By CHRIS SNELL, guest columnist
Welcome to the Veterans’ Corner and Happy New Year! This is the first column of many to come from the Brown County Veterans Service Office, where I will be providing the public with information about U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs updates, veteran service organization updates and more.
Among us all are heroes from multiple generational conflicts, heroes from the most recent conflicts, and some that are still serving this nation with great pride who also serve our community. We have multitudes of generational heroes living in our presence.
I want to extend my gratitude to our veterans in this community and thank them for their support through the COVID-19 pandemic. I have personally witnessed our community veterans and their families of all ages taking care of their neighbors in every way possible. These individuals come from the many veteran service organizations (VSOs) we have in Brown County, such as the American Legion Post 13, Brown County Honor Guard, VFW Post 604 and the Vietnam Veterans. Thank you for your continued service to Brown County!
Since being hired in May, I have been drinking from a fire hose. The needs of our veterans and their families are so great, and COVID-19 has not been too kind, but the community has treated me with much grace and compassion, and I am thankful to all of you. However, during this battle, the Brown County Veteran Service Office provides services through it all.
I truly love what I do and desire to propel the Brown County Veterans Service Office forward into the future with innovative ways of serving our local veterans, while attracting other veterans from out of state.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Brown County Veterans Service Office has developed a strategy that will help propel our office into the future and serve more veterans in the county. In this strategy, steps were taken to provide the best services possible under exigent circumstances. These steps included integrating technology capabilities that would allow me to work remotely in the event a veteran is unable to come to the physical location of our office, or I am unable to physically get to the office due to weather or COVID-19 restrictions. It also included creating an outreach strategy by creating social media pages on LinkedIn and Twitter, and we are also utilizing our local community partner, the Brown County Democrat, as a way to communicate with our local veterans every month in this column.
During the month of December, our restrictions became worse, and due to that, I ensured veterans were still able to file claims through scheduling appointments by phone and utilizing the means necessary to assist those veterans. These appointments are critical to the process in submitting claims to the VA. If you need to schedule an appointment with me, please contact the office at 812-988-5600, or you can call or text my work cell at 812-322-9086. You can also reach me by email at [email protected].
CONNECT WITH US! We have been busy developing outreach efforts by implementing social media pages through Twitter and LinkedIn.
You can find us using the links provided below:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bcvso
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BC_VSO
GET INVOLVED! I also want to encourage our veterans and their families to dig into the community as well and connect/join a veteran service organization. Provided below are the points of contact for each veteran service organization post commander:
American Legion Post 13 commander: 404-664-6350
Honor Guard commander: 317-439-0207
VFW Post 604 commander: 317-627-1639
Vietnam Veterans commander: 812-371-7080
As far as the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs goes, compensation and pension exams are still being conducted via technology platforms and in person. Please contact me to discuss your next steps in filing a claim with the USDVA.
The USDVA has recently placed their “welcome kits” online and available for download at https://www.va.gov/welcome-kit. This website includes multiple links and resources for veterans and their families, including the COVID-19 links and resources.
Again, I want to thank you for your support. Please stay safe, and make sure to stay in touch with your neighbors this month.
Wishing you a safe January!
Chris Snell is the Veterans Service officer for Brown County. He can be reached at 812-988-5600 or [email protected].
