EDITOR’S NOTE: Abington has a new Veterans Agent. Adam Gunn retired from the U.S. Navy this past spring after a 20-year career, where he attained the rank of Chief Petty Officer. He’s still settling in to the role but here’s a few things you should know about him.
Name: Adam Gunn
Age: 40
Hometown: Lynwood, WA
Family: I met my wife in 2007 while I was stationed in Newport, RI with the Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Unit and we got married in 2009 in Somerville, MA. We have a beautiful 5-year-old daughter named Violet, who’s currently attending kindergarten.
Military Experience: I retired from the Navy on April 1st, 2020 after 20 years of service. Before I retired, I was a Regional Career Counselor who was responsible for delivering career guidance and benefit education to 16 Navy Career Counselors throughout the United States. Those Career Counselors provided career development, training, and benefit education to 3,695 U. S. Navy Sailors in an 11-state region.
Degrees: I earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 2015 from Trident University, and a master’s degree in organizational development and leadership in 2018 from University of the Incarnate Word.
Favorite life experience (so far): Being able to spend quality time with my wife and daughter now that I’m retired from the Navy. I traveled and deployed quite often, and while I was proud to serve this country, there’s nothing like being able to enjoy family time and support them at home. Now I get to serve veterans as the Director of Veterans’ Services for the Town of Abington, and I couldn’t be happier!
Favorite accomplishment (so far): In 2015, I was selected and initiated to be a U. S. Navy Chief Petty Officer. It’s an incredible “family/fraternity” that is unique only to the Navy. It’s an honor that less than 10% of the enlisted ranks in the Navy get to become a part of and experience. The rank of Chief Petty Officer was created on April 1st, 1893 and has been followed by 127 years of tradition.
Last book read: I’m not an avid reader, but I try and spend time reading the Bible on a weekly basis. On the rare occasion I do make time to read a book, I enjoy reading about the experiences other veterans have had during times of war. It’s so inspiring to see the accomplishments and sacrifices that some of our veterans have made for this country.
Favorite place you’ve traveled to (either while enlisted or on vacation): Honestly, there have been so many places I’ve traveled to around the world that I fell in love with…it’s so hard to pick just one. Any place on the water or the ocean that has good food, friendly people, and a place to take a swim, is somewhere I’d want to return to again.
Biggest influences and why: My wife, Shelley. She’s been my number one supporter throughout a good portion of my military career. She encouraged me to pursue the goals I wanted to achieve and has always been there to support me…even when I wasn’t around to support her. She pushed me to finish my bachelor’s degree and a couple years later, pursue my master’s degree. She inspires me to be a better person. She’s my best friend and my rock!
What inspired you to want to help fellow veterans: My job in the Navy as a Chief, and as a Regional Career Counselor, was to take care of military members in any way possible. It was such a humbling position and I really looked forward to coming into work every day! I’m extremely passionate about helping others and I couldn’t think of a more honorable position than the one I’m in now. I get paid, TO TAKE CARE OF VETERANS that fought for this country and sacrificed their lives to protect the American people…no matter how long ago it was! There’s no better job than the one I’m in now (in my opinion)! I’m so blessed to be here and will do everything in my power to help and support the Veterans of Abington, and bring the community together to support them even more!
You must be logged in to post a comment.