CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – The Montgomery County Veterans Coalition remains an active force in the community as it supports the various agencies, churches, and business in caring for their active duty, veterans, and their families.
The Coalition held its monthly meeting October 19 at the Montgomery County Veterans Plaza. The speaker this month was John Clement, Program Coordinator for the Fort Campbell Soldier Transition Program, aka “101 Jobs for the 101st”. Clement spoke of all the programs that Workforce Essentials are developing to assist veterans and transitioning soldiers in finding employment. For more information on how this program and others can help those leaving the military, call John Clement at 931-905-3554.
After speaking on the employment programs, Clement, along with Sherry Pickering, gave a demonstration on the Montgomery County Veterans Network of Care website. This valuable website was provided by the Montgomery County Government for veterans, active duty and their families.
“We envisioned a central location for all the resources needed by our local veteran and military population, but instead of one made of bricks and mortar, it’s web-based,” County Mayor Jim Durrett said.
The website offers various resources, medication information, peer reviewed articles, job fairs, legislative information, a community calendar, and more.
The Coalition discussions included the biggest barriers for our local veterans, correct veteran census counts, and educating veterans as to the importance of being enrolled in the VA. Also discussed was the need to extend the meetings a half hour to ensure time for discussions.
Volunteers were requested to assist with arrangements for the first strictly networking event for the Coalition. These events would be in the evening and occur three or four times a year for Coalition members. Again this month, the Coalition was reminded there will be a collection box at each meeting for hygiene bag items.
The next meeting will be held November 16, 2016 at 9 a.m. at Veterans Plaza in the Civic Hall. The speaker will be Jennifer Bean, Clinical Pharmacist for the VA in Nashville. She will speak on concerns of prescription medicines for veterans.
For more information or questions concerning the Coalition, contact Mrs. Sherry Pickering at spickeringvtc@gmail.com.