More than 40 armed services veterans packed the People Plus Center’s activity room on April 4 to hear Scott Karczewski, the director of Togus VA, talk about benefits and services available to veterans of all wars.

Karczewski, along with former veteran’s center director and People Plus volunteer Jack Hudson, told those gathered, “if you haven’t been to the center (for services) in the last 10 years, you won’t believe the difference.”

Bowdoinham selectman Brian Hobart, a Vietnam era Navy veteran, was in the audience and took the advice to heart. He went to the Togus center the next day and found that a chronic hearing problem “was covered … and we’re going to fix it.” He said he was, “very impressed by services available,” and acknowledged he should have pursued the problem, “years ago.”

Hudson is an IT volunteer at People Plus whose professional career was with the Veterans Administration. He and Karczewski have worked together in the past. The two distributed benefit booklets to those in attendance, and counseled several veterans that evening.

Veterans from World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf wars and Afghanistan were in attendance. Hudson promised follow-up meetings and discussions in the coming months.