Saturday, March 30, 2013

Vietnam Veterans Chapter 1076


Statement in VVA  Henderson Chapter President Donald Sacco’s email to the members.
“We received word this morning, 26 February  2013, that our request for a VVA Chapter has been approved by the National Headquarters.  We have been designated as Chapter 1076. We can now move ahead to firmly establish our chapter here in Henderson.”
 Our meetings are on the second Thursday of every month at 7:00 p.m. Through the kind generosity of the VFW for allowing us to use their facility we are able to meet at the VFW Basic Post 3848, 401 West Lake Meade, Henderson, Nevada.
 A big thanks to the interim Executive Board for volunteering to hold a position until our application is approved. Especially our President Donald Sacco for his tenacity in getting all the names collected to be able to submit our application. Also, big thanks to the President of VVA Chapter 17, Las Vegas, Richard Small, who gave us his expertise during the whole process as well as aiding in filling and filing forms.
Interim Executive Officers:
President-Donald Sacco, Vice-President Chad Avery, Treasurer-Tony Pinkard, Sgt of Arms-John Scaduto, Chaplin-Ken Veith and Secretary-Fred Hagenbeek.
Board of Directors:
Ken Veith, Cal Haggen, Jim Thomas, John Troiano and Enrique Ortiz.
In our April 11th meeting we will be having our official chapter elections. Not running for their present position Donald Sacco and Chad Avery. The remaining Executive Officers will be running for their positions. If you are interested in any of these positions come to the meeting and submit your ballot.
Currently we have 30 members on our list and with future commitments from interested veterans.
As agreed by our members, our focus will be Veterans Helping Veterans.
Submitted by Fred Hagenbeek, Secretary VVA Chapter 1076.

Vietnam Veterans Day in Nevada





Stand Down 2013



800 W. 6th St., Suite 1505
Los Angeles, CA 90017
  




The 10th Annual Veterans Stand Down was a great success
This week, on March 27 & 28, 2013, a total of 128 agencies and over 500 volunteers came together for the 10th annual Veterans Stand Down to assist homeless and at-risk veterans in Las Vegas. The event facilitated long-term solutions and brought veterans much-needed resources and opportunities to help them regain independence.

The event was held Cashman Center, which proved to be a great new venue for the event!  It was a memorable two days filled with success stories.

 A full post-event report will be shared as soon as possible. 
 Until then, U.S.VETS is proud to announce the following results:

A total of 911 veterans were served! 
(A significant increase from 619 veterans in 2012.)

16 homeless veterans were housed direct from the Stand Down!
86 potential future housing appointments were made!
17 veterans got hired on-the-spot at Stand Down!

Special thanks to everyone who made the event possible. 
Thank you all for joining U.S.VETS in "serving those who served." 

We look forward to posting the full post-event report on our website at www.usvetsinc.org.

                                       Congratulations, Stand Down Award Recipients!
                         2013 Stand Down Housing Provider of the Year
                           For housing the most veterans from Stand Down                             
  Salvation Army

                    2013 Stand Down Employers of the Year
                          For hiring the most veterans at Stand Down
              707 Property Management
              Goodwill of Southern Nevada

2013 Stand Down Partner of the Year
                               For going above and beyond in helping make Stand Down possible
707 Property Management

                                                          Thank You, Event Sponsors!


  
Special thanks also to the Department of Labor for the generous Stand Down support grant

The Stand Down Made the News...

Click the links to see the Stand Down featured in the news...
  
  
  
  
  
...And that's a wrap!  We look forward to seeing you next year!

Friday, March 29, 2013

vietnam veterans 40 years



After 40 years, Vietnam memories are still strong

The last U.S. combat troops left Vietnam 40 years ago Friday, and the date holds great meaning for many who fought the war, protested it or otherwise lived it.




