ALBANY, Ga. —
On Wednesday, Dec. 5, from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m., the Georgia Department of Veterans Service and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs will conduct a free one-day, one-stop service and information forum at the Albany Civic Center on West Oglethorpe Boulevard near the Flint River.
An added feature of the “Supermarket” will be a health fair provided by medical personnel from the VA Medical Centers located in Georgia. Free medical screenings and seasonal flu shots will be available.
Georgia Commissioner of Veterans Affairs Pete Wheeler explained the program during a meeting on Nov. 7 with Albany Mayor Pro-Temp Bob Langstaff, who presented a proclamation designating Dec. 5 as “Supermarket of Veterans Benefits Day” in Albany.
The Government Center Council Chambers ceremony was attended by some 100 people from local veteran groups, city and county officials, as well as agency representatives that are involved in providing support and counseling on state and federal veteran entitlements.
“There may be many veterans and dependants who are eligible for various benefits but who, for some reason, have never applied for them. In this one-day program, we will place every agency that has any connection whatsoever with veterans benefits within easy reach of those eligible veterans and their family members,” Wheeler said during the ceremony.
“The Supermarket will provide Georgia veterans and their family members with an opportunity to acquire information and assistance from more than 40 municipal, state, and federal agencies about various benefits," Commissioner Wheeler added.
In addition to the state Department of Veterans Service and the VA, some of the other agencies represented will include the Military Retirement Services; the Social Security Administration; TRICARE; Small Business Administration; the Georgia Department of Motor Vehicle Safety; the Georgia and U.S. Departments of Labor; Rehab Services of the Georgia Department of Human Resources; the Georgia Game and Fish Division of the Department of Natural Resources; and representatives of state and federal medical facilities.
“All participating agencies are involved with veterans’ benefits in some respect,” Wheeler stated. “Having them all in one place at the same time eliminates the necessity of a veteran or family members having to go to several places to get questions answered and to get help with individual problems.”
Over the past decade, more than 34,000 veterans, active duty military, and their dependents have attended this annual event.
The 2012 “Supermarket” will be the sixth time the event has taken place in Albany. The last time Albany hosted it was 2003.
Local News
Albany to host veterans benefits ‘Supermarket’
- Local News
-
-
Suspect charged in Carroll's death
A suspect who claimed self-defense in a deadly shooting April 28 has been charged with murder.
-
Intruder with knife attacks elderly resident
A man accused of stealing a pack of cigarettes after attacking the resident with a knife and a Moultrie man accused of trying to outrun police with four children in a car were among those arrested over the weekend by local law enforcement.
-
1921 murder brings Texas woman to Pavo
Many law enforcement agencies honor their fallen comrades on or about May 15, proclaimed since 1962 as National Peace Officers Memorial Day. But more than two weeks earlier, a Pavo native who died on duty in Memphis, Tenn., received recognition from an unlikely source: the family of the man who killed him.
-
Mental Health Month
-
Colquitt Regional Mammography receives reaccreditation
Colquitt Regional Medical Center’s Radiology Department recently received reaccreditation from the Mammography Quality Standards Act (MQSA).
- Your Agenda 05/21/13
-
County budget proposal calls for small raises, no tax increase
With income staying stagnant or declining, a trend that has lasted for five years with a sluggish economy, Colquitt County is again looking at a challenging budget.
-
Cotton planting at Expo
-
Hospital honors Nurse of Year, G.R.E.A.T. Ambassador
Nurse of the Year and G.R.E.A.T. Ambassador, two very special honors, were recently given at Colquitt Regional Medical Center during a week-long celebration of National Hospital Week.
-
Men's choir to perform Monday
- More Local News Headlines
-
Tim Cook Defends Apple's Tax Accounting
AP Photograher: 'It Was a Miracle' They Got Out
Raw: Crews Search for Survivors of Okla. Tornado
Raw: Tearful Reunion After Okla. Tornado
OKC Hospital Describes Treating Tornado Wounded
Obama Pledges Urgent Aid for Tornado Victims
Raw: Massive Funnel Clouds in Oklahoma
