PUTNAM COUNTY As a veteran himself, Chuck Mateykas goal as county service officer is to help veterans in need to the best of his ability.
He is someone who has been described as a tireless advocate for the veterans and their families of Putnam County. And it is for these reasons that Mateyka recently won the award for County Service Officer of the Year 2014 from the Tennessee Department of Veterans Affairs.
Its very worthwhile to have this position here, Mateyka said about being CSO, a position he has held since 2006 at the Putnam County Veterans Service Office.
Mateyka, who retired from the U.S. Army in 2003 with more than 20 years of enlisted and commissioned service, said he enjoys serving and assisting the veterans who come to him from Putnam and surrounding counties looking for his help.
As CSO for more than 5,400 veterans, Mateyka helps them file claims to obtain VA compensation, education, healthcare, pension, VA home loans, death benefits and even helps with obtaining military records for veterans or their families. He has more than quadrupled the annual amount of benefits coming into the county to more than $19 million during his tenure.
Its one of the reasons I joined the military, which is to serve, Mateyka said. I like service to the community, to the public, to our nation. And this gave me the opportunity to continue serving and trying to help veterans and their families.
He is also highly involved in the community and various veterans organizations, including volunteering his time as quartermaster and service officer for VFW Post 6296 and chairing the local veterans committee that plans, organizes and carries out the local Memorial Day and Veterans Day programs.
Sarah Tinch, TDVA veterans benefits representative for the Cookeville region, nominated Mateyka for the award this past June. Along with Mateykas other achievements, she detailed his advocacy for the daughter of a deceased veteran in her nomination.
Mr. Mateykas devotion to veterans and their families above and beyond the call of duty is exemplified in his selfless support of a developmentally disabled adult child of a deceased veteran, she said. Mr. Mateyka acts as the representative payee in all financial matters. He also provides support in maintenance tasks, assists with grocery shopping and transportation for doctor and pharmacy visits. He is also working to obtain Home and Community-based Services Waivers for the individual through the states Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.
Endorsing the award nomination were Joe Miller, chair of the Putnam County Veterans Memorial Organization, and former county executive Kim Blaylock. Miller was part of the committee that formed to interview and select a new CSO in 2006.
I cannot visualize in my mind anyone that could walk into that office and replace him, Miller said. … He does the things the CSO should do for veterans.
Before taking the CSO position, Mateyka worked as the director of Putnam County Pacesetters, and before that as the companys quality insurance liaison in White County after retiring from the military in 2003.
The St. Louis County, Missouri, native was stationed in a variety of places during his military career, which included an assignment in Germany. At one point in the 1990s he was stationed in Cookeville, where he and wife Melanie bought a home. Mateyka, Melanie and their son Matthew moved back to the area after Mateyka decided to retire.
And when the opportunity to serve as CSO opened up nearly decade ago, Mateyka jumped at the chance to apply.
I am fortunate to get to work with the veterans of Putnam County, and I will actually work with any veterans from surrounding counties who will come in and see me, Mateyka said.
Im just fortunate that they trust me to work with them and assist them in submitting their applications to the VA.
