- The meeting was presided over by the President of VVA Chapter 1069, Leonard Sternadel.
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After opening the first half of the meeting, Leonard presented plaques of appreciation to the following chapter members:
To James Kulcak for his fundraising efforts for the Chapter.
The plaque reads as follows:
"Presented To JAMES KULCAK with heartfelt thanks and deep appreciation for your dedication and leadership to V.V.A. #1069. Your work has ensured the success of the Chapter."
To John Steelman for his duties as secretary/treasurer.
The plaque reads as follows:
"Presented To JOHN STEELMAN with deep appreciation and thanks for your dedication and support at start-up of Chapter #1069. Your continued involvement as Secretary Treasurer helps ensure our success."
To Bob Supak for his work on the website.
The plaque reads as follows:
Presented To ROBERT SUPAK Thank-you for your expertise and dedication in building and maintaining Chapter 1069's website. Your work has made it possible for 1069 to reach out to ALL Veterans."
To Nick and Gerry Mikeska for their continued support of the organization.
The plaque reads as follows:
"Presented To MIKESKA's BAR-B-QUE Thank-you for being so gracious as to allow V.V.A. #1069 to gather in your facility. We sincerely appreciate your support in this endeavor to reach out to our Veterans."
- Total attendance at the meeting was 34 members!
- Leonard then introduced a new member into the Chapter, Felipe Castro - (CONGRATULATIONS BROTHER - WELCOME HOME!)
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Leonard then displayed the light green jackets that Ed Kulcak had designed for the Chapter. Brothers Frank and James
wore their new jackets and they are awesome! Sternadel added the total cost of a jacket is about $90.00.
The photo at far left shows what information could be embroidered on the front of the jacket, the other photo shows the back of the jacket. Of course, this is Ed Kulcak's jacket - very nice!
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Leonard also presented another garment alternative for the Chapter that was in the form of a tan/beige VEST. Several
goals for this alternate Chapter garment are (1) cheaper cost and (2) it would be more of an 'all season' garment. The vest is
still "under construction" at this time. More information about the vest cost and availability will be forthcoming.
The photo at far left shows what the front of the vest will look like. Most likely we'd have the standard VVA logo on the left front of the jacket. The other photo shows the back of the vest - the plan is to place a 10" VVA standard logo where the white paper plate is shown. Both VVA logs will be custom made so as to include our Chapter information in the outer ring of the logo. The vest owner would be free to add whatever other military decorations (patches & pins, embroidery, etc.) that he would like to put on the vest so as to peronalize the vest. And as you can see, there's plenty of spare room on the vest for other decorations.
- Rusty Butts then took the stage to inform the members about his recent visit to South Texas, where the USS Forrestal Aircraft Carrier was being dismantled. Rusty gave a very informative presentation about the history of the ship and the huge impact it made on the United States' history. It is a sad ending to a Heroic Lady. Rusty was very proud to have served on Her. Rusty's wife brought several videos of the Forrestal being towed into Brownsville and we showed those on the projector while Rusty gave his presentation.
- Arnold Guerra, a member of our Chapter, also mentioned in the meeting that this month celebrates the USS Texas' (Battleship Texas) 100th (centennial) year. The link below will take you to a TPWD webpage that has more information regarding the upcomming celebration planned for this Sunday, March 15th.
- Leonard then reviewed the upcoming Austin trip itinerary, noting a couple of changes from the earlier plan. The details are listed below. There will be designated seating provided for our members in Austin including chairs for all of us - Therefore, DO NOT BRING YOUR LAWNCHAIRS! They will not be allowed on the bus. Because of a tighter bus schedule than first anticipated, the return lunch stop at Nancy's restaurant is no longer in the plan. This means that each member (& spouse) will need to plan your own lunch. Note that there will be food vendors at the event. You may also bring a lunch if so desired - since we no longer have to carry chairs, we should have plenty of room for small ice chests. The change in itinerary may also allow us more time to spend at the capital. Also note that there are currently about 47 reservations for the bus, so we still have room for a few more - this is a 56 passenger bus. If you still want to attend the event, please call Leonard ASAP. For those attending the event and riding the bus, PLEASE be at the designated pickup points ON TIME. If you have any questions regarding the trip, please call Sternadel ASAP. Again, the trip is on Saturday, March 29th, leaving from El Campo at 6:00 AM sharp!
