Vol. 16, No. 1 by JM Publishing

SPRING 2012 | Vol. 16, No. 1

commander’s Remarks By Commander Greer

TEAM AMVETS REMAINS ACTIVE W

ell hello again, I would like to let all of our TEAM AMVET members know what I have been doing since the last edition of our newspaper "The Voice" came out! We, the TEAM, held our second DEC meeting at Santa Maria, California. I would like to thank every one who attended, as we had a very good turn-out, and I've been told a very good meeting. We got a lot accomplished. If you didn't get there, you missed out on a good meeting and all of the fun that was had by all who attended. After DEC, I went down to Barstow, and visited Post 311, and was given a personal tour of the “Beautiful Veterans Home” and all of their facilities on the home site by Post Commander Ron Hess, as well as Dist. 17 Cdr. John Bernier and IG Dennis Boyce, after which John & Dennis took me over to a local post and treated me to a steak dinner by Steve Jacobs our VAVS Director! After spending the night with John and his family, John took me to the Adelanto Post 20 area, and showed me around. After seeing the area we went back to the Post 20 building, and at 10:00 a.m. we sat down with the Executive Board of Post 20 and tried to come up with a solution to a problem they have! It was very interesting to go down to that area, as it has been many years since I had been there other than to drive through the area on my way to some other destination. After living up here on the North Coast among the Redwood Forest for more then 20 years, that really brought back to me what high desert really is! Don’t take this wrong, there is a special beauty to every part of God's creation, and the desert has its own, but when you haven’t been out to it for many years, it is breath taking. Thanks to all of the Team AMVETS members who made my visit a very interesting one! January 25th I went to Sacramento for a inter-agency conference of the CDVA and was put in the Health Pod, which, not being a doctor or nurse, or having any other knowledge of what AMVETS is doing or could do for the returning vets, I had very little input for that particular group, so when they called for another meeting this month I told Pete Conaty to get Lorraine & Jerry Guevara to attend. I thank them very much for standing in, in my abscence, and I will apologize to them both the next time I see them for having to sit through two days of meetings! They are two very special Team AMVETS members to me and they go above and beyond what is asked of them. February: While in Santa Maria at the DEC, District 13 Commander Mary White invited me to attend Post 9126’s February meeting. I did. Commander Gordon Grewe, is doing a very good job as Post Commander, under very stressful conditions, District Cmdr. White is doing a good job, and I applaud both of you for all that you do, so keep up the good work, and you both have my support! On February 4th I was invited to be at the

Four Chaplains Ceremony at St. Mary's Cathedral in downtown San Francisco, and I was present as Commander well my North Area Cdr. Greg Raffa, and I will have Greer to say that it was a very beautiful Ceremony, and if any of you get the chance to ever go, it will be well worth your while to make the trip! On February 14 and15th Judy and I were invited to attend World Ag-Expo in Tulare, Calif. and were given two tickets to the very first Ag-Warrior Ceremony, with President George W. Bush as the guest speaker. I have to say that this AgExpo is a huge event for this little town of Tulare. The grounds are as big as Disneyland, and they have more attractions than Disneyland, especially for the agriculture community. We were not able to find a hotel or motel any where in the valley, so Rose & Rod invited us to stay with them. We had a very nice stay and visit with Rod & Rose. Again, Judy and I thank you two so very much for your hospitality. On February 24th Jerry Guevara and I attended the State Commanders Conference at Sacramento in the Military Museum. That is in Old Down Town, all of those buildings look like they come from the late 1800’s or early 1900’s, and they have a lot of military memorabilia to go thru and look at. If you ever get down there I would suggest that you go take a look! Until I see you next, keep thinking “TEAM AMVETS.” Research the word “TEAM” so we can have the strongest team in the country! Your Commander for this Year Jerry R. Greer

GOAL

Give the gift of membership this year.

www.calamvets.org

Be present.

The Voice is published quarterly by Midwest Publishing, Inc. Any articles or photographs received after the deadlines will be held for the next edition. All articles must be signed to be printed. The editor reserves the right to edit any submission for clarity, brevity, etc. The opinions expressed in The Voice are those of the authors and not necessarily the opinion of the AMVETS Department of California. Please submit all information for the VOICE to:

roseblackman@hotmail.com

Next deadline is June 1. Please submit your articles in Microsoft Word or similar word processing program and your pictures separately as JPEGs. Thank you.

DEPARTMENT OFFICERS FOR 2012 Executive Director Rod Blackman rblackman@teamAMVETS.org

559-688-3407

Commander Jerry Greer vfwjerry@yahoo.com

707-725-3687

1st Vice Commander Jerry Guevara

559-786-9106

2nd Vice Commander Bud Simmons

707-971-0523

Judge Advocate Terry McCarty

714-585-5804

Finance Officer Provost Marshal Ben Aguayo bsaguayo@gmail.com

626-337-6152

N.E.C. Person Ronald Ferrara rkferrara@gmail.com

626-577-2454

120 North “M” Street

T.O.C.

Officer's Reports...................................................................................... 3 67th Annual Convention Announcement..............................................

Alt. N.E.C. Person

Kissel & Pidgeon Go To Washington................................................... 10

Jr. Past Commander

TEAM AMVETS GEAR is HERE!...........................................................

Trustee SEB A Dennis Boyce

760-252-8491

Trustee SEB B Ray Delgado

310-410-8856

Revalidation Reminder.......................................................................... 12

Northern Area Commander Greg Raffia

530-549-3248

DEC/Legislative Day Photos................................................................ 14

Central Area Commander Alex Halley

559-625-4643

Post Reports.......................................................................................... 16

Southern Area Commander David Diehl

760-323-9085

Honoring Disabled Golfers................................................................... 24

SERVICE FOUNDATION Interim Ex. Director Charles Kissel (714) 761-582011 President Jim Pidgeon 559-688-7269

Commander Greer Attends Four Chaplains Ceremony..................... 26

Directors Pete Ramirez, Helen Wong, Gene Clements, Gene Sustaita and Cephus Daniels

www.calamvets.org

2—California AMVETS Voice - www.calamvets.org

Spring NEC Photos............................................................................... 27

Vol. 16, No. 1

From the Desk of the Executive Director

hank you to everyone who attended our DEC in Santa Maria, it was good to see many new faces as well as returning ones. Special thanks to Judy Clements and Rose Marie Imhoff from Post 2813 for all their help in Santa Maria at the Quartermaster Table. Things have been very busy at headquarters. The C.O.D.E. Endowment (education, job training and counseling) now has a room at the Department. We have five veterans in the system. Two are unemployed, and three are upgrading their skills. One was recently hired by the county, and another who is holding down two jobs has a seven-month-old, and is upgrading his skills. We have been interviewed by a local TV News station and were on the evening edition, thanks to Commander Guevara. Team AMVET hats and shirts are for sale through the Department. You can see what we carry by going to www.teamAMVETS.org. These make great gifts for yourself or as a thank you to others who help your Post with your many ac-

By Rod Blackman

tivities. You now have a choice between wearing the TEAM AMVET ball cap or the AMVET garrison hat at California AMVET Department conventions. You will still need to have a AMVETS garrison hat if you choose to go to National conventions. Dress code for National convention is: Delegates, alternates, and guests must have their registration badges prominently displayed on their clothing to be present on the convention floor. Neither delegates, alternates, or guests will be permitted on the convention floor wearing shorts, t-shirts, tank tops, ball caps or flip-flops (dress sandals are appropriate). Rider berets and Sad Sack covers will be allowed and reasonable accommodations will be made for delegates with disabilities. I look forward to seeing everyone at our convention in Riverside. More information on that elsewhere in the paper. 

AMVETS DEPartment OF California

Upcoming Events May 17: Cut off date to reserve room for June convention. See below. May 25: Deadline to order your banquet tickets for State Convention, tickets are $30 each if received in the department office no later than May 25th. Dinner choices are: Entrées: Coconut Crusted Mahi Mahi fillet finished with tropical mango salsa, served with rice pilaf & grilled vegetables OR Tri-Tip – Slow roasted trip-tip smothered with barbecue sauce, served with garlic red skin mashed potatoes & fresh vegetables Both entrees come with Salad and dessert June 8-10: State Convention, Riverside Marriott, 3400 Market Street, Riverside, CA 951-784-8000 $99 plus tax per night mention AMVETS to get this rate and free parking Complimentary round-trip shuttle service to Ontario International Airport for registered hotel guests. Seventytwo (72) hour advanced reservations required. Complimentary local shuttle service within a five (5) mile radius of the hotel for registered hotel guests, based on availability. Complimentary overnight self parking for registered hotel guests. July: Transition meeting (date TBA by new incoming Commander) July 1: Cut off date to reserve rooms at National convention

August 7-2011: National Convention Hotel: Hilton Daytona Beach Ocean Front 100 North Atlantic Ave. Daytona Beach, FL 3220118 Reservations: (866) 536-8477 (386) 254-8200 Room Rate: $119-129 Parking: Complimentary Florida Night: $15 per person $150 per table of 10 Contact Fertie Brand for advance tickets. Make checks payable to: AMVETS Dept. of FL Mail checks to: Fertie Brand, AMVETS Convention Chair 6213 Travis Boulevard Tampa, FL 33610-5501 September 10: Cut off date to reserve room for October DEC. In Visalia. October 4-7: MARRIOTT Visalia at the Convention Center 300 South Court Street Visalia, CA 93291 Phone: (559) 636-2011 Rooms are $89 plus tax. December: NEC first weekend in December (usually). Check national website after September for definite dates.

Benefits Please visit the National website, http://www.AMVETS.org and click the “Member Benefits” button on the left hand side of the page, or go directly to http://www.amvet.org/membership.benfits.html and note the various providers that AMVETS has as providers of ben-

Vol. 16, No. 1

Deadlines for Quarterly Submissions by Issue

Issue Convention Book Vol. 16, No. 2 Vol. 16, No. 3 Vol. 16, No. 4 Vol. 17, No. 1

Deadline April 1 June 1 September 1 December 1 March 1

California AMVETS Voice - www.calamvets.org —3

1ST Vice Commander's Report By Jerry Guevara

Spring, 2012

ecember ended a VERY busy 6 months. I attended the Fall NEC in Washington DC along with several other members of the Department of California and Service Foundation. It is important for us to attend as we continue to show up in force and tend to make a difference and prove that we are a presence as Team AMVETS. Ater getting back from Washington, DC I attended the local ceremony for Pearl Harbor Day and the rest of the month saw me attending not only various veterans meetings but was also invited to attend Shafter Post 922’s Christmas luncheon for their Post members. I, along with several other Veterans from the Visalia/Tulare area, had started the planning meetings for the 2nd Annual Four Chaplains Ceremony that would be presented Feb. 3. It was felt that it was important to continue presenting this ceremony honoring the sacrifice of Four Chaplains aboard the U.S.A.T. Dorchester Feb. 3, 1943. To go along with several planning meetings I also attended many local AMVETS Post meetings in the District 6 area. Attended the Spring DEC in Santa Maria and was pleasantly surprised with the turn out of so many “Young Veterans”. They certainly helped make a big difference and showed up with much enthusiasm. I appreciate their attendance and hope that they continue to attend more of these and help step up as they are our future. Following the DEC, I along with 2nd Vice Commander Bud Simmons and Service Foundation Executive Director Chuck Kissel attended the Leadership Conference in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. That two-day conference was attended by many AMVET members from various states and was a great learning experience. A lot of great information was passed to us by Headquarters Staff members. Getting back from Tennessee was the presentation of the Four Chaplains Ceremony on Feb. 3 and that was attended by many local community members and loads of AMVETS members from the Visalia/ Tulare areas. Attended many more veterans meetings and continue to be visible to the College of Sequoias’ Veterans club. Currently there are close to 300 veterans that are signed up to take classes this semester and they have quite a few members that are currently club members. Several of those members are now frequenting Tulare’s Post 56 and Visalia’s Post 22 meetings on a continual basis. This is great and we hope that this trend continues. I helped Tulare’s Post 56 members in this year’s food booth that they have during the 3 day World Ag Expo, which is usually attended by over 100,000 people. We were happy to serve, as guests, Depart-

ment Executive Director Rod Blackman and his wife Rose as well as Department Commander Jerry Greer and his wife Judy, stopped by the booth while visiting. I was asked by the COS Veterans to help them during the colleges Club Rush. This is where all the different clubs on campus set up tables to sell food and offer information to help increase their membership. Lots of students stopped by as these veterans are very passionate about what they represent and what they offer. The month ended with me attending the Interagency Veterans Council 2 day conference at the Sacramento Convention Center followed by the California State Commander Veterans Council meeting in old town Sacramento at the California State Military Museum. This was a very busy and very well attended three days of meetings. I attended AMVETS Legislative Day on the last day of the month and took with me to Sacramento one of our younger Veterans, Shawna Olson. She is a member of Tulare’s Post 56 and was just appointed as a credentials committee member. It was a very well attended function and all that attended were able to put a lot of names and faces of our State leadership together as quite a few addressed us. Pete Conaty and Lorraine Plass our Legislative representatives did a great job of arranging everything – Thank You for all of your hard work. As members of Team AMVETS it is very, let me say that again, VERY important to remember what we are here for – not for ourselves, not for financial gains, not for anything other then “Helping Veterans”. We all need to keep that in mind – “Helping Veterans”.

