October 6, 2017 at 4:35 p.m.
Walters named president of County Veterans Service Officers Association of Wisconsin
Walters named president of County Veterans Service Officers Association of Wisconsin
By Kayla Thomason-
Walters was elected Sept. 20 during the organization's fall conference. Her term will run until the fall conference in 2018.
A 21-year U.S. Navy veteran, Walters has served as Oneida County Veteran Service Officer since 2006.
"It's really awesome to be elected president because I have just the absolute utmost respect for everybody in our organization," Walters said, adding that she wasn't surprised to be elected president as she served as first vice president last year.
"Generally, the president and the first vice president generally run unopposed, of course we take nominations from the floor, but no one else was nominated, which I expected," she said.
While the president is the leader of the organization, Walters noted decisions are made with input from the other officers and members.
"The president, that's just a title, the association runs because of all the people in it, not just the president," Walters said. "The president is just kind of the organizer but the association is successful because of every man and woman in that organization."
In her new role, Walters will offer input on legislation related to veterans issues and bring veterans concerns to the legislature's attention, among other things.
As president, Walters said she would like to do a Powerpoint or YouTube video explaining everything the organization does.
"I think people would be astonished if they knew everything we really did," she said. "So what I want to do is I want to educate people because I know oftentimes when budgets have to be cut - and I'm not just talking county I'm talking state - they always look to the veteran population, they always look to the veteran service office and I don't think people realize the value of a veteran service office."
Walters retired from the Navy in 2004 as a Senior Chief. She enlisted as a senior in high school, following in the footsteps of her grandfather, father, uncle and brother, all of whom served in that branch of the military.
"It was a very uneducated decision but it was the best decision I ever made in my life," she said.
She started out working in personnel and about halfway through changed over to Navy counselor which is career counseling.
"The job that I do now is about as similar as I could do to a Navy counselor in the Navy," she said. "It was a job that I just absolutely loved, which is exactly why I love this job (Oneida County Veterans Service Officer) because it's so similar to what I did in the Navy, only this is better."
Kayla Breese may be reached at [email protected].
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