About
Since 2000, VMD has maintained a commitment to excellence and provided our customers with a secure supply chain of medical and dental products to meet their scheduled or immediate demands. VMD’s strategic partnerships with top manufacturers / vendors derives from 20+ years of experience in the healthcare industry. These partnerships enable VMD to provide our clients access to the best products with knowledgeable, responsive and personalized customer support.
Our professionally trained team is dedicated to meeting your needs quickly and efficiently. Let us be your choice when you are looking for a distribution professional to handle your procurement needs. For competitive quotes or general inquiries, contact one of our knowledgeable team members.
Our Founders
Gardner Rogers
Veterans Medical Distributors, Inc. (VMD) was incorporated in the state of Florida in 2000 by two highly decorated career Air Force Officers, B/G James (Jim) Owens and Col. Gardner Rogers. Both were pilots and had 30-year careers serving during Korea, Vietnam, and the Cold Wars. During their transition to civilian status, they saw an opportunity to continue service to their country but in a different capacity. That opportunity led to the formation of VMD as a service disabled, veteran owned small business (SDVOSD). VMD’s business plan drew upon their many years of military experience. The corporate goal was to be a profitable entity and an organization that served veterans by providing access to the latest and most advanced medical products via strategic partnerships with industry leaders.
The business started slowly as relationships within the VA medical complexes were established. Gardner and Jim quickly realized that the original directive to the Veterans Administration lacked any requirement for a specific amount of business to be allocated to veteran owned businesses of any type. They then engaged in many exploratory meetings and conversations that illuminated this deficiency. Drawing on their prior military relationships, they contacted key senior individuals in the government. The culmination of this effort resulted in President George Bush issuing Executive Order 13360 which required fixed percentages coupled with tracking and reporting requirements for business done with veteran owned businesses.
Executive Order 13360 changed the business atmosphere with the VA. Those changes, coupled with a partnership with a major medical company (Medline Industries), resulted in increased opportunities for VMD within the government space. VMD’s reputation for providing quality service, competitive pricing and responding to short notice emergency requirements produced other opportunities. Most notably was Medline Industries allowing VMD to put a variety of Medline products on a 5-year Federal Supply Schedule contract.
In 2009, Jim passed away and VMD business ownership transferred to Gardner Rogers in its entirely.
Gardner had the good fortune to meet Kevin Caylor in 2017. Kevin is a Marine Corps veteran with a disability rating who had established his own very successful SDVOSB company Caylor Equipment Services (CES). The two joined their companies at the present Jupiter operating location.
In 2023, VMD added another partner, Debbie Grout, who achieved national prominence as Vice President of Government Services with Medline Industries. Kevin and Debbie will be the successors when Gardner elects to retire. This trilogy partnership of VMD is one of experience, legacy and honor.
Kevin Caylor
Kevin Caylor you could say was “born a Marine”, having been born at Cherry Point Military Hospital in Cherry point, NC. Kevin’s Father was a Fighter Pilot in the Marine Corps, and His Grandfather was a dentist in the Navy. Kevin grew up in Richmond, VA and as the saying goes, once a Marine, always a Marine. Kevin enlisted in the Marine Corps in March 2006. He attended Boot Camp at Parris Island and Marine Combat Training at Camp Geiger. Upon Completion of MCT, Kevin was stationed at Naval Air Station Meridian for “A School” to learn his Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) which was Aviation Operations Specialist or 7041. Kevin joined the Marine Corps with hopes of exploring the world, MCAS Miramar had a need with Marine Wing Headquarters Squadron 3 (MWHS-3) which was in San Diego, CA, so Kevin was excited about the opportunity to explore the other part of the country.
During his time in San Diego, Kevin held a TSI Clearance and supported Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom from the Rear. He became an Instructor Trainer in the Marine Corps Mixed Martial Arts Program (MCMAP) and trained hundreds of Marines. Upon discharge, Kevin Received a bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology from George Mason University and went on to pursue medical sales. Kevin cut his teeth selling the repair of medical equipment in 2012, ultimately creating a lab in Jupiter, FL that repairs Flexible Endoscopes.
Kevin is a Service-Disabled Marine Veteran who established Caylor Equipment Services, a service oriented SDVOSB in 2016. CES has extensive experience in the government space and many government contracts for the repair of medical equipment including Ultrasounds, Flexible and Rigid Scopes, Cameras, Power Equipment, Instrumentation and more. In 2018, Gardner and Kevin officially joined forces in their current office in Jupiter, Florida, where they work together as partners. Kevin will be the service-disabled veteran successor of Veteran’s Medical Distributors once Gardner retires. Kevin’s experience in business, sales, and government has been instrumental in the growth of the company while it went through many transitions over the past few years.
Debbie Grout
In 2023, VMD brought on the third partner, Debbie Grout, who was serendipitously introduced to Gardner at the Miami VA hospital over 20 years ago. A Buffalo, NY native, Debbie’s BA of Science degree from SUNY Fredonia is in education, and she served as an educator for 3 years before moving into sales. Debbie excelled in sales within an on-premise communications company, JTECH Communications, to a become business unit manager and finally their Director of Sales Training, before pioneering a career with Medline Industries, Inc.
Debbie’s career at Medline Industries, LP spanned 22 years. She dedicated the second half of her Medline tenure educating reps within the Government market, split between VA hospitals, IHS, and the Department of Defense. Her family's military service heightened her desire to serve veterans, active-duty servicemen and their caregivers.
Debbie and Gardner stayed in touch over the course of the last two decades, despite location changes. Debbie achieved national prominence as the VP of Government Services at Medline Industries, LLP. And brings manufacturing, distribution, sales training, Government contracting experience, and years of established relationships. Once introduced to Kevin, it was immediately evident that the trilogy partnership of VMD is one of experience, legacy, and honor.
