(Editor’s Note: The following article is a re-run from earlier this year.) 

Sherburne County has a new veterans service officer.

Larry Fonder was sworn in as Sherburne County Veterans Service Officer as the first order of business during Tuesday’s county board meeting.

Fonder served nearly 23 years of active duty service in the United States Army.

He enlisted as a private at the onset of the first Gulf War and served as a paratrooper at Fort Liberty (Fort Bragg), North Carolina until 1995, when as a sergeant, he returned to Minnesota to earn a degree from the University of Minnesota Carlson’s School of Management and a commission through the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC). As a Lieutenant, Larry served as an Adjutant, Tank Platoon Leader, and Scout Platoon Leader in the 7th U.S. Cavalry at Ft Stewart, Georgia, where he deployed on operations to Bosnia and along the Iraq-Kuwait border.

He followed that with a career in Veterans Services, first at the State of Minnesota as a Claims Representative, then at Ramsey County as an Assistant Veterans Service Officer.

Tuesday, Fonder thanked the board and everyone involved during his interview process. He said he was impressed at how the county cared about its veterans.

“The professionalism I experienced going through the hiring process was absolutely fantastic. That set the tone and convinced me that I wanted to be a part of Sherburne County,” he said. “The fact that two standing board members were actually involved in the hiring process told me that Sherburne County absolutely values its veterans, because even the commissioners are putting the time in to make sure their county veterans get the best person for the job.”

Fonder takes over the position from Bruce Price, who retired in late May after serving the county for 10 years.