Iraq vet to train as Carbon veterans affairs director

Carbon County’s veterans will soon see a new face when they visit the Veterans Affairs office in Jim Thorpe.

On Thursday, the county commissioners voted to hire Christine M. LeClair of Lansford as the director trainee for the Veterans Affairs office, effective Sept. 16.

LeClair, a veteran, will learn under current director Henry Desrosiers, who is retiring from the post on Dec. 2.

“I am humbled to have been given the opportunity to serve the veterans of Carbon County,” LeClair said Friday morning. “It is such an honor to have been selected for this position and I truly appreciate the support of my family, friends and fellow veterans. I have always had a lot of respect for Henry and the work that he does within our community and I am looking forward to working with him over the next few months to learn the complexities of the job.

“Veterans face many unique issues in the years following their service to our nation and I hope to provide them with the knowledge, resources and support that they deserve to overcome these obstacles.”

“I’m grateful that the commissioners granted my request to get the process started early so the transition would be a smooth one,” Desrosiers said, noting that three candidates were interviewed for the position. “Upon finding out that Christine was hired, I immediately knew that the transition will be an easy one. She is already active with many veteran and local civic organizations and I know she will be able to extend services from this office.

“She is a firm believer in ‘God and Country’ and she will represent the county in a professional manner,” he added. “When I was first hired, I was told I had big shoes to fill. My reply was I only had my shoes to fill. Christine will do the same. Glad to welcome her aboard.”

The commissioners created a special board comprised of five area veterans, Desrosiers and themselves to conduct the interviews and find the best candidate for the position, Commissioner Thomas J. Gerhard said.

LeClair served two tours in Iraq and one tour in Central America, where she worked on counternarcotics missions, traveling to Belize, Guatemala and El Salvador to work with their militaries in the hopes of stopping drug cartels that were trying to transport drugs into the United States, before returning to the Panther Valley area.

She is the mother of two children and is very active in a number of service organizations, including as the vice commander and a service officer for American Legion Post 123 in Lansford; a trustee in the Legion Home Association; a Carbon County Outreach representative for the Valor Clinic Foundation; the secretary for both the St. Vincent de Paul Society and Parish Pastoral Council of St. Joseph Church; a veteran mentor for Carbon County Veterans Court; is on the board of directors for the Panther Valley Public Library; and a VFW and American Legion Auxiliary member.