The last U.S. combat troops left Vietnam 40 years ago Friday, and the date holds great meaning for many who fought the war, protested it or otherwise lived it.
While the fall of Saigon two years later is remembered as the final day of the Vietnam War, many had already seen their involvement in the war finished — and their lives altered — by March 29, 1973.
U.S. soldiers leaving the country feared angry protesters at home. North Vietnamese soldiers took heart from their foes' departure, and South Vietnamese who had helped the Americans feared for the future.
Many veterans are encouraged by changes they see. The U.S. has a volunteer military these days, not a draft, and the troops coming home aren't derided for their service. People know what PTSD stands for, and they're insisting that the government takes care of soldiers suffering from it and other injuries from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Below are the stories of a few of the people who experienced a part of the Vietnam War firsthand.
___
'PATRIOTISM NEEDS TO BE CELEBRATED'
Jan Scruggs served in Vietnam in 1969 and 1970, and he conceived the national Vietnam Veterans Memorial as a tribute to the warriors, not the war.
Today, he wants to help ensure that veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan aren't forgotten, either.
His Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is raising funds for the Education Center at the Wall. It would display mementos left at the black granite wall and photographs of the 58,282 whose names are engraved there, as well as photos of fallen fighters from Iraq and Afghanistan.
"All their patriotism needs to be celebrated. Just like with Vietnam, we have to separate the war form the warrior," Scruggs said in a telephone interview.
An Army veteran, Scruggs said visitors to the center will be asked to perform some community service when they return home to reinforce the importance of self-sacrifice.
"The whole thing about service to the country was something that was very much turned on its head during the Vietnam War," Scruggs said.
He said some returning soldiers were told to change into civilian clothes before stepping into public view to avoid the scorn of those who opposed the war.
"What people seemed to forget was that none of us who fought in Vietnam had anything to do with starting that war," Scruggs said. "Our purpose was merely to do what our country asked of us. And I think we did it pretty well."
___
'MORE INTERESTED IN GETTING BACK'
Dave Simmons of West Virginia was a corporal in the U.S. Army who came back from Vietnam in the summer of 1970. He said he didn't have specific memories about the final days of the war because it was something he was trying to put behind him.
"We were more interested in getting back, getting settled into the community, getting married and getting jobs," Simmons said.
He said he was proud to serve and would again if asked. But rather than proudly proclaim his service when he returned from Vietnam, the Army ordered him to get into civilian clothes as soon as he arrived in the U.S. The idea was to avoid confrontations with protestors.
"When we landed, they told us to get some civilian clothes, which you had to realize we didn't have, so we had to go in airport gift shops and buy what we could find," Simmons said.
Simmons noted that when the troops return today, they are often greeted with great fanfare in their local communities, and he's glad to see it.
"I think that's what the general public has learned — not to treat our troops the way they treated us," Simmons said.
Simmons is now helping organize a Vietnam Veterans Recognition Day in Charleston that will take place Saturday.
"Never again will one generation of veterans abandon another. We stick with that," said Simmons, president of the state council of the Vietnam Veterans of America. "We go to the airport. ... We're there when they leave. We're there when they come home. We support their families when they're gone. I'm not saying that did not happen to the Vietnam vet, but it wasn't as much. There was really no support for us."
___
A RISING PANIC
Tony Lam was 36 on the day the last U.S. combat troops left Vietnam. He was a young husband and father, but most importantly, he was a businessman and U.S. contractor furnishing dehydrated rice to South Vietnamese troops. He also ran a fish meal plant and a refrigerated shipping business that exported shrimp.
As Lam, now 76, watched American forces dwindle and then disappear, he felt a rising panic. His close association with the Americans was well-known and he needed to get out — and get his family out — or risk being tagged as a spy and thrown into a Communist prison. He watched as South Vietnamese commanders fled, leaving whole battalions without a leader.
"We had no chance of surviving under the Communist invasion there. We were very much worried about the safety of our family, the safety of other people," he said this week from his adopted home in Westminster, Calif.