Fall, 2011

t just seems that time really flies by, especially since following the DEC in Visalia which took place Friday September. 30 and Saturday October. 1. Attended several Post meetings in the local area and was able to see what the Posts were up to and being able to speak about how important it is to increase Membership. Was honored to sit at an informational/educational table at Tulare Western High School and speak with seniors about AMVETS during their 2nd Annual Veterans Appreciation Day. They asked a lot of questions and were certainly impressed about what the Service Life was like. Drove up to Sacramento to attend California Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary’s Annual Meeting conducted by Peter J. Gravett, Major General, (Ret.) at the National Guard Armory. Secretary Gravett kind of gave a report card report on what they have been doing and are doing in the process of

4—California AMVETS Voice - www.calamvets.org

helping our Veterans. Following that meeting I sat in on the quarterly meeting for the California State Commanders. This is where all the different Veterans Service Organizations share what they have been doing and trying to support what everyone else is involved in. Leaving Sacramento on Saturday drove up to Santa Rosa and attended Northern Area Commander Greg Raffa’s Northern Area Meeting. This was held at the Memorial Building and was attended by a large majority of the Posts in the Northern Area. Lots of important information was shared by not only the District Commanders but the different Post Commanders as well. This was a very well organized and efficient meeting. Thanks for the hospitality. Was able to attend the opening ceremony for the Wall of Life, Vietnam Memorial Tribute, in the Orosi/Cutler area where there were a lot of speeches and reflection about what happened during that period of time. This attracted a large group of veterans and community members. Drove down to the northern San Diego County area of Ramona for a burial ceremony for a Korean War POW/MIA Native Veteran. Cpl. Eugene Morelli was captured in Feb. 1951 and died while a prisoner. His body, along with several others, were returned to the United States in 1992 and remained in a box, comingled with several others in Hawaii until finally after DNA testing in Octoberober of 2011 his remains were indentified. This Native Veteran from the Mesa Grande reservation was buried following a combined Native/Military ceremony. Several hundred people attended this very emotional ceremony. Was asked to be the keynote speaker for Madera Community College’s Veterans Appreciation Day prior to Veterans Day. The speech was about the History of Veterans Day (or should I say Armistice Day). This event, hosted by the colleges new Veterans Club was attended not only by faculty, community members but also Veterans from the surrounding area. Set up an educational/informational table while in Woodlake for Twilight Parks 3rd Annual Veterans Appreciation Day. Was able to help out quite a few veterans in attendance for this day long event, by answering questions about their benefits, AMVETS and also handing out brochures announcing our new Career Center that opened up in Tulare at the Department Offices. As you all can attest to, Veterans Day was very busy. Attended a Veterans Day program where local veterans were honored for their service from World War II and up to today’s conflicts. There were by estimates close to 500 people in attendance. After that nearly three-hour program drove over to the local National Guard Armory where there was a ceremony to officially name it in honor of Specialist Daniel P. Unger, who was killed while in action. This honor was conducted by Major General David S. Baldwin, the Adjutant General, California Military

Vol. 16, No. 1

Department. This memorial dedication was attended by several hundred community members and dignitary. Immediately following the armory dedication drove to the town of Exeter where I then attended the dedication of the Battlefield Cross statue. This was to honor 8 classmates from Exeter High School who were all killed while in action during the Vietnam War. Even during the rain, this event was attended not only by City leaders but close to 100 local residents. I along with members of AMVETS Post 56 set up several informational/educational tables during a local Veterans Resource Event (VRE). This was held at the local EDD building and close to 100 unemployed veterans attended. We discussed not only AMVETS, but were also able to set up appointments to visit the Service Officer and discussed in depth the new Career Center. There was a lot of positive feedback for this event. Had the honor to drive to Santa Barbara Post 3 to attend Post 3’s monthly meeting. I met up with Commander Greer there and we both were very pleased by not only their turn out but the events and functions that they have been involved in. I was honored to be able to not only perform an Activation Ceremony but to also install the new officers for Post 2011 in Clovis. I along with Central Area Commander Alex Halley and Jess Ahmunda, Post 99 member and Spiritual Leader for AIVA performed the necessary ritual. As you can see, I have been most busy, but every where I go, I speak about AMVETS. It is a necessity to speak that language advising everyone how important it is to join our organization. We are now able to bring a lot to the table, much more than in the past. I encourage you all to start speaking AMVETS, it is most important for the survival of our organization.

Fall NEC REPORT

Nov. 30 – Dec. 3, 2011

epartment Commander Jerry Greer, Finance Officer David Cropper and I decided to go in a day earlier than necessary in order to take the time to drive over to the National Headquarters in Lanham, Maryland. Driving around Washington, D.C. was a unique experience; we all thought that we had left bumper to bumper traffic back in California. The drive, because of traffic and construction, took a little over an hour. Upon arriving we were greeted by National Service Director Denny Boller who spent a few minutes with us and then he took us and introduced us to Harry Neal, the new National Membership Director. We spent quite a bit of time in his office discussing membership issues as well as the C.O.D.E. (Call of Duty Endowment) and what it has done to support the Career Centers. Looking at the video clips and what an important tool it is in recruiting new younger veteran members. Harry was very open and honest in assessing AMVETS membership issues with us. His frankness on how we should use the tools that are in place and at

Vol. 16, No. 1

our finger tips and also if necessary to either call or e-mail him was well received by us, especially me. During our, rather long talk, Stewart Hickey, the new National Executive Director, knowing that we were in the building, stopped by to introduce himself. He then gave us some background information on himself and then took the time to bring us up to speed on what he was involved in. Stewart then took us to the new Commanders office and introduced us to Gary Fry, our new National Commander. Commander Fry invited us into his office and made sure that we were comfortable and then gave us an overview of what he had been doing since taking office. He shared with us his most recent trip that he took, along with several other Commanders from some of the different Veterans Service Organizations to Afghanistan. As we were leaving we were greeted by Jay Ag, National Communications Director. He also took time out of his busy day to talk with us and even went and looked for something that Commander Greer was interested in. National Headquarters even has a room that is dedicated to the USS Arizona, and has even named the room on that behalf. Jay spoke about what he is doing and how he is getting the word out about AMVETS, using all the different social medias: Facebook, Twitter and even the AMVETS Veterans magazine. We would like to thank all the staff that greeted us so warmly taking the time out of their busy day, especially with the NEC starting the next day. Friday started off with most of the California group attending the National Service Foundation meeting which is presided over by President Bill Boettcher (who is also a PNC). He stressed more than once that the NSF is/has been hit with poor revenue based on the economy and also because possibly of starting up a new store in Long Island, NY. Following the NSF there was the meet of their Charities Company and then followed by the Finance Committee. During the Finance committee there was information provided by an independent auditor. Items discussed were possibly increasing membership dues for Life Memberships hoping to increase Annual members – more revenue. After the lunch break there were two meetings at the same time. One was for the Long Range Planning Committee and the other for Programs. Since I was very interested in the Long Range, especially since it is run by George Ondick, from Ohio, who visited our DEC to announce that he was running for a National position and was instrumental in “Membership Resource Guide”, which I plan on using as a tool to help with our membership issues. Not only was their discussion about the Membership Resource Guide, they even asked if I would advise them of what I had uncovered with the survey that I had done, but that are looking at establishing a uniform National District’s Constitution. A committee was established to “write” up a uniform code where ALL National Districts operate the same by creating District bylaws. Some other items discussed were: updating the website in order to attract younger veterans and that the Membership director would like to see an overall

membership increase to 200,000. The other news was announcing a National Leadership Training Conference. There is one planned this January in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. The purpose is basically train the trainers. Topics will include: how to get members interested in holding office in a Post, motivating volunteers, communications/social media, membership strategies and how to deal with unmotivated and uncooperative members. Programs roundtable was very well attended with lots of handouts and overhead graphics. Of particular note was what the Top Programs are: Military Funeral Honors (14%), Sick & Hospitalized Veterans (13%) and Americanism (10%), per Nationals. It was advised that a lot of Posts wait until the last possible moment to report their programs, making it very difficult for the Post/department 2nd Vice Commanders to effectively to do their jobs – waiting to the last possible moment to report what programs that their Posts have done. This was where the Quality Post awards were announced. This will be announced at the DEC in Santa Maria next month. National “Because We Care Day” will be April 4, 2012. Membership meeting followed with another large crowd. There was a really nice video presentation by Harry Neal. This was all about Call of Duty Endowment. It was mentioned that there are some good tools out there that we can use to help us increase our membership: MAL’s (Members At Large), Ladies Auxiliary, Sons of AMVETS and Thrift Stores. (We need to see if we can put Membership Recruitment tools – Applications and/or Posters or possibly Career Center Posters). We need, as Post/department to update our members e-mail lists at our monthly meetings. That would make it easier to keep in touch with our members. A note of interest: “Only 1 in 10 in America can join AMVETS”. Also, it was pointed out that in 2002 we, as a Department, had 73 Posts and 9,101 members. Per last report we currently have 50 Posts and 10,900 members. The goal of Commander Greer is to increase our Posts by 5 and membership by 500. These goals are not unrealistic. Saturday was met with most everyone attending the NEC meeting. This is where all the attending NEC members from attending states give their reports. We were most impressed with our NEC man and what he had to report. It had to do with what we as a Department has been doing, mentioning about the West LA VA issue, and asking support from Nationals, the Air Force Officers early termination (and now possibly the Navy getting involved in). Post 34’s Alexandra Crichlow was introduced and she spoke on behalf of the “The Whole Vet” program and made a presentation as well. It is important to note that Team AMVETS is slowly becoming a positive factor at the National level. It was announced that we now have 8 Department members now sitting on National Committees, this from none. This is a great bench mark for the Continued on next page

California AMVETS Voice - www.calamvets.org —5

Continued from previous page Department of California. It is also noted that the Past National Commanders continue to sit on numerous committees and boards. It makes it very difficult for any NEW member to get involved. There are no new ideas because of this

make-up. This NEC was, in my opinion, the most productive with the make-up of the group that went. There were lots more interaction and people talking with us than in the past. Everyone liked the Team AMVETS look that

we took with us and I appreciate that I am the Departments 1st Vice. I take ownership with being in charge of Membership and with the information that I received this past weekend, I know, that I will help Commander Greer attain his goal of adding 500 new members this 2011-2012.

2nd Vice Commander's Report By Bud Simmons

arch 2, 2012 was a great day to be in the City by the Bay, San Francisco, home of the fabulous Post 34, attending the Veteran & Military Resource Fair and witnessing the execution of the San Francisco Armed Forces Community Covenant. I, along with other guests, was invited to also sign the Covenant which I found gratifying as San Francisco is my hometown.

