November 9, 2007

Veterans Event Reaches out to Southeastern Wisconsin
Over 800 attend Supermarket of Veterans Benefits event in Waukesha

(MADISON) – More than 800 veterans and their families came out to a Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs (WDVA) event, called a Supermarket of Veterans Benefits, held just prior to Veterans Day near Milwaukee in Waukesha, Wisconsin to learn more about federal and state veterans' benefits, programs, and services.

"This Supermarket of Veterans Benefits is a way for an array of federal, state, and local agencies to reach out to veterans to help them learn about and apply for programs and services available to them," said WDVA Acting Secretary Bill Kloster. "We saw a cross section of veterans with service from World War II to Iraq and Afghanistan seeking information and assistance.”

Over the last several years, the department has been hosting Supermarkets of Veterans Benefits events across the state as part of its "I Owe You" outreach campaign in an effort to draw federal, state, and local agencies together in single, highly publicized locations to reach out to assist Wisconsin veterans. The Waukesha Supermarket, held on November 6th and 7th at the Waukesha County Exposition Center, was the agency’s 30th such event since 2000.

During the morning of the first day of the Supermarket, Waukesha County Executive Dan Vrakas welcomed veterans to the venue saying, "We’ve got a lot of great veterans here finding out about their veterans’ benefits. In conjunction with Veterans Day, this is an excellent way to recognize our local veterans."

Veterans casework staff from several legislative offices, including Jose Leon from the office of U.S. Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI) and Jeri Gabrielson from the office of U.S. Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI), were also on hand to help tackle hard to solve issues overlapping multiple agencies and levels of government. State Rep. Rich Zipperer (R-Pewaukee) was also among the attendees.

Among the many booths were the federal VA and state WDVA, the Department of Workforce Development, employers seeking to hire veterans, veterans’ service organizations, and County Veterans Service Officers (CVSOs), who joined in the event to provide information and assistance to veterans attending.

Diane Knutson, Wisconsin Job Service District Director for Waukesha, Ozaukee, and Washington Counties, said, "I’ve been asking veterans as they’ve been leaving if they’ve found the information they came here for and they’ve been saying they have.

“We have employers here who have talked to veterans to hire them. We have Veterans Representatives here like Carl Fenner, who is here to help veterans with resumes."

Waukesha County Veterans Service Officer John Margowski said, "There‘s been a good steady flow, and I saw many veterans from Waukesha County that I hadn’t seen before. The participation by employers was outstanding."

"These veterans here have already fought the wars," said Bob Pick, a Korean War veteran from West Bend, Wis. "But they still need to be taken care of too," he added. "Conditions can change for any of us at any time."

One Vietnam veteran came specifically to find out about VA health care benefits and found good news. Jim Tinnes of Waukesha said, "Going to hear the federal VA health care briefing you had here, I found out that I’m eligible for VA health care!"

One Vietnam era veteran who had never applied for benefits before said, "I was told my discharge papers were lost in a fire in St. Louis and I was unable to get a replacement for 10 years. I heard about this Supermarket program, came down and found out so much is available. I came to find out information about a small business loan, being a first time homeowner, and burial benefits. I wish I could tell all veterans they could come in and get registered."

Jack Bracy, a Marine veteran from Wauwatosa, learned about the Waukesha event was upcoming from an outreach booth at the Indian Summer Festival in September in Milwaukee. At the Supermarket, he learned both he and his daughter were eligible for Wisconsin G.I. Bill tuition remission benefits that can be used at any UW or state technical college.

For more information on upcoming WDVA and veterans’ community events, visit WDVA’s website at www.dva.state.wi.us/Events. Additional assistance is available by contacting a local County Veterans Service Officer or Tribal Veterans Service Officer, or by calling WDVA toll-free at 1-800-WIS-VETS (947-8387).