Sentinel file photo
James ‘Jimmy’ Conway has been rehired as the veterans affairs officer for Mifflin County.

LEWISTOWN — Long before James “Jimmy” Conway was officially rehired on Monday as the veterans affairs officer in Mifflin County, the work of serving veterans had already found its way back into his life.

Even as he stepped into a new role with the Pennsylvania Game Commission, even as he discovered a surprising passion for teaching wildlife programs, the needs of local veterans stayed with him. They were the stories he carried, the responsibilities he never stopped feeling, the work that never quite let go.

“I really enjoy it a lot,” Conway said. “Getting veterans the benefits they deserve — that’s what matters.”

For Conway, the work has never been about a title or a county office. It has always been about the people who sit across from him, often unsure of where to begin, sometimes unaware of what they’re entitled to, and almost always carrying more than they say. He remembers what it felt like to navigate the system himself. He remembers how confusing it was. And he remembers how much it mattered when someone helped him through it.

“The biggest surprise was that veterans did not know what benefits were available to them and how they could qualify,” he said. “Having gone through the benefit funding process does make it easier to help other veterans.”

That lived understanding — that shared experience — is what brought him back.

Conway first took over the office in November 2020, and the impact was immediate. In the 2020-21 fiscal year, he secured more than $936,000 in benefits for local veterans or their spouses. From July 2021 to June 2022, that number rose to $1.71 million. From July 2022 to June 2023, he helped veterans obtain another $1.25 million. Before he arrived, the office had processed a combined $1.91 million from 2016 to 2020.

County officials noticed the difference. Commissioner Kevin Kodish praised Conway’s work during his first tenure, noting his dedication and rapport with the veterans who came through the door. Kodish said Conway’s own service gave him a deep appreciation for the sacrifices of the county’s veterans and helped him connect with them in ways that mattered.

Even after Conway left the position last year, that connection never faded.

He returned to state work and eventually accepted a new role with the Pennsylvania Game Commission. It was a job he didn’t expect to love, but one that revealed something surprising.

“When I did it, I fell in love with teaching. I didn’t know that,” Conway said during a March 11 presentation to the Towpath Naturalist Society of Mifflin and Juniata County. “It’s amazing how when you don’t want to do something, you might have a passion for something.”

His path to that moment had been winding. “I originally came to Mifflin County in 1995,” he told the group. “In 2018, I started working for the Game Commission, both part-time and full-time, as a dispatcher and deputy game warden. I did that for a few years. Then I had another opportunity to come around and work with Veteran Affairs, where I was a county director of Veteran Affairs for five years.”

That job, he said, was meaningful. But something kept pulling him back toward the outdoors. “Then I went back to the state, and then the Game Commission offered me a position doing this,” he said. “The reason why I like this is I’m considering it as my title. It’s the first time they’ve made that position within this 1,000-acre region, which covers 13 counties.”

Still, even as he embraced his new role as the Southcentral environmental education specialist, the veterans office remained close to him. He continued to hear from veterans. He continued to help when he could. And he continued to feel the weight of the needs he once met every day.

The office, located on the second floor of the Mifflin County Courthouse at 20 N. Wayne St., serves more than 6,000 local veterans. It assists with disability compensation claims, aid and attendance pensions, healthcare applications, funeral expenses, military records and the full range of federal and state benefits.

For many veterans, the process is overwhelming. For some, it is intimidating. For others, it is simply unknown.

“I want them to know when they come sit in my office, I give them my undivided attention and try to get them what they are looking for,” Conway said.

He identified healthcare coverage as the most pressing unmet need for local veterans. He also noted that many veterans remain unaware of the benefits available to them, a gap he worked to close through outreach, education and one-on-one guidance. His efforts helped establish the Veterans Appreciation Day Picnic and supported the formation of the Mifflin County Veterans Organization.

Returning on Monday, Conway stepped back into the office with the same focus that defined his first tenure. The work, he said, is not about numbers or programs. It is about people.

His return brings experience, familiarity and a proven record of results. But for Conway, the motivation is quieter. It is the moment when a veteran sits down across from him, unsure of what comes next. It is the relief that follows when a claim is approved. It is the knowledge that someone who served is finally receiving the care or support they earned.

After discovering a passion for teaching wildlife programs, Conway could have stayed on the path he found with the Game Commission. Instead, he chose to come back to the place where he felt he was needed most. The work that once surprised him by how deeply it mattered is the work he now returns to with purpose.

For Conway, coming back was simple. Veterans needed help — and he wanted to be the one helping them.