But Lam wouldn't leave for nearly two more years after the last U.S. combat troops, driven to stay by his love of his country and his belief that Vietnam and its economy would recover.
When Lam did leave, on April 21, 1975, it was aboard a packed C-130 that departed just as Saigon was about to fall. He had already worked for 24 hours at the airport to get others out after seeing his wife and two young children off to safety in the Philippines.
"My associate told me, 'You'd better go. It's critical. You don't want to end up as a Communist prisoner.' He pushed me on the flight out. I got tears in my eyes once the flight took off and I looked down from the plane for the last time," Lam recalled. "No one talked to each other about how critical it was, but we all knew it."
Now, Lam lives in Southern California's Little Saigon, the largest concentration of Vietnamese outside of Vietnam.
In 1992, Lam made history by becoming the first Vietnamese-American to elected to public office in the U.S. and he went on to serve on the Westminster City Council for 10 years.
Looking back over four decades, Lam says he doesn't regret being forced out of his country and forging a new, American, life.
"I went from being an industrialist to pumping gas at a service station," said Lam, who now works as a consultant and owns a Lee's Sandwich franchise, a well-known Vietnamese chain.
"But thank God I am safe and sound and settled here with my six children and 15 grandchildren," he said. "I'm a happy man."
___
ANNIVERSARY NIGHTMARES
Wayne Reynolds' nightmares got worse this week with the approach of the anniversary of the U.S. troop withdrawal.
Reynolds, 66, spent a year working as an Army medic on an evacuation helicopter in 1968 and 1969. On days when the fighting was worst, his chopper would make four or five landings in combat zones to rush wounded troops to emergency hospitals.
The terror of those missions comes back to him at night, along with images of the blood that was everywhere. The dreams are worst when he spends the most time thinking about Vietnam, like around anniversaries.
"I saw a lot of people die," Reynolds said.
Today, Reynolds lives in Athens, Ala., after a career that included stints as a public school superintendent and, most recently, a registered nurse. He is serving his 13th year as the Alabama president of the Vietnam Veterans of America, and he also has served on the group's national board as treasurer.
Like many who came home from the war, Reynolds is haunted by the fact he survived Vietnam when thousands more didn't. Encountering war protesters after returning home made the readjustment to civilian life more difficult.
"I was literally spat on in Chicago in the airport," he said. "No one spoke out in my favor."
Reynolds said the lingering survivor's guilt and the rude reception back home are the main reasons he spends much of his time now working with veteran's groups to help others obtain medical benefits. He also acts as an advocate on veterans' issues, a role that landed him a spot on the program at a 40th anniversary ceremony planned for Friday in Huntsville, Ala.
It took a long time for Reynolds to acknowledge his past, though. For years after the war, Reynolds said, he didn't include his Vietnam service on his resume and rarely discussed it with anyone.
"A lot of that I blocked out of my memory. I almost never talk about my Vietnam experience other than to say, 'I was there,' even to my family," he said.
___
NO ILL WILL
A former North Vietnamese soldier, Ho Van Minh heard about the American combat troop withdrawal during a weekly meeting with his commanders in the battlefields of southern Vietnam.
The news gave the northern forces fresh hope of victory, but the worst of the war was still to come for Minh: The 77-year-old lost his right leg to a land mine while advancing on Saigon, just a month before that city fell.
"The news of the withdrawal gave us more strength to fight," Minh said Thursday, after touring a museum in the capital, Hanoi, devoted to the Vietnamese victory and home to captured American tanks and destroyed aircraft.
"The U.S. left behind a weak South Vietnam army. Our spirits was so high and we all believed that Saigon would be liberated soon," he said.
Minh, who was on a two-week tour of northern Vietnam with other veterans, said he bears no ill will to the American soldiers even though much of the country was destroyed and an estimated 3 million Vietnamese died.
If he met an American veteran now he says, "I would not feel angry; instead I would extend my sympathy to them because they were sent to fight in Vietnam against their will."
But on his actions, he has no regrets. "If someone comes to destroy your house, you have to stand up to fight."
___
A POW'S REFLECTION
