(FREEHOLD, NJ) -- Monmouth County Clerk Christine Giordano Hanlon has announced that the Office of the Monmouth County Clerk has been named as a recipient of the 2021 “We Value our Veterans” Community Award by the New Jersey Department of Military and Veteran Affairs. The award will be presented on Veterans Day, November 11 at 11:00am at the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial in Holmdel.

“We are proud to accept this award and we thank the New Jersey Department of Military and Veteran Affairs for this great honor,” said Clerk Hanlon. “Our office takes great pride in serving the residents of Monmouth County and the more than 33,000 veterans who call Monmouth County home.”

By State statute, the Monmouth County Clerk’s Office has the authority to issue veterans identification cards, veterans peddler licenses, and Gold Star parent cards. In 2015, when Hanlon took office as Monmouth County Clerk, she launched the “Honoring our Heroes” Military Appreciation Program to encourage local businesses to sign up to provide a special discount or service to the County’s veterans and Gold Star parents. 

Veterans who obtain the Monmouth County Clerk’s veterans identification card are given a more than 50 page guidebook that lists the stores, restaurants, and businesses in Monmouth County that offer products and service discounts to veterans and Gold Star parents. Businesses that participate in Clerk Hanlon’s “Honoring our Heroes” Military Appreciation Program receive specially designed window clings, donated by members of the Asbury Park VFW Harold Daley Post 1333, for placement in their establishments.

The “Honoring our Heroes” discount guidebook has grown to include more than 200 participating businesses and the County Clerk's Office offers this book free of charge in our office, as well as at veterans' fairs and local events to help inform about our veterans identification card and program. The guidebook business listings are also accessible to all residents online in a regularly updated spreadsheet online at MonmouthCountyClerk.com.

Two years ago, Clerk Hanlon designated a reserved parking space for veterans outside the Main Office of the Monmouth County Clerk’s Office in Freehold Borough. With over 500 veterans visiting the County Clerk’s Office annually, the parking space was much needed and provides veterans with easier access to the office. 

The Monmouth County Clerk's Office takes great pride in serving our veterans community. Each year, Clerk Hanlon and employees of the County Clerk's Office participate in local veterans’ events and meetings across the County to inform of our office's services and to provide those very services on the go. 

The New Jersey Department of Military and Veteran Affairs annually recognizes counties, municipalities, businesses and institutions for their efforts to support veterans by awarding the Governor’s prestigious “We Value our Veterans” Award.

The award is given out based on the number of programs and services the town makes available for their veterans, using a point system. This year, five counties, fifteen municipalities, two businesses and five academic institutions will be recognized at the Veterans Day ceremony.