Monday, March 26, 2018

Public Employee Retirees Luncheon Meeting (Register by March 27)

Thomas A. Pitman, Department Head of the Darke County Veterans Services Office, will be the guest speaker at the Public Employee Retirees Luncheon Meeting on Monday, April 2, 11:30 a.m., at the VFW on Ohio Street, Greenville. PERI is urging members, OPERS eligible nonmembers, and any interested veterans and their spouses to attend this meeting which has been planned to help them learn about benefits of which they or their relatives might not be aware. Questions will be welcome.

To make reservations for the luncheon, PERI members will be contacted by the calling committee. Non members and interested Veterans may contact Vivian Nieport, Attendance and Contact Chairman at 937-548-3961 on or by Tuesday, March 27.

Pitman, who was born and raised in Darke County, enlisted in the United States Air Force soon after he had graduated from Tri Village High School in 1985. Describing his military career, he said that he has served in countries throughout the world which included Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Germany, Korea, and Japan. After retiring in 2010, at the rank of Senior Master Sergeant, he moved back to Darke County.

He said it wasn't until 2013 that he began his second rewarding career as the Department Head of the Darke County Veterans Services Office. In this capacity, he said he has had the opportunity of putting Veterans in touch with their VA benefits such as education, service connected disability compensation, war time pensions, survivors benefits, and medical benefits. He can also arrange transportation to the Dayton and Cincinnati VA medical centers for Veterans who have medical appointments.

Although he says he feels rewarded for the opportunity to serve Darke County Veterans, the Veterans he serves are equally rewarded. Having moved from serving his country to serving his county, one fact is certain, Darke County Veterans are fortunate to have him as the go to person to answer their questions.

Moving from the military back to civilian life is an adjustment for Veterans especially when it comes to obtaining the benefits they deserve. In fact, some older Veterans have stated that they missed out on some of their benefits because they were either not aware of them or never thought to enquire about them. Pitman has helped solve this problem by reaching out to them rather than waiting for them to reach out to him. This is evident by his willingness to speak at PERI's luncheon.

PERI members and others who have not served in the military can also learn from his presentation, especially if they have a son, daughter, grandchild or another relative who is thinking about enlisting or has enlisted already.

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