In the recent edition of the union magazine, The Public Employee Magazine (PEM), OCSEA honored two of its very best as it focused in on the union's annual veterans awards.
The OCSEA Larry Cremeens Veteran of the Year award winner was Carrington Melton of ODJFS Chapter 2599. Melton served in the U.S. Army for 16 years, with two deployments—Desert Storm & Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan). Carrington is a member of Ohio Dept. of Job and Family Services Chapter 2599 in the Office of Workforce Development where he is a Disabled Veteran Outreach Program (DVOP) Specialist. He is also very involved with veterans' issues in his community.
OCSEA's Veteran Supporter of the Year was Tyler Evans, Vice President of Ohio State Penitentiary Chapter 5041. Tyler was nominated by his chapter president, Stephanie Behnke. An 8-year Correction Officer at OSP, Officer Evans has turned a personal tragedy into an annual event to help veterans who are struggling and in crisis. He channeled his grief of a fallen serviceman and friend into the Justin R. House Annual Softball Tournament to bring awareness and raise funds to stop veteran suicides.
You can read their full story and watch a video about the awards and the 2025 OCSEA Veterans Committee Conference at OCSEA.org/PEM. The video is also available on OCSEA's YouTube channel.