Fentress County has hired native and veteran Marcus Ballard as the county’s new Veterans Service Officer.
Ballard served five years in the Navy as an ejection seat mechanic. Ballard said he took the position to help local veterans navigate the VA process.
“Navigating the VA, it can be stressful, anxiety-ridden, and I just have a passion for helping veterans and using my experiences with it to smooth out the process and answer some questions for other veterans,” Ballard said.
The Veterans Service Office also helps veterans apply for benefits that they have earned for themselves and their families. Ballard said most veterans don’t even know about the benefits they have earned from their service time.
“That is what I encountered is having no information on and a lack of guidance on how to even apply for these things or that they were even there,” Ballard said. “It took me nine years before I ever even knew that most of things were out there.”
Ballard said one of his goals as the new veterans service officer is to bring the local veteran community together.
“Just some hangouts, you know, breakfast dinners, just get involved and see everybody hanging out and sharing knowledge,” Ballard said. “You help one veteran, he tells his cousin his cousin who is a veteran, or she, and it spreads quickly. So if we have veterans hanging out together spreading information, it would be very beneficial.”
Ballard said veterans will always hold a special place in his heart. Ballard said he started his new position in October and has already helped several veterans.