WASHINGTON —Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs Randy Reeves, who was born and raised in Little Rock, Mississippi, received the VA’s Exceptional Service Award from U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Robert Wilkie, recognizing Reeves’ outstanding contributions over three years as leader of the National Cemetery Administration.
According to the award citation, Reeves’ "leadership helped the National Cemetery Administration (NCA) achieve the highest customer satisfaction rating recorded for a public or private organization, established new cemeteries that increased burial access to nearly 4 million Veterans, and modernized Veteran memorialization with new programs focused on public education and digital engagement."
In 2019 the NCA extended its 21-year streak of being the highest ranked government agency as measured by the American Customer Satisfaction Index, a national indicator of customer evaluations of the quality of goods and services available to U.S. residents. With an index score of 97, NCA achieved not only its highest score ever, but also the highest score ever seen for either a public or private organization.
Reeves, whose vision for NCA was to ensure that “No Veteran Ever Dies,” took pride in advancing initiatives that memorialized the Veterans interred in VA national cemeteries. These included the Veterans Legacy Memorial, which created an online memorial page for each of the nearly 4 million Veterans interred in VA national cemeteries, and the Veterans Legacy Program, which engages with students and teachers at the university and K-12 level around the country to immerse themselves in the rich historical resources found within NCA national cemeteries.
The National Cemetery Administration oversees 153 national cemeteries and 34 monuments and soldiers lots in 44 states and Puerto Rico, and provides grant funds to an additional 118 state, territorial and tribal Veterans cemeteries across the U.S. During his three years as under secretary, Reeves dedicated eight new cemeteries and re-opened a ninth in Los Angeles that had been closed to new interments for 40 years; he also oversaw the transfer of 10 former Army post cemeteries to the VA.
Reeves was nominated to serve as Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs by the President and confirmed by the Senate on November 8, 2017. Prior to that, following a 27-year career in the Air Force and Navy, Reeves served as the Executive Director of the Mississippi Veterans Affairs Board from 2011-2017.
