By Marta Rose-Thorpe
Matt Standish works for the Bay County Vet Center, a special office at the VA that helps Veterans and Troops suffering from post-traumatic stress. He is a member of VFW Post 2185 and AMVETS Post 2298, as well as president of the Veterans Task Force of Northwest Florida. He is also a Florida Freemason and a member of Harry Jackson Lodge #314 in Lynn Haven. “It is such an honor to be in a job where I am again taking care of the Troops,” he shares, “just like being a First Sergeant again, but without the headaches!”
Matt, his wife, Joni, and son, Zach, have lived in Callaway since December 2018 with their Beagle/Chihuahua mix, Lola Jean, and mostly Chihuahua, Bob, though he’s lived in Bay County, Florida, since 1994. He loves the proximity to Tyndall Air Force Base and all his military neighbors. Being near Tyndall AFB keeps him close to one of the focal points of his work with troops and veterans, helping them connect with resources and services to help with just about any need they may have. Seeing the progress and development here shows him that Callaway will be ready for the swelling population when Tyndall finally gets their F-35 fighter jets.
Matt joined the U.S. Air Force in April 1980, taking advantage of the only service to have its own college, the Community College of the Air Force, where he got his Associates in Applied Science in Aircraft Armament Systems. He started his 26-year career as a Weapons Loader, putting bombs, missiles, and ammo on fighter jets and performing maintenance on the weapons systems. After 21 years he gave all that up and crossed over to the dark side of the Air Force, becoming a First Sergeant, handling all the people issues and problems of his troops. It was the most satisfying experience of his career because of the many opportunities to make a difference in their lives.
“I’m originally from Tacoma, WA but am married to a Georgia Girl,” he shares. Matt loves trying local restaurants (and sometimes different, new places) like Millie’s, The Pour, The Place, Pizzaria Napoli, Salty Sue’s, Olle’s in Compass Lake, and El Jalisco, to name a few – though Joni is not quite as adventurous. He is a homebody and loves hanging out at home, dining on pork chops, Rice-O-Roni and salad, watching his favorite teams (Seattle Seahawks – NFL, Mariners – MLB, Chase Elliott – NASCAR) or his favorite TV show “Last Man Standing” and movie “The Fifth Element.” Zach prefers his video games. Matt loves wind therapy: he adores riding and working on his old Harley, enjoys cruise-ins with his Harley, and will watch most any kind of motor-racing. In his spare time you’ll find him doing book signings at farmers markets or hanging out with his dogs in dog parks. You will often find him with Lola Jean and Bob at Al Helms Dog Park on Balboa in Panama City. As a family tradition, he loves adding a new ornament to the tree each Christmas with the current year on it.
“My favorite daily activity is trying to make every person I meet smile!” he says. “You just never know how big an impact that one little random act of kindness might have!”
