“I remember the call well,” said Neal Jarnagin, Assistant Administrator for Bremer County Veterans Affairs. “She asked which veteran programs and initiatives could benefit from Cedar Valley Corp.’s assistance. “She,” was Virginia Robinson, Human Resources Manager of Cedar Valley Corp.
“There are plenty of opportunities for individuals, small businesses and large corporations to get involved,” said Jarnagin. “The Veterans Affairs works to provide free assistance in filing claims for federal, state and county veteran benefits. The office provides transportation to and from VA facilities in the region, ships packages year around to active duty military personnel currently deployed overseas, and partners with The Neighborhood Closet, a local consignment store, to assist homeless and at-risk veterans to get back on their feet. So, there are plenty of opportunities to get involved,” said Jarnagin, “but we didn’t expect the tremendous support that Cedar Valley Corp. and other contributing local firms have given.”
Cedar Valley Corp.’s support is going to the Veterans Affairs three fold. First, we provided, designed and installed a trailer hitch on the VA van that will accept a tripod flag insert we developed and fabricated to display the American, Iowa and POW/MIA flags on important days of remembrance, like Memorial Day and the Fourth of July. Mike Cornelius, Vice President, (pictured on the right) designed the one-of-a-kind insert with Bruns Machine from Cedar Falls fabricating a few key elements of the device. Additionally, Richway Industries in Janesville provided a powder-coat finish to give the hitch a “straight from the factory” look. The hitch, insert, fabrication and finishing were all donated to the Veteran’s Affairs office. The van is sponsored by donations from county Veteran Service Organizations and their Auxiliaries, as well as Bremer County.
Second, Cedar Valley Corp. has set up donation sites throughout their facilities to accept food, games, letters, and snacks that will be shipped to our service men and women overseas. “We still have troops serving in harm’s way,” said Jarnagin, “and until they all come home, we’re going to support them by any means necessary. Cedar Valley Corp. is helping to do just that.”
Finally, Cedar Valley Corp. encourages employees to make monetary donations to the Veterans Affairs Office through payroll deduction. These funds will be utilized to help ship the 100+ boxes of items already collected from various persons and organizations by the Veterans Affairs Office and awaiting shipment.
“We appreciate the community support shown to our active duty soldiers and our veterans by Cedar Valley Corp. and others in the area.” said Nancy Edwards, Administrator of Bremer County Veterans Affairs. “Watch for the van in county parades and events. Thank you for remembering those who are serving and have served our country in the military.”