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James Blaylock

James Blaylock, long-time Decatur resident and local Dekalb County veterans advocate, has served on the Board since 2002.

Blaylock, a native of Dougherty County, has been active in local veterans’ issues since making Decatur home in 1978. He was a founding board member of the Georgia Veterans Leadership Program and the Dekalb County Veterans Affairs Task Force (DeKalb County’s veterans population is approximately 66,000).

The one-time National Commander of the Military Order of the Purple Heart (1996-97), Blaylock is also a member of the National Memorial Day Association of Georgia and is Vice President of the Georgia Veterans Day Parade Association of Atlanta.

Blaylock, a United States Marine Corps veteran who served in Vietnam, has worked for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs since 1972.

Currently the Prosthetics Service Line Manager for all Veteran Health Administration medical facilities in Georgia, Alabama, and South Carolina, Blaylock serves on the Prosthetic National Data Validation Workgroup. He was the first recipient of the national "Chief of the Year for Prosthetics" award in 1995.

Blaylock, who holds a Master’s Degree from Georgia State University, is the past chairman of the VA Leadership Upward Expectations (VALUE) Program and current mentor in the VA Leadership Development Program at the Atlanta VA Medical Center. He also serves on the VA’s National Diversity Advisory Board.

A member of the Marine Corps League, Vietnam Veterans of America, Disabled American Veterans, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the American Legion, Blaylock is active in the Kappa Alpha Psi National Fraternity, Alpha Kappa Mu National Honor Society, and the Southern Poverty Law Center.