The Alabama Veterans Resource Center held a ribbon cutting Wednesday for its new Montgomery office on Dexter Avenue and announced Alex Karagas as the organization’s first executive director.
Governor Kay Ivey, Senate President Pro Tem Garlan Gudger (R-Cullman), House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter (R-Rainsville), U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn), State Sen. Andrew Jones (R-Centre), Alabama Power Chairman, President and CEO Jeff Peoples, Alabama Department of Workforce Secretary Greg Reed, and Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs Commissioner Jeff Newton attended the event.
“Ladies and gentlemen, it’s an honor to join Governor Kay Ivey, Speaker Ledbetter, Senator Tuberville, and Senator Andrew Jones, who sponsored it in the Senate,” Gudger said. “This center represents a debt being paid and a promise being kept to the men and women who wore the uniform in defense of the greatest nation mankind has ever known.”
The AVRC is a public-private partnership established by SB70 during the 2025 legislative session. The legislation, sponsored by Jones and carried in the House by State Rep. Ed Oliver (R-Dadeville), appropriated $5 million from the state’s General Fund to launch the center. Governor Ivey signed the bill into law and appointed an 11-member board in July 2025.
The center is designed to serve as a statewide hub connecting Alabama’s more than 400,000 veterans and their families with services including benefits navigation, employment and training opportunities, education and transition support, and referrals to health, mental health, and housing services.
“We’ve spent the past several months listening to veterans, sitting down with partners across the state, and building a simple way to help people find the right next step,” said Reed, who chairs the AVRC Board. “For a veteran who’s trying to navigate benefits, find work, or get connected to support for their family, it helps to have a place where someone will look you in the eye, hear your story, and help you move forward. This Montgomery office is a front door, and the start of what we’re building statewide.”
“Our service men and women have made tremendous sacrifices for our country,” Peoples said. “It is our honor to support the Alabama Veterans Resource Center and its work to ensure these heroes, and their families, have access to the resources they need to thrive.”
Karagas, the new executive director, is a higher education leader with more than 13 years of experience serving military-affiliated students. She previously held roles at the University of Alabama supporting student veterans and launching targeted support programs, and most recently led military and adult education efforts at Albany State University.
In addition to the Montgomery office, the AVRC has launched an online hub at missionforwardal.org to provide statewide access to resources.
Sawyer Knowles is a capitol reporter for Yellowhammer News. You may contact him at [email protected].