- Leonard then reminded the members about the following events: (1) TSC state meeting on April 4th - 6th. (2) Stand down at FB Helen on April 12th. (3) Everyday Heroes fundraiser in Surfside on April 26th - please think about attending so as to show our support for Everyday Heroes.
- Leonard also mentioned that a county/regional wide Veteran's benefit seminar is being discussed and planned for the Fall time period. All local county & regional Veteran service organizations would be represented, including our VVA Chapter. More information on this event will be forthcoming.
- Sarah Hudgins (local leader for Wreaths Across America program) also attended the meeting. She informed the members that a new internet radio station called "Wolf pack" was interested in getting the word out about veterans. Sarah also announced that the Vietnam War Traveling Wall would be back in El Campo during the summer of 2015. More information would be forthcoming. Most likely, our Chapter would be highly involved with this event, as it should be.
- Because of requests recently made by some members, Bob Supak informed the members that it would be possible to create a sort of Vietnam solder's photo album/scrapbook on our website. And of course, participation would be strictly voluntary. A Motion was made, seconded, and approved to move ahead with this project. More information on this will also be forthcoming. If anyone has an idea or some suggestions of what this photo scrapbook should look like, please contact Bob via email.
- Sternadel then announced that he would like to set aside some small amount of time at our monthly meetings for a "Remembrance and Reflection" presentation - meaning that if any member would like to share some military or Vietnam-specific experiences, etc, with the other members, this would be the opportunity to do so. Not counting any of the more unpleasant experiences we've all had in the military, most of us have some interesting stories that we might like to share with our brothers, maybe even some light-hearted stories that the other members would enjoy hearing, and maybe even get a laugh out of. And if you do have a more serious story to tell, that would also be fine too. And if you have some photos or videos to accompany the story, we now have a projector to that. So be thinking about it.
- Sarah Hudgins added that she was writing a "soldiers" column in the newspaper and it would soon be county wide.
- County Service Officer, Dwight Winkler gave a short presentation. He informed the members that new Veteran Health ID cards were now available. These new IDs are supposed to be more secure than the old cards, but you must go to the Richmond VA facility or to the De Bakey VA Medical Center for a new photo and paperwork. Also PLEASE call the facilty befor going to make sure the photo equipment is up and working! He also added that C-123 pilots and all affected would now be entitled to AO benefits. He also added that the average time now for a VA appeal was 930 days! Basically he said - "don't get in a hurry guys", but make a claim and get on record as soon as you can. His final suggestion was "USE THE VA SERVICES AS A LAST RESORT IF YOU HAVE OTHER INSURANCE COVERAGE!"
- Leonard stated the date for the upcoming CATCH, FRY & EAT Chapter outing is pending. More details to come at the next meeting.
- Leonard then read Thank-You notes that the Chapter has recieved from Robert Floyd, for the TCVVM Monument contribution from our Chapter, and from two members of Mikeska's staff, who received small appreciation gift cards from the Chapter.
- Leonard then presented a mail request he had received from the local Boy Scouts, requesting a donation of $830.00 to purchase new US and Texas flags for display on holidays. A motion was made, seconded, and approved to make the donation to the Scout troop. After the approval for the donation, Sternadel did add that this Chapter's membership covers 5 counties and if there are other Scout funding requests from those other counties, he asked to please bring these to his attention.
- Sternadel would also like to thank Stephen Brady for bringing in a bunch of VVA window decals, which were dispersed to all those attending the meeting.
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The Chapter would also like to thank Stephen for bringing to our attention (at the Christmas part) the availability of those miniature Vietnam War items - i.e. jungle boots, booney hats & steel helmets. As you can see on the photo to the left, these items have been purchased and used to make the very unique appreciation plaques that were presented to chapter members and Mikeska's BBQ at this meeting. I'm sure the Chapter will continue to use these miniature Vietnam War items on future appreciation plaques. Thanks Stephen!
- The 50/50 drawing was won by Louis Milder - Congratulations Louis!.
- The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 9, 2014 - See you there!