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Date: 1/17/2023
HATFIELD – During their meeting on Jan. 10, the Hatfield Select Board officially chose resident Joseph Letourneau as the town’s part-time veterans service agent.
Letouruneau, who spent 30 years on active duty, will provide assistance to military veterans in Hatfield with help from Central Hampshire Services under a $3,000-per-year salary. The appointment comes after the town’s former agent, Gerry Clark, passed in December after serving in the role since 2015.
“I’m from Hatfield so my interest is Hatfield and for the residents of Hatfield,” said Letourneau, who added that he and his son were deployed from Afghanistan a little over 10 years ago. “I would love to serve the residents of Hatfield; I would love to serve the veterans of Hatfield.”
Aside from Letourneau, the town also had the opportunity to explore two other options for its agent position. One other proposal was presented by Steven Connor of Central Hampshire Services for $14,700 a year, while another proposal was sent by Christopher Demars of Upper Pioneer Valley Veterans Services in Greenfield for $9,000 a year.
Because of the job’s steep learning curve, the possibility of long hours, and inadequate compensation, the town also entered into an agreement with Central Hampshire Services, the Northampton-based regional veterans’ services agency, through the next four months.
“It’s a lot of work to learn how this system works, and then provide that every day and every month,” said Connor, the director of Central Hampshire. “You have to report every month all of your monies to the state, and you have to file VA claims for people…I want the Select Board to be realistic about what the job entails.”
The hope is for Letourneau to learn the ropes of the job with the help of Central Hampshire, and then when the Select Board puts the budget together, they can determine what is a realistic figure for the agent job based on the hours Letourneau works and the overall demands of the job.
“I like the idea of having a resident do this,” said Select Board chair Diana Syznal. “I have confidence in [Letourneau’s] ability to come up to speed with some support.”
According to Select Board member Ed Jaworski, the current caseload for the Hatfield agent is eight veterans, but the town’s agent is also responsible for meeting with residents and family members for burials, questions and other duties.
“Personally, I like the idea of having somebody in town to deal with our town veterans,” said Jaworski. “Joe being a town veteran, I think that’s even more important to the town of Hatfield.”
Central Hampshire assists veterans in multiple communities including Northampton, Williamsburg, Amherst, Pelham, Chesterfield, Cummington, Hadley, Middlefield and the VA Medical Center in Leeds.
Letourneau will serve the remainder of Clark’s term, which is until June. He will then return to the Select Board and determine whether he wants to continue with the position.