| Steve Wilkinson recently completed his certification with the National Veterans Training Institute. He is the local veterans’ employment representative for Carbon and Emery counties. Wilkinson can be reached at the Utah Department of Workforce Services office in Price and makes monthly visits to offices in Green River and Castle Dale. |
Steve Wilkinson received the Department of Workforce Services’ Eagle Award, which is presented to a select group of local veterans’ employment representatives throughout the state.
He loves his job as LVER for Carbon and Emery counties. He has a passion and commitment to veterans services which is displayed in his everyday work. In January he attended the National Veterans Training Institute in Colorado and upon his return eagerly completed the online assignments to receive his certificate and seal.
Wilkinson has fostered great relationships with many agencies and businesses including the local veterans’ vocational rehabilitation office and the Bureau of Land Management.
Wilkinson has successfully referred and developed jobs with local and out-of-state employers placing multiple veterans with various employers. These jobs have included high-paying mining and mining related jobs.
Other vets are attending or have attended training with funding secured through Wilkinson. He has used funding to purchase equipment which put a local vet to work at a high wage.
He became very knowledgeable about disability benefits and word of his knowledge has spread. Recently an 85-year-old World War II female veteran called and met with Steve to see if he could help her financial situation. She was eligible for benefits she didn’t even know about and is now comfortably supporting herself. She has told several widows of vets and Steve is filling the gap of services to widows of vets that apparently existed in the Carbon-Emery area.
He also has developed a good relationship with the VA hospital in order to be knowledgeable about the medical services provided by them to veterans. There is a flyer in his cubicle explaining that transportation to medical services can also be arranged.
Wilkinson found an ally with the Sun Advocate which is running ads about services he can provide, ads about hiring vets first and ads for service officers visiting here. He was asked to give a presentation at the local Active Re-Entry on his services. That has generated several requests for presentations at other agencies and areas.
Currently Wilkinson is serving 109 vets in Carbon County, visiting the DWS office in Castle Dale once per month, and is now by request going to Green River once per month.