155 former and present military personnel to purchase franchised businesses.

The discount on the franchise fee wasn't a deal breaker, though, Rayter said. She and partner Bringas already were sold on operating a UPS Store after studying the business model and recognizing how well it would fit should she be deployed again.

They have operated the UPS store on the south side of US 30 and Ind. 53 since December 2004.

Already a successful nurse anesthetist, Rayter joined the U.S. Army Reserve in 1999 at age 38 and has been deployed twice since.

"I feel really lucky to live in this country. You've already won the lottery if you're born here, right?," Rayter said. "It costs me to serve, but I think it's important. I have a critical skill."

Rayter, of Hobart, is attached to a unit for medical personnel out of Ft. McPherson in Georgia.

"I can get deployed every 24 months," she said, noting that each deployment is for a four-month duration.

As a professional, Rayter said she is grateful to Dr. Ronald Hayes and his Crawford Avenue Anesthesia, to which she is also attached. She also works at Broadway Methodist Hospital in Merrillville.

"He's very supportive of me," she said.

Not only are they successful in the business sense, they feel they have been successful in helping others through the business.

"We give veterans' families who ship through us a military discount," Bringas said.

Rayter said that she sometimes steps in and pulls some rank when families hit bureaucratic blocks. She said she has been happy to use her rank as captain to make a phone call that can assist a veteran's family.

"Navigating how to ship to a loved one can be horrible."