VVA Chapter 1069 Meeting Report for: July 7-12-2023
[posted on: 7-14-2023]
The meeting was held in the banquet room at Mikeska’s BBQ, (located on Hwy 59) El Campo, TX.
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Photo below shows Chapter President, Richard Woods, opened the meeting.
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Richard then led the membership with the Pledge of Allegiance, followed up with a prayer.
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There were about 35 members, spouses and guests that attended this meeting.
Much thanks to all those that attended!
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Richard then recognized all those who were having birthdays in July. Two
attending members had birthdays in July.
Everyone then sang Happy Birthday to them.
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Richard then reminded everyone of the recent passing of chapter member, Guadalupe (Lupe) Ortiz.
See photo below.
He thanked all those members that attended his funeral. He will be missed. May he rest in peace.
Use the link below to view Lupe's obituary on our chapters Memorial webpage.
Click Here to View Lupe's Obituary on our Chapter's Memorial webpage
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Richard then temporarily adjourned the meeting, to allow our membership and attending guests to go next door to get
lunch from Mikeska's BBQ restaurant.
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Richard then reopened the meeting at 7:00 pm - The following business shown below was conducted.
Note that the main agenda at this meeting, was the continued reporting and discussion of our chapter's
hosting and planning of the 'Vietnam War Veterans Day' fellowship gathering event, being held on April 3,
2024 at Taiton Community Hall. As a reminder, this will be the third year for this event that includes
our chapter, VVA Chapter 1069, and 4 other local area VVA chapters; Hallettsville VVA Chapter 854,
Schulenburg VVA Chapter 870, Victoria VVA Chapter 898 & Columbus VVA Chapter 1127.
And to again clarify, the actual official government date set for the "Vietnam War Veterans Day" holiday,
every year, is March 29th. However, that date in 2024 conflicts with a Catholic holy day - Good Friday.
So, our chapter has made the decision (with approval from the other 4 VVA chapters) to change the event
date to Wednesday April 3, 2024.
DO NOTE THAT THIS WILL NOT BE A PUBLIC EVENT, BUT ONLY OPEN ONLY TO THE 5 VVA CHAPTERS MENTIONED ABOVE!
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Bob spoke briefly about (1) VVA National's tentative plans for shutting down the organization in 2028 and
(2) discussed several of the proposed Resolutions being preseneted at the 2023 National convention,
bing held in Orlando, FL, in August. The disolution of the VVA National organizaiton will be the main topic
for discussion at that convention.
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Photo below shows Richard then inviting chapter member, Billy Orsak, up to the podium.
Billy along with chapter Vice President, Prudencio Arriaga, are the team leaders
for the April 3, 2024, event. They will in turn work with the core committee and all
the other committees to help coordinate activites that will be required for the
various event tasks.
Billy Orsak then gave a planning committee progress report regarding the April 3, 2024 event.
Newly assigned committees and volunteers were also announced and discussed.
Billy's primary presentaion was to show the spreadsheet (See above photo) he has created that will
be used to plan and track the progress of all planning tasks and activities required for our
chapter successfully hosting the event.
A summary of the items that Billy currently has in his spreadsheet are shown below. This spreadsheet will help us
keep track of all the tasks that will need to completed for the event and those who will be responsible
for completing those tasks. Note that the spreadsheet will continuously be updated and Billy will give a progress
report at each monthly meeting from now on until April 2024.
Various Categories Included in Billy’s Event Planning Spreadsheet:
- Core planning committee members list and contact information
- Volunteers list with contact information
- List of businesses that may be contacted and tracked for event donations
- Designated Event Committees Listing with contact information of committee members
- Expenses worksheet: Hall, Decorations, Stationary supplies, Meals, Program, Prizes
- Income worksheet: Total income, Meal reimbursement, Sponsor donations, Donor log and tracking, Summary of monies spent and received.
- Key contact information: Our Core planning committee, Columbus chapter 1127, Schulenburg chapter 870, Hallettsville chapter 854, Victoria chapter 898
1st Planning Meeting for the April 3, 2024 Event
The photos below show Billy holding the first planning committee meeting. These meetings will be held
on the same 2nd Wednesday of each month we hold our monthly chapter meetings. The meetings will start
at 5:00 PM, one hour before the start of our chapter meeting (6:00 PM).
The above and below photos show Billy explaining the spreadsheet and how it will be used to track
the tasks and activities required for the April 3, 2024 event. I'm sure the size of attendees to
these meetings will increase over time as new committees are assigned and new volunteers come
on board.
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There being no further business, Richard then adjourned the meeting at 9:00 pm.
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Thanks to everyone for attending our July chapter meeting. See everyone at the August 9th meeting.
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