Sherry Golden Named WilCo Veterans Services Director

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, TX — Sherry Golden has been named director of the Williamson County Veterans Services Department, officials announced on Thursday.

No stranger to the department, Golden has worked at veterans services since December 2013, including as a certified and accredited assistant county veteran service officer since April 2017. Most recently, she completed a national course of instruction in Veterans’ Benefits provided by the National Association of County Veterans Service Officers, county officials noted.

As the Veterans Services director, she will oversee a staff of five employees serving some 37,600 veterans and their family members in Williamson County by filing Veterans Affairs claims. Williamson County Veterans Services is in the top 10 counties in the state of Texas for the distribution of Veterans Affairs benefits, officials said, with a total of $302 million in fiscal year 2018.

Golden referenced her family pedigree as an added attribute informing her duties: “My grandfather was in the Army in WWII. My father was a Marine in Vietnam, and my husband is a Navy Veteran of Desert Storm,” she said in a prepared statement.

Memories of the assistance her father received in filing claims by a county veteran service officer in Bonham, Texas, has served to further solidify commitment to her own role, she suggested: “My heart in veterans services has stemmed from the wonderful service that my father received from the county veteran service officer from Bonham, Texas. Her service to him was extremely important and helpful to him and our family."

Seeing the impact of such work helped propel her career, she noted: “When the opportunity arose for me to be a part of helping other Veterans, I immediately knew where I needed to be. It is an honor and a privilege to assist veterans and their families as the county service officer, just as that county veteran services assisted mine.”

County Judge Bill Gravell counts himself as a fan of Golden, whose surname seems apt in suggesting something of a gold standard of service: “We want all of our employees to be as inspired and excited as Sherry Golden is about her new position,” he said in a prepared statement. “What our Veterans Services Department will do under her direction will be unmatched in the State of Texas and will set a new standard for veterans services.”