This is in response to the article in the Alpena News about the Montmorency County commissioners selecting the VA service officer. My name is Bruce Brown Jr. and according to the article I was the one that was hired, but since I wasn’t at the meeting the position was given to the other person. The impression that I got from the article is that I applied and then wasn’t interested in the position. Let me explain what really happened. I was at our VFW meeting on Aug. 3 and it was brought up to the membership if anyone was interested in the Montmorency VA service officer position, that they need to write a letter of interest, and it must be delivered to the commissioners by Aug. 7. After the meeting, I talked to the person who made the announcement to make sure, and he said to write the letter and he would deliver it the commissioners. Nothing was ever said about attending a meeting. I was very interested in that position and had I known that I needed to attend a meeting, I would have been there. I work at the Alpena VA clinic and every veteran that knows me knows that I am there to help the veteran in every way possible. I am retiring soon and was hoping to take my skills to Montmorency County to help our veterans there. I felt that I could have been a big asset there. In conclusion, I believe that if the commissioners really wanted to hire me as the VA service officer, then someone should have called me to make sure that I knew about the meeting. Again, I would have been there. Congratulations to the new service officer and I know he will do a good job.

Bruce Brown Jr.

Hillman