Williamstown resident Jason Montgomery was recognized as “Mr. New Jersey Veteran” at the conclusion of a series of four New Jersey Resource and Opportunity Fairs held throughout the state.
SSG Jason Montgomery was an active-duty Army member from March 2004 until October 2011. The soldier held multiple positions during his military tenure, including Human Resource Information Systems Specialist at Fort Bragg, N.C., where he was assigned to the 18th Personal Support Battalion to support Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Montgomery later went to 18th Corp Artillery, working in the S1 Brigade shop as the systems manager. He concluded his enlistment at Freehold, N.J., as an Army recruiter for the Mid-Atlantic Recruiting Battalion.
The Oct. 9 event held at the All Wars Memorial Buildings (Old Soldier’s Home) in Atlantic City and was sponsored by The American Legion, Atlantic City Mayor Don Guardian and the State of New Jersey. It was co-sponsored by the New Jersey Parole Board and the U.S. Department of Veterans' Affairs.
The popular mayor welcomed the assembled crowd to the building "built for soldiers,” that provided the networking venue for active-duty, National Guard, reservists, veterans and their families to interface with vendors and providers of veteran services offering career opportunities, information on mental health issues, homelessness and veterans affairs in general.
Montgomery, the selected male finalist out of the 80 veterans who competed in the Mr. and Mrs. NJ Veteran competition, was the judge’s pick. The Army veteran was a preliminary contest winner at the event held at the Gloucester County Community College in May 2014. When asked what qualities he thought were the most important attributes to possess as the Mr. New Jersey veteran representative, he cited “focus/discipline, passion/enthusiasm and the ability to be ‘teachable' – not believe that you already know everything you need to know."
His wife, Monica Montgomery, is also a veteran and recent alumna from the American Military University. They have two children, Jocelyn and Caleb.