Warden Named Veteran of the Month and Simons Named Veteran Supporter of the Month

We would like to congratulate John Warden for being named Veteran of the Month (VOM) and Wendy Simons as Veteran Supporter of the Month (VSM) of September. Due to the risk of coronavirus exposure, special ceremonies to honor and recognize the VOM and VSM will be postponed until it is safe to resume them once again.

Warden served in the U.S. Marine Corps and following his service he has been incredibly involved in the veteran community. Warden has been a committed and supportive member of the veteran community in northern Nevada. He is an active member of several veteran service organizations such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans, Marine Corps League, American Legion, and United Veterans Legislative Council.  He has held leadership positions in many of these organizations and actively builds relationships to support veterans. Warden also helps veterans outside of the organizations volunteering his time as a Certified Public Accountant to help veterans with their taxes, he also helps many of the organizations with their annual IRS reporting. He also serves as a member of the United Veterans Legislation Council (UVLC), a politically neutral council open to all Nevada veterans, military and their families. He has been active with the UVLC since its inception and has helped shape favorable veterans’ legislation.

Warden is an active member of the wider community. He serves as a leader of the local 4H program, Future Farmers of America, Nevada Artist Association Gallery, and as volunteer Court Appointed Special Advocate. He donates his time and money to both Boys and Girls State of Nevada. In his spare time, Warden is a talented photographer with an eye for detail. He has donated his time to take professional photographs for individual veterans, as well as events for veteran organizations. His most recent donation was to the Northern Nevada State Veterans Home where eight of his photos are displayed.

Wendy Simons recently retired from the Nevada Department of Veteran Services (NDVS), where she served as the Deputy Director for Health and Wellness. During her tenure, she went above and beyond in providing support for veterans and the military in both her professional capacity and in her off time.  Simons was instrumental in the State’s efforts to create the Northern Nevada State Veterans Home(NNSVH), spearheading efforts to redefine the VA’s definition of a community’s bed need and collaborating with the local community and contractors vital for the construction of the facility. She also developed the department’s “Welcome Home Letter” that is sent to returning service members informing them of the benefits available to them. Simons also championed an educational program to provide military medics work credit towards gaining a civilian LPN credential and developed the State’s Veterans in Care Recognition program to recognize aging veterans living in community care environments across the State. Simons worked to develop and launch a training program, Bravo Zulu, to educate health care professionals and other caregivers about military culture and military behaviors in aging veterans with the goal of creating better healthcare interactions between health care professionals and veterans receiving healthcare services. 

Not only did Simons go above and beyond in her position, but she also worked tirelessly after work hours to support the veteran community. Her efforts included recruiting family members and friends to participate in the “Wreaths Across America” event at the Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery. She participated in the annual Veterans Day parade as Master of Ceremony, recruiting her family and friends and members of Nevada Department of Veterans Services to create a float for the parade and invited an elderly woman veteran to ride on it.  In 2019, Simons also arranged for several veterans to participate in Veterans Night at the Reno Rodeo with these gentlemen to participate in a special carriage ride around the arena with great pomp and circumstance.  In her retirement, Simons continues to volunteer within the community and interact with veteran groups to advocate for their needs, most recently hosting a radio talk show on suicide prevention activities.

Throughout her life and most recently throughout her service to the State of Nevada, Simons has reached out to involve and, literally, embrace members of the military community, veterans and their family members by greeting everyone with a hug and a smile.  Through her many interactions with veterans, young and old, she has taken the time to understand their unique needs and connected these individuals with community resources to fulfill those needs.  In her retirement.

The Veteran of the Month is awarded to veterans across Nevada who have gone above and beyond the call of duty, specifically with respect to volunteer work in support of veterans and the military. The Veteran Supporter of the Month award recognizes both organizations and non-veteran Nevada community members who support military members stationed in Nevada, Nevada veterans, and their families. Both programs shine a bright light on individuals and organizations that help military members, veterans, and their families with no expectation of recognition or award.

The Veteran of the Month and Veteran Supporter of the Month ceremony has been postponed. The Nevada Department of Veterans Services will provide information on re-scheduling once this unprecedented health crisis is over.

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