Paralyzed Veterans of America honors veterans’ benefits advocates

William “Bill” Pack, a senior national service officer for Paralyzed Veterans of America, was recently honored with the Victor S. McCoy Award for Excellence, according to a press release.

The Victor S. McCoy award is named for Paralyzed Veterans of America’s first associate executive director of the veterans’ benefits department. Pack was recognized along with other veterans’ benefits advocates for demonstrating dedication to veterans during the 2015 Continuing Education Program for national service officers held in Dallas, the release stated.

Pack, who is based in Winston-Salem, N.C., has worked for Paralyzed Veterans for 11 years.

“Bill is dedicated, passionate, hardworking and well-respected by his supervisors and colleagues,” Earnest Hill, the senior national service officer and East-Central area manager who nominated Pack for the award, said in the release. “He has profoundly improved the lives of thousands of our members, clients and their families over his career.”

Violet Graham, who works as a senior secretary and accredited representative in Paralyzed Veterans’ Philadelphia service office, was awarded the Laurie A. Cotter Award for Excellence. Graham began her career with Paralyzed Veterans in May 2003.

“Her hard work, dedication and passion for Paralyzed Veterans and its mission exemplifies the standards Laurie Cotter set during her three decades of service to the organization,”
DeWayne Standifer, the East-South area manager who nominated Graham for the award, said in the release. “An inestimable number of our members and clients are living a much better life today as a direct result of Violet’s commitment to excellence in service.”

The Laurie A. Cotter Award for Excellence is named after the late Laurie Cotter, who served for 30 years as the eastern region administrative assistant for Paralyzed Veterans in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Standifer was also recognized, receiving the Outstanding National Service Officer Award, along with Tami Anderson, a National Service Officer based out of St. Paul, Minn., and Armando de la Rosa, a senior national service officer in San Antonio.

Outstanding Secretary awards were presented to Nona Nixon, of Buffalo, N.Y.; Diane Stever, of Wichita, Kan.; and LaKisha Anderson, of Montgomery, Ala.

This year’s Paving Access for Veterans Employment (PAVE) Champion Award was awarded to James Arndt, a vocational counselor in Minneapolis, for being a true advocate in helping veterans rebuild their lives. Between 2013 and 2014, Arndt tripled his number of client placement, placing an average of one client per week in a job, according to the release.

Additionally, the Medical Care Monitoring Awards were presented to Jennifer Ammons, of Atlanta; Mike Sheets, of Lincoln, Neb.; and de la Rosa.

Greg Treacy, a senior national service officer in Houston, was awarded the Million Dollar Club Award for reaching the million-dollar mark in benefit awards secured for veterans, according to the release.

Reference: www.pva.org.

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