Veteran 8 21 2014

Page 1

35 cents

VOL. 2/ISSUE 42

THURSDAY, AUGUST 21, 2014

Accidental veterans leader Patrick McCallister FOR VETERAN VOICE

patrick.mccallister@yahoo.com

Editor’s note: Veteran Voice has the privilege of meeting, interviewing and writing stories that involve many area veteran leaders. Their names repeatedly appear in our stories, always followed by “said.” We launched an occasional series for 2014, Veteran Vanguard, to introduce readers to the wonderful men and women that contribute so much to veterans, communities and our stories. There’s one whose name far more often appears in our sister publication, Your Voice New & Views — John Haddox. The former supervisor of Martin County’s Veterans Services and president of the Florida County Veterans Service Officer Association was elected to the County Commission in 2012. There he’s known for being an independent and unpredictable vote. Back in 1999 John Haddox applied for a county job, because it sounded like the perfect way for the 20-year Navy veteran to get into semi-retirement. Semi-retirement, bah. The decision to apply for that job made him a very busy man with a 13-year career of helping veterans, and it likely set him on a course toward election to the Martin County Commission in 2012. “I believe a military career provides you an excellent base for a political career,” he said. “(The military) teaches you to analyze the facts and make a decision.” Campaign supporters often didn’t get what they expected after Haddox won. He’s the most reliable swing vote on the commission. Others’ votes are mostly predictable. Doug Smith, Jensen Beach, will frequently vote in opposition to other commissioners, such as Sarah Heard, Port Salerno. They, in turn, will vote in opposition to him. Haddox? He’s the maverick. Sometimes he sides with Smith. And sometimes he joins the other three in opposition to Smith. Haddox is the least vocal commissioner, but when he speaks, it’s with a sailor’s earthy sensibility. That was recently seen in discussions about construction of a customs facility at the Martin County Airport. Haddox took opponents to task — many of whom

Staff photo by Patrick McCallister John Haddox served in the Navy from ‘68 to ‘88. He applied for a part-time county job at Martin County Veterans Services in 1999 to get into semi-retirement. That plan didn’t work out so well — he discovered his passion serving veterans. The former supervisor of Martin County’s Veterans Services and president of the Florida County Veterans Service Officer Association was elected to the County Commission in 2012. were his campaign supporters — for contradictory arguments against the facility. Opponents simultaneously predicted that the customs facility would increase airport pollution by attracting many more planes, but that nobody would use it. “You can’t have it both ways,” Haddox flatly told customs facility opponents at one commission meeting. The commission approved the facility in a 3-2 vote at its regular meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 5. So, back to 1999. Haddox retired from the Navy in 1988 and made his way to the Treasure Coast to be near his parents. The family hailed from a little town near Pittsburgh. He went on to running security for a gated community, and was thinking about that semi-retirement thing. “I saw this ad come up in the (newspaper),” he said. “It was a part-time position.” It was a part-time position at Martin County’s Veterans Services helping folks file claims and appeals with the Department of Veterans Affairs as a county veterans service officer. Haddox got that county job. A couple years later, the supervisor’s position opened up at the veterans services office. By then Haddox had given up all pretense about semi-retirement. He had ideas about how to help more veterans and Mar-

tin County. “I knew where I wanted to take the Martin County Veterans Services office,” Haddox said. “I wanted to get out more into the public and market it better. I wanted much more involvement with the veterans community through the veterans service organizations.” So, he applied for the job, and got it. Haddox said he first aimed to strengthen the county’s veterans office ties to the Veterans Council of Martin County. The council was made up of members representing several local veteran service organizations. “To me the (veterans services) office needed strong support from the veterans council,” Haddox said. He said Hoyt Woods, chairman on the council from 1994 to 2009, helped him get the veterans services office and council working together to get more folks filing claims for benefits their military service earned them. Woods died a couple years ago. “I saw the function of the (veterans services) office as two-fold,” Haddox said. Of course, one function was to help veterans get the benefits. But it was a county-funded function. As such, Haddox said, he believed veterans services had a respon-

See HADDOX page 3


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.
Veteran 8 21 2014 by Veteran Voice, LLC - Issuu