County hires veterans service officer

BROWNSTOWN - Donald K. Boling's 20-plus years of serving Jackson County residents through The Peoples Bank will come in handy when he takes over the position of veterans service officer later this summer.

"He knows many of the veterans already," said Jeff Hubbard, county resources director.

Jackson County Commissioners named Boling as successor to retiring officer Mike Fink during their meeting Tuesday night at the courthouse annex.

Boling will take office Aug. 1.

"We had a lot of qualified people and it was a tough decision, but I think he will do a great job," said commissioners President Monte Striegel, who sat in on the interviews. "Mike Fink seemed satisfied with the decision."

Boling, a resident of Vallonia, did not attend Tuesday's meeting.

Hubbard said up to 10 people were interviewed for the position and that Boling stood out because of the contacts he had in the county.

"One of the things was he had been with Peoples Bank for more than 20 years and it was his intent to make this his lifelong career now," Hubbard said.

"We were impressed with what direction he sees for the veterans office and some of his ideas."

Boling will soon be attending a training seminar for new veterans service officers and will be spending time catching up on veterans' needs and legislation.

"He shows a willingness to keep updated on all the new laws pertaining to veterans' issues and that is very important," Hubbard said.

 "He also wants to reach out to veterans, even those who wouldn't normally come to the office."

As a requirement to fill the position, Boling is a veteran himself, having served in the U.S. Navy from 1975 to 1981.

Hubbard said he was impressed with all the job candidates.

"The passion they have for veterans was evident, and there was an agreement of the importance of the office and that we need to keep going with what Mike Fink has started."

Striegel agreed.

"They were all very good and qualified candidates," Striegel said.

Although not able to pinpoint one quality that set Boling apart from the others, Striegel said he believes Boling will serve the county's veterans well.

"He's very personable and in his 24 years of service with Peoples Bank, he knows a lot of the residents both here in Brownstown and Seymour, so he's very diversified with the population already," Striegel said.

 "I expect him to continue the duties of serving veterans in the respectful and sympathetic manner that they deserve.

"Many veterans are frustrated with the system or are having problems and they need to see that compassion," Striegel said.

"As long as he takes care of them, then he'll be doing the job right."