Ottawa County hires new veterans affairs director
OTTAWA COUNTY — A new director of veterans affairs appears to have been named for Ottawa County, after the county board opted to expand the department despite heavy criticism.
Jason Schenkel, 50, of Grand Haven Township, announced on social media he's been hired to lead the department after the Ottawa Impact board majority opted to expand it by more than $240,000, criticizing the service quality currently provided to local veterans.
More: Ottawa County commissioners discuss potential budget changes
Board Chair Joe Moss and Vice Chair Sylvia Rhodea lead the board's Ottawa Impact majority, a group of far-right fundamentalists disgruntled over school mask mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic. The group currently controls seven seats on the 11-member board.
"I'm excited to start my new job," Schenkel wrote on LinkedIn last week. "This role gives me the ability to continue to serve our veterans and families of West Michigan. I get to stay in the space that gives me a full heart."
Rhodea championed the idea to expand the department during the budget planning process for the new fiscal year, which began Oct. 1. She argued the county needed a new director and additional funds because "the needs of our veterans are actually being met by Kent County and Muskegon County."
"There have been a number of individuals who are concerned about the level of services," Rhodea said during one finance work session in August. "I hear ... there may be some people who are satisfied, but I can tell you there are also people who are not satisfied and we can do better."
Previous veterans services director Loren Snippe, however, said current staffing and programming are meeting needs adequately in Ottawa.
More: Ottawa County VA staff say all needs are being met with current resources
Veterans services are county-specific, he said, and can only be provided by the veteran’s county of residence. The only exceptions are federal VA services facilitated by VSOs (Veterans Service Officers).
Following the changes, the current staff terminated their contract with the county, effective Dec. 31.
Schenkel is a 2015 graduate of the University of Arkansas Grantham with an emphasis in multidisciplinary studies. He's a veteran of the U.S. Army. He most recently worked remotely from Michigan as a military engagement program manager for the Nashville, Tennessee-based Yellow Trucking Co. — which announced in August it was closing and filing for bankruptcy.
Holland Freight was among the subsidiaries shuttered by the move.
On his profile, Schenkel describes himself as a "talent acquisition leader who excels at building teams and understands internal business partner relationships."
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"I have managed relationships with nonprofits, for-profit, and government agencies," he wrote. "I have set up a veteran employee resource group from scratch and got folks excited to be a part of the group. I was elected to our corporate (diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging) advisory board because I understand the importance of culture and how it affects the bottom line."
Schenkel is also a member of the employment committee of the West Michigan Veteran Coalition.
County Communications Director Shannon Felgner was out of the office this week and could not confirm the hire.
To learn more about the department and its services, visit miottawa.org/departments/veteransaffairs.
— Sarah Leach is executive editor for The Holland Sentinel. Contact her at sarah.leach@hollandsentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter @SentinelLeach.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Ottawa County hires new veterans affairs director
