ORLANDO – VVA National Secretary, Barry Hagge, with assistance from Fred Elliott and Bruce Whitaker, provided a very valuable lesson today on the real jobs of a duly elected secretary at the chapter, state council or national level. Far from what many may believe are the correct methods for completing these duties, Barry explained responsibilities of the secretary. 

Many believe that a secretary is responsible for taking copious notes and accounts of all that transpires during a meeting, to the extreme point of making a transcript of all that took place. Barry indicated that this is completely inaccurate. A secretary is responsible for maintaining records properly, and therein lays the rub. I will attempt to summarize some of the points made by Barry.  

The VVA secretary is the key officer for conducting the business of who records what is done. He/she is the custodian of the records, UNLESS: the organization has made other arrangements, e.g., some chapters/state councils use or appoint recorders to take notes of meetings, while the responsibility for the notes rest with the unit secretary, an elected official. Minutes should contain the nature and ranking of motions, who made them, and other procedures to produce an accurate document. Some, but not all, of the other duties include keeping committee reports, membership rolls, notification of meetings, furnishing credentials, maintaining record books, articles of incorporation, bylaws, preparing order of business for the presiding officer, etc. A secretary calls the meeting to order and presides over the election of a chairman pro tem, in the absence of the president and vice-president and ensures required reporting is completed. 

During the training session, it was agreed that copies of members’ DD-214’s NOT be released to other than owners of the document. A strong recommendation was made that VVA National come up with a policy regarding the handling of DD-214’s. 

The main rule of thumb is that the minutes reflect what is DONE, not what is said. A recommendation was also made that audio and/or video recordings of meetings be destroyed after the official hard copy minutes have been approved during a valid meeting. This method avoids problems with discovery during any legal issues. 

Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised 10th Edition provides a wealth of information on many misunderstandings of Parliamentary Procedures. It is not the purpose of this article to explain those misunderstandings, rather to encourage you to review this reference for applicable issues. Just to whet your whistle on some misconceptions here is but one item that is commonly misunderstood: All motions MUST have a second. Per page 35, line 19, if the chair is certain a motion meets with wide approval but members are slow in seconding it; the chair can state the question without waiting for a second. Furthermore, motions do not need to be seconded when made by direction of a board or committee. The misunderstandings go on, and on. 

A great learning experience!

     On Saturday morning, August 14, 2010, T.P. Hubert, Chair of Veterans Incarceration Committee, presented a panel comprised of individuals who have played a significant role in the creation of and the ongoing success of the Buffalo Veterans Treatment Court. 

     The Honorable Robert T. Russell, Jr., acting Erie County Court Judge and City Court Judge, discussed the evolution of the Veterans Court from his Drug Treatment Court originated in 1994 and the Mental Health Treatment Court establish in 2002.  It was a defendant, a veteran, in the Mental Health Treatment Court who was showing no progress and very little participation in the program provided by the Mental Health Court that became the genesis of the Veterans Court.  This veteran defendant was spoken to by a member of the Court, a fellow veteran, and the change in his demeanor and participation was noticed by Judge Russell almost instantly.  The idea of a special Court for veterans was born. 

     The Veterans Treatment Court was one year in the planning stage.  In 2007, this specialized Court initiated its operation.  The Veterans Treatment Court deals with non-violent felonies or misdemeanors.  A defendant accepted into the Court’s program may meet with the Court as often as once a week or once every two weeks.  The defendant may be under the Court’s supervision for eighteen to twenty-four months. 

     Upon successful completion or graduation from the program, some defendants will have their case dismissed or significantly reduced.  The ultimate disposition, assuming successful completion, was determined prior to entry into the program through the efforts of the prosecution, the defense, and the Court. 

     Once the veteran is accepted into the Treatment Court and subject to its supervision, the attorneys are absent.  Individuals such as Jack O’Connor, Coordinator of Mentors, volunteer to assist the veteran in navigating through the broad expanse of the system.  The mentors’ efforts may involve finding assistance not only for the veteran but for his family unit.  There might be a need for food stamps, health care, bus passes and tokens.  Transportation can be vital to one’s efforts in establishing a sustainable and law abiding lifestyle.  Mr. O’Connor and his volunteer mentors continue to live by the axiom “Leave No One Behind.”  

