(Center) The Honorable Sarah Smith (Lieutenant Colonel and Military Judge, Illinois Army National Guard Reserves, and presiding Judge, Veterans’ Court), receiving donation from HeplerBroom partner Beth Bauer. The Honorable Charles Romani (Sergeant, U.S. Army, 1969-1971, served in Vietnam 1970-1971) is next to Bauer, and the three are surrounded by Veterans’ Court personnel.

Following its annual tradition, HeplerBroom donated to the Madison County (Illinois) Veterans’ Court in honor of Veteran’s Day and the firm’s employees who are U.S. military veterans. The Court, founded in 2009 by The Honorable Charles Romani, was created to: (1) ensure that justice-involved veterans are connected to the benefits and treatment they earned through their military service, and (2) divert them from the traditional criminal justice system. Using a non-adversarial approach, the Veterans Administration, State’s Attorney’s office, defense counsel, Madison County Problem-Solving Court, and other community partners work together to give each veteran the best possible chance of getting back on track as a healthy, productive citizen. Among other things, the program includes substance abuse and mental health assessments as well as help obtaining any service-connected disability benefits. The program also includes a peer mentoring program.

HeplerBroom employees honored include:

• Larry Hepler – U.S. Army, 1968-1970 (Captain, 1^st Infantry Brigade, 5^th Mechanized Infantry Division, Republic of Vietnam, 1969-1970)
• Paul R. Lewis – U.S. Air Force, 1989-1999 (E-4, Aerospace Medicine Division)

HeplerBroom would like to thank all veterans for their service.