Rep. Dianne Hesselbein has been named VFW Legislator of the Year by the Wisconsin Veterans of Foreign Wars.
She will receive the honor June 4 at the VFW state convention in Wausau, State Adjutant Joseph B. Hines announced.
Hesselbein (D-Middleton), the ranking member of the Assembly Veterans and Military Affairs Committee, is currently sponsoring nine bills to support veterans and active-duty service members in various ways.
One bill would require state universities and state technical colleges to accept military foreign language credits and other comparable credits obtained during military training or service. Another would grant resident admission rates to out-of-state service members using state parks and campgrounds while stationed in Wisconsin. A third would encourage judges to consider combat trauma (PTSD) as a mitigating factor in criminal sentences.
Rep. Hesselbein, elected in 2012 and 2014, is in her second Assembly term. She represents District 79, which includes all or part of Middleton, Cross Plains, Verona, Springfield, Waunakee, Westport, Vienna, Burke, Windsor and Berry. She previously served on the Dane County Board of Supervisors and the Middleton-Cross Plains School District.