Meet Mary Ross-Tarkington of Elder Veterans Legal Aid Group

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mary Ross-Tarkington.

Hi Mary, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.

Hi, thank you so much for this opportunity. I am a multi-faceted person. First and foremost, I am a wife and mother to my beautiful daughter Danielle (21) and my handsome son Elijah (17). I love music and helping others as much as possible. 

My background is in counseling and community mental health. For several years, I provided in-home counseling to seniors who were homebound and unable to access services outside of their homes. I loved doing in-home counseling with seniors, but in 2009 we lost the grant and I was forced to find another position.

That’s when I got into senior living. I was the manager of a memory care program and dementia specialist training the staff by teaching a 2 day class once a month. I learned I actually enjoy teaching others about things I’m passionate about. After a few years, I took a break got my insurance license, and sold insurance for a while. I quickly learned that wasn’t for me, but I learned a lot about Medicare and Long Term Care Insurance, which was a great stepping stone for my next chapter. I was contacted by a friend and asked if I would be interested in a position as a Community Relations Director for an assisted living. I jumped on it.

I found I was able to use my counseling background, knowledge of insurance, and passion for seniors to help families transition their loved ones into an assisted living community. I quickly learned more about VA benefits and how crucial this can be as well. I have several family members who were in the military and I am very passionate about giving back and helping veterans and their families. As I learned more about Elder Veterans Legal Aid Group, I knew this was an organization I wanted to be a part of at some point. Finally, the opportunity arose at the perfect time and I didn’t wait.

EVLAG is a zero net profit nationwide law firm and we help veterans and surviving spouses of veterans figure out how to pay for care and assist our clients with the entire process to obtain the VA benefit to help pay for care. Our mission has always been to help as many families as we can. I am so blessed to have a position with a firm that I know is making a difference. I have been with this firm for 6 years now and we are truly a family. I get to talk to people across the country every day and I get to educate others about what is available to help our veterans and their families. Anyone that has heard me speak, knows how passionate I am and that I love what we do!

In my spare time, I stay pretty busy. I love watching my son play high school football and baseball. I also love performing with my husband and our band Billy Tarkington and Bona Fide Outlaw. I volunteer with Alzheimer’s Tennessee and the Alzheimer’s Association, as well. I am on the committee for the Alzheimer’s Tennessee Middle TN Walk in Franklin and our band will be performing for the walk as well.

I think it is so important to spend as much time with your family as possible and give back to your community, no matter how big or small. Something I have learned throughout the years is time is a thief. Everything I do revolves around trying to make the most of the time I have with family and promoting the best quality of life, personally and professionally.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?

I believe there are always challenges, no matter what you do. No one is immune. Challenges come in many forms, personally and professionally. I come from a broken family and we struggled a lot financially. However, I was blessed to be able to go to college and even get my Master’s degree. Then I moved to TN to begin my career and try to do music on the side. I eventually got married and had 2 children, but the marriage only lasted 10 years.

Professionally, I struggled when we lost the grant that allowed me to provide in-home counseling to seniors. I loved my clients and felt I was making a difference with them. I would have continued doing that for a very long time if I could have, but that isn’t where God wanted me to stay. A few years later when I was selling insurance, I faced many obstacles. I was a single mom at the time and I was working completely on commission plus I wasn’t enjoying what I was doing.

It was so stressful and I was barely making ends meet, but I did learn a lot, and I can continue to use what I learned through that season. I believe everything I have done has been a stepping stone for the next chapter. Although there have been hard times and burnout, it has helped to pave the way to where I am now, which I believe is where God wants me to be.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?

Our managing director, Dr. Glenn Osborne, PhD, was working in the senior industry several years ago. He has been a sales person, executive director, and regional director. He was not finding it easy to get good information about VA benefits, so he began to research and decided to create a solution. Eventually, Elder Veterans Legal Aid Group was born and we have been helping veterans and surviving spouses navigate this process since. We have held true to our core values from the beginning.

EVLAG is a zero-net profit nationwide law firm. We help veterans and surviving spouses of veterans figure out how to pay for care (in-home and residential). This may include assisting them with filing for the VA benefit, Non-Service Connected Disability Pension with Aid & Attendance, or providing recommendations and referrals for other resources, depending on their situation. We love to educate others about the benefits available and how we can help.

I provide educational presentations to families and professionals, in person and virtually. We want to make sure we reach as many people as possible. There are still so many that do not know about the available benefits and there are so many that cannot afford care without it.

We are different from other firms in several ways. Everyone in our firm has a servant’s heart and we have all been caregivers in one way or another. We understand the struggles families may be going through and we want to make this process as easy as possible. EVLAG is a small firm, so everyone gets a personal touch from beginning to end and we all work very closely together. We do not have a call center or a receptionist, therefore, whenever someone calls our office, a paralegal will answer the phone and help them with all of their questions. We are truly zero net profit. We only cover our operating costs and nothing more. We have a one-time fee for the pre-filing consultation process, in which we examine all the evidence and provide our legal opinion regarding eligibility. This fee is only due if we can help them. Our philosophy is “If we can’t help you, we’re not going to hurt you” and we stand by our word. We do not charge a research fee and there are no other hidden fees. EVLAG is based in Nashville, but as I stated earlier, we are a nationwide firm. Therefore, we can help anyone anywhere. We have clients in every state and all US territories

There are a lot of myths out there and some information has changed from years past. We want to make sure people have the right information. Even if someone has been told in the past they do not qualify, we would like to speak with them to verify. This all starts with just a 15-minute phone call with no obligation whatsoever. Our paralegals will ask a series of high level questions and explain everything to you in detail. If you do not have all the information, that’s okay. We can help you figure it out and let you know what is needed. EVLAG can be reached at 615-800-8947 or our toll-free number at 800-878-2149.

If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?

Outgoing, a country girl, and a music lover. I have always been outgoing and loved being around others, kids my age and older adults. I grew up in the country with horses and other farm animals. I was pretty active riding my bike and playing sports, as well as playing the saxophone in the band. I come from a musical family and I have always been involved with music somehow. My grandpa and cousins played bluegrass music and I have been singing since I was 4 y/o. I minored on the saxophone in college and I’ve been in several plays and musicals as well. I have always had a passion for the arts. I’m so glad I can continue my love of music and perform with my husband.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.evlag.com
• Linkedin: Mary Ross-Tarkington
• Other: https://reviews.birdeye.com/elder-veterans-legal-aid-group-pc-155667609720458