     Pat Welch, Chair, Government Affairs Committee, serves as a mentor. Mr. Welch stated that often the discussions with those that they are mentoring are very heart to heart, possibly using terminology considered abrasive but well understood.  A mentor may play a role in aiding the veteran in a wide variety of ways:  to include obtaining housing; a job; or getting into some educational program.  He concluded with a shout out for what a significant role Jack O’Connor of Chapter 77 has played in the success of the Buffalo Veterans Court.  

     A great feature of the Treatment Court is the presence in Court of a V.A. Health Care facilitator who operates on a secure computer which allows for immediate access to medical records; scheduling of appointments; results of toxicology tests and a variety of other medically related issues.  

     Penny Coleman, author of Flashback, published in 2006, told of the personal tragedy of her husband Daniel who could not fix himself with pills, marijuana or booze.*  At that time, there was no official diagnosis of PTSD.  Ultimately, he took his own life. 

     Ms. Coleman spoke of the staggering number of veterans involved as either defendants or inmates in the criminal justice system, possibly as many as 1.8 to 1.9 million.  She referred to the V.A.’s hotline as an 11^th hour prayer.  More needs to be done early on in the recognition of PTSD and treatment to avoid misery, incarceration or suicide. 

     Guy Gambill, SOROS Fellow, from the Justice Policy Institute, spoke as a veteran who has experienced homelessness and incarceration.  He expressed concern that even if a veteran successfully completes a diversion program, the arrest record often results in a stigma that prevents the acquisition of a job or being able to enter into a new rental agreement.  Mr. Gambill also expressed the opinion that the Veterans Treatment Court needs a more extensive jurisdiction to handle domestic violence, offenses where a firearm is present and drug offenses where the drug is for personal use.  Ultimately, upon successful graduation from a Treatment Court, the Court should order the destruction of the arrest and the fingerprint records. 

     The Buffalo City Court has provided the blueprint.  The originators of the Treatment Court expressed willingness to provide assistance.  Working to establish Veterans Treatment Courts throughout the nation is part of fulfilling the mandate, “Leave No One Behind.”

Country Music recording artist Rockie Lynne entertained the opening ceremony attendees of the Vietnam Veterans of America 2010 Leadership Conference at the Rosen Center in Orlando, Florida. He helped kick off their gathering on August 11, 2010 with a melody of his patriotic songs. After receiving a standing ovation, he expressed what an honor it was being there with them.

Abandoned at birth, and growing up in Statesville, North Carolina, he started singing and writing at the young age of 14.  After high school he enlisted in the Army and served with the 82^nd Airborne Division at Ft. Bragg for three years during peace time. He gave credit to the military for the structure, discipline and direction he needed in his life. When he returned home the local clubs and crowds fell in love with this enthusiastic lead guitarist.

One evening while watching the news, Rockie was shocked as the broadcaster announced the death of a helicopter pilot from Minnesota in Iraq, as if it were barely newsworthy. Since then his mission has been to increase awareness and financially support both the troops and their families. For the past seven years he has sponsored a motorcycle fundraiser called “Tribute to the Troops” which has risen over $250,000.00.

As his popularity grew, Rockie searched for a record label that would help raise funds for soldiers and found that no recording company was interested.  So Rockie and his band ventured out on their own and were named the “breakout artist” by ABC-TV’s “Good Morning America” and Billboard Magazine named him “most likely to succeed.” The debut single, “Lipstick” was number one on the Billboard’s Country Singles Sales chart for ten consecutive weeks in 2006.

The amount of time that Rockie spent with each and every person after his performance during the opening ceremonies was impressive. His genuine persona and soft demeanor created a quite tranquil and relaxed atmosphere for those standing in line to meet him. He finally left after the entire group of fans had spent their time with him and all autographs were complete.

He spoke candidly with me during our interview and expressed his admiration for the Vietnam Veterans he met. I in turn expressed our appreciation for his dedication to the current military and veterans. His sincerity shows through his actions, and the awareness alone has been phenomenal. From touring in Iraq with the service men and women to supporting the families of the fallen, Rockie has demonstrated his love and passion for those that now serve, and have served, this great country.

It was both an honor and a pleasure to speak to this contemporary hero and share his story with you.