Pictured right are Dean Glaser, Post 96; Sheryl Shaffer our AMVET host of TV Series – Veterans Helping Veterans; myself; Commander Jerry Greer and Helen Wong of Post 34.

Alexandra Crichlow, member of Post 34 and a Commissioner on the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Commission was one of the leaders of this project as well as a speaker. Needless to say Alexandra certainly personifies California Team AMVETS with her work in the community as well as a tireless advocate for our veterans. A remarkable young lady. The Armed Forces Community Covenant originated in April of 2008 with over 700 Community Covenants being signed by community members in 48 states, three territories and the District of Columbia. San Francisco has one of the largest military and veteran communities in the country and this covenant is dedicated to reaching the thousands of men and women who need the support of the community before, during and after their military service. An excellent forum for communities to show support and get involved. Two other most famous events taking place at the San Francisco War Memorial Building - The Herbst Theater to be exact was the signing of the United Nation’s Charter in 1945 and my graduation from High School in 1950. I was hoping that our Department would have attained 100% in Program Reporting for the period ending 12/31/2011, but we fell a handful of posts short. Program Reporting is our Report Card to Congress and bears much weight in AMVETS attaining support at the National level. You are asked to report your programs on a regular basis. Reporting is a requirement of your post in order to maintain your non-profit status. This is a must. I will be visiting those posts that failed to meet their reporting within the next few months.

By Alex Halley, CAC

ow time flies. We have passed the DEC in Santa Maria. The meeting there was a good one. A large number of young veterans attended, and took part in many meetings. Hats off to Greg Raffa for conducting a young veterans meeting where they took part and the older veterans sat on the side lines. It is always great to hear from all posts and areas about their activities, what they wish for and hope for grants to help out. There are many

After attending the DEC in Santa Maria in January and receiving an appointment from Commander Jerry Greer as Chairman of the Awards Committee, I ventured to Tennessee to attend the AMVET Leadership Training Conference, accompanying 1st Vice Commander Jerry Guevara and Chuck Kissel PhD, ED of the Foundation. This was a very informative conference and had the opportunity to meet counterparts of other states; not wanting to repeat what Dr. Kissel and 1st VC Guevara may have to report elsewhere in the Voice; I will defer to them. I attended AMVET Legislative Day on 29 February, accompanied by our District 8 Commander Dave Richey, who is one the most knowledgeable when it comes to bringing a Post into COMPLIANCE. If your Post is not compliant, I strongly suggest you contact Dave. CALIFORNIA TEAM AMVETS turned out en masse on Legislative Day and once again Pete Conaty and his aide Dana Nichol and our Legisative Chairperson Lorraine Plass paraded many of our top Legislators before the group. AMVET Legislators of the Year were announced and appear on page 9 of this issue of the California AMVETS Voice.

CENTRAL AREA Commander's Report

successful programs going on all over the state promoting the California AMVETS. One in particular that was very successful was The Four Cahaplains program in Visalia, CA. Kudos to Jerry Guevara, 1st Vice Commander of the state, who was very involved with the committee for this program. It was well attended, and promises to continue being one of the highlights of the year. Tom Donwen and I posted colors for the event. The Vietnam Vets closed the meeting by retiring colors. Great job Jerry! Our Central Area meetings continue on the first Saturday each month. At the January meeting

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I was privileged to have in attendance: State Commander Jerry Greer, 1st Vice Commander Jerry Guevara, Finance Officer David Cropper, Executive Director Rod Blackman, Past State Commander Charles Ramos, Foundation President Jim Pidgeon, Alternate NEC man Tom Donwen, and Service Officer Carl Bates. They requested to be put on the CAC agenda to speak. That gave the opportunity of all posts to attend and ask questions just before DEC. This was honor for this area commander to have the state officers coming together at our Central Area meeting. The Post 56 Honor Guard continues to stay

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Continued from previous page busy with services for our deceased veterans. We had nine in January and 11 in February and still counting. The International World Ag Expo has just completed. This is the largest Ag Expo in the World and is in Tulare, CA each year. This year topped the number of people attending. AMVETS had a food booth at the Expo and many of our local AMVETS put in long hours at the event. Thanks to them for their volunteer work. We have another great guy at all these meetings who you don’t hear about often. I want to also give Kudos to Al Verrett. You see him going around taking pictures. I want to say a big thanks to Al for the excellent photography. I’m looking forward to our next big trip to Riverside, CA June 8-10. Reservations must be made by May 17, 2012. Room rates are $99 per night. There

CAC Halley speaking in Santa Maria

is shuttle service to and from the Ontario Airport. It is not too early to remind everyone that the National Convention in Daytona Beach, Florida is August 4-11, 2012. Reservations can be made now if you plan to go. It is a wonderful opportunity to see Florida, and show National that California is here to stay! We must also realize it is just over a month until Easter. Jesus is risen, and he is caring for us all. May you travel in safety, and I look forward to seeing all who attend our meetings, and give of their time and energy for our California Team AMVETS. “Just for today, I will adjust myself to what is, and not try to make everything over to suit me. If I cannot have what I like, I will try to like what I have.” (Dr. Charles W. Edwards Jr.)

Commander Greer and CAC Halley

AMVETS DEPARTMENT of CALIFORNIA 67TH ANNUAL CONVENTION JUNE 8 – 10, 2012 (Friday to Sunday) Riverside Marriott 951-784-8000 3400 Market Street, Riverside, CA 92501

$99 plus tax per night mention AMVETS to get this rate and free parking

Complimentary round-trip shuttle service to Ontario International Airport for registered hotel guests. Seventy-two (72) hour advanced reservations required. • Complimentary local shuttle service within a five (5) mile radius of the hotel for registered hotel guests, based on availability. Complimentary overnight self parking for registered hotel guests. • Complimentary in-room Wired for Business, including wired high speed internet access, local and toll calls

Cut off date is 17 May 2012 Vol. 16, No. 1

California AMVETS Voice - www.calamvets.org —7

Department Legislative Chair Lorraine Plass Department Legislative Chair

AMVETS 3rd Annual Lobby Day Report

ver 55 AMVET members from throughout California assembled on Wednesday morning, February 29 at the state Capitol for the 3rd Annual AMVETS Day at the Capitol. Even though it was Leap Day, it was the best Capitol Day yet. Each year keeps getting better as the California legislators learn more about Team AMVETS. We decided to do things differently this year – and working with your Legislative Committee (John Reece, Mary White, Bud Simmons and Pete Ramirez) we organized our lobbying efforts at the Capitol. We met early and divided the Capitol up by floors. After the morning speakers and lunch, AMVETS members visited all 120 legislative offices to deliver a handout explaining who Team AMVETS is and all the great work AMVETS does helping veterans in California. We also delivered a list of bills that AMVETS either is sponsoring or was in support of. A list of these bills is printed on the next page. Additionally, during the lobby day morning speaker portion of the day, AMVETS voted to sponsor AB 2151 by Assemblywoman Linda Halderman concerning the funding for the new Redding and Fresno veterans homes so they may open beginning in July 2012. Currently, there is no funding in the Governor’s budget for these homes in FY 2012/13. AMVETS also voted to sponsor AB 2250 by Assemblymembers Beth

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Gaines and Chris Norby which requires a student, spouse of a student who is an active member of the Armed Forces or the State Military Reserve, or is a former member who was honorably discharged to be exempt from paying nonresident tuition at the California State University and the California Community Colleges. Everyone participated in the event. Team AMVETS leadership, as usual, did a great job. Many pictures were taken in Team AMVET ball caps (thank you, Jim Pidgeon). I hope we can get a cap to each legislator soon. Both Senator Lou Correa and Assemblywoman Mariko Yamada received their Legislator of the Year awards and spoke eloquently about their support for veterans. Meeting the new CDVA leadership was great. Both Jerry Guervera and I met them a week earlier while representing Team AMVETS at the Interagency Veterans Council two-day meeting. We pinned a Team AMVETS pin on every legislator that attended our event. Overall, Team AMVETS made a huge impression on the state Capitol. Between the Team AMVETS ball caps and pins, as well as the name tags that Pete Conaty’s office provided, Team AMVETS was more visible than ever before. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all of you who attended this wonderful event.

Vol. 16, No. 1

Legislative Advocate's Report

By Pete Conaty & Dana Nichol

PETE CONATY & ASSOCIATES GOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS 201107 9th Street, Suite 530 Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 492-0550 (916) 492-8957 fax

n February 29, Team AMVETS held its 3rd Annual Capitol Legislative Day at the State Capitol. The event was well attended by over 55 Team AMVETS members from Posts across California. Post 9126-West Sacramento, Post 101-Yountville, and Post 1774-Oroville had notable attendance. Post 1774 had ten attendees. Many Department officers were also present. Seventeen State Senators and Assemblymembers stopped in to address the attendees and show their support for veterans and talk about any veterans related legislation they are seeking AMVETS’ support on. I was able to sign up several legislators who are veterans for membership in AMVETS. The following legislators spoke to Team AMVETS: Senators Joel Anderson (R-San Diego) Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana) Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale) Ted Lieu (D-Redondo Beach) Mike Rubio (D-East Bakersfield) Assemblymembers Joan Buchanan (D-Alamo) Betsy Butler (D-Marina Del Ray) Paul Cook (R-Yucca Valley) Beth Gaines (R-Roseville) Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield) Linda Halderman (R-Fresno) Steve Knight (R-Palmdale) Jim Nielsen (R-Gerber) Richard Pan (D-Natomas) Henry Perea (D-Fresno) Mariko Yamada (D-Davis) Jeff Gorell (R-Camarillo) is deployed to Afghanistan. His Chief of Staff Mark Timmerman spoke on his behalf. The Department also presented its 2011 Legislator of the Year awards to the two legislators who have gone the extra mile to support California’s veterans and their families. Senator Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana) and Assemblywoman Mariko Yamada (D-Davis) were selected for their longstanding support of veterans, service members, and their families during their legislative careers, as well as their leadership and support during their service on the Veterans Affairs Committees of their respective Houses. California Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Peter Gravett brought members of CDVA’s top leadership team to address the group. Secretary Gravett, Undersecretary for Veterans Homes Robin Umberg, Deputy Secretary for Administration Mark Lennon, and Deputy Secretary for Women Veteran Affairs Lindsey Wathen briefed AMVETS attendees on the status of their program areas and on the goals of the CDVA. Thanks to all the Department and Foundation leadership and the Legislative Committee for all of their work to make this the most successful event to date, and special thanks to all the Team AMVETS members who attended this great event!

Vol. 16, No. 1

This is the list of bills handed out to 120 legislators at the State Capitol with the Team AMVETS positions listed.

