YOU WON’T WORK FOR ME;
I’LL WORK FOR YOU!
From decorated combat gunship pilot, to Deputy Assistant Secretary for President Reagan, to Republican County Chairman, Al Poteet has always been “in service” to his country and community. Whether as Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office and Medical Center Director, as CEO of Humana Veterans Healthcare Services, to Executive Director of a Presidential Task Force, he has dedicated his life to serving others.
Service
Poteet, a disabled army Warrant Officer, flew combat missions as an AH-1G Cobra gunship pilot with the 1st Aviation Brigade’s 7/17th Cavalry and the 82nd Airborne Brigade. He completed two deployments to the Republic of Vietnam as a Chief Warrant Officer and was awarded the Bronze Star with “V” device for ground action, the Air Medal with “V” device, and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Bronze Star for his combat operations in
II Corps.
Following his military service, he testified before the U.S. House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committees for improved veterans benefits as the Veterans of Foreign Wars Assistant Legislative Director and Political Action Committee Director on Capitol Hill, Washington, DC.
Leadership and Management
Later, he was appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary for Congressional Affairs at the Department of Veterans Affairs in Washington, D.C. He served as a senior executive appointee in the Reagan, Bush 41, and Bush 43 administrations. His leadership roles included Director of the Waco Regional Office, the San Francisco/Oakland Regional Office, and statewide Director of the Alaska VA Healthcare System and Regional Office.
As Department of Veterans Affairs Field Director, Poteet managed over 400 employees and supervised annual budgets exceeding $62 million. As Director of the Alaska VA Healthcare and Regional Office, he also served as Executive Co-Chair of the VA/DoD Joint Venture Medical Center at Elmendorf Air Force Base responsible for the design and construction of a $160 million joint VA/DoD replacement medical center.
Life of Experience
He is a recipient of the Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary’s Award and the VA Undersecretary for Health Award for Leadership. In 2001, Poteet was recalled to Washington, D.C. under Executive Order 13214 to serve as Executive Director of the President’s Task Force to Improve Health Care Delivery to Our Nation’s Veterans.
Later he was selected CEO of Humana Veterans Healthcare Services (HVHS), responsible for all aspects of leadership and management for a start-up healthcare referral company. Under his direction, HVHS won the Project HERO pilot contract with the Department of Veterans Affairs, providing timely specialty healthcare to veterans in 23 states through a national network of 25,000 healthcare providers.
Poteet has served on several corporate boards and is currently the President-Elect of the Bosque Arts Center in Clifton, Texas. He is a member of the Clifton American Legion Post 322, a Life Member of both VFW Post 8553, and the Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association.
Additionally, he has held leadership positions as the former Chairman of the Blanco County Republican Party and the immediate past Chairman of the Bosque County Republican Party. He also ran as a Republican candidate for the U.S. Congress in the 21st Congressional District which was won by Congressman Chip Roy. Al and his wife, Miriam, reside in Bosque County, Texas, along with their adopted dog, Miss Sadie Mae, from Bosque Animal Rescue Kennels (BARK).
