East County veteran earns top honor

EAST COUNTY — Lee Washington wasn’t always this calm.

Today, he speaks slowly and listens intently, which he communicates with big dark eyes.

He listens the same way to the widow of a fallen solider as he does to a shaggy homeless veteran.

More than anything, it’s this steady patience that earned Washington the Manatee County Government Employee of the Year award.

Washington, 44, coordinator of the county’s Veterans Services Department, received the honor in front of the Manatee County Board of County Commissioners Dec. 3 — 26 years to the day after he graduated from Marine boot camp in Paris Island, S.C.

“I don’t like public attention,” says the East County resident who served in the Marines from 1987 to 1998, primarily in the heavy weapons infantry. “But this means a lot. If it brings recognition to the department and helps us reach more families, I will smile.”

It took time for Washington to develop the empathy required by his job.

“You look at the civilian life, and it’s different than what a Marine is used to,” he said. “A Marine is told if you do A, you go to step B. You follow a specific demand. Here, it’s not so simple. It took me awhile to accept that.”

Washington joined the Marines because he admired their appearance.

“You see the blue uniform and you know who it is,” Washington said. “The entire world knows who it is.”

Washington served in Georgia, Maryland, Russia, the Philippines, Japan, South Korea and other places.

He was discharged from the Marines in 1998. Then, Washington bounced around as a bodyguard in Hollywood, a home-loan consultant and a volunteer for the Sarasota National Cemetery.

Washington learned he wanted to help people more like him.

“I always felt I could help someone,” Washington said. “And I could relate best to veterans. If you can relate to them, you can help them get better.”

Washington began work at the county in August 2009.

Veterans come to Washington to tell their stories, so that he and his staff of three can make claims for benefits to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

The Veterans Services Department served 12,000 veterans last year.

In June, Washington, then a senior veterans service officer, succeeded Andy Huffman, a well-regarded U.S. Coast Guard veteran to become the department’s coordinator.

From Huffman, Washington learned to trust his employees.

He shows his face in the community.

The stories are similar, but he cannot prepare for everything. It’s why he remains calm.

“You and I may have served together in the same place and seen the same things and suffered similar injuries, but how it affects you emotionally after you step back — and the advice you give each person — that’s never the same,” Washington said.

Contact Josh Siegel at [email protected].