Bill # - Position Author, Title

AB1550 - Support

Bonilla Vehicles: Veterans’ Organizations License Plates: Fees

AB 1725 - Sponsor

B. Lowenthal Driver’s Licenses: Identification Cards: Veterans

AB 2004 - Sponsor

Knight Personal Income Tax Law: Exclusion: Military Veterans

AB 2133 - Support

Blumenfield Veterans: Registration and Resident Classification

AB 2371 - Sponsor

Butler Veterans: Criminal Defendants: Mental Health Issues

AB 2490 - Sponsor

Butler Veterans service officers: correctional facilities

AB 2548 - Support

Mitchell California Veterans Board

AB 262011 - Sponsor Butler Veterans Courts

SB 383 - Support

Wolk Remote Caller Bingo

SB 661 - Sponsor

Lieu Crime: Picketing

SB 1422 - Sponsor

Anderson Handguns: Handgun Safety Certificate: Exemptions

SB 1526 - Sponsor

La Malfa Charitable Organizations: Reporting

SB1563 - Sponsor

Cannella Civil Service Examinations: Veteran's Preference

California AMVETS Voice - www.calamvets.org —9

Kissel and Pidgeon Go to Washington

Team AMVETS Lobbies in Washington for West L.A. VAMC

MVETS Department of California Service Foundation President Jim Pidgeon and Executive Director Chuck Kissel visited Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on March 6, 2012. They met with lawmakers to discuss Team AMVETS’ ongoing efforts to secure expansion and improvements to rehabilitation and residence facilities on the campus of the West Los Angeles Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center. During a busy day of meetings, Pidgeon and Kissel met with Congressman Henry Waxman (D-CA), key advisors for Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA) on veterans’ issues, and a staff member for the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. At the meetings, Jim and Chuck thanked the Members and staff for their support of past efforts to authorize and appropriate funding for homeless veterans facilities and urged the officials to pursue similar funding to repurpose other buildings on the West L.A. VAMC site for supportive housing for veterans. Beyond their requests for specific funding to complete renovation of three buildings so that they will be suitable for homeless veterans’ use, Jim and Chuck advocated for a longer-term objective of improving and enhancing a large tract of the campus to make it better suited for use by veterans, including homeless veterans. Chuck and Jim were guided around Capitol Hill by Public Policy attorneys from the Team AMVETS Washington law firm, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, including former Congressman Greg Laughlin, a four-term Member of Congress from Texas and Army veteran (the only sitting Member of

Congress to have served on active duty in the Gulf War); Elizabeth Moeller, head of the Public Policy Practice; and Craig Saperstein, a former Senate Democratic staff member. In addition to their meetings with lawmakers, Pidgeon and Kissel were very effective advocates, walking the Halls of Congress, eating lunch in the Members’ only dining room in the U.S. Capitol, and sharing elevator rides with several leading Members of Congress. This picture was snapped in the National Statuary Hall in front of the statue of Father Junipero Serro, one of the two statues representing the state of California. Washington, D.C. has been abuzz with activity this year, as Congress and Obama Administration officials work at a frenzied pace in advance of the 2012 election. In his recently released budget request to Congress for Fiscal Year 2013, President Obama recommends $1.352 billion for programs to prevent and treat veterans’ homelessness, a $333 million (or 33 percent) increase from the FY 2012 level. This budget aims to support the VA’s long range plan to eliminate veterans’ homelessness by 2015, which will necessitate reducing the number of homeless veterans to 35,000 in 2013. Consistent with the Team AMVETS mandate, Pidgeon and Kissel will continue to work with their Washington representatives over the coming months to ensure that Members of Congress and officials at the VA understand that remedying the acute homeless veterans problem in Los Angeles is necessary to achieving this goal.

PRESIDENTS REPORT By Jim Pidgeon

AMVETS DEPT. OF CA. SERVICE FOUNDATION

EAM AMVETS started 2012 off with a “bang” 20-23 January in Santa Maria! The atmosphere inside the historic Santa Maria Inn was like nothing I have seen before, sparked by a large presence of optimistic and excited young veterans! Young veterans excited with the direction AMVETS California is going! Young veterans that are excited with our revolutionary “first of its kind” programs like College Transition Program (CTP) and Chapman University AMVETS Legal Clinic. Young veterans that are excited that the leadership of the Department of California is finally listening to their concerns! Young veterans that came to the mike, one after another and addressed the body. Young veterans that were not there for just “lip service”! Young veterans that were there to help! Young veteran members that manned the registration table! Young veterans that attended many meetings and voiced their opinions! Young veterans that were eager to learn about AMVETS! Young veterans that are helping AMVET Posts all over the state! Young veterans excited with the concept of TEAM AMVETS! I commend Cmdr. Greer for his leadership in the spirit of TEAM AMVETS and his appointments of young veterans to key positions and committees. My “hat is off” to ED Rod Blackman for his tireless efforts to educate and mentor our young vets in the internal workings and procedures of California AMVETS. Also I would like to thank Greg Raffa for his efforts and support of young veterans.

I too am excited about the direction of TEAM AMVETS! I am excited to see young veterans joining our ranks. I am excited to hear the reports from our fellow VSO’s and contemporaries showing an interest in California AMVETS. I report to you today that we still have lots of work to do. I report to you that we as AMVETS are on the “right track”. A track that not only is attentive to young veterans, but to all California AMVETS. I am proud to report that your AMVET service officers directly assisted ALL veterans, AMVET or not, young or old, with over $135 million dollars of benefit claims in 2011. I look forward to attending the annual service officer training meeting in San Diego this April to thank your service officers. I will soon travel to Washington D.C. to work on AMVETS California business with ED Kissel. I will report our findings at convention in Riverside this June. I attended Legislation Day in Sacramento at the state capital. This was my third year in attendance. Pete Conaty and company did an excellent job. There were plenty of interesting legislators and visitor speakers. TEAM AMVETS was well represented and respected in our state capital. I arranged for one of Post 56’s future AMVET leader Shawna Olson and 1st. Vice Cmdr. Jerry Guevara to meet Assembly Republican Leader Connie Conway. Shawna did a wonderful job as one of the “new faces” of AMVETS and presented Republican Leader Conway with a pink TEAM AMVETS hat. As I have said we still have some work to do. Together we as TEAM AMVETS are literally “re-writing the book” so to speak...in a new direction to assist our fellow veterans. Some

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Vol. 16, No. 1

President's Report, cont. from previous page of these new ideas, directions and programs, in my opinion, are absolutely necessary for the survival of AMVETS. We all now realize decreasing membership is one of the “number one” concerns for ALL the major VSO’s. Working as TEAM AMVETS, I am confident the future of California AMVETS will increase members in time. I firmly believe TEAM AMVETS is setting the standard for all VSO’s to follow! TEAM AMVETS has “raised the bar” leading the way into the 21st. century to better serve the brave men and women veterans (“Freedom Warriors”) past and present. Some of the old “Status Quo” may require some “fine tuning” to better serve our veterans in the future. Change is an absolutely necessity! Change is often “feared” by some. Change by some may be considered as “disregarding” the past. Change is the mixing of the past and the present for the benefit of the future! With time all companies, organizations and relationships change. We as AMVETS must change also. Our survival and our very existence depends on it! Change is key to long range planning. We must embrace this change and “tune” wisely as we move forward. As a company we must keep our eyes and ears open. It is a must that we listen and react to changes in the marketplace. Our market is helping veterans and their families. A critical share of the market ( young veterans ) have been telling us for a few years now their wants, concerns and direction for the future. This year at the DEC conference in Santa Maria, in my opinion, we have begun to listen more

carefully. Listening makes perfect business sense! Now is the time to “do the right thing”...time to address the needs of young veterans and seriously recruit and welcome them into our ranks. We also held the foundation meeting across the street from the capital building on 29 Feb. and members Greg Raffa, Northern Area Cmdr., Jerry Guevara 1st Vice, Frank Guerra Post 56 member, and several northern area members were in attendance as welcome visitors. The foundation board of directors unanimously approved the exploratory launching of the TEAM AMVETS Chocolate Inspired tm FREEDOM BARS tm. I will report to the body in Riverside convention the progress of the Chocolate Inspired Program and some new trademark logos and slogans that I have tasked legal to secure for future TEAM AMVETS programs. Also the board approved new TEAM AMVET Challenge coins that ED Blackman will soon offer to support the “your” department. I foresee a bright future for California AMVETS! I look forward to carefully blending the needs of AMVETS past and the needs of AMVETS today. I personally would like to thank you the members, for the incredible show of support and New found enthusiasm, working in the spirit of TEAM AMVETS. “You wear our hat...we got your back” TM Hope to see you all at convention in Riverside this summer! Yours in TEAM AMVETS. Jim Pidgeon

Official Licensed GEAR

IS HERE!

To order: Contact AMVETS Dept. CA, 559-688-3407 or write: AMVETS Dept. of CA 120 North M Street, Tulare, CA 93274 All orders are subject to shipping costs

Vol. 16, No. 1

California AMVETS Voice - www.calamvets.org —11

REVALIDATION George McNally Department Deputy REMINDER Chaplain Ensure you are using the 2012 Revalidation & Officers form, for the most current form go to www. AMVETS.org, click on Resources, Download forms then on Post Revalidation. Last updated form should say revised May 2011. You will need to submit: 1. Revalidation and Officers’ Form completed and submitted to AMVETS Department of California Headquarters (by July 1st, 2012). 2. IF a post has a post home please make certain insurance is current and for correct amount $100,000 for facility just for meeting purposes, $300,000 for facility with clubroom) and on record with AMVETS Department of California Headquarters. IF a post has a clubroom please ensure a copy of the Liquor Liability is also current and on record at State Headquarters. Also ensure State and National Headquarters are included as additionally insured on policy. 3. Ensure the post has a minimum of 10 members in good standing 4. Ensure your Post has submitted a 990 to the IRS and a copy of your Post’s most current 990 is submitted to State Headquarters. NOTE: If a copy of your most current 990 is not received your post charter will be suspended. 5. Each post shall be required to report its activities in accordance with National’s programs reporting requirements. On or before July 1 of each year, Department may suspend the charter of all Posts that have not complied with such requirements. Any charter so suspended shall remain suspended until such post shall have complied with such requirements and shall have received a Certificate of Revalidation to the charter from National. Any post whose charter remains suspended for six (6) consecutive months for any of the foregoing reasons, may have its charter revoked without any further action being necessary. AMVETS Dept. of California 2011 Bylaws: Article XV, Section 18, pages 19 and 20: Please forward all paperwork to AMVETS Department of California Headquarters and we will forward to AMVETS National Headquarters accordingly. Do NOT send directly to National. Paperwork must first be verified by the Department. Thank You, Rod Blackman Executive Director AMVETS Department of California Headquarters

n February I was honored to go with a group of AMVET volunteers to Loma Linda Hospital. As we went from bed to bed we raised the spirits of all whom we came in contact with, giving a cheery greeting, a lap cover, underwear, socks, a bag of goodies and a valentine card made by a child with love.

While myself recovering in the hospital I was given a message from above, which I want to share with you all. When the shadows of live grow longer and before birthdays no longer exist, there is a age old question that we should all know the answer to. When our Creator we shall meet, will he say: “Welcome good and faithful servant” or will he say “I know you not”?  God Bless America. God Bless our active military and veterans. God Bless AMVETS.

USAF REUNION July 27-29, 2012

602

MAINTENANCE SQUADRON

ALL YEARS

For more information please contact Allen Deuan 480-309-1726 or Rod Coffey 559-542-1708

Update from an AMVETS Scholarship Recipient

Your assistance makes the difference in the lives of students and the world February 13, 2012 Dear AMVETS Scholarship Committee, Hope all is well! As you may remember, my name is Brianna Pang (from Skyline High School in Oakland, CA), and I was one of the 2009 AMVETS Scholarship recipients. I recently concluded the fall quarter of my junior year, and now am in the middle of winter quarter. I am writing to provide an update of my progress since my last letter (at the end of freshman year). I want to thank you again for your generous support, which has sustained me for the last three years – I am very grateful for your support of my college education, since the experience has opened my eyes to a new world of possibilities and opportunities. Stanford has been a challenge, but I’m happy to report that the struggles I had during freshman year have decreased significantly. Coming from an Oakland public school, I was initially worried that I wouldn’t be able to catch up to my peers – but with two and a half years of too many all-nighters, I have maintained my overall GPA to over 3.7. Though there are still the moments in which I feel a little behind my peers, I am glad to report that I am still going strong academically. As a junior, I’ve declared a fairly new, interdisciplinary major called Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity, with a focus in public service. I am on track to graduate in June 2013 with a B.A. with honors, since I will also be writing a senior honors thesis during my senior year. On the way, I also happened to pick up a Political Science minor (without initially intending to do so, but it happened anyway as a result of my exploration of courses). The road has been tough, and it will continue to be tough, but I’m almost there! In high school, I fully intended to pursue public health and pre-medical studies – but the study of education policy completely stole my heart freshman year. I reported in my letter at the end of freshman year that I’ve become increasingly interested in the world of law for public interest and education policy – and amazingly, my interests haven’t changed significantly since then. After doing research with an education professor on a college counseling research project during spring quarter of last year, my interest in education has only increased. I recently applied for the Stanford School of Education’s Policy, Organization, and Leadership Studies master’s program to learn more about education law and policy. I intend to complete a fourth-year master’s degree, hopefully in my senior year. Admissions are tough, but please keep your fingers crossed for me! I still intend to attend law school also, since I’m interested in the child advocacy and education law. However, I’ve decided to take about a year or so off first to work or take advantage of Post-graduate fellowship opportunities, and to reflect on my choices to figure out where I want to go next. If I have learned anything in the past three years, I’ve learned that passions develop and plans can change – had I not taken Continued on next page

