Combat veteran takes the helm at non-profit

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The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for the first time is providing grants that fund services for both veterans and their families, and after a change in leadership, Veterans Outreach Center Inc. is ready to take advantage.
 
The Rochester-based non-profit organization selected a permanent president last week to replace its former leader, James McDonough, who left to become senior fellow for veterans affairs at the New York State Health Foundation. Since February the organization has been under the interim leadership of former Monroe County Court Judge Patricia Marks.
 
Col. Gary Yaple, an Afghanistan veteran and chief of staff for the 42nd Infantry Division of the National Guard, is to take the post beginning next month.
 
Yaple brings the right set of skills at the right time for the organization, said Robert Janson, VOC chairman.
 
"What stood out to us is not only his history of wonderful leadership but the fact that he’s a combat veteran, so he understands deeply what they’re going through and speaks their language," Janson said.
 
In his 26-year career in the military, Yaple also served as deputy commander of combined joint task force Phoenix in Kabul, Afghanistan. He was awarded the Bronze Star for his service during Operation Enduring Freedom.
 
Yaple joins VOC when the organization has expanded its services and expects more expansion in the coming year, Janson said. Last year, the organization was awarded a grant of nearly $1 million from the VA’s Supportive Services for Veterans Families program, allowing it to provide legal and financial services.
 
This funding represents a departure for the VA, which traditionally offered funding for veterans and not their families, Janson said. He expects the total pool of funding for this program to increase over the next few years.
 
"We were one of 85 organizations selected to receive the funding, and we expected to serve 500 veterans with it over the course of the year," he said. "We reached that number after only about eight months."
 
Janson said the organization is looking to expand its services across the state to cover gaps that other veteran service organizations do not fill. The expansion would allow groups that traditionally have not been served-such as family members or veterans with less than honorable discharges-to be connected to these services.
 
The expansion also would help VOC better handle the influx of veterans-some 30,000-expected in New York in the next few years, Janson said.
 
"The armed forces traditionally did not do a good job transitioning people out of service," he said. "We want something like a boot camp for life after the service, a one-stop shop where we can show them all the services and things we offer."
 
Before learning of the VOC job, Yaple had no intention of leaving the military, he said. But VOC’s former president, McDonough, who previously had served in the National Guard as inspector general, passed along news of the job opening to Yaple’s unit.
 
The announcement found its way to Yaple, who saw it as an opportunity to continue serving armed forces members.
 
"That struck me as, ‘Wow, what an opportunity,’" Yaple said. "I wasn’t actively looking for another job, but this was a great chance for me to transition from active service to civilian service but still be serving veterans."
 
The search process for a successor to McDonough was extensive, Janson said, with more than 100 applicants from all parts of the country. Finalists were asked to make a short presentation on one part of the organization’s mission, and Yaple impressed the search committee with his ideas on how to better serve not only veterans but their families, Janson added.
 
Yaple said that after taking over, his priority will be to make sure the organization remains community-centered and a central place for veterans and military personnel seeking services.
 
"I definitely think that maintaining the focus on our mission is the No. 1 priority," he said.
 
His first plans are to assess where the organization is headed and how it can provide services to all veterans. Yaple said he is interested in making sure the organization does all it can to reach out to female veterans, since in the past most services were geared toward their male counterparts.
 
Unemployment and homelessness also are pressing issues, Yaple noted. An estimated 40 percent of all homeless people are veterans, and he hopes to work with other organizations locally to combat the problem.
 
Yaple officially starts July 1 but has been busy speaking with members of the VOC executive team, Janson said.
 
Yaple said he still has a busy transition ahead with the National Guard, working with his successor and finishing officer evaluations, but he plans to make more time for VOC in the coming weeks.
 
"I’m planning on coming in on Flag Day and meeting with some of our staff and volunteers," Yaple said. "I think it’ll be a great opportunity to shake some hands and introduce myself to the community."
 
In the few days since the announcement of his appointment was made, Yaple said, he has been contacted by members of the community and representatives from veterans groups. The outpouring of support and suggestions has been heartening, Yaple said, and makes him optimistic about the job.
 
"I can’t wait to roll up my sleeves and get to work," he said.

6/1/12 (c) 2012 Rochester Business Journal. To obtain permission to reprint this article, call 585-546-8303 or email [email protected].