Two weeks before the last U.S. troops left Vietnam, Marine Corps Capt. James H. Warner was freed from North Vietnamese confinement after nearly 5 1/2 years as a prisoner of war. He said those years of forced labor and interrogation reinforced his conviction that the United States was right to confront the spread of communism.
The past 40 years have proven that free enterprise is the key to prosperity, Warner said in an interview Thursday at a coffee shop near his home in Rohrersville, Md., about 60 miles from Washington. He said American ideals ultimately prevailed, even if the methods weren't as effective as they could have been.
"China has ditched socialism and gone in favor of improving their economy, and the same with Vietnam. The Berlin Wall is gone. So essentially, we won," he said. "We could have won faster if we had been a little more aggressive about pushing our ideas instead of just fighting."
Warner, 72, was the avionics officer in a Marine Corps attack squadron when his fighter plane was shot down north of the Demilitarized Zone in October 1967.
He said the communist-made goods he was issued as a prisoner, including razor blades and East German-made shovels, were inferior products that bolstered his resolve.
"It was worth it," he said.
A native of Ypsilanti, Mich., Warner went on to a career in law in government service. He is a member of the Republican Central Committee of Washington County, Md.
___
A DIFFERENT RESPONSE
Chief Warrant Officer 5 Duane Johnson, who served in Afghanistan and is a full-time logistics and ordnance specialist with the South Carolina National Guard, said many Vietnam veterans became his mentors when he donned a uniform 35 years ago.
"I often took the time, when I heard that they served in Vietnam, to thank them for their service. And I remember them telling me that was the first time anyone said that to them," said Johnson, of Gaston, S.C.
"My biggest wish is that those veterans could have gotten a better welcome home," the 56-year-old said Thursday.
Johnson said he's taken aback by the outpouring of support expressed for military members today, compared to those who served in Vietnam.
"It's a bit embarrassing, really," said Johnson. "Many of those guys were drafted. They didn't skip the country, they went and they served. That should be honored."
___
ANTI-WAR ACTIVISM
John Sinclair said he felt "great relief" when he heard about the U.S. troop pull-out. Protesting the war was a passion for the counter-culture figure who inspired the John Lennon song, "John Sinclair." The Michigan native drew a 10-year prison sentence after a small-time pot bust but was released after 2 ½ years — a few days after Lennon, Stevie Wonder and others performed at a 1971 concert to free him.
"There wasn't any truth about Vietnam — from the very beginning," said Sinclair by phone from New Orleans, where he spends time when he isn't in Detroit or his home base of Amsterdam.
"In those times we considered ourselves revolutionaries," said Sinclair, a co-founder of the White Panther Party who is a poet and performance artist and runs an Amsterdam-based online radio station. "We wanted equal distribution of wealth. We didn't want 1 percent of the rich running everything. Of course, we lost."
The Vietnam War also shaped the life of retired Vermont businessman John Snell, 64, by helping to instill a lifetime commitment to anti-war activism. He is now a regular at a weekly anti-war protest in front of the Montpelier federal building that has been going on since long before the start of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The Haslett, Mich., native graduated from high school in 1966 and later received conscientious objector status. He never had to do the required alternative service because a foot deformity led him to being listed as unfit to serve.
"They were pretty formative times in our lives and we saw incredible damage being done, it was the first war to really show up on television. I remember looking in the newspaper and seeing the names of people I went to school with as being dead and injured every single week," said Snell, who attended Michigan State University before moving to Vermont in 1977.
"Things were crazy. I remember sitting down in the student lounge watching the numbers being drawn on TV, there were probably 200 people sitting in this lounge watching as numbers came up, the guys were quite depressed by the numbers that were being drawn," he said. "There certainly were people who volunteered and went with some patriotic fervor, but by '67 or'68 there were a lot of people who just didn't want to have anything to do with it."
___
Dishneau reported from Hagerstown, Md., and Reeves reported from Birmingham, Ala. Also contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Chris Brummitt in Hanoi, Jocelyn Gecker in Bangkok, Gillian Flaccus in Tustin, Calif., Lisa Cornwell in Cincinnati, Kevin Freking in Washington, Wilson Ring in Montpelier, Vt., Susanne M. Schafer in Columbia, S.C., and Jeff Karoub in Detroit.

