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Naber named to Veterans Affairs board

Newton Daily News - 4/12/2018

April 12--The Veterans Affairs Commission welcomed its newest member, Michael Naber at its monthly meeting on Wednesday. Naber's appointment to the board was confirmed Tuesday morning by the Jasper County Board of Supervisors; he was appointed to replace Jerome Gunderson, who resigned earlier this year after moving out of the county.

Naber is the first commissioner on the board to have been selected via a new process developed by Kurt Jackson, the Director of the Jasper County Veterans Affairs Board. Previously, Commissioners are appointed by the county board of supervisors, but Jackson said that doesn't match the way other counties in Iowa select new members for the VA board. Most use an application process, which Jackson said is designed to help ensure the board maintains its equal opportunity requirements. Jackson looked at the applications other counties in the state are using, boiled it down a single page application and then advertised for the position for two weeks.

The advertisement netted eight potential candidates, and during a special meeting called by the VA board last month, they selected two candidates to present to the board of supervisors. Jackson said the supervisors expressed their appreciation for the work the Veterans Affairs Commissioners did to help the select Naber. On Wednesday, Jackson told the commissioners he expected the process of selecting a replacement commissioner to stay the same going forward.

"They did thank us for what we did," Jackson said. "It does look like from this time forward they'll follow our process."

Commissioner Marta Ford asked Jackson if the Jasper County Board of Supervisors gave him any idea whether or not they would advertise for upcoming openings on the VA board. Three members of the board; Ford, Jerry Nelson and Sue Springer will finish their terms this June. All three commissioners indicated at the last meeting they would like to remain on the commission. Jackson said he's added the advertising cost into his budget, should the VA board need to run advertisements for the position in the future.

"If you guys all tell me you want me to continue, I will go ahead and tell them you all want to stay," Jackson said.

Both Ford and Nelson confirmed Wednesday that would like to remain on the commission. Commissioner Sue Springer was absent, but at the last regular meeting of the commission, Springer said she plans to remain on the board as well. Ford said she'd like to resolve the issue before June, in case the board needs to find a replacement commissioner.

"I just don't want to wait until the last minute," Ford said.

Jackson told the commissioners on Wednesday that newspaper advertisements have been an effective way for him to reach out to veterans. Many of the veterans who've come into his office have brought his ads in, Jackson said. Despite advertising, Jackson said he's constantly trying to increase efforts to connect with more veterans, particularly veterans who aren't in crisis. Every month Jackson provides financial assistance to veterans in need.

"When life is going good, you don't need us," Jackson said. "There's still some veterans that don't want anything to do with us."

"No, it's only when you need $900 for an electric bill," Ford said.

On Wednesday Naber said he was still learning about his new role on the commission, but he already plans to try to increase awareness of the county's Veterans Affairs office, particularly among younger veterans. Naber, who works as an Operations Superintendent for the 132nd Air Wing of the Iowa National Guard said he plans to do as much as he can for veterans during his tenure on the commission.

"I take care of my people right now wearing the uniform and I want to do the same thing for my people who are retired," Naber said. "I see things as Marta (Ford) was talking about, people don't know to come here, we need to get the word out to younger veterans about what's available."

Contact David Dolmage at 641-792-3121 ext. 6532 or ddolmage@newtondailynews.com

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