Stockton, CA - In advance of the upcoming Veterans Day holiday, the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors honored local Veterans from throughout San Joaquin County on Tuesday. Veterans from each of the five supervisorial districts were honored, as well as Veteran County employees, and Gold Star and Blue Star families.
"We owe our Veterans a debt of gratitude we can never repay, but we can always remember, honor, and say thank you, "commented Chairman Robert Rickman. "The freedoms that we enjoy, the lives that we live, and the democracy that we hold dear are entrusted
to us thanks to the sacrifice and service of Veterans and those who have died defending our nation. The entire Board joins me in saying thank you to Veterans and their loved ones.”
Each supervisor chose veteran(s) from their district to honor yesterday. They included:
| First District | Lance Corporal Faustino "Tino" Adame, United States Marine Corps |
| Second District | Sergeant Monica Reyes, United States Army Gunnery Sergeant Randall Reyes, United States Marine Corps |
| Third District | HM3(AC) FMF Corpsman Shane Cadlolo, United States Navy |
| Fourth District | Sergeant (E-5) Martin Jones, United States Marine Corps |
| Fifth District | EO1(SCW) Steven Verver, United States Navy |
In addition to the Board recognition of local Veterans, representatives from University of the Pacific (UOP) were on hand to detail the services offered to veteran students. The representatives thanked the Board specifically for their recent funding of $2,000,000 to establish housing for military and Veteran students at UOP. In March 2023, the Board authorized the transfer of American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) funds to the UOP for renovation so Manor Hall for use as military and Veteran student housing and for Veteran services.
County Veteran Services Officer Susan Feighery also reported that thanks to the Board's recent action, moving the Veteran Services Office to a new location, there has been a 57% increase in the number of walk-in clients this year. In response to Veterans' needs, the Board approved three full-time positions. The Board has also recently authorized a mental health specialist to fill in evening and weekend gaps for County Veterans, in direct response to Veterans" mental health needs in San Joaquin County.
"We will never forget the Veterans of San Joaquin County," continued Chairman Rickman. "I am proud and humbled each time I have opportunity to spend time with our local Veterans. As their elected Board of Supervisors, we are committed to meeting their needs and helping them in any way that we can."
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