By Max Bowen-max.bowen@northstarreporter.com
Citing a need to focus on health and family, Veterans Agent Rebecca Jennings has announced her resignation.
Jennings spoke of her intention to step down at a recent Veterans Advisory Board meeting. Her last day will be March 11, after which she’ll be moving to a similar role in Somerset.
“I need to reduce the amount of stress in my life,” said Jennings at the meeting. “I’ve had two recent deaths and they are hitting my family a lot harder than expected. I need to focus on my health and my family.”
Jennings’ role has already been posted internally and will soon be opened to external candidates.
“Whoever they hire to replace me will step it up a notch and do a lot of things,” said Jennings, who served in the National Guard.
Speaking after the meeting, Jennings said that she went back and forth on the choice to resign. Jennings said she has loved working in North Attleborough, but knew this was the right decision.
Jennings has been the town’s Veterans Agent since 2015. Though the role was initially centered on North Attleborough, over the years she began to hear from Plainville and Wrentham veterans who needed help with services. Both towns only have part-time veterans agents. Jennings spoke with the state’s Department of Veterans Services and local officials, eventually creating a new district office with the three communities.
“This allows us to combine forces,” said Jennings of the three towns.
Prior to North Attleborough, Jennings was part of the Department of Defense as a state consultant for Massachusetts. In this role she worked on community outreach and pulled together resources for military family members. She has also worked for the Army National Guard to arrange resources while family members were deployed.
“I’ve always been focused on veterans and families,” she said.
Somerset is bordered by Swansea and Dighton and is considerably smaller than North Attleborough. Jennings said the community already has an active veterans community, with an American Legion and VFW post. She hopes to recreate events such as the Christmas and Fourth of July parties—which she helped run—in Swansea. She spoke of starting a television or radio show, as she has done with the Veterans Forum program on North TV.
“It’ll be creating something from the ground up,” said Jennings.
