The Polk County Veterans Benefit Fair will be held on Friday, March 31, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Crookston National Guard Armory.
There will be over 20 vendors at the fair, and Polk County Veterans Affairs Director Kurt Ellefson said he guarantees all veterans that come to the armory will learn something new. “We have 22 vendors that come and provide information and maybe benefits and stuff to give away for veterans,” said Ellefson. “It’s not just for veterans. It is also for veteran advocates, family of veterans, people interested in veteran benefits, or people that want to be vendors at the event and want to connect to other vendors. Every year you go to this, you’re going to learn something new, like learning about a benefit or something they didn’t know about by going to this event. It is definitely important to go every year.”
Veteran benefits are always changing, and it makes attending the veteran fair even more valuable. “There are always changes to benefits,” said Ellefson. “The PACT Act just went into effect on January 1. There are a lot of changes for Thailand vets now presumed to have been exposed to agent orange and changes for Guam vets. There are so many changes that happen all the time, so it is good to make sure you are checking up on yourself and your own benefits. This event is perfect for that because we are all in one spot.”
The 22 vendors that will be at the event are below-
1. Options
2. Veterans Outreach-Vet Centers (VA)
3. Senior Linkage
4. Veterans Gratitude booth
5. VA- Million Veteran Program
6. Ucare
7. Honor Flight
8. Polk County Public Health
9. Polk County Social Services
10. VA Veterans Homeless Program
11. VA Suicide Prevention
12. VA Mental Health
13. MN DEED (Department of Employment and Economic Development)
14. VA- Volunteers and Donations DEPT.
15. MN Department of Natural Resources
16. Tri-Valley
17. VFW and VFW auxiliary
18. DAV Chapter 14
19. Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs Education Specialists
20. North Dakota Job Service
21. Lutheran Social Services
22. Northwest Minnesota County Veteran Service Officers
The fair will also serve a free lunch for the veterans and their families.
The Polk County Benefits Fair is free to the public, especially veterans and their families. If you have any questions about the event or would like to be a vendor, you can reach Kurt Ellefson and the Polk County Veterans office at 218-281-3066.