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Vol. 16, No. 1

Update, cont.

that one course in Introduction to Humanities on Freedom, Equality and Difference, my college career would have turned out vastly different. The year off would allow me to explore opportunities. In addition to academics, I have continued to maintain a commitment to various activities. This pastspring, I was elected to our student government’s Undergraduate Senate, and then elected to the role of Chair of the Appropriations Committee to manage over $2 million dollars in student funds. In the role of a student senator, I have been able to advocate for issues like workers’ rights on campus and the California DREAM Act. As chair of Appropriations, I have had the opportunity to work with the over 650 student groups on campus on their finances, budgets, and funding. It has been an incredible experience thus far. At the same time, I have received the opportunity to intern at the Superior Courts of California through the California JusticeCorps program. Throughout my sophomore year, I committed 300 AmeriCorps hours to working in the family law facilitator’s office in the Superior Court of California, San Mateo County. I worked directly with self-represented litigants (people who could not afford attorneys) in a small office of three attorneys to increase access to justice. Since there are 8,361 self-represented litigants for every 1 legal aid lawyer, one-third of legal services needs of low-income Californians are not met – thus, the family law facilitators’ offices and self-help center of California were created to assist people in family law and small claims. I have been able to help people with child custody or child support issues, domestic violence prevention orders, and divorces. We also got opportunities to assist judges in domestic violence court. As the youngest intern in the office, it was especially tough working in the internship since I was only 18 years old when I started – I had only barely aged out of the court system! The experience has been a real eye-opener, and a great insight on how the law can be an aid for the marginalized. This internship experience then led me to a summer internship opportunity in Los Angeles County. For this past summer, I intern with the Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County, a nonprofit law firm that aims to serve the poor community of L.A. I was placed at the Superior Court of California, L.A. County Northeast District – in Pasadena, CA. I did largely the same work as I did in San Mateo, but with the addition of helping tenants in housing law to prevent them from being evicted for wrongful reasons. Since I had a lot of spare time, I also opted to volunteer at the Workers Rights Clinics in Pacoima, CA and El Monte, CA, helping workers on expungements (so they can find a job again) and wage claims to the Labor Commissioner. After concluding my internship, I’ve decided to extend my work with the California JusticeCorps. Now, as Stanford Campus Representative, I’m employed through the Superior Court of Alameda County to mentor those who are doing the internship and to work during shifts where the office is short-staffed. In my last letter, I mentioned that I was spending the summer after my freshman year teaching abroad in three different countries: Croatia, Romania, and China. I learned a lot about cultural exchange and global volunteerism during the summer, and I decided to stay involved in the organization after my teaching stints to be a staff member. During my sophomore year, I served as the Stanford Campus Director, recruiting and training Stanford volunteers – and now, I serve as one of three co-Executive Directors at the organization Learning Enterprises (www.learningenterprises.org) as Executive Director of Training and Recruiting. I am now coordinating staff members from campuses across the United States, Ireland, and the United Kingdom, including Trinity College Dublin, Georgetown, Yale, Emory, and University of Edinburgh among others. Needless to say, I am incredibly grateful for Skype and email – running a nonprofit organization is hard work especially when staff members are so spread out through different countries! In addition, I designed and implemented an action grants program for the organization, for alumni to return to their regions (in which they volunteered) to start up service projects to serve a need they saw while teaching in the village. The process of grant writing and searching for foundations to support us has been tough, but so far has been rewarding – working with Learning Enterprises has been a great learning experience. Additionally, I was recently named to the State Farm Youth Advisory Board – State Farm’s largest service-learning initiative, in which 30 youth chosen throughout the United States and Canada get to decide how to allocate $5 mil-

Vol. 16, No. 1

lion dollars in philanthropy dollars to nonprofit organizations. For these next two years, I’ll be serving on the board reading grant applications from 501c3 nonprofits as the California zone representative. I love serving on the Board, since it’s a way of working on the issues that I am most passionate about through a different way than I’m used to. Philanthropy has become increasingly interesting to me. While running a nonprofit, I’ve discovered how money is really the lifeblood of an organization. I’ve also learned that commitment to public service can come in many forms, from a private citizen mentoring a struggling child one-on-one to corporations donating millions to public interest causes. This has developed my perspective on the relationship between the private sector world and the nonprofit world. Without generous donations from the private sector, I would not have been able to pursue a higher education or I would have been riddled with high amounts of debt. At the beginning of college, I thought that the two worlds are completely separate, but I’m realizing that these two worlds are incredibly intertwined – and this is informing my decision of what career to ultimately pursue, whether that would be in the private or public sector. For this coming summer, I received the Human Rights Fellowship from the Stanford Center for Ethics in Society to intern with the Legal Resources Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa. I will be traveling there in June 2012, and will be returning in Augustust 2012 (just in time for my older sister’s wedding!) I will be working on an education funding research project with some of the attorneys, analyzing South Africa’s education funding system and comparing it to different education funding systems throughout the African continent. I’m really excited, since the LRC is a wonderful human rights law organization. In my free time, I’ve been working also on designing an Alternative Spring Break project since last spring. This next quarter, I (along with a co-leader) will be leading a group of 14 Stanford students in a winter quarter course on civil rights and education, which will culminate in a trip to Washington DC to meet with policymakers, nonprofit leaders, and politicians. We’ve developed a syllabus, and thus far, we’ve also lined up a meeting with Congressman John Lewis and visits to the Department of Education, the Department of Justice (Voting Rights Division), the Supreme Court, and the Children’s Defense Fund. Our ASB is entitled: “Change Oh Let’s Do It: Civil Rights in the Age of Obama” – we’re aiming to teach fellow students about civil rights and education struggles of the 21st century and galvanize them to work on these issues. Usually, great projects come out of ASB teams, so we’re hoping to inspire our participants to become changemakers! Finally, I still serve as a mentor for high school seniors who are applying to colleges – officially, as a volunteer for the Stanford Phoenix Scholars Project, but also unofficially, to high school students whom I meet in my visits back to my high school. If you know of any high school students who need help or guidance through the college applications process, please point them in my direction! I would really love to help in any way! In my application essays three years ago, I wrote about my huge dreams of changing the world for the better someday. Today, I am still committed to those dreams, but with an added motivation. I want to change the world for the better, because the AMVETS Scholarship has truly changed my world for the better. Thanks to your generous support, I have been able to not only dream, but also pursue those dreams. Your financial support has been the catalyst for my development and the inspiration for me to do service and to help others. As I am inching closer to the real world and becoming a young adult (I’m finally 20 now!), I’m realizing more and more how many doors your support had opened for me. I have been able to make so many of my goals a reality only because I was given the opportunity to do so by the AMVETS Scholarship. To this, I am forever grateful. Best wishes for the new year, and please keep in touch with me at briannapang@gmail.com! Sincerely, Brianna Pang Stanford University | Class of 2013 briannapang@gmail.com | bkpang@stanford.edu

California AMVETS Voice - www.calamvets.org —13

DEC Pictures by Al Verret, Department Photographer

14â&#x20AC;&#x201D;California AMVETS Voice

Vol. 16, No. 1

Legislative Day By Al Verret

Vol. 16, No. 1

California AMVETS Voiceâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;15

Post Reports Here are some great ideas your Post can do to help veterans and your community!

Post 2

Submitted by Jim Johnstone

ommander Delgado and Jim Johnstone Posted a wreath at the Medal of Honor Wall in downtown Los Angeles in December, 2011. A repair is now needed. Need to find out what the cost will be for repair. I will donate some funds for repair. If any one else would like donate some funds for the up keep and maintance You may contact me or send a check to: Eugene Obergon Foundation. and mail to 10858 Culver Blvd. Culver City, CA. 90230 Honor Guard members King, Brooks and Johnstone placed wreaths at Woodlawn Cemetery in Santa Monica during the “Wreaths across America” day. The placement of fresh evergreens are a living memorial to honor and recognize the sacrifices made by all veterans and their families. To learn more about Wreaths Across America go to ww.wreathsacrossamerica.org.

Post 4

MOJO TEAM AMVETS Post 4

ur very own Life Member, Maurice Johannessen, Retired CA Senator/CDVA Secretary, receives “CITIZEN OF THE YEAR AWARD” that was sponsored by the Redding Chamber of Commerce promoted by the Redding Record Searchlight Newspaper. We are truly blessed to have living Icon Korean Veteran Johannessen as our name sake of TEAM AMVETS Post 4.

MOJO is still in the trenches fighting for the opening of both the Fresno and Redding Veterans Homes. AMVETS Service Foundation personally helped with a generous donation to the NCVC Chapel, and MOJO contributed $200,000 personally to have a Spiritual Chapel honoring our Veterans and their Families on March 19, 2011. MOJO currently is working to establish a Northern California Veterans Center to be located across from the new Redding Veterans Home. This project will include a modern and expanded 100,000 square foot Veterans Clinic as well as veteran housing with over 100 veteran apartment units. TEAM AMVETS this is “Outside the Box” thinking because we did not receive 450 veterans units for our Redding Veterans Home. Currently MOJO has been re-appointed to California State Parks Commission in 2012 by Governor Brown. There is an Old Norwegian saying, “Only he, who wanders, finds new paths.” Veterans Advocate MOJO has never agreed to give in, Maurice is always outside the box!! MIAP/MOJO AMVETS Post 4/AMVETS National/TEAM AMVETS California Life Member Fred Salanti/MIAP National Exec. Director outside the box ! MIAP/Walmart Heart ~ CAMP HOPE 2012 June 1-5th, 2012 invites all AMVETS Posts in TEAM AMVETS California, please call Fred 1-530-355-9595 if you would like to participate in donating your time etc. National AMVETS supports this throughout other states. MIAP Mission Statement, “Thank you all in TEAM AMVETS California for you deepest considerations, time and efforts in supporting, “THE RIGHT THING TO DO”. Respectfully yours, Fred Salanti

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Post Reports Here are some great ideas your Post can do to help veterans and your community!

Post 4

Indian Dave put together our NA Banners, Linda Hartman newly appointed Asst. Director Redding Veterans Home!

Maurice with spouse Marianne and Family.

