As I write this article to bring 2018 to a close, I do so with mixed emotions.  First of all this has been a year of changes, hard work, and drive.  It’s the year that the agency has ended with a renewed sense of mission and strong forward movement.  It is a year of endings, and promises of new beginnings.

2018 marks my eighth and final year serving as Commissioner of Veterans Affairs for the state.  Representing the nearly 330,000 Veterans has truly been a privilege for me these past eight years.  I thank Governor Mark Dayton for giving me the honor of being the Commissioner and the opportunity to work alongside so many of Minnesota’s and America’s heroes. This is not something that I could’ve done alone.   It takes a whole team and I want to thank all the partners in the Veterans community in bringing our Veterans all the way home!

Here is a brief year in review:

• Funding of three new Veterans Homes in Montevideo, Bemidji, and Preston.
• Our Resident satisfaction surveys at our Homes were once again higher than the national average. Which aligns with our motto: “Every Day is Veterans Day.”
• Minnesota’s unemployment rate remains below the national average; importantly, this includes our Veteran community.
• We’ve opened and had the first burial at the new State Veterans Cemetery in Duluth.
• We received the outstanding member award from the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans.
• We opened a new state-of-the-art 100 bed skilled nursing care facility on the Minneapolis Veterans Home campus which completed a 10-year, three-phase remodeling project for Minneapolis.
• We opened the nation’s first Veterans home fixed dental care facility. 

I am proud of this agency and am confident that they will continue to ensure that our Veterans are treated with the dignity and respect they so richly deserve.  I’ve always said the goal of this agency is to bring our Veterans “all the way home!”

In closing I again want to say I’ve had great honor in working with the Veterans of the State of Minnesota and there will always be a special place in my heart for those who serve and support our Veterans.