Stand down 2013


Hi every one for the last two years I have been volunteering at US vets Stand downs for homeless vets. The first year my duties were signing in the volunteers in to help at the stand down. Which has gave me an opportunity to meet a lot of great and kindhearted people that help our homeless vets.  At these stand downs there is help. U.S.VETS anticipates the 2013 Stand Down to be the biggest of its kind. Studies show that the number of veteran families living on the streets, or at-risk of homelessness is increasing. The numbers of young veterans who have recently separated from the military who are in need of services are also increasing at alarming rates. This year I was asked to help register the veterans for services that they might need. I talked to over 100 vets it was a real eye opener for me helping these veterans out. There was a lot Vietnam Veterans I all so helped younger veterans for today’s conflicts I was overwhelmed with the number younger vets.

Summing up I think that more veterans should volunteer at least one time  It would do your heart good .

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

infomation






IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 25, 2013

No. 13-5
Contact: Mokie Porter
301-585-4000, Ext. 146


CBS Apologizes for Insensitive Feature
On Vietnam Episode of “The Amazing Race”

(Washington, D.C.)--VVA National President John Rowan last week sent a heated letter to CBS condemning what he called “the insensitivity displayed by the directors of ‘The Amazing Race,’ who chose to show the remnants of a downed American B-52 bomber as a prop . . . that has insulted the memory of those Americans who lost their lives when that aircraft was shot down.” On Monday, CBS Executive Vice President Martin D. Franks, in response to Rowan’s letter, acknowledged that parts of that episode were indeed “insensitive to a group that is very important to us – our nation’s veterans.”

Franks wrote to Rowan, “On behalf of CBS, [producer] Jerry Bruckheimer, and everyone who is part of ‘The Amazing Race,’ we want to apologize to veterans–particularly those who served in Vietnam–as well as to their families and any viewers who were offended by the broadcast. He noted that this “message” was delivered at the top of Sunday night’s broadcast of the show, and he offered this link to view it: http://www.cbs.com/shows/amazing_race/march/.

“At CBS, we are proud of our longstanding efforts on behalf of veterans,” Franks added, citing public service announcements in support of veterans causes–particularly the “Wounded Warrior PSA we were proud to broadcast during this year’s Super Bowl,” as well as “countless hours of national and local news coverage of veterans issues [and] sponsorship of and participation at veterans job fairs.”

“For far too long,” noted Rowan, “Vietnam veterans felt scorned for having done our duty. It’s taken a long time for America to separate the war from the warrior. Though young people may not have known or understood the symbolism of the B-52 bomber, certainly the producer and the directors should have.

“Still, past is prologue, and we do thank CBS for owning up to what had been an irreverent oversight that hurt and angered many of us who still wonder, in our dark moments, if Americans truly understand the price veterans paid to fight for flag and country,” Rowan added. “In keeping with our founding principle, ‘Never again will one generation of veterans abandon another,’ we will always strive to ensure that troops returning from a combat zone will never feel abandoned by the nation that sent them there.”