CA Senator Doug LaMalfa presents Citizen of the Year award to Maurice Johannessen, Assemblyman Jim Nielsen also in picture

CAMP FOR LIFE

CAMP HOPE

JUNE 1-5, 2012

JUNE 5-10, 2012

Shasta Family Justice Center – Camp HOPE combines camping and mentoring experiences to children who have been exposed to family violence, including many children who have been abused physically, sexually, and emotionally. Camp HOPE is an opportunity for children to regain their childhood, find hope and healing, and spend time with other children who have overcome similar obstacles and trauma in a safe and secure outdoor wonderland. Contact: 530-243-8868 Michael

Walmart Heart – Camp for Life is for children who have been diagnosed with serious illnesses. They have little in their lives to laugh and enjoy at their young age. The camp is intended to give them relief from daily medical trauma and to gain the support system needed to assist them along the way. Contact: 530-529-8482 Jeanne Whiskeytown Environmental Camp —

Whiskeytown Lake

Hwy 299 to Eureka 8 miles West from Redding, CA

Vol. 16, No. 1

California AMVETS Voice—17

MIAP INTODUCTION

ou served your country through a war, or through peacetime. You expected to receive a military burial, recognition by our government of your commitment to our great country. You expected to have honor and respect paid to you as a result of your service to our great country. Instead, you reside on a shelf in a mortuary or a storage facility at a crematorium. The purpose of the MIA Project is to locate, identify and inter the unclaimed cremated remains of American veterans through the joint efforts of private, state and federal organizations. To provide honor and respect to those who have served this country by securing a final resting place for these forgotten heroes. The MIA Project will be a long-term project, but not a time sensitive project. To Date the MIAP has accomplished the following: 1. Total Funeral Homes Visited - 2242 2. Cremains Found - 13800 3. Veterans Cremains Identified -1898 4. Veterans Interred - 1631 We need your help in getting the word out to funeral homes, State Facilities. Assistance in visiting and inventorying unclaimed persons to enter into databases and let other volunteers work to identify those that are veterans and their dependents. After verification we need to ensure that the veteran has a proper Memorial Service with full Military Honors. MIAP always interns our veterans or dependents at the nearest VA National or State Cemetery. We utilize these facilities as there is a procedure to reunite them with their family if found at a later date. The Missing in America Project steps forward to accept responsibility for those veterans that have no “Next of Kin” that can be located. We accept that responsibility in order to let our veterans rest with their peers in a beautiful cemetery in the open and not in backrooms and storage units. We carry complete liability coverage nationwide and in some states have the capability to conduct legal funeral escorts to ensure a smooth orderly flow of traffic and safety to everyone involved. The Missing in America Project welcomes all other veterans and public organizations to join with us to complete this enormous task. We need your help and welcome you. Thank you, Fred Salanti

Post 18

AMVETS Hal Camp Post 18 Activities December 1, 2011 - February 29, 2012

uring this reporting period the Legion of Honor (LOH-Honor Detail) participated in a variety of activities: 1. The LOH conducted five Military funeral services, including two at sea, aboard the MS Orca Too and the White Light. The most unique service was for an Apache native American, who was a member of two airborne divisions during the Korean War. What made it unique was that it was conducted in the front yard of the son, and combined traditional Apache funeral rituals in conjunction with the standard Military Honors. 2. The Legion of Honor added two new members: Jeff Bardzik and Bob Birtja. 3. The Ladies Auxiliary have been busy recruiting new members and reorganizing. Melody Meraz is the new President; Joye Deutsch, vice President; Roberta “Robby” Bracamonte, Secretary, Melody Meraz, Treasurer; Sandi Ashbaugh, Chaplain, and Coco Duran. Much praise was given to past president, Ida Kate Camp for her many years of service to the Post and to local Veterans.

18—California AMVETS Voice - www.calamvets.org

CURRENT BILLS AND UPCOMING MISSIONS - 2012 HR 2051 Missing in America Act before the U.S. House of Representatives There are currently 15 States with passed laws for Unclaimed Veterans and Four (4) MOU’s in place. New MIAP Bills currently being considered in the States House or Senate SOUTH CAROLINA HOUSE BILL 3921. PASSED HOUSE, CURRENTLY IN SENATE KANSAS SENATE BILL 303. VIRGINIA HOUSE BILL 439 PASSED CONGRATULATIONS TO VIRGINIA VIRGINIA SENATE BILL 433 PASSED CONGRATULATIONS TO VIRGINIA GEORGIA SENATE BILL 372 Passed - CONGRAGULATIONS Georgia PENNSYLVANIA HOUSE BILL 973. PASSED HOUSE, CURRENTLY IN SENATE COMMITTEE. UPCOMING MISSIONS (Linda) IN THE SPRING. APR-MAY TIME FRAME. 24 APR 9AM, ILLINOIS, Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery, 13 VETERANS 24 APR 10 AM, ILLINOIS, Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery , 4 VETERANS DATE NOT SET YET MISSOURI, Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery 8 VETERANS 1 SPOUSE DATE NOT SET YET KANSAS, Leavenworth National Cemetery, 1 VETERAN WITH SPOUSE. DATE NOT SET YET, SOUTH CAROLINA, Florence National Cemetery, 1 VETERAN 10 MAY, 1300, MICHIGAN, Great Lakes National Cemetery, 2 VETERANS 1 SPOUSE. DATE NOT SET YET, NEW JERSEY, Brig. General William C. Doyle National Cemetery, 5 VETERANS 29 JUNE 2012 IOWA, IOWA Veterans Cementery, 25 VETERANS AND 3 SPOUSES Virginia: DATE NOT SET YET, Charlie Warthling, Albert G Horton National Cementery 2011 PLUS VETERANS MISSION JOHN CALDERALLI IS DOING IN JUNE NEW YORK, NO DATE SET YET Calverton National Cemetery 19 VETERANS 3 SPOUSES. FLORIDA, NO DATE SET YET- Spring BOB MORGAN, 10+ VETERANS FLORIDA, NO DATE SET YET – Spring VIRGIL O’BERRY, 10 + VETERANS WESTERN STATES MISSIONS MONTANA Spring scheduled for 8 veterans NEVADA May scheduled for 7 veterans at Fernley National Cemetery CALIFORNIA - Bi Monthy services and quarterly scheduled at Sacramento Valley Cemetery OREGON May schedule for 4 Veterans found at ARIZONA – Spring scheduled for 12 + veterans UTAH - Nothing planned at this time

Vol. 16, No. 1

Post Reports Here are some great ideas your Post can do to help veterans and your community!

Post 22

Submitted by Jerry Guevara

QUALITY Post AWARD RECIPIENTS

here was some great news that was given to Post 22 members while at the Spring DEC in Santa Maria in January and that was the announcement given at the dinner/banquet that Saturday night that they were the recipients of a Quality Post award. As you all know, that happens when Posts meet certain levels of achievement and they are that you need to revalidate on time, which is before the 15th of July each year. A Post also has to renew with an equal or greater number of members from the previous year. So far, we have covered revalidation and membership, so next is programs reporting. Posts need to conduct a minimum of two service programs each year from a very specialized list: Homeless Veterans; White Clover; Blood Donor; Bone Marrow and Organ & Tissue Donor Awareness; Special Olympics; Child Abuse Awareness; Scouting; Task Force DVD; Habitat for Humanity; Color Guard; Veterans History Project and Support for Our Troops/National Guard. As you can see there are QUITE a few programs that as a Post you can do with little or no cost and very minimal Post member involvement. There just needs to be a driving force in each Post to be able to do just that. Now, there are several National Programs that you can also participate in and you just have to be involved in one of these: Americanism School Contests; Freedoms Foundation; Scholarship; ROTC; AADA and VAVS. The Post needs to achieve 4 of 6 items to qualify as a National Quality Post. You can download the necessary forms thru AMVETS National website. Wouldn’t it be great for all Posts in the Department to do just what Visalia has been able to achieve this past year – “be awarded a Quality Post Distinction”. Thanks go out to all the Post members that helped in the participation of going to all those different programs/events/functions. In the month of January Post members started off the New Year being very active in that they attended several different planning meetings: Four Chaplains; World Ag Expo food booth; Central Area monthly meeting; various Post meetings; VEC/VOD monthly meetings. Several Post members attended the Spring DEC in Santa Maria Jan. 19 thru the 22nd. Lots of great information was brought back to the Post members and there was quite a bit of talk of the involvement of the “younger veterans” and what they are bringing to the membership. On February 3rd, many Post members were involved in presenting the 2nd Annual Four Chaplains Ceremony at the Visalia Veterans Memorial Building. Quite a few community members and AMVETS officers were in attendance. Commander Amador Garcia asks that, “should you want to be a part of a very aggressive and growing membership, stop by one of our Post meetings. We continue to meet the 3rd Thursday of each month at 6:30 pm., at the Visalia Veterans Memorial Building (corner of Center and Willis). We are now having an Executive Board meeting at 6 pm before the meeting to discuss issues to bring before the membership. Hope you see you at a meeting soon”. 

Vol. 16, No. 1

Post 34

February Updates!

We are happy to report that GC4VETS has kicked off 2012 with full force. We have some exciting new projects in the pipeline, company connections, and successful Veteran employment placement to share!

I. GC4VETS in the Spotlight

Last week, an article was written about GC4VETS in the San Mateo County Times, Oakland Tribune, and Miltary.com discussing what we do and how we can continue to help Veterans find employment opportunities. If you wish to read the article, click the link below: http://www.mercurynews.com/san-mateo-county-times/ci_19796259 In addition to this, Jarom was featured on Veterans Helping Veterans (VHV) for a thirty minute long interview. If you wish to watch this VHV episode, click the link below: ht t p:// blip.t v/veterans-helping-veterans/veteransemploy mentoppor t u nities-589442011 Also, Jarom was interview on KGO radio station last Tuesday, January 24th, for a radio interview regarding GC4VETS and our Veteran job development efforts. We want to thank everyone that supports GC4VETS and a special thanks to Aaron Kinney for writing the San Mateo County Times article on us, we appreciate any help to get the word out and expand our outreach.

II. Current Job Opportunities

Bauer’s IT is looking to hire roughly 100 Veterans (and non-Veterans) for the San Francisco area and roughly 600 Veterans (and non-Veterans) for the Los Angeles Area. If you are interested or know of someone interested, please have them go online and fill out the application: http://tbe.taleo.net/NA6/ats/careers/jobSearch.jsp?org=BAUERSIT&cws=1 Once you have filled out the application, please contact Morgane at morgane@ gc4vets.org so she can inform Bauer’s IT that you were referred by GC4VETS. In addition to this, Clear Wall is looking to hire 20 Veterans for an upcoming project in March. If you have experience in green retro-fitting, construction, and window film please contact Morgane. There will be a training program for this job opportunity; therefore, regardless if you have experience in a related field or not, this job opportunity may still be a suitable match for you.

III. Upcoming Job Opportunties

We are currently working with Cisco Systems to iron out a Veteran Program and create a pipeline not only for Veterans to be hired but also to better prepare Veterans to be “Cisco-ready.” The exact job descriptions have yet to be discussed, however, if you are interested in this opportunity, email Morgane at morgane@gc4vets.organd she will enter you into our database. In addition to our Cisco partnership, we are in the initiatory stage of speaking with Hewlett Packard. We hope to collaborate with HP in order to secure job opportunities for Veterans and will keep you updated as our relations move forward.

IV. Upcoming Internship Opportunities

GC4VETS has been working alongside Growth Sector to help recruit Veterans for their amazing accelerated education programs. Growth Sector has developed a “Bridge to Engineering” program at Chabot College and Canada College and is now working with City College of San Francisco. We are very excited about this education program because it is a great opportunity for those who are interested in pursuing a career in Math or Engineering. By March we will have more information about the details of the program, however as of now, we know that it will start Fall 2012 and will ultimately lead to an internship opportunity. If you currently go to CCSF and/or are interested in this program, please contact Morgane at morgane@gc4vets.organd she will enter you in the database for this program. Continued on next page

California AMVETS Voice - www.calamvets.org —19

OPERATION:

Post 34, cont. V. Events& Extras

GC4VETS is working with Congresswoman Speier to conduct Veteran Outreach for her March 13th Job Hunters Bootcamp at the San Mateo County Event Center. This is a great opportunity for Veterans and non-Veterans to come and meet with over 20 companies that are looking to hire immediately. We will be co-hosting a table with Bauer’s IT at the event, so please come by! GC4VETS is asking for your support! It is time for nominations for the The San Francisco Foundation 2012 Community Leadership Awards and we ask that you nominate Jarom Vahai. We appreciate all the support from our community and would be forever thankful if you took time from your busy schedule to nominate Jarom Vahai. Here is the link to submit your nominations: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CLA2012 Thank you again for the tremendous support and please contact Morgane at morgana@gc4vets.orgregarding any questions, concerns, or recommendations! -Jarom Vahai & Morgane Palomares-- Jarom Lee Vahai 2011 Veteran of the Year, CA President Barrack Obama Community Leader Committee Member Congresswoman Speier Veteran Advisory Committee Member Chairman of San Mateo County Veterans Employment Commission Founder of Green Careers 4 Veterans

Post 56

Women’s Auxiliary Tulare Post 56

Submitted by Bonnie Guevara, Post 3rd Vice President

embers of the Women’s Auxiliary have been very active since the 1st of the year by doing and being involved in various events/programs and functions. Several members: Apryl Casares, Stella Usery, Jan Donwen, Milena Verret and myself attended the Spring DEC in Santa Maria where we were able to meet and speak with AMVETS National Ladies Auxiliary President Linda Taylor. She gave a very inspiring talk about the need to increase membership. Post President Apryl Casares continues to be a regular member of the Central Area meetings that Commander Alex Halley holds the 1st Saturday of each month, at 2011 am at the Visalia Veterans Memorial Building. Since the 1st of the year several members have made and donated blankets to patients that are going to the dialysis center in Tulare. Those members include Jan Donwen, Karen Snow, Apryl Casares, Geri Van Leeuween, Virgie Castillo and I donated approximately 17 blankets. A blanket, that was handmade by Stella Usery, was used as a fund raiser and all monies were donated to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. Geri Van Leeuween has donated a lot of her time by going up to the Fresno VA and helping with Bingo. Residents at the Fresno VA benefited from the members of the Ladies Auxiliary when they received socks and underwear. Several members volunteered their time during the recent World Ag Expo in Tulare, where they worked at different locations: Geri Van Leeuween worked at the Tulare Western High School Food Booth, Jan Donwen at the Exhibiters Lounge and I worked at the AMVETS Tulare Post 56 Food Booth. I also helped out AMVETS Post 22’s presentation of The Continued on next page

SAVE JUST ONE

AMVETS Post 56 initiates California state wide suicide prevention outreach to veterans.

here are currently 2.2 million veterans in the state of Ca. Among them are 10,000 AMVET members.

