Know the organization behind the CVSOs

By Tim Engstrom
MACVSO then-President Josh Beninga presents a plaque to Doug Wortham of Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs and Minnesota Military Radio to show MACVSO’s appreciation for his service, assistance and cooperation. The presentation was Sept. 8 at the MACVSO Fall Conference at Grand View Lodge in Nisswa.

NISSWA — Many veterans across the Land of 10,000 Lakes are aware of the existence of county veteran service officers, dedicated county employees who help veterans file and receive their earned benefits.

However, not so many veterans know the association that brings the CVSOs together for training, legislative efforts and resources: the Minnesota Association of County Veteran Service Officers, or MACVSO for short.

“The biggest source of training is our peers,” said Tom Anderson, a CVSO with Winona County.

He was elected president at the annual MACVSO Fall Conference in Nisswa. He didn’t seek the position. Fellow CVSOs asked him when he was a district representative for the organization.

“It is an opportunity to serve my fellow veteran service officers in the way they served this country,” Anderson said. “That’s my goal for the next year or two.”

His advice to all veterans is to get involved with the local veterans community, which includes getting to know the county veteran service officers.

County veteran service officers from all around the state gathered in Nisswa in early September for the MACVSO Fall Conference.

“Give them a call and introduce yourself,” he said. “The easiest first step is to be a member of a veteran organization to have a conversation with other veterans about benefits and engaging in veteran events, then get to know the CVSOs in your community.”

Many county positions have nonprofit associations. For instance, engineers have the Minnesota County Engineers Association.

MACVSO’s website is macvso.org. It has a “Find Your CVSO” function that makes it simple to find any county veteran service officer in the state.

The association has a statewide fall conference in September, where they elect officers, and two spring conferences, one up north and one down south, that are run by the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs.

“We share a booth with MDVA at the State Fair. The MDVA is our No. 1 partner for training and is a resource for us to call,” Anderson said.

MACVSO Executive Director John Baker regularly attends meetings of the Minnesota Commanders’ Task Force with congressionally chartered veteran service organization and the MDVA staff to plan and execute legislative efforts, such as the fight to pass a claim shark bill.

Tom Anderson

MACVSO officers:
President: Tom Anderson, Winona County
Vice President: Dustin Hunter, Jackson County
Judge Advocate: Jacob Turner, Douglas County
Treasurer: Cassandra Carrigan, McLeod County
Secretary: Kristy Smart, Cass County
Chaplain: Nathan Pike, Blue Earth County
Historian: Mindy Sandell, Pine County
Past President: Josh Beninga, Lac qui Parle Co.
Executive Director: John Baker, North St. Paul

State Sen. Aric Putnam of St. Cloud speaks at the MACVSO Fall Conference on Sept. 8 at Grand View Lodge in Nisswa. He led efforts by MACVSO, Minnesota CTF and MDVA to pass a claim shark bill in Minnesota.