Sunday, March 24, 2013

leave a comment

If I make a mistake on any thing i post please leave me a   comment  at the bottom of my post

just click on no comment and write me a comment i will read them and respond

also please join my site on the right you will see how
thank you

Friday, March 22, 2013

events for our Chapter


MARCH USVets stand down; MOPH Car Show; Chapter 2013-14 financial Plan, Vietnam Veterans Day 

Please try to attend one of these

Thursday, March 21, 2013

vva chapter 17

Here is a link to the new news letter .

 https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B11axbziSq-EaXZPdFU1RGFvS1E/edit?usp=sharing

here is the link for the Vietnam Veterans day

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B11axbziSq-EN004aFhmTEdIbUk/edit?usp=sharing

just point and click on the link

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

from US VET for more volunteers

This was sent to by US VETS for more volunteers
 
 
We are extending "Volunteer Registration" for the upcoming U.S.VETS-LV 2013 Veterans Stand Down...
As of today, we have shortages with volunteers on the following dates & shifts:
Thursday-March 28th Shift 4: 3:30pm - 8:30pm (Teardown Only)
*Added Shift* Friday-March 29th 10am - 1:00pm (Teardown Only)
However all other dates and shifts still have volunteer openings
*Event Flyer Attached*
Please Register to Volunteer OnLine Today!
Instructions to Register to Volunteer On-Line for the 2013 Veterans Stand Down
Scroll Down to“Featured” and Click on the Veterans Stand Down Logo
Or
Right Below Logo “Click for More Information”
Scroll all the way – Almost to the very bottom
Look for“Stand Down Documents”
Click on“Volunteer Registration Form”
*Please Note –The “Volunteer Registration Form” CANNOT be accessed from Government Computers
Sorry for the Inconvenience
 
Karen Lewis
Retired Air Force Veteran
U.S.VETS-Veterans Stand Down Volunteer Coordinator

avva vendor fair

The Associates of Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 17 are planning an event--contact info is on the flyer for sign up for a vendor/yard sale/bake sale space....
 
 

Annual Fireworks Afghan


Here's the 3rd Annual Fireworks Afghan that will be raffled off on July 4th at noon--tickets are $1 each or 6 for $5--I'll be selling tickets at upcoming General meetings--at the Associates event on April 27--and during the week of the fireworks sale--money will go to the Adopt-a-Family Christmas program with Nellis and Creech AFB's....
 
 
 
 

Monday, March 18, 2013

VIETNAM VETERANS

I just want everyone know I also have a twitter account for chapter17 just go to

https://twitter.com/VVAChapter17 and fill free to fellow it

thank you

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

From The Desk of the NV. State Councile

NSC President
Report



Western Nevada was stuck
in frigid weather for more than
a month and fortunately I was
able to escape for less severe
weather in Maryland attending the National BOD
meeting. The BOD meetings are often strenuous
and arduous affairs for officers, national staff and
committee chairs conducting the business of our
organization in general but last month’s meeting
had the additional burden of preparing for the 16th
National Convention in Jacksonville this summer.
The BOD approved a new Disciplinary Code of
procedures and sent it for the approval of the
Council of State Council Presidents (CSCP) meeting
in April. The BOD also voted to disburse the
Ruth Matthews Fund endowment to promote
Vietnam veterans by allocating $50,000.00 to
VVA’s Agent Orange effort, $3,000.00 and $4.00
per state member based on the Feb. 28, 2013
membership roster. April 17th the CSCP will be
‘storming the hill’ to present the VVA’’s
Government Affairs Legislative Agenda to the
113th Congress. The State Presidents, directors,
officers, committee chairs, AVVA and national staff
arrange to meet with their Congressional delegation
to discuss our legislative priorities. Nevada
veterans are fortunate to have a not only the powerful
support of Senator Reid but, the junior
Senator Heller from Carson City is a member of
the Veteran Affairs Committee. Dean Heller and
newly elected Congressman Mark Amodei are
longtime supporters of veterans in Nevada. I look
forward to meeting with them this April in their
Washington offices.
Recently, VVA President John Rowan proposed-
electronically, special motion for the BOD
to permit the seating of VVA suspended chapter
delegates at the National Convention , provided
the suspended chapter has filed the NRS 1024
requesting reinstatement with the IRS and are
otherwise in good standing with the VVA. This
directly affects Nevada chapters 719 at NNCC,
834 at Lovelock and Winnemucca chapter 744.
Carson Area Chapter 388 monthly attendance
was bolstered by the highly successful Nevada
Day Battle Born event and generated enthusiasm
for new projects for Vietnam veterans. One, the
is a newsletter by Vern Horton at:
commobunker388@
charter.net

