Lonnie L. Wangen of Horace has been named the 67th president of the National Association of State Directors of Veterans Affairs.
Wangen is the third area director to be named president of NASDVA. The last local representation was North Dakota Commissioner Lloyd Zander, who was named NASDVA president in 1968.
Wangen has served as North Dakotas commissioner of Veterans Affairs since 2008.
It is a good thing that North Dakota will have the ear of the top VA leadership; this is an opportunity to bring any of our veterans concerns directly to those who can make the big decisions, Wangren said in a news release.
The National Association of State Directors of Veterans Affairs is composed of the directors, commissioners and secretaries from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and five territories: Guam, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Samoa Is-lands.
Wangen is a native of Harvey, N.D., and is the son of Floyd and Vaughn Wangen. After graduating from high school, he moved to Fargo to attend North Dakota State University and the University of Mary, where he received a masters degree in management and a masters in business administration. As a member of the North Dakota National Guard, Wangen served overseas in Panama, Nicaragua, Germany, Korea and was deployed to Iraq in 2003-04.
He now lives in Horace with his wife and two sons.
