Woman, Iraq war vet, named York County veterans affairs director

Melinda Woodhurst, a retired Army colonel, has been appointed veterans affairs director for York County.

Woodhurst, a Lancaster native, served 26 years in the U.S. Army and received several medals during her service, including the Bronze Star. She was a combat soldier in Iraq and Kuwait.

“I feel as if my life experiences have trained and prepared me for this appointed position,” Woodhurst said in a statement released by York County.

Woodhurst started with JROTC at age 14 in Lancaster and has been involved with the military her entire adult life.

The Veterans Affairs office in York County serves more than 25,000 active duty and retired veterans.

The office was led for the past five years by Joe Medlin, an Iraq and Afghanistan combat veteran who resigned in late 2016 to return to the 16th Circuit Public Defender’s Office, where he worked before taking over the vets job.

Unlike most county jobs, state law requires the veterans officer to be chosen by the county’s legislative delegation, made up of state Senate and House members from York County in the S.C. General Assembly. All of the state’s 46 counties have a veterans service officer.

S.C. Rep. Raye Felder, R-Fort Mill, who chaired the search committee, called Woodhurst a great choice.

Woodhurst said in a statement she will “do all I can to assist veterans and their families in any way I can.”

The department has two offices, in Rock Hill and York.

This story was originally published March 7, 2017 at 8:58 PM with the headline "Woman, Iraq war vet, named York County veterans affairs director."