2025 VSO Excellence Award Winner: Outagamie County

The nature of Veterans’ Service work is deeply personal. Still, large-scale outreach often becomes purely transactional, such as handing out a flyer, offering a quick thank you, and encouraging a visit to the office. The team at Outagamie County Veterans’ Service in Wisconsin decided to change that. By shifting their focus from transactional to relational, they achieved more than a 900% increase in outreach opportunities over the previous year. This transformative approach earned them the 2025 VSO Excellence Award for Innovative Community Support.

Building the Mobile Claims Office

The key to their success was creating a robust, secure, and mobile outreach system. Knowing that being present with veterans meant being able to provide immediate, tangible service, the office equipped their team with a mobile setup: a Jackery portable power bank, a laptop, scanner, and printer.

Driven by Tyler’s VetraSpec application, this mobile office allows staff to securely access veteran records, complete and print necessary VA documents on the spot, and use Direct Submit for real-time uploads to the Veterans Benefits Management System (VBMS). This capability dramatically improves efficiency, allowing the VSO to maintain a deep, immediate connection with the veteran at any event. It ensures that forms are correctly initiated and submitted before the veteran even leaves the site.

Creating the Digital Kiosk

Outagamie County’s innovation didn’t stop in the field. Recognizing that many senior veterans struggle to access online VA programs, such as ID.me or their medical documents, the team created a stand-alone digital kiosk in their office.

This kiosk enables veterans to log in securely to their personal accounts. They can quickly download documents (often advised against emailing due to HIPAA) and upload them into VetraSpec for claims processing.

This simple innovation removes a significant technological hurdle for older veterans while maintaining strict security and HIPAA compliance, underscoring Outagamie County’s commitment to truly seeing and supporting every veteran.

Congratulations to the Outagamie County Veterans’ Service office for their innovative community support for our veterans.