Jasper County could hire retired Marshalltown officer as new VA director

Jasper County Veterans Affairs may have found its next director. Of the seven applicants who were interviewed by a selection committee this past month, the top recommendation from the group was a Marine veteran and retired police officer from Marshalltown. The committee recommended him to the commission.

Ramon Maxey was accepted to be the next director of the department by the Jasper County Veterans Affairs Commission at a special meeting on March 6, but the final approval will have to come from the board of supervisors at an upcoming meeting. The commission recommended him to the board in a unanimous vote.

In addition to being a 24-year Marine veteran, his unit during the last years of his service worked as a transition unit for Marines separating after their enlistment was completed. Maxey is not a veterans service officer, but he has a good understanding of the systems within veterans affairs.

Dennis Simon, director of human resources for Jasper County, said he received 19 qualified applications. He distributed copies to all of the commissioners with the exception of Katherine Thompson, whose spouse had also applied for the position. Commissioners provided Simon with their top candidates.

“I went through the list of names and anyone who appeared on two or more lists got slotted for an interview,” Simon said. “…I think we had some very good candidates. We definitely learned a lot about individuals, interesting experiences and stuff. But when it came down to it, we had two top candidates.”

By the time the committee thought about scheduling additional interviews, one of the applicants withdrew their application. Simon said the potential evening activities and other outreach events that would come with the job dissuaded the candidate; they did not feel they could commit the time.

Maxey was chosen as the top choice as a result. Simon said one of the questions the committee asked Maxey was how to make the veterans affairs office more visible and known in the community and to veterans. Simon said Maxey had some pretty good ideas and then emailed more ideas afterward.

Following his tenure in the Marines, he worked at the Marshalltown Police Department and has since retired. Simon said Maxey’s experience with deescalation training could come in handy. Maxey is currently working for a subcontracted security service providing armed security at UnityPoint Healthl.

“I think we’re all very pleased and impressed with his answers and responses,” Simon said. “Our other two commission-committee members, Lt. (Mike) Gunsaulus and (Jasper County) Board of Supervisors Chairman (Brandon) Talsma are all very favorable of this individual.”

Veterans affairs has been without a director/administrator since December 2024.

The commission terminated former administrator Alyssa Wilson after the county conducted an internal investigation into her working habits. The report alleged she arrived late, left early, had extended lunch periods and other breaks and even falsified her timesheets.