MANCHESTER – A county satellite office for veteran services has been in the works for a while and now it is official. The new office based at 82 Lacey Road in Whiting received some fanfare with a ribbon cutting ceremony that involved several public officials.
G.R. Philip Zimmerman, the director of the Ocean County Veterans Service Bureau, served as master of ceremonies and noted the event featured two color guards, the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department Color Guard and the Leisure Knoll Veterans Club’s Color Guard.
A special blessing was provided by Reverend Peter Hartney, the pastor of Saint Paul Lutheran Church. Ocean County Commissioner Barbara “Bobbi” Jo Crea was also present at the event.
Township Mayor Robert Arace welcomed the audience that was largely made up of veterans and their family members to the occasion. “In the beginning of the year we noticed an area of need in the Whiting side of Manchester Township. We have the highest number of retirees, 55 plus and the highest population of veterans that have served in every major conflict.”
Members of the Manchester Township governing body, the mayor’s staff, the Ocean County Board of Commissioners, the Ocean County Veterans Service Bureau and others assemble for a ribbon cutting ceremony held for the grand opening of the Ocean County Veterans Service Bureau Satellite Office in Whiting. (Photo by Bob Vosseller)
The mayor added, “what you could see in getting services for our seniors and veterans is that they had to travel some distance to get there – whether it be Toms River or somewhere else in Ocean County to the VA in Toms River. It needed to be in Whiting and extremely accessible. We wanted to have access to the administration and an aide to the mayor to be accessible and that is Judy Noonan who is our senior liaison who brings concerns to the mayor.”
“Our senior services were only available on one side of town which didn’t make much sense because most of the folks utilizing those services were coming all the way from Whiting so we want to access senior services here and the culmination of all of this is having Ocean County Veterans Services making themselves available at this location and many, many folks allowed this to happen,” he added.
Mayor Arace credited Ocean County Commissioner Deputy Director Gary Quinn who he said, “has been steadfast in his support to help get this done and Phil Zimmerman as well and I especially want to thank Judy Noonan who fought for this every day and Vice Council President James Vaccaro as well.”
He thanked the members of the town’s Veterans Advisory Committee and the Leisure Knoll delegation for their support.
Quinn, who serves as liaison to the Ocean County Veterans Service Bureau gave thanks to “Mayor Arace, the Manchester Council the staff of Manchester Township and to our Veterans Services Bureau their leader Phil Zimmerman, who all worked hard to get this up and running and a special thanks to Judy Noonan who has done a tremendous job. I always consider Judy to be my pit bull. Whenever there is an issue, she sticks her teeth into it. She works hard to fulfill that obligation.”
Mike Magliocco, the president of the Leisure Knoll Veterans Club, speaks during the opening of the Whiting location of the Ocean County Veterans Service Bureau’s office on Lacey Road. (Photo by Bob Vosseller)
He noted that Ocean County has the highest veterans population in the state. “More than 30,000 veterans call Ocean County their home. As they age and need help, it can be a very challenging system to access the benefits that each and every one of them deserve. That is what brings us here today,” Quinn added.
Zimmerman added his thanks to those involved with the afternoon program and also commended Noonan who is Mayor Arace’s confidential aide. He also thanked the members of the two color guards for participating in the event.
Mike Magliocco, the president of the Leisure Knoll Veterans Club wasn’t on the schedule to speak but Zimmerman gave him the opportunity to say a few words about the occasion.
An audience largely made up of veterans and their spouses await the start of the grand opening of the Ocean County Veterans Service Bureau Satellite Office. (Photo by Bob Vosseller)
“Veterans served with pride to protect you. As veterans we expect respect and support,” Magliocco said.
The new Whiting office will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. The Ocean County Veterans Service Bureau has three other locations as well that include Toms River which has hours from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday thru Friday at 1027 Hooper Avenue Building # 2; Ocean County College on Mondays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the OCC Office of Veteran & Military Resources Building #8; and in Manahawkin from Monday thru Friday at 179 South Main Street Manahawkin. For an appointment to those locations call 732-929-2096.
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