CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – On June 21, 2017, the Montgomery County Veterans Coalition held its monthly meeting. The mission of the Veterans Coalition is to bring together the community to share information, knowledge, support and resources and to become a unified voice in advocating for veterans in the community.

News:
Mrs. Sherry Pickering and Mr. Steve Singleton attended Governor Haslam’s signing of the Veterans Hiring Preference Bill on June 21.

A new organization, Cohen Veterans Network will be working in partnership with Centerstone Mental Health Clinic to provide high-quality, accessible and integrated mental health care to 9/11 era Veterans and their families. For more information on CVN visit www.cohenveteransnetwork.org.

Presenters for the month were Ms. Nikki Prodromos from the program Smart Recovery. SMART Recovery sponsors face-to-face meetings around the world and daily online meetings. In addition, the online message board and 24/7 chat room are excellent forums to learn about SMART Recovery and obtain addiction recovery support. For more information contact Ms. Nikki Prodromos at 1 270-881-8378 or nikki.prodromos@gmail.com.

Second speaker was Ms. Anna Batson from Veterans Treatment Court. The Montgomery County Veterans Treatment Court serve those who willingly sacrificed for our country and find themselves involved in the criminal justice system by providing needed treatment and services under judicial supervision in order to restore the veteran to their honored status within their community. For more information, visit the website at www.montgomerycountyvtc.org.

Frances Manzitto, our partner from Visit Clarksville, stopped by the meeting to bring the Coalition new brochures for the Welcome Home Celebration and update on recent changes. We are all looking forward to our upcoming event Sept 13-17, which will kick off with the Operation Stand Down- Veterans Festival. It will be days packed full of activities designed to honor our veterans. We have been able to make most events free but a few have a cost. To reserve tickets, purchase a flag, volunteer, have a float in the parade, or purchase a package for out of town veterans follow the link to https://www.welcomehomeveteranscelebration.com/.

For more information concerning the Coalition, contact Coalition Director Mrs. Sherry Pickering (931-801-0700 or spickeringvtc@gmail.com).