At National Convention in Augustust, 2010, out going Commander Duane Miskulin announced an alarming number of veterans committing suicide. I met with Dept. of California Commander Charlie Ramos and we decided we needed to create a response to this problem.

The Mission:

Notify every Veteran in the State of California that help is available..

We contacted National Suicide Hot Line and Veterans Hospitals in the state and were able to acquire a quantity of hand-out material regarding suicide prevention and where help is available. At AMVETS Department of California Executive Meeting in October, 2010, the “Save Just One” program was presented to the Executive Committee, Area Commanders, District Commanders, and AMVETS Service Officers. Eighteen District Commanders were given packages of hand out materials and encouraged to deliver them to the Commanders of the 50 Posts in their Districts. All AMVET members are encouraged to store the Suicide Hot Line phone # on their cell phones. We will never know how many suicides we prevent with this program but are convinced if we “Save Just One”, the effort will be a complete success. We encourage all Departments in the nation to adopt this mission. Nationally, TEAM AMVETS can “Save Just One.”

FOLLOW-UP TO “OPERATION SAVE JUST ONE”

21 January 2012

Department of California TEAM AMVETS just completed our second Department Executive Conference. At this meeting I presented Operation Save Just One information to the Conference.. At completion of the presentation, a young marine stood up and Our Sincere gave testimony to the fact that he personally knew a troubled young veteran that was saved condolences as a result of the direct efforts of this program. to the family I applaud Department of California TEAM of a treasured member AMVETS for accepting this challenge and its of AMVETS success. We will continue this program and SAVE ONE MORE. Post 56

LeRoy Hall You Will Be Missed.

20—California AMVETS Voice - www.calamvets.org

Tom Donwen AMVETS Post 56 Tulare, Ca.

Vol. 16, No. 1

Post Reports Here are some great ideas your Post can do to help veterans and your community!

Post 56, cont.

Christmas dinner pictures by Al Verret

Four Chaplains at the Visalia Veterans Memorial Building on Feb. 3rd. This ceremony, the 2nd Annual, was presented to over 150 community members as well as several Department and Foundation Officers. Following up the Four Chaplains, I along with members from AMVETS Post 22 – Visalia and Post 56 – Tulare, set up a table for the annual Home Show over Valentine’s weekend at the Visalia Convention Center. I was able to speak with wives of veterans about AMVETS and joining the Ladies Auxiliary and even handed out several applications. We closed out the month of February with Milena Verret attending the AMVETS Legislative Day at the State Capitol in Sacramento. She said that many of the Assemblymen, Assemblywomen and Senators spoke to the group who attended. Many of the Post members are working very hard at updating the membership roster and are asking for all members to check in and make sure that you are counted. We need to increase our membership and it is important to get the word out that there is a Women’s Auxiliary in Tulare and that we are a very active post. Post 56 Cmdr Acosta presents check to Tulare Cadet Corp.

Post 66

ost 66 provides transportation for veterans to and from their healthcare appointments.

The post donated money to help returning combat veterans to buy clothing to help them when applying for employment. 

Post 116

Yearly Summary

By Cephus R. Daniels

anuary 9, 2011 Post 116 conducted our monthly bingo at the WLA VAMC, NHCU 213-215 veterans as always had a great time. Expenses paid by AMVETS $225.

Vol. 16, No. 1

January 20, 2011 I attened dec convention in Santa Maria, ca. The meeting was a very successful meeting. January 27, 2011 Post 116 sponsors our monthy women veterans esteem meeting at the WLA VAMC bldg 217 (30) female veterans attended, re-

freshment, and lunch provided by Post 116. February 12, 2011 Post 116 conducted our monthy Post meeting, we discussed state and national convention. Post 116 welcomes new life member Steven O. Harris.

February 13, 2011 Post 116 conducted our monthy bingo at WLA VAMC 213-215 All gifts and refreshment provided by Post 116. (32) Vets attened. Feb 24, 2011 Post 116 conducted our monthy women veterans esteem meeting at WLA VAMC bldg 217

California AMVETS Voice - www.calamvets.org —21

Post Reports Here are some great ideas your Post can do to help veterans and your community! (26) female vets attended refreshment, and lunch provided by Post 116. Mar 13, 2011 Post 116 conducted our monthy bingo at WLA VAMC 213215 All gift and refreshment provided by Post 116 (36) Vets attended. Mar 28, 2011 Post 116 sponsors our monthy women veterans esteem meeting at the WLA VAMC bldg 217 (30) female veterans attended, refreshment, and lunch provided by Post 116 April 9, 2011 I presented awards to rotc cadet from USC and UCLA, at the USC campus, this is a great honor for myself, and Post 116. April 10, 2011 Post 116 conducted our monthy bingo at WLA VAMC #213- 215 (33) Veterans enjoy bingo and lunch. April 14, 2011 Post 116 took (40) veterans for the WLA VAMC (mhicm) Accessed living program, for a great day of bowling and lunch, all paid for by Post 116 April 24, 2011 Post 116 & Post 2 help sponsors “we care day” at the WLA VAMC to our hospitalized veterans, we donated 500 Canteen books to our nation heros.

veterans to the LA Dodgers VS reds, to a great day at the ball park. All ticket, parking, Dodgers dog and cokes provided by Post 116. June 19, 2011 Post 116 conducted our monthy bingo at WLA VAMC Nhcu, we had a special father day bingo, our hero - Love it. June 22, 2011 Post 116 sponsors 40 veterans 10 in wheelchair to the Dodgers VS tigers baseball game.All ticket, parking, Dodgers dog, and cokes provided by Post 116. June 23, 2011 Post 116 sponsors 12 vets to a day of bowling and lunch at the Mar-Vista bowling lanes, all provided by Post 116. June 30, 2011 Post 116 sponsors women veterans meeting at WLA VAMC 217 All gift and refreshment provided by Post 116. June 30, 2011 Post 116 sponsors 6 vets to a day of bowling and lunch at Mar-Vista bowling lanes, all provided by Post 116 July 10, 2011 Post 116 sponsors our monthy bingo at WLA VAMC 213-215 All gift and refreshment provided by Post 116, Cost $225.

April 28, 2011 Post 116 conducted our monthy “women veterans meeting” at the WLA VAMC bldg 217, 40 veterans attended

July 25, 2011 Post 116 sponsors 25 veterans to a deep sea fishing trip out of Marina del Rey, all expence paid by AMVETS 116

May 15, 2011 Post 116 conducted our monthy bingo at WLA VAMC Nhcu, great day for all who attened.

July 28, 2011 Post 116 sponsors 38 veterans to a deep sea fishing to on the betty’o sportfishing boat, out of Marina del Rey, all expence’s paid for by AMVETS Post 116.

May 26, 2011 Post 116 conducted our monthy women veterans Meeting at WLA VAMC bldg 217, Ann Reeder women veterans coordinator conducted meeting. June 8, 2011 Post 116 had a membership drive at the annual Block party, Post 116 women Auxiliary also help at our booth. June 15, 2011 Post 116 sponsors 35

August 10, 2011 Post 116 sponsors 35 veterans to see la Dodgers VS Phillies all tickets, refreshment, and parking Provided by Post 116. August 10, 2011 Post 116 sponsors 24 veterans to a deep sea fishing trip Out of Marina del Rey, all expense paid by AMVETS 116

22—California AMVETS Voice - www.calamvets.org

August 18, 2011 Post 116 sponsors 45 veterans to bowling and lunch at the Mar-Vista bowling lanes August 21, 2011 Post 116 sponsors our monthy bingo at WLA VAMC 213215 All expenses paid by AMVETS 116 August 30, 2011 Post 116 sponsors 32 veterans to a deep sea fishing trip out of Marina del Rey, all expense paid by Post 116 August 31, 2011 Post 116 sponsors 35 veterans to the Dodgers VS Padres Baseball game Post 116 provided tickets, drinks, and Dodgers dog, they had a great day. September 8, 2011 Post 116 sponsors 10 veterans to bowling and lunch at Mar-Vista bowling lanes September 8, 2011 Post 116 sponsors veterans to balboa lake for fishing Lunch and fun, all expenses paid by Post 116 September 8, 2011 commander daniels represented AMVETS at a 9/2011 Ceremony in memory of those who lost their lives. Event was held at the santa monica elks lodge 906 September 2011, 2011 Post 116 conducted our monthy bingo at WLA VAMC Bldg 213-215 as always my hero had a great time September 22, 2011 Post 116 sponsors fishing trip for the veterans in Nhcu 213-215 at kenneth hahn park, all refreshment. Permits and fishing equipment furnish by Post 116. September 22, 2011 Post 116 completed 2011 la Dodgers baseball home game season by taking two veterans to the Dodgers VS Giants, veterans had a great time. September 23, 2011 Post 116 sponsors fishing trip for salvation army veterans and day treatment program

at Kenneth hahn park, all refreshment permits and Fishing equipment furnished by Post 116. September 29, 2011 I attended Fall Dec In Visalia, Ca October 9, 2011 Post 116 conducted our monthy bingo at WLA VAMC 213215 (Nhcu) all had a great time. October 20, 2011 Post 116 sponsors deep sea fishing trip for 22 vets, on a deep sea out of Marina del Rey all refreshment, taclke, bait, rods, permits and gratuity provided by Post 116 October 22, 2011 Post 116 sponsors a deep sea fishing trip for 31 vets, out Marina del Rey all paid for by AMVETS Post 116. October 27, 2011 Post 116 sponsors bowling and lunch for veterans From WLA VAMC at the Mar-Vista bowling lanes, lunch served by pepy’s gallery November 8, 2011 Post 116 sponsors for 208 michim program vets a surprize Veterans day lunch for 20 vets November 9, 2011, 12-2011 Post sponsors veterans day lunch and canteen books for my hero at the 213215 NHCU, 256 prrc, 257 Ddtp, and 2w c/d, Post 116 served 220 veterans, lunch was catered by El Pollo Loco Of Culver City November 10, 2011 Post 116 sponsors six vets for bowling and lunch at Mar-Vista lanes November 13, 2011 Post 116 sponsors our monthy bingo and lunch at 213-215 Nhcu WLA VAMC December 20, 2011 Post 116 sponsors our monthy bingo and lunch at 213-215 Nhcu WLA VAMC December 31, 2011 Post 116 sponsors our yearly jazz and variety show at the Proud Bird 75 veterans and families had a great time.

Vol. 16, No. 1

Post Reports Here are some great ideas your Post can do to help veterans and your community!

