It is sometimes a tedious task to cover the Lycoming County Commissioner’s Meetings, but Thursday, June 13th was not one of those times. In fact, to be honest, I personally was never more proud of my county than I was through that meeting.

It began with a presentation of Job Well Done pins awarded to 109 county employees and law enforcement officers that supported President Trump’s visit on May 20th. The Montoursville Police Chief Jeffrey Gyurina was notified of the presidential visit at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, May 14th, and less than an hour later it was on social media! Amazingly, some twenty different departments ranging from the Pennsylvania State Police, local police departments, sheriff’s department, and county detectives all coordinated together seamlessly. River Valley Transit was called upon to provide transportation to avoid massive traffic jams. Coordination also took place with the Williamsport Regional Airport, County 911, area fire chiefs, the Civil Air Patrol, and Penn College. The logistics and integration of so many moving parts are almost impossible to imagine, yet everyone agreed it went off seamlessly. Even the Secret Service was impressed by how well Lycoming County protected and provided for the President and his family and for the thousands who came out to see him.

And the general public does deserve a pat on the back. Law enforcement noted that the crowd was incredibly well behaved. When the President boarded Air Force One, it would be natural that there would be a mad dash of people fighting to get on the buses. However, the State Police noted that the people simply lined up and patiently waited their turn. And even more amazing, when the cleaning crew came by the next day — there was nothing to clean up! That is quite a compliment to the 25-30,000 folks who came to see and hear the President.

Another recognition was for the retirement of George Heiges, director of the Lycoming County Veteran Affairs Department. Since graduating from Montgomery Area High School in 1980, George has always been serving. From twenty-one years with the USAF, including action in Operation Desert Storm and Desert Shield, to seven years with Louisiana law enforcement that included the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, he found his way back to Lycoming County where he has served for eight years.

It is impossible to describe how transformational George Heiges has been to the county’s Veteran Affairs Office. In his administration, the support for veterans has more than doubled. In fact, Lycoming County has brought in more funds for veterans than any county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania — each year for the last five years! And it is not because Lycoming County has more vets as, for example, Bucks County has four times the number of our county, yet their benefit reports are less than half of Lycoming County. George Heiges and his staff just work four times harder.

But it goes beyond the money; it was also about honor. He worked on bringing back the Veterans Parade to the county. He is very proud of the fact that there has never been a vet in Lycoming County who has died waiting to see a doctor. His office is a shrine to those who he has helped in one way or another. George bragged that he had the best job in the world — helping vets. It was with great reluctance; he is stepping down due to a serious back problem. He will be sorely missed.

To 109 dedicated public servants who at the last minute went above and beyond to protect and serve at a presidential rally, to the thousands of attendees who acted respectively and responsibly, to an individual who has honored those who have served our military for the past decade in an exemplary way — it makes a person proud to be part of Lycoming County.