Respectfully submitted,

The winners of the Mike Nash Scholarships are:

• Lauren Griffin, Salisbury, MA

• Alissa Pendorf, Boalsburg, PA

• Laurie Den Bleyker, Little River, SC (an AVVA member and spouse of a VVA member)

• Chelsey Howard, Cordele, GA

• Erin Seitz, Lake In The Hills, IL

• Sarah Anthony, Lincoln, NE

• Tori Manuel, Ville Platte, LA

• Tytus Wiklund, Ammon, ID

• Sarah Edwards, Tonopah, AZ

Each awardee will get $1500 as their scholarship.

Again, thank you so much for your generous support.

Carol Schetrompf

Scholarship Sub-Committee Chair

Click here for the complete article.

Nancy Switzer – President, Frances Cartier – Vice President,
Sharon Hobbs – Secretary,   and Bill Williams – Treasurer

Donna Anderson – Region 1
Cathy Keister – Region 2
Donna Crowell – Region 3
Suzanne Blohm-Weber – Region 4
Penny Meinhardt – Region 5
Pat Furno – Region 6
Kathy Andras – Region 7
Frances Rowan – Region 8
Joanna Henshaw – Region 9

Photo coming soon.

Presenter:  Bridget Cooper, Ed.D. ( www.piecesinplace.com )
Pictured above is Dr. Bridget Cooper with Larry Mitchell, VVA Chap 432

Mission Coach – Leadership Outfitters

The class gave us a vision of what our board of directors should be.  We discussed the differences between “for profit” and “not for profit” organizations’ board of directors. 

Dr. Cooper touched on legal responsibilities, issues of legal risk, and how to reduce that risk.  She also gave us an overview of key tasks, mission guided decisions, core values, and their practice.

 Dr. Cooper has the ability, knowledge, and expertise to deliver her classes with a confidence and a great sense of humor.    Lessons learned will be an asset to my chapter and state council.

Ron Osgood, pictured above,  served during the Vietnam War as a communication specialist with the 7^th Fleet on the USS Oriskany during the years 1969 through 1972.  He filmed the take-offs, landings, accidents and any other unusual incidents on the carrier’s jets for documentation. The Oriskany’s 1967 western Pacific (Westpac)   cruise was one of the most spectacular yet, in her 17 years of commissioned service.  Her pilots flew 9,552 combat/combat-support missions. USS Oriskany’s aircraft flew 181 air strikes in the northeast section of North Vietnam which included the cities of Hanoi and Haiphong.

After his tour of duty, Ron was able to apply his Navy training (work with film documentation) in many different areas.  As he increased his knowledge of film documentation, Ron was offered a teaching position as a faculty staff member at Indiana University in their Communication Department.

He quoted, “What an exciting time to be involved in the media production industry. There are opportunities on a global scale for those who want to make a difference through media communications. I challenge you to use your individual enthusiasm and collective power to make this a better world for future generations.” Ron joined Indiana University in 1987 as a faculty professor in the Department of Telecommunications. B.S., Southern Illinois University, B.A. Communications, 1976, M.S., Education, Southern Illinois University, 1978. As listed on his biography on the Indiana University’s website, Ron’s teaching specialization is in documentary storytelling and production. His creative work has been broadcast on network and satellite channels and has been selected for screening at film festivals and distributed both nationally and internationally.

Osgood has authored the “Visual Storytelling: Videography & Post Production in the Digital Age,” 2008, which includes an interactive DVD.

His documentary Trouble No More: The Making of a John Mellencamp Album won a regional Emmy in 2004 and can still be rented through Blockbuster and Netflix.  Ron is putting the final editing to his latest documentary, My Vietnam – Your Iraq, (www.myvietnamyouriraq.com) which was presented to over 500 Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) leaders at the Bi-annual Leadership Conference in Orlando, FL the week of August 12, 2010.

During the dedication of a Vietnam Memorial in Chicago, he met a young officer who was demonstrating against the current war and was informed by the soldier that his father might not approve of what he was doing because of his father’s service during the Vietnam War.

Professor Ron Osgood screened segments from his recently completed documentary “My Vietnam Your Iraq” on November 14, 2008. The documentary features nine families which have a parent who served in Vietnam and a child in Iraq. Osgood, a Vietnam veteran himself, found that many of the parents he interviewed had never talked with their families very much about the Vietnam War, and the interviews allowed family members to discuss issues they would not have raised otherwise.

He is currently  developing an interactive documentary that will tell stories about the Vietnam War from both sides  He has gone to Vietnam and has interviewed many former North Vietnamese soldiers who fought against us during that war.  He has also included the stories of the ARVN (Army of the Republic of Vietnam – South Vietnamese Army) soldiers, those who are still alive and not afraid to speak, of their struggle to survive after the fall of Saigon.

