Erica Duran is a month into her job as the Lowndes County Veterans Services officer, but her preparation for the job began long ago and far away.
In 1999, the Santa Barbara, California, native enlisted in the U.S. Air Force. For the next 16 years she worked in personnel, assisting airmen and their families in a variety of ways, something she discovered was well-suited to her personality.
“It turned out to be a good fit for me,” Duran said. “I’ve always enjoyed working with people.”
After serving primarily in her native California and then Washington state, Duran made the biggest transition in her military career, moving to Starkville to serve as noncommissioned officer (NCO) in Mississippi State University’s Reserve Officer Training Corps program.
After five years at MSU and 21 years in the service, Duran decided to retire. By then, Mississippi felt like home.
“Being from California, the move to Mississippi kind of threw us for a loop at first,” said Duran, the mother of a 19-year daughter and 17-year-old son. “I had thought California was where we were going to retire. But I realized that I do love it here. It’s peaceful. As you get older, that becomes more important.”
When Lowndes County’s Veterans Service Officer Sharon Dollarhide left the position earlier this year, County Administrator Jay Fisher assembled a committee of veterans from the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars to search for a replacement.
Fisher, whose own 25-year Air Force career included a stint as vice wing commander at Columbus Air Force Base, knew what he was looking for and quickly discovered he had found it in Duran during her interview with the committee.
“I do think my background from a military standpoint helped,” Fisher said. “I knew the type of person we were looking for to be in the best position to help our veterans. It was pretty clear to me and the committee members that (Duran) had a passion for helping people, something she had been doing for 20 years. She was well-spoken, articulate and came from a background in the Air Force where she worked with all different kinds of issues. She seemed like the perfect fit.”
For Duran, the opening was a dream come true.
“When you leave the military, the big thing you have to do is figure out what you want to do with life, so this position seemed perfect because it was a way to still be a part of that veterans community and help people,” she said. “That really appealed to me.”
A little over a month into the job, Duran said the job is much as she imagined it to be.
“There really have been many surprises,” Duran said. “You do have to keep up with a lot of information because it does change. Every veteran is different, and their needs aren’t always the same.
“But in the end, this job is about working with people, getting them the information they need so they can get the services they need,” she added. “There are always questions when you separate from the service or retire, not just for the veteran but for the spouse and dependents, too. My job is to put them at ease, answer their questions and help them get the information they need to make good decisions about the services they are eligible for. The payoff for me is seeing the sense of relief a veteran has after we’ve met. It’s a good feeling to know you’ve helped.”
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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