State Rolling Thunder head takes over as Fall River's veterans' agent
FALL RIVER — You may not think that someone who started her own business practicing Chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture for 20 years, previously in the private sector in customer service and finance, would be interested in coming to Fall River to take on the job as the city’s veterans’ agent. But you’d be wrong.
Because it's all about helping people, said Michelle Hamilton of Middleboro, who has been on the job as the new veterans' agent for a month, replacing Micaila Britto, who went to work in Somerset recently.
Mayor Paul Coogan said he’s really pleased that Hamilton has joined his team. “She’s going to be a key asset; she has a great way with people and I think that will carry over into the job,” he said.
Hamilton joined the Army right out of high school in 1975 at the tail end of the Vietnam war, and was in the last graduating class of the Women’s Army Corp.
She left the military in 1977 and went to college on the GI Bill, then spent years in corporate America before pursuing her long-time passion of herbal remedies.
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“It’s been a weird and winding road,” said Hamilton.
No stranger to helping veterans, she is the president of Rolling Thunder Massachusetts Chapter 2, the national and local organization open to both military and civilian individuals with a mission to advocate for POW/MIA issues and to assist veterans.
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Envisioning a broader mission for the city’s veteran's agency
“We are the veterans’ service — service,” Hamilton reiterates. “This isn’t just about Chapter 115 money or VA claims.”
Hamilton gave an example of a veteran the department recently assisted, who had been homeless for a long time until getting into housing, is on chemotherapy and was struggling with a utility company over a long overdue electric bill.
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Hamilton said she was able to help him straighten out the bill, but then discovered the veteran had no food and wasn’t going to receive his check for another week.
Knowing getting some funds from the city veterans department would also take time, Hamilton said Rolling Thunder had funds to help veterans in need.
“I called our treasurer and said that she was going to see a transaction on the debit card,” said Hamilton, who took the veteran to the grocery store.
“So, it's service, we are here to be of service and that’s the biggest thing I want this department to do and that no matter what if a veteran is in need, we are going to try to help them,” said Hamilton.
Working with veteran organizations
It’s no secret that Fall River reveres its veterans and there are numerous and active veteran groups in and around the city, many of which Hamilton has worked with in her role with Rolling Thunder.
She looks forward to continuing that work as Fall River’s veterans' agent.
“There’s a lot of different personalities and there are a lot of different goals and my whole mission with all of us is to work as a team,” said Hamilton. “When we were in the military together, we didn’t care who did what or where or how, we had one mission, one goal.”
That’s what Hamilton said she wants, to have all of the local veterans to work as a team.
“If there one piece I could get everyone to do, that would be teamwork,” said Hamilton. “So that’s my hope.”
This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Another woman to lead city veterans office