During the Conference Ron was able to conduct many interviews with members of VVA, for his latest interactive educational web site, called “The Vietnam War: Stories from All Sides.”  He asked many of the veterans in attendance to be interviewed for this documentary which will be an interactive teaching platform for the educational staff, current students in junior, high school and colleges about the Vietnam War.

Many of us still cannot open up about our Vietnam experience so it has been a very difficult project to undertake.  But thanks to many other Vietnam veterans, North Vietnamese veterans and ARVN veterans he has bee able to put together a this great documentary on video.

In our educational system, there is not much history taught about the Vietnam War.  Our children, and now their children, have not received the appropriate education on the Vietnam War. This is up to individuals, such as Ron, to document our beliefs, fear, anguish, anger and the true story of the Vietnam War.

We cannot forget the man behind the camera and thanks to his filming colleague, Mark Mosrie for his patience and his help to put this documentary together.

For further information keep checking VVA national web site at www.vva.org

Hanoi prepares for more air attacks

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Hanoi is reported to be holding air-raid drills for fear of more U.S. attacks in the wake of the Pierce Arrow retaliatory raids that had been flown in response to the Gulf of Tonkin incident.

The North Vietnamese government urged all civilians with nonessential posts to leave the city. In ground action, ARVN troops ambushed a Viet Cong unit south of Saigon. Meanwhile, Viet Cong guerrillas attacked three hamlets in the Vinh Binh Province along the coast in the Mekong Delta. A U.S. helicopter crashed 50 miles northwest of Saigon, killing three U.S. airmen.

Aug 14, 1965:

Seventh Marines land at Chu Lai

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The advance units of the Seventh Marines land at Chu Lai, bringing U.S. Marine strength in South Vietnam to four regiments and four air groups. The Marines were given the responsibility of conducting operations in southern I Corps and northern II Corps, just south of the Demilitarized Zone. Hanoi Radio broadcasted an appeal to American troops, particularly African Americans, to “get out.” This was purportedly a message from an American defector from the Korean War living in Peking. In South Korea, the National Assembly approved sending troops to fight in South Vietnam; in exchange for sending one combat division to Vietnam, the United States agreed to equip five South Korean divisions.

Aug 14, 1972:

Former Attorney General Ramsey Clark reports on his tour of North Vietnam

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Former Attorney General Ramsey Clark reports after his tour of North Vietnam with the International Commission of Inquiry into U.S. War Crimes in Indochina, that if Democratic candidate George McGovern were elected president in November, all U.S. POWs would be freed by North Vietnam within three months. He further reported that the POWs he interviewed during his trip were “unquestionably…well treated” and that he saw damage to North Vietnam’s dikes in at least six places, and other extensive destruction in nonmilitary areas.

Aug 14, 1973:

U.S. bombing of Cambodia ceases

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After several days of intense bombing in support of Lon Nol’s forces fighting the communist Khmer Rouge in the area around Phnom Penh, Operations Arc Light and Freedom Deal end as the United States ceases bombing Cambodia at midnight. This was in accordance with June Congressional legislation passed in June and ended 12 years of combat activity in Indochina. President Nixon denounced Congress for cutting off the funding for further bombing operations, saying that it had undermined the “prospects for world peace.” The United States continued unarmed reconnaissance flights and military aid to Cambodia, but ultimately the Khmer Rouge prevailed in 1975.

An initial and important preliminary activity of the Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) Leadership Conference and Associates of Vietnam Veterans of America (AVVA) National Convention held in Orlando, Florida, Tuesday, August 10, 2010 through Saturday August 14, 2010, was honoring Vietnam veterans as well as all other veterans and all branches of the service. 

Wreaths were placed in honor of Vietnam Veterans at the Vietnam Memorial in the Woodlawn National Cemetery, Orlando, Florida, Tuesday morning August 10, 2010 by representatives of VVA Vinny Monitto, Grant Coates, Rick Weidman, Tom Hall.  Representing AVVA was Frances Cartier, and representing the National VVA staff was Mokie Porter-Pratt. 

While visiting the National Cemetery the group paid honor to all veterans and all five branches of the service: Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and additionally the Merchant Marine by visiting their memorials that are in this national cemetery. 

The group was privileged to be afforded the opportunity to honor their brothers and sisters that have served this great country.