AVON PARK Larry Roberts works hard to uphold the creed and takes care to especially follow the lines of the U.S. Soldiers Creed pertaining to his fellow comrades and veterans: I will never accept defeat. I will never quit. I will never leave a fallen comrade,
Sticking to those lines, Roberts, American Legion 8th District and Avon Park Post 69 Service Officer, has been working since Dec. 2013 to organize and hold the first-annual American Legion Post 69 Veterans Benefits Fair, a benefits education and awareness festival open to all veterans and their families.
From 9 a.m. to noon, Feb. 7, veterans are invited to the post, 1301 W. Bell St., to the free benefits fair. There, throughout the day, up to 25 community organizations and educational institutions who assist veterans, will have representatives on hand to answer questions, provide assistance and offer guidance.
Those organizations who have already committed include the Department of Veterans Affairs, Sebring; the South Florida State College Veterans Counselor; Career Source Heartland; Project Vet Relief; the Highlands County Veterans Council; the Avon Park Housing Authority; Project: Vet Relief; and Pets for Vets.
Roberts, an American Legion service officer for 10 years, said he conceived the idea for the fair while still a member of Sebring American Legion Post 74, but after transferring to Avon Park in June, found the timing was right to get started. He instructs classes for veterans – such as how to enroll for benefits and how to file disability claims – and was asked by attendees how they could get more information.
I have more flexibility here (Avon Park) to do what I need to do to help veterans, said Roberts, 49, who served with the U.S. Army Armored Calvary from 1988 to 2001 – including tours in Desert Storm and Bosnia – and served in Arizona on anti-drug trafficking missions. Ive always had the idea of doing it, I just didnt have the right timing.
The Veterans Benefits Fair is expected to join other veteran-specific fairs and workshops that are already established, such as Paychecks for Patriots, a Florida employment effort to get employers with current openings in contact with military veterans seeking work, last held in Sebring July 16.
Denise Williams, Highlands County Veterans Service Office director, has helped Roberts in his efforts to get the fair together. With approximately 28,000 military veterans living in Highlands County, she said it would be just another way to help direct veterans to the benefits they are due on a more convenient day.
This is geared towards veterans who cant attend during the week. We (Veterans Services) can reach them during the week when theyre not working, said Williams, a U.S. Army veteran of Afghanistan. I found Mr. Roberts has always been out there to get what is due to the veterans and has their best interests at heart.
Roberts said attending organization stations would be set up in the Post hall in a horseshoe configuration, with each one first introducing itself before individually providing information.
The organization of benefit fairs like the one Roberts is putting together is important to all veterans because it could provide one-to-one help like how to properly filling out benefit forms.
This will also be helpful for the wives of vets. It will show them what to do in case something happens to their spouses, like being hospitalized or if they die, said Bob Plafchan, a U.S. Navy Great Lakes Naval Station veteran who served from 1961 to 1962.
Roberts said he is still seeking organizations to attend the fair and set up informational booths. For information, call (850) 718-7773.
