New leadership for veterans’ organization

The new Marion County Veterans Helping Veterans USA leadership team, includes, from left, CEO Steve Petty, President Todd Belknap, board chair Bob Levenson and board member and Ocala City Councilman James Hilty Sr. [Photo by Andy Fillmore]

The new leadership team at Marion County Veterans Helping Veterans USA promises a new era of services and support for those who served.

“We’re going to throw open the windows and invite the community to visit us. We also are seeking more volunteers from the community. This is a new beginning built on the previous foundation,” said Todd Belknap who took over the reins of presidency on Jan. 9.

MCVHV was established in 1997 and incorporated in 2002. The organization was established and headed by Hank Whittier until Jan. 9, when he submitted a letter of resignation, Belknap said.

MCVHV is located inside the Marion County Veterans Resource Center at 2730 E Silver Springs Blvd., Suite 200, Ocala. The organization offers a food pantry, case managers and help with utility and rent payments as well as navigating Veterans Administration benefits. Belknap likens it to an emergency help agency poised to help veterans with comprehensive services.

“A veteran with any emergency can come into MCVHV. We’re non-judgmental. No veteran will leave here without getting help,” Belknap said.

Belknap, 61, previously deputy director of MCVHV, is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran from 1982 to 1990. He is joined by incoming Chairman Bob Levenson, a USMC veteran from 1963 to 1966 and incoming CEO Steve Petty, a U.S. Army veteran of the Vietnam War.

Petty, who is with the Marion County Memorial Honor Guard, is a Purple Heart, Bronze Star and Silver Star recipient, with 1,000 helicopter combat missions, 1,261 hours in combat and 41 Air Medals.

Belknap, Levenson and Petty have been active in the local veteran community and also currently serve in leadership positions with the Veterans Resource Center. Belknap’s most recent prior position was information officer with Friends of Marion County’s Veterans Park and Levenson serves as director of the Marion County Memorial Honor Guard.

Ocala City Councilman James Hilty Sr., a Vietnam War veteran, has joined the MCVHV board of directors. Marion County Board of County Commissioners Public Relations Manager Stacie Causey stated in an email that County Commissioner Craig Curry serves as a liaison between the county and local veterans’ organizations.

The Ocala Vet Center is a Veterans Administration provided service that offers counseling and referrals on PTSD, depression and the effects of military sexual trauma to qualified veterans, including those who served in combat. The center has an office at 3300 SW 34th Ave., Ocala, and satellite offices and qualification information is available at va.gov. MCVHV plans to host a representative of the Ocala Vet Center at the Veteran Resource Center one or more days a week, Belknap stated.

Belknap said MCVHV will strive to help veterans including those recently deployed and now home.

Berny Medina is MCVHV’s new chief of operations. His service in the Army spanned from 2005 to 2018 and included deployments to the Philippines, Afghanistan and the Republic of Chad, and two deployments to Iraq.

Medina began volunteering at MCVHV in November of 2024. He brings his insight as a Global War on Terrorism veteran to the outreach. He said he understands the plight of younger veterans who return home and “feel abandoned and that they’ve lost purpose and friends.”

“I’ve lost friends I served with to cancer and more to drugs and suicide,” Medina stated.

Additional services planned by MCVHV include a new on-site computer lab for veterans, budgeting help and referrals for those with traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder, according to Belknap.

He said the new leadership team also aims to raise awareness of the mission of MCVHV and foster cooperation among the many local veterans’ groups in Marion County. MCVHV works closely with the Marion County Veterans Service Office and the Veterans Resource Center. All three outreaches are located in the same building.

MCVHV will refer veterans to the Veterans Resource Center for the Galleri blood test for early cancer detection, which is being provided by the Veterans Resource Center to qualified veterans through grants from HUD and the Marion County Hospital District.

Last year, about a ton a month of food and hygiene products were distributed from the on-site food pantry, according to an MCVHV official. Belknap said MCVHV purchases some food from Second Harvest Food Bank of Marion County for .19 cents per pound and that food is donated by private parties and local merchants. The pantry now also stocks some pet foods donated by Chuck’s Piggy Bank, an Ocala based not-for-profit pet care outreach.

Petty said MCVHV has roughly a $500,000 budget and that 93.2 % of each grant or donation dollar goes to assist clients.

MCVHV board member Tom Duffy recently issued a request to the public for volunteers.

“Volunteers are sought for hospitality/reception, food pantry, case management and administrative positions. You do not have to be a veteran to volunteer with us. Only a servant’s heart to help a few hours a day or a few hours a week to serve veterans and their families in their time of need,” Duffy wrote.

MCVHV can be reached at (352) 433-2320 or by visiting the office.