John Melton

Executive Director/Head Coach, VA Health Care System, Salisbury, NC

Native of Seattle, WA

Industry: Health Care Delivery

John Melton’s background as the eldest son of a retired Vietnam veteran and his own 30-year military career has landed him all over the world. He came to Salisbury as head of the Salisbury VA Health Care System last year. He and his wife, Myung Hee, find Salisbury/Rowan incredibly welcoming. Her initial impression: “A very cozy town with kind people.” On her first visit here, she found Salisbury’s downtown coffee shops and local businesses helpful, especially since English is her second language.

“The strength of Rowan County is the kind and caring people who have chosen to live or work here,” John says. “How a community cares for its most vulnerable members is always the measure of its humanity,”

John, after receiving his West Point commission, moved into a career leading non-traditional and traditional health care organizations all over the world, spending more than half his career in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. Upon retirement with the rank of colonel, he looked for an organization whose values he shared to begin his second career.

This means being part of something bigger than yourself, he says.  “At the VA, we meet people where they are and treat them with dignity and respect. We empower veterans and their families live their best life or a better quality of life on behalf of the American people,” he says.

He says he is very impressed with the Salisbury VA Health Care System leaders and teams. “We are from all over yet there is a sense of community and collaboration. Everybody wants to be impactful and helpful, ordinary people doing extraordinary things.”

John sees Rowan County as a place with tremendous retirement, educational, and employment opportunities. “You can start your first or second career, raise a family, or live out your days here,” he says. 

“Rowan County lies in the beautiful Central Piedmont region between Charlotte Metro and the Triad (Winston-Salem, Greensboro, High Point) Metro,” he says. “Our geographical location affords the opportunity for travel throughout North Carolina from the Blue Ridge Mountains to the crystal blue coastline. Scenic beauty, a moderate climate, a culture rich in history and the arts, and world-class sports and recreational opportunities make this part of North Carolina an exceptional place to live and do business. Combine that with quality health care, top universities and colleges, a low cost of living, and it’s easy to see why most people who live here never want to leave.”

He describes the county slogan, Be an Original,™ as “being uniquely you and expressing what you enjoy. Embracing who you are without trying to be anyone else. What makes you unique is not only valued but also celebrated here in Rowan County.”

As head of the VA Health Care System in the Central Piedmont region, he enjoys the opportunity to collaborate with community leaders and organizations. “I am able to participate in multiple community social, civic, and fund-raising events. It is always my interaction with the people I meet that I enjoy. The sense of community is palatable.”

John’s favorite outdoor space is the U.S. National Cemetery, which adjoins the Salisbury VA Medical Center Campus. “I go out there and just walk or sit and appreciate the great nation we live in. People are willing to fight and die for a country founded on a radical idea. The belief that we the people could govern ourselves. It allows me to take a moment and reflect on the country we live in and our way of life.”

His favorite restaurant is the Smoke Pit. He can sum it up in one word: Barbecue.

John says that he has moved over 25 times, living across the U.S. and abroad while growing up in a military family and serving in uniform himself. “The sense of community is real here in Rowan County, that feeling of belonging, that we matter to one another,” he says. “And this sense of community shapes a better future for everyone who lives or works here.”