12/23/2025
Sarah Laws, an advanced medical support assistant at the John J. Pershing VA Medical Center’s West Plains clinic, has been recognized as the latest recipient of the health system’s BEE Award.
“I’m just so shocked and bowled over,” said a visibly emotional Laws after accepting the award, adding “I just feel so honored and loved.”
Laws has worked at the West Plains VA clinic for three and a half years and looks forward to every day there. “I love this job,” she said. “I learned at my last job that I had a heart for caring for people, and I absolutely want to take care of them and put all my time and energy in a good place.”
She also loves her West Plains clinic team, calling them family. In particular, she describes her coworkers at the front counter as “the best group of girls I’ve ever worked with.”
While Laws never served in the armed forces, she has an uncle and grandpa who did, and that connection to Veterans is deeply personal to her. “What an honor it is (to serve Veterans), because they have put their lives on the line for us,” she explained. “They’re saying, ‘I stand for what we stand for in this country and I’m going to stand up for it,’ and that’s not a little thing.
“They put themselves out there, so I think I should do the same in serving them. It is the least I can do to give them the most excellent care I can.”
Even while sometimes struggling with her own health, Laws admitted, she still does the best she can for the Veterans at the clinic. “I get up every day and go in and try. I keep on pushing for the Veterans and don’t let anything defeat me, whether it be physical or mental or whatever,” she said.
Continuing, the nominators said her “sweet soul, tireless work ethic, and unwavering dedication to our Veterans supports VA’s mission and makes her an absolute asset to our team and a perfect candidate for the Bee Award.”
Being noticed for the little things she does daily, Laws said, caught her off guard. “We’re all in the thick of it every day,” she said, “but you really just don’t think about someone watching and seeing what all you do, and for them to think that is important enough to nominate me, it’s such an honor. My heart just overflows with happiness.”
Laws’ supervisor, Leedawn Douglas, said she has “consistently delivered exceptional service and makes significant contributions to the mission and values of our organization. She prioritizes each Veteran, demonstrating attentive listening and ensuring they feel truly heard.”
