JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.–The Missouri Veterans Commission has selected the first woman to serve as its executive director.

Colonel Grace Link has been named as the new executive director of the commission.

Link is a Missouri National Guard Colonel with 31 years of service and was appointed as interim executive director of the commission last December. 

The Missouri Veterans Commission serves more than 400,000 veterans in Missouri through its veterans services program, state veteran homes, and cemeteries.