and the Chapter
donated $500.00 to the Ghost Riders for the
Vietnam Memorial at the Northern Nevada
Veterans Cemetery in Fernley. The memorial is
being completed incrementally and projected to
cost $20,000.00. Hopefully, the memorial can be
completed for dedication at the Memorial Day
Ceremony May 2th. 388 President Rick Arnold
announced a special March 30 th Vietnam
Veteran Recognition Day Ceremony marking the
50th anniversary of war in front of the Nevada
Vietnam Veteran Memorial in Mills Park.
Last August the film
Bravo! Common Men,
Uncommon Valor: a Tour of Hell in a Small Place

,
By Ken and Betty Rogers—see
The Veteran
,July/Aug 2012 was shown somewhat overwhelming
those in attendance with its thought
provoking reflections on the siege at Khe Sanh in
1968. The Rodgers will show their documentary at
the DSMC Auditorium on the UNR campus March
12th. Nu Phi the veteran fraternity and the
University Veteran Coalition are hosting a reception
for Ken and Betty Rodgers. UVC panelist will
make introductions before the screening and offer
a closing forum. The Rodgers will be going on a
west coast tour showing this remarkable film in
California and are interested in showing it in Las
Vegas. Visit their website at:
www.bravotheproject.
com

for further information.
 
The NSC met on February 16th at Chapter 17’s
Hall and offered its hospitality for NSC meetings
Friday evening and Saturday meetings facilitating
NSC business and activities. New by Laws and
NSC Financial issues require examination and
resolution. The June NSC meeting will be held in
Reno and coincides with the Region 8 and 9 Pre
Convention Conference which attracts many
National Officers and Directors and those who will
run for offices at the Convention in August. John
Rowan indicates he will seek another term as
president and is challenged by Bruce Whittaker
and Fred Elliot. Marsha Four and Rick Davidge
announced for Vice President at the January
meetings. Bill Meeks and Wayne Reynolds will
seek reelection as Secretary and Treasurer.


From the desk of Dick Suthern


Region 9
Director
Report





It has been a busy
first part of the New Year.
There was the Conference
of State Council Presidents meeting held in
Jacksonville, FL, at the same hotel that we will go
to for the VVA Convention. Virgie Hibbler was
there representing NV as the alternate for Terry
Hubert. It was a little bit on the cold side in
January, but I expect it will be a little warmer in
August. The next meeting I attended in January
was the VVA National Board of Directors meeting
in Silver Spring, MD. It was good to see Terry
Hubert and Tom George there. The next meeting
I attended was the California State Council meeting
in Fresno. I have just returned from the
Arizona State Council meeting in Phoenix. I am
looking forward to the next Nevada State Council
meeting in Las Vegas. More meetings to go to as
the year goes on.
There is some good news in Region 9.
Chapters 1071 in Denver and Chapter 1075 in
Colorado Springs have been chartered and are
forming the new Colorado State Council.
Colorado may have another chapter forming in
the Grand Junction area. VVA continues to grow
with 68,000+ members.
In closing, I also want to encourage you to
keep up your recruiting and retention of members
in VVA. Nevada has 811 members as of the
January closeout. There are quite a few Nevada
members in the At Large status. Some effort
should be made to get them involved in a local
chapter. It is the time for us to keep adding numbers
to our membership totals.As always, I am
available on email at southern@lodelink.com or
by phone at either 209-928-3848 or 209-768-
9841 if needed for anything



Dick Southern