Katie Ginger is new O'Brien County VA admin

She doesn't have a military background, but that hasn't stopped Katie Ginger from helping local veterans obtain the services they need.

The Hartley woman took over as administrator of O'Brien County Veteran Affairs last month after three months of training. She succeeded Roy Wohlert, also of Hartley, who hung it up at year's end.

"I've enjoyed talking with veterans and getting to know them, and I love being involved and coordinating events," Ginger said. "It's been going good."

Ginger previously worked as a nurse and most recently as a contractor with the VA for nearly two years. She dealt with records and claim processing, which was done remotely from home.

So far, she's enjoyed getting out of the house and interacting with people.

"What interested me was being back out in the community and not working remotely. Being more involved was important," she said. "I was thankful

for [working from home] in the moment during the pandemic, but it's hard to stay motivated when you're always at home."

Community outreach is a big priority for Ginger right now. Last week, she held a meet-and-greet event with local veterans at Grounded in Hartley and is planning more things in the future.

"They told me when I was hired that they didn't want me to be sedentary. They were really big on that and wanted me to go find my clients," Ginger said. "You have to work with people to make it work for them."

Day-to-duties in the VA administrator's office vary. Primarily, Ginger helps local veterans access the services they're entitled to while also handling records requests and other situations.

According to the most recent records, there are around 1,000 military veterans residing within O'Brien County.

"Everything is definitely different and there's different avenues you have to take with each one," she said. "Generally, I make clients aware of what's available and help them with their benefits."

Recently, Ginger started helping with duties related to general relief, which provides assistance to qualifying individuals and families who need help with rent, utilities or burial expenses. The program is designed to provide short-term emergency assistance to people experiencing a financial crisis that are unable to be supported by their own means, relatives, or other public and private sources.

Accordingly, Ginger's office recently added Monday to its list of open hours. She is now available Monday through Thursday, from 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

She's enjoyed her new role so far and is looking forward to meeting new people.

"Learning everything was pretty fast and I grasped things quickly. We had a good flow of veterans coming and different things to deal with," she said. "I'm enjoying talking with veterans and getting to know them. It's been exciting and interesting."