Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Like his predecessor, Tom Everett, recently appointed Kosciusko County Veterans' Service Officer Mike Barnett, 57, served in the military.
From September 1961 until his discharge in June 1965, he was in the U.S. Navy. From 1965 to 1970, he worked at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio, as a civilian employee.
Like his predecessor, Barnett also likes the idea that his job will be to help veterans and their families.
"I'm excited about it," he said. "To me, it's more than a job, it's an honor to serve the veterans."
He found out about the job, he said, through a story in the Times-Union.
"Strange how I happened to find out about this (job). ... I was reading (the story) about the commissioners' meeting and (county administrator) Ron Robinson said that there was four or five applicants for this position and at the next meeting he would probably have a recommendation. So I hurried up here and got an application and put it in," he said.
His previous job in Plymouth required him to do a lot of travel by airplane and be out of town for three to four days at a time.
"I got kind of tired of doing this. The job appealed to me, Veterans' Affairs Office, being able to assist veterans and surviving spouses and family members of veterans, obtaining benefits they have coming to them. I thought it sounded like a really good cause, something I would enjoy doing. So far I've enjoyed it and I've been very busy. Trying to get organized," he said.
He's also been learning about the job as he goes along. He spent an entire day with the Huntington County veterans' service officer, Tom Applegate.
"He has prepared a manual to assist county veterans' service officers. I've got a copy of his manual. He's been very helpful. It just takes time," Barnett said. "If I refer to the manual, almost every situation is covered in that manual but not all. ... There's a lot of forms when you're working with the Veterans' Administration, so the stuff takes time.
"One of the biggest things I've done so far is get people enrolled in the VA medical system - actually, in the VA hospital in Fort Wayne. Get them involved, enrolled. There's a prescription drug benefit, some other benefits. We're just trying to get them enrolled."
Barnett, in learning about his job, spent two full days with Everett. "Tom has been as close as a phone. If I call Tom, he's always more than glad to help me. ... He's been very, very helpful. If I can continue to offer the same quality service as he did, I think I'll be very pleased. He did a very good job and was very conscientious."
He is a 30-year Warsaw-area resident. Originally from Muncie, he came to Warsaw in spring 1972.
"I was working for the Indiana State Police until July of 1992. After that, I opened a doughnut and coffee shop. That wasn't very successful. They closed Ind. 15 down so we closed that down. My wife and I have a bail bond business, she runs that primarily. And for the last five years, I've been doing investigative work for insurance companies," he said.
He married his wife, Myra, in 1981. He has a son, Tyson, 27, Warsaw, and a stepson, Jason Rodgers, Leesburg. He has three grandchildren.
Hours for the Veterans' Affairs Office, for now, are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday by appointment. For more information or to set up an appointment, call Barnett at 372-2436.
He said, "I've been extremely busy since I started and this has been my second week. ... I've been very busy with appointments and several walk-ins."