Post 922

Post 922, Shafter

ost 922 held their annual Christmas lunch for all veterans and their families on Dec. 16th. This annual tradition helps the Post stay connected with the public and local service members. Special guests at this year’s luncheon were AMVETS Dept. First Vice Guevara and Central Area Cmdr. Halley. In addition to the annual Christmas luncheon, Post 922 puts on a Thanksgiving dinner for veterans and their families. The meals are funded by AMVETS and the food is prepared and served by the Post members and their wives. This year’s head cooks were Charlyn McCarthy, Alice Allard and Glenda Pierce, desserts were prepared by Elsie Whitbey. The sale of the cookbooks which contain recipes going as far back as 1890, along with donations and other fundraisers make it possible for the Post to help others. If anyone would be interested in supporting the Post and buy a cookbook please contact me at 661-865-8960. Provides food for homeless people (veterans and civilians) in their community.  Commander Cliff Pierce

Post 1240 AMVETS Post 1240 "Christmas in February" 2012

Jerry Pettis Veterans Hospital Loma Linda, CA pictures by Manuel Ruiz AMVETS Post 1240 distributed gift bags during “Christmas in February” to Military Veterans at Jerry Pettis Veterans Hospital in Loma Linda, CA on February 17th, 2012.

AMVETS Post 1240 "Christmas in February" 2012 Jerry Pettis Veterans Hospital Loma Linda, CA pictures by Manuel Ruiz Visit our website

www.calAMVETS.org Vol. 16, No. 1

California AMVETS Voice - www.calamvets.org —23

Honoring Disabled Golfers

Submitted by Sheryl Shaffer

VHVtv update:

VHV TV recently received a Premium Channel on YouTube. We are now a member of the International Academy of Web TV. Through this non-profit we are learning ways to collaborate and to increase and expand our audience base. This is an exciting time for “Veterans Helping Veterans” TV (VHVtv). We produce our series, in the studio, at the Media Center in Palo Alto, CA. www.midepenmedia.org. The Veterans Employment Committee San Mateo is the production company for VHVtv and for the third year, we are sponsored by AMVETS CA Service Foundation. Do you want to be on television? This is very easy to do. Will explain to you how I did 2 “on the spot” interviews recently. First, I purchased a Kodak 1080HD video camera, the Sport model, about $130. With a tripod, it is easy to set up on location. The video is recorded on removable memory cards. It is easy to transfer these cards to a computer and using an online, video transfer service, like www.wetransfer.com (free) you can send a 7 min. video clip to me and my editor, Steve Hall, AMVETS Post 53 member. We will review it, edit if necessary, and then add the opening and the closing credits and have a 7 a half to 8 min. video clip uploaded simultaneously to blip.tv and our premium YouTube channel. No more than 7 min. A lot of our shows feature 5 to 10 minutes video clips. YouTube allows us to not only upload full half hour episodes of VHV TV but to upload individual segments as well. The 2 interviews I did were with Philip Watts, Cmdr. of AMVETS Post 66 of Palm Springs and Carroll Erickson, AMVETS CA Dist. 4 Cmdr. and his work with “SocksForSoles.” This means, you as AMVETS can make your own 5 to 7 min. video, submit it to us online, and we will upload it on VHVtv for you to see. Tell us about how your Post is involved in your community, show us why you volunteer. This is your chance to present your work, on behalf of veterans, in your community. You are recording your history. We are looking for great content that is meaningful and engages the audience. There are some great story tellers in our ranks and here is your chance to tell us your story. Since VHVtv is produced under the umbrella of the Mid-Peninsula Media Center www.midpenmedia.org in Palo Alto, we are required to have talent and location releases signed. These releases are available online http://www.communitymediacenter.net/media_production/volunteer/resources.html We are not selling products or endorsing people for any political office. We present this series to educate and inform veterans of potential benefits. To encourage active participation in their local communities by inviting them to join a veteran service organization. We are looking for stories of how you make a difference through AMVETS. This is a Call to Action for involvement in the veteran community. Why am I asking for your participation? The answer is simple. Now that we have our own premium channel on YouTube, we need to increase our audience base and need you to watch our series online www.VHVtv.org. Since AMVETS Service Foundation is our sponsor, we are asking you to watch and most importantly, to subscribe to our channel. We are seen all over the United States through the Public, Education and Government media transfer service, www.pegmedia.org and our VHVtv episodes have been broadcast in 100 different markets, over 500 times nationwide. The audience markets are as small as 10,000 and up to a million households! We are being seen thousands of times on blip.tv and have been online since 2009. These past three years are just the beginning of the web television industry. Blip.tv presents “the best in original web series.” Quite frankly, I need your participation and cooperation. Besides it is fun to see you and your friends on TV. It is recording your history, our combined history as veterans who found a way to volunteer through AMVETS. The VHVtv series can increase our membership base because it SHOWS people what AMVETS does. We present personal testimonies of why veterans become involved and how it changes them and their community. This is positive social change. We are asking you to tell us your story, about your involvement in the AMVETS community, why you do what you do for veterans! If you have questions,

24—California AMVETS Voice - www.calamvets.org

you may contact me at sherylalexa@verizon.net. We will accept a maximum of 4 7 minute segments each month. It is impossible for me to be everywhere and film what each AMVETS Post in California is doing. This is your opportunity to tell us your compelling story. Also, we cannot use any music that is not public domain. You cannot have music playing in the background that is not public domain (fair use) otherwise we are required to pay royalties. YouTube requires expressed written permission to use copyrighted music. Our latest VHVtv in studio episode is “Veterans Employment Opportunities.” It features Jarom Vahai, Chairman of the Veterans Employment Committee San Mateo, as he tells of his outreach to major employers in the SF Bay Area and how he is obtaining employment and training for veterans. Watch us www.VHVtv.org.

Here is an update on our latest VHVtv episode "Honoring Disabled Golfers." Here is the link on blip.tv http://blip.tv/veterans-helping-veterans/vhv-honoring-disabled-golfers-6019891 Sheryl Shaffer, AMVETS Post 34 (c) interviews Dick Rutledge (L) President of the California chapter of Tee It Up For The Troops and Fred Brittain (R) Founder of the Disabled Golfers Learning Foundation (DGLF) as they discuss outreach to disabled veterans and how they teach golf to our wounded warriors. (attached picture) This is a truly inspiring program.

(L) to ® Alexandra Crichlow, Founder of “Whole Vet,” Sheryl Shaffer, Host and Producer of “Veterans Helping Veterans” TV www.VHVtv.org and Helen Wong, AMVETS Post 34 Commander attended the inaugural International Academy of Web TV awards www.iawtv.org in Las Vegas, NV on January 12, 2012. All three are members of AMVETS Post 34, the Golden Gate Post of San Francisco.

Vol. 16, No. 1

Coterie Group 2012 Who are we? Any military veteran of any war is welcome to join our Coterie group. At no charge. What is it?

The Coterie Group offers combat veterans a safe environment for communication and interaction through the powerful presence of horses. Each group session will include three parts: each session will start with a “check-in” or “introduction” with the participants, followed by a group exercise period utilizing the horses, and concluding with a reflection period on the completed exercise. Refreshments are served.

Where?

A.Meliora Ranch 16170 Renee Court Happy Valley, California 96007

When?

The second Monday of each month @ 10 am to 12 noon Contact: Jim Busher @ 530-341-2242 cell (Please call between 8a.m. and 6p.m.)

Vol. 16, No. 1

California AMVETS Voice - www.calamvets.org —25

Friends Aend Industries Inc.

Aig Financial Advisors Automatic Boiler Co. Bacome Insurance Agency Brent Macqueen & Barb Helgesen Brewhouse California Motorcycle Adventures Chuck's Coffee Shop

Commander Greer Attends Four Chaplains Ceremony

n February I was invited to attend the Four Chaplains ceremony at the Archdiocese of San Francisco, Saint Mary's Cathedral in down town San Francisco. I was there last Saturday for the Four Chaplains' Day Inter-Faith Ceremony. I also was asked by one of our Mortuary's here in Eureka if I knew of anyone that would be going down to Dixon, Ca, within the next week, I said that I was going to San Francisco on Saturday and that Greg Raffa would be there, and he is living in Fairfield right now and he could take this Veterans remains to the cemetery on Monday, The MIAP program of Fred Salanti. It worked for this Veteran that they didn't know he had any family left! That is my story and I'm sticking too it! 

- Jerry

Dale Wait Electrical Maintenance Plan Farnesis Rest & Cocktail Loung Gary Van Grinsven Dds Holiday Spa J W Mc Clenahan Co. Mid Pennisula Speech Language Clinic Romaine Properties Todd Schaus Cpa PLATINUM Asi Core-Mark International Inc. GOLD Diane Williams DM Color Express Inc. Innfinity Software Llc Sam Joaquin Prime Care Tradition Aviation Virtual Construction Inc. Wrex Products Inc. of Chico 26—California AMVETS Voice - www.calamvets.org

FREEDOM! In the immortal words of Ronald Reagan – 40th United States President (1911 – 2004): ‘Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.’

Vol. 16, No. 1

Spring

NEC

in Washington

Vol. 16, No. 1

California AMVETS Voice - www.calamvets.org â&#x20AC;&#x201D;27

DEPARTMENT OF CALIFORNIA HEADQUARTERS 120 North “M” Street Tulare, CA 93274 www.calAMVETS.org

ATTENTION!

Veterans and Military Retirees:

f you’ve have lost your DD 214 and would like to retrieve a certified copy, or other important service record page you might be missing, this website will get the forms back to you much quicker than the past 4-6 weeks it has routinely taken you in the past. Follow the instructions explicitly and print out the request. You should have your records back in about two weeks. www.archives.gov/veterans/evetrecs/index.html Blogs

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Non-Profit U.S. Postage PAID ROYAL OAK, mi 48068 PERMIT #792

Veterans' Service Records Home > Veterans' Service Records > Military Service Records Request Service Records

Start Your Military Service Record Request (DD form Form 214 & Sf-180) SF-180)

Attention Veterans!

Start Your Service Record Request eVetRecs Help

Other Methods to Obtain Service Records



Military personnel records can be used for proving military service, or as a valuable tool in genealogical research. Most veterans and their next-of-kin can obtain free copies of their DD form Form 214 (Report of Separation) and other military and medical records several ways.

New "Inside the Vaults" Video Highlights Veterans' Records Requests

Join Now!

• Veterans Service • Legislative Military Service Table ofAction Contents Records Online Requests Using eVetRecs Use the following to request veterans' service records I - and from• WW State National Publications About Service Records Present. (Looking for Pre-WWI Service Records?) Required Information Correcting Service Records • Local Post Activities Recommended Information Medical and Health Records Emergency Requests and Deadlines • Community Service Locations of Service All American Veterans who were honorably separated after Launch the Download form Where to Send my request Records • Memorial Carillons eVetRecs SF-180 Sf-180 to mail September 15, 1940 or are now serving in the Armed Forces, National Older (pre-WWI) Service Cost System to start or fax your GuardRecords or Reservists, are eligible for membership in AMVETS. • V.A.V.S. Response Time your request request. What Records are NOT online. Checking the Status of your Request Available? • Scholarships Special Notice Regarding Requests

Eligibility

(free for most veterans)

Application For Membership Privacy and Security of Veterans Records

I apply for:  New Annual



Renewal

 Life Membership & Pay $________ Post dues __________

Online Requests Using eVetRecs Printed Name _________________________________________ Service# or SS# ____________________________________ Our online eVetRecs system creates a customizedCity our order__________________ form to request information State from your, or Zip Street Address___________________________________________ _____ your relative's, military personnel records. You may use this system if you are:

___________

Sponsor __________________________ Phone _____________________ Branch of Service _________________________ A military veteran, or

Mo/Yr Entered SVC. _______/_______ Discharged _______/_______ Type Discharge _________________________ Next of kin Mo/Yr of a deceased, former member of the military. Theof next of kin can be any of the Date of Birth (DD/MM/YY)

following:

/____ Date of Application

Surviving spouse that has not remarried

/____

Spouse _______________________________

Signature_________________________________ *Post dues vary. Father father

Mother

Membership Fees: Son ANNUAL: $30 Daughter Sister

LIFE: $250

RENEWAL: $30

New and Renewal Dues varies between Posts.

Brother If you are not the veteran or next of kin, you must complete the Standard form Form 180

(SF 180). (Sf