CHAMBERSBURG – Justin Slep, director of Franklin County Veterans Affairs, has been awarded the Pennsylvania Commendation Medal for his service to the commonwealth through the Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.
Pennsylvania Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Mark Schindler presented Slep with the commendation during the Pennsylvania Veterans Commission’s December meeting.
Slep received recognition for “providing exceptionally meritorious service” while serving as the president of the Pennsylvania State Association of County Directors, as the chairman of the Real Estate Exemption Committee and as a sitting member of the Pennsylvania State Veterans Commission from June 2020 to June 2022. An official citation said Slep’s “contribution demonstrated commendable service and reflects great credit upon himself, the Pennsylvania State Veterans Commission, the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.”
The Department of Military and Veterans Affairs acknowledged Slep “for his dedication and faithful service as a member from September 2020 to September 2022” noting he was “instrumental in improving the role of Veteran Advocates throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.”
Slep is the Franklin County’s director of Veterans Affairs. Under his leadership since July 2014, the department has increased its efforts to offer the best possible services and resources to the more than 13,000 veterans who call Franklin County home. That includes growing community outreach, adding therapeutic programs, establishing a free food distribution service, and helping veterans receive more than $20.3 million in federal disability compensation and benefits, a boost of over $16 million in just eight years.
“We are indebted to Justin for the work he does on behalf of Franklin County veterans and veterans everywhere,” said Commissioner Dave Keller. “Justin puts his heart into his work and it’s evident in the lives he has touched and the difference he has made since coming on board in 2014.”
