To celebrate Veterans Day and honor military service, the University of South Florida St. Petersburg will host its 6th annual Veterans Expo on Friday, November 9. This year, U.S. Representative Charlie Crist (D-St. Petersburg), St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman and University and local leaders will welcome an expected 600 veterans and their family members to campus.
The focus, as it has been every year, is on recognizing veterans’ service, educating on benefits available and discussing and finding solutions to major issues impacting the community in Tampa Bay.
“We launched the Expo so all veterans and the local community know we have a veteran’s presence in downtown St. Pete and on the USFSP campus,” said Milton White, Coordinator of USFSP’s Military & Veterans Success Center. “The event also serves to recognize veterans on our campus, letting them know that we appreciate their service and haven’t forgotten what they have given for our country.”
The expo will feature a number of vendors and veteran organizations that directly provide programs related to employment, mental health or homelessness; a town hall between veterans and the Pinellas County Community Veterans Engagement Board on relevant issues; a Mobile Service Center where veterans can look up their benefits with a representative from the Veterans Administration; and a mobile health clinic that will provide health checkups, flu shots and other medical services.
A new element in this year’s Expo is a ceremony honoring the 187th Helicopter Assault Company, a highly decorated aviation company from the Vietnam War. The Company consists of more than 100 veterans from around the nation. They, along with family members, meet annually, making it one of the largest single company Vietnam era reunions in the country.
The University of South Florida System is consistently recognized nationally for its commitment to the success of student veterans. Military Times magazine ranked USF as the second-best school in the nation – among 500 four year-public and private institutions – for student veterans.
At USFSP, there are more than 600 student veterans and dependents, making up 10 percent of the student population. This Expo provides those students with an opportunity to understand the services and programs they can access locally while also meeting with other Veterans throughout the region.
“It really is a chance to come together as a community, for us to get to know leaders and veterans in the area, as well as let them know about what we are doing here on campus for veterans,” said Jon Rowles, president of the University’s Student Veterans Organization (SVO).
Rowles added that SVO, a service-orientated campus organization, is focusing its efforts on reducing barriers for student veterans to complete their degrees. For example, working with a charity, they have been able to provide subsidized housing for several veterans, and have spent several weekends going to the house to fix up rooms and clean the yard. SVO will also host a car show the day after the Expo with the Veterans of South Pinellas to raise funds for future initiatives that will give student veterans a greater chance to graduate.
USF St. Petersburg Regional Chancellor Martin Tadlock said that he is proud the University is doing so much to honor veterans and ensure that student veterans, like himself, succeed.
“The U.S. military provided the direction for my life,” said Tadlock, who served in the U.S. Air Force, where he was stationed in Charleston, S.C. and Turkey. “It opened up many opportunities for me, just as it has done for thousands of other people, including many of our students.”