Veteran Services

Meade County Veterans Services

HISTORY
The position "County Veterans Service Officer" was created by state statute in 1944. Initially, the service officer was someone who had served on active duty in the United States Military and agreed to help veterans as a sideline to their regular job as a business person, lawyer or retired person. The County Veteran's Service Officer position is an appointed, exempt position with a term of three years.

PURPOSE
The purpose of the County Veterans Service Officer is to assist the County's veterans and their families to access US Dept. of Veterans Affairs benefits and health care; advise them of possible State benefits; explain the potential impact of veteran's benefits on other Federal Programs; and quite frequently intervene in errant communications between veterans and the VA.  As time has passed, the need for the Service Officer to reach out to the public has grown, so the position now entails a great deal of public speaking to any and all groups seeking information about issues of importance to the veteran community.

IMPACT
According to the US Department of Veterans Affairs, there were 3,533 veterans in Meade County in 2008, with 1,958 of them receiving health care from the Medical Center at Ft. Meade east of Sturgis. The VA paid out $9.8 million in monetary benefits and provided $24.4 million worth of health care in Meade County.

CURRENT
The Meade County Veterans Service Officer is Jerry Lolley.  He is a retired U.S. Air Force Master Sergeant who was born and raised in Todd County, SD.  Office hours are normally 9 AM to 5 PM, Monday through Friday, but are frequently adjusted to accommodate the needs of the County's veterans and their families.  Jerry was first appointed in July, 1992, and is the first to hold this position as a "full time" vocation.

Jerry has spoken to every Veteran's Organization in the country, many District Organizations and The American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars State Organizations.  He has gone to Ft. Carson, CO, three times to brief demobilizing SD Army National Guard units about the State and Federal VA benefits they may be eligible for and how to access them.

Jerry Lolley

Phone: (605) 347-7623
Email: cntyvso@meadecounty.org
Address: 1425 Sherman St., Sturgis, SD  57785 (in the courhouse)

http://www.va.gov
http://www.sd.gov/state_agencies