Retiring American Patriot Frank Hollister Tearfully Accepts Livingston County’s Honors

LIVINGSTON COUNTY – The Board of Supervisors bestowed their honors and best wishes to Frank Hollister, the retiring Director of Livingston County Veterans Services and a true American hero, as he begins the next phase of his life which has been spent in service to our nation and its veterans.

Hollister, a member of the Veterans Hall of Fame, served in the U.S. Army during Vietnam and went on to devote his life to his brothers and sisters in uniform in Wyoming and Livingston Counties. For the past 11 years, his inspiring dedication has made possible not only grants for service-connected disabilities, burial services, and compensation to family members for non-service-connected deaths, but visits and care packages for vets in hospitals, driving vets around in his personal vehicle when travel plans fell through.

“I want to thank the veterans and their spouses and dependents for enabling me to file claims and win large sums of money for them sometimes,” said Hollister. He tearfully added, “A great general once said, ‘old soldiers never die, they just fade away.'”

County Administrator Ian Coyle presented Hollister with his award, a beautiful clock, to a standing ovation by the Board of Supervisors and local veterans who had joined Hollister at the meeting.

“Frank has had a more than 50-year career of very people-oriented public service, and for that we commend him,” said Coyle. “What I will remember and what the Board of Supervisors will always remember is the things Frank did that went above and beyond. He would personally transport veterans. He would place flags at their graves, he would bring them care packages. In civil service he was considered part-time, but as a service member he knows that it’s a 24-7 occupation.”