Fair Focuses On Veterans Benefits

An event slated for this weekend aims to help veterans and their family members negotiate the often labyrinthine challenge of securing benefits.

The second annual Veterans Benefits Fair will run from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 31 at Nature Coast Technical High School, 4057 California St. in Brooksville.

The fair, organized by U.S. Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite, is a chance to meet representatives from Department of Veterans Affairs, Hernando County Veterans Services officers and members of Brown-Waite's staff - all in one place.

Among the other organizations scheduled to be on hand are: James A. Haley VA Hospital; Humana Military Healthcare Services; Alzheimer's Association and its Memory Mobile; Hernando-Pasco Hospice and the Lighthouse for the Blind.

Hernando County Health and Human Services will be on hand and will accept donations for a food drive for the needy.

Veterans are encouraged to bring paperwork to make it easier for representatives to provide help.

The event is not all about paperwork, though.

An opening ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. featuring the color guards from Springstead and Central high schools.

The Hernando Harmonizers, a men's barbershop quartet, will perform from 11 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

A medal presentation for more than a dozen local veterans starts at 1 p.m.

The fair will also give veterans a chance to tell their tales on tape as part of the Veterans History Project. In one-on-one interviews taped by students from Nature Coast Technical High School, former servicemen and women will be asked to recall memorable aspects of their times in the armed forces.

Interested would-be interviewees are asked to call Brown-Waite's office to set a taping appointment. The number is 866-492-4835.

Matt Perry, director of the county's Veteran Services department, called the event a source of "a wealth of information."

Perry attended the inaugural event last year and barely got a break.

"I talked all day long about nothing but benefits, what (veterans) need and how to attain them," he said.

If you go

WHAT: Second annual Veterans Benefits Fair

WHEN: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.

WHERE: Nature Coast Technical High School, 4057 California St., Brooksville.

ADMISSION: Free.

CONTACT: For more information or to set an appointment to be part of the Veterans History Project, call U.S. Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite's office, 866-492-4835.