To the Journal editor:

April 1 culminates a career of service by Brad Slagle to the state of Michigan, the majority of which was spent serving veterans.

After 11 years with the Department of Corrections, Brad came to the Jacobetti Home for Veterans as the Business Manager, and later became the Administrator, serving in that capacity until 2016.

In 2016, Brad was asked by Director James Redford of the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency to serve as the interim CEO of the Veteran Health System, overseeing both Jacobetti and the Grand Rapids Home, planning the future for Michigan’s Veterans Homes. I’ve gotten to know Brad well over the past years; he hired me.

Brad has been an advocate for Jacobetti and the Upper Peninsula for many years, and a critical leader in ensuring the Home remains a valuable and effective resource for veterans throughout the Upper Peninsula and northern Michigan. Brad spent time as an advocate on the national level as well, serving as a leader in the National Association of State Veterans Homes, which represents veterans homes across the country.

In the association, he was instrumental at the national level in building partnerships with the federal VA, resolving issues, and helping to increase federal funding for disabled veterans in the U.P., Michigan, and in over 150 State Veterans Homes nationwide.

For the U.P., this has resulted in millions of dollars in funding over the years coming into Jacobetti and the Marquette community, improving veteran care.

You can’t replace a guy like Brad Slagle: you simply try to learn all you can from him, every piece of knowledge, and then emulate the service and excellence he achieved in three decades of service.

For me, that means serving our veterans and community, and being an advocate for Michigan’s U.P. Brad did that with honor, courage, and commitment throughout his career, and the Upper Peninsula is better because of it.

If you see Brad out in Marquette, congratulate him on a job well done, and a retirement well-deserved. The veterans homes have lost a valuable resource with his retirement, but Marquette is keeping a retiree and man of service in its community.

Brad spent the last three decades serving others, specifically, Michigan veterans. I’m guessing you’ll see him continuing to serve in retirement.

Well done, Brad.