Blount County Veterans Affairs Committee and County Veteran Recognition

The Veterans Affairs Committee is a standing committee of the Blount County Commission. Its nine seats are tied to veterans organizations and the community: a Gold Star Mother (Robin Ferschke), American Legion Post 13 (Larry Grant), VFW Post 5154 (Lloyd Hansen), AMVETS Post 22 (Commander Frank Kusiowski, Jr.), a county commissioner (Steve Mikels), VFW Post 10855 (Cye Miles), Military Order of the Purple Heart Chapter 1814 (Samuel "Ed" Shore), Disabled American Veterans Chapter 76 (Jene Thompson), and an at-large member (Denise Weston). The Commission reappointed Commander Kusiowski on November 20, 2025 and appointed Shore, Weston, Miles and Hansen on March 24, 2026, and amended the committee's bylaws by Resolution 26-09-012 on September 17, 2026. The committee meets on a Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. in Room 315 of the Blount County Courthouse, 359 Court Street, Maryville, roughly quarterly. What it does. The committee oversees the county Veterans Affairs Office, tracks its assistant VSOs' accreditations through the Tennessee Department of Veterans Services, hears the office's activity reports, and keeps the rules for monuments, memorials, markers and plaques placed at the county's War Dead Memorial through an application form it has refined across 2025 and 2026. Its agendas follow the county's veterans community: HonorAir Knoxville honor flights, the United Veterans of Blount County's Memorial Day and Veterans Day programmes, VA benefit briefs to local veterans groups, and, from 2027, the VA outpatient clinic coming to Maryville. The armory. On October 23, 2025 the committee held a special called meeting on designating the Army National Guard Armory on U.S. Highway 321 in Maryville for Command Sergeant Major William O. Gregory, and on November 20, 2025 the Commission adopted Resolution No. 25-11-017 supporting that designation. Agendas and minutes are on the county's Legistar site.