New AMVETS facility opens in Struthers

STRUTHERS

AMVETS Post 44’s new post home and career center are a vital resource for veterans and the community, said Ohio National Guard Sgt. 1st Class Teddy Kester, Post 44 commander.

A grand opening and ribbon cutting for the facility at 305 Elm St., which housed the former Struthers Baptist Tabernacle Church until it closed five years ago, was conducted Wednesday.

Among the speakers were AMVETS National 1st Vice Commander Cleve Geer of Florida and AMVETS Department of Ohio Commander Jim Graham. John P. “J.P.” Brown III of Boardman, former

AMVETS state and national commander, was master of ceremonies.

AMVETS Career Centers offer training and employment assistance for veterans and active service members, including the National Guard and reserves, for free. They can learn computer skills and also use the center to attend college online.

Their families also can use the center, but for a fee, said Kester, a full-time active-duty ONG recruiter and an instructor in Youngstown State University’s Reserve Officer Training Corps program.

Max. S. Blachman, a representative of U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, called the 25-percent unemployment rate among young veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan a “national tragedy.”

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