VIETNAM VETERANS OF AMERICA
MICHIGAN STATE COUNCIL
VIETNAM VETERANS OF AMERICA
MICHIGAN STATE COUNCIL
Masonic Temple
Detroit Chapter 9
General Membership Meeting
December 7, 2024
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by President John Riling, in Detroit, MI at
10:15 AM. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited, a moment of silence was observed for the POW-MIAs and those serving in harm’s way with the opening prayer by Tim Driscoll.
Approval of the Agenda: Motion by 9/310 to accept the agenda as printed, motion passed.
Approval of the minutes: Motion 9/133 to approve the minutes of 10/05/24, motion passed.
Introduction of guests: Tom Burke (National VVA Vice President), Robin Burke (spouse),
Dana Buza (Executive Administrator MI VSO Program), Terry Wells (Chapter 528)
Chapter 9 members; Paul Palazzolo (President), Mike Sand, Paul Edelstein, Phil Harris
Glover Agency; Cindi Ames, Mike Cantrell, Lori & Leroy Heasley, Robert Fedow, Carl Hahn
Canadian Vietnam Veterans Memorial Assoc.; Keith Tracy, CJ Scott, Ronald Bisnaire, Thomas Dicher, Kulberg
Tunnel To Towers Foundation; Bob Kalfaian
Roll Call of Officers: President John Riling - Present
1st Vice-President Mike Goodpaster – Present Secretary Gary Estermyer - Present
2nd VP Duke Mayo – Present online Treasurer Floyd Carmichael – Present online
Roll Call of Chapters: 9 Jack Devine P, 18 Tom Sibley A, 31 A,
109 John Gibbs E, 110 Ralph Sharp A, 133 Tom Romein P, 142 Don Cannon E,
154 Mike Schneider E, 175 Joe Mishler A, 180 Tom Brown E, 237 Fred ST. Onge A,
259 Russ Hayward P, 267 Phil Smith P, 274 Duke Mayo P, 284 Dennis Bringard A,
287 A, 310 Tim Driscoll P, 313 Floyd Carmichael P, 380 Vic Romback E , 387 A,
390 Charlie Martin A, 494 A, 528 Gary Estermyer P, 571 Dennis Peterson A,
583 Wayne Trapp A, 882 Terry Frank E, 047 Joe Prato A and 1083 Tom Meinhardt E
Present – 8 Absent – 13 Excused – 7 A quorum is not present.
President’s Report: John welcomed everyone to the meeting and thanked Detroit Chapter 9 for hosting. John explained that due to the lack of a quorum no official business would be taking place during this meeting. We would proceed with reports given and announcements made.
John then called upon the guest groups to briefly speak about their organizations/programs.
Paul Edelstein spoke about Puro Clean which offers water/fire/smoke damage restoration and mold removal service. Puro Clean has a franchise program called Puro Vet that is designed for veteran ownership. All interested veterans can call 248-621-2300 for further information.
Puro Clean graciously offered to pay for our luncheon today, THANK YOU, PURO CLEAN!
Glover Agency offers 20% off realtor commission to veterans when they buy or sell their property thru them and an additional 5% is donated directly to “Glover’s Heros” program which helps veterans in need. Realtor Cindi Ames,
Tunnel 2 Towers Foundation volunteer Bob Kalfaian spoke about their Southfield, MI project to address the homeless veteran issue. They were recently able to acquire the former Holiday Inn Express at 25100 Northwestern Hwy & W 10 Mile Road. This first facility in Michigan will be renovated into 85 single-occupancy permanent housing units. It will also offer access to supportive services. It will be called Veterans Village and is scheduled to be open in 2025.
Canadian Vietnam Veteran Memorial Association member Keith Tracy spoke about their efforts to contact Canadians who served in the U.S. Armed Forces during Vietnam. Their program called “Be Counted” has reached over 100 so far. It is estimated that 20,000 - 40,000 crossed the border to serve with us even though Canada remained neutral during the war. They are also making plans to host their 30th Annual Memorial Service and re-dedication of the Canadian Vietnam Veterans Memorial on Sunday, July 6, 2025. Feel free to contact either
Keith Tracy, 519-796-1452,
C.J. Scott, 519-259-7555,
John stated he plans to pursue having the ability to hold zoom meetings in the MSC future.
A projector and screen has been purchased for that purpose. He will work with Dana to get the audio and video functions working properly so all delegates can participate statewide.
At this time VVA National has officially revoked the chapter charters of 73, 264, 345, 576, 730.
Other Michigan chapters have been suspended either for not filing reports timely or they have not kept their state LARA registration current. John will continue working with them.
The Region 5 pre-convention meeting is being planned for the weekend of June 21-22, 2025 in Rock Island, IL which is across the Mississippi River from Davenport, IA.
John will be attending the Jan. 8-11, 2025 National BOD & CSCP meetings. He will chair the Veterans Benefit Program meeting along with Com. Secretary Gary Estermyer.
Meetings will also be held with VBP grant and transition sub-committees.
Travel and room reservations can now be made for the National Convention in NOLA.
1st Vice-President’s report: Mike Goodpaster and John Riling attended a November meeting in Windsor with the CVVMA planning committee. John offered to perform a pinning ceremony for a surviving spouse at that time. Mike’s Downriver Chapter 259 is active in the JROTC program (as well as Chapter 9) and he encourages other chapters to participate with those groups and others such as CAP, Sea Cadets and Eagle Scouts.
2nd Vice-President’s report: Duke Mayo announced that he had contacted Rep. Bergman about IT issues and lengthy claim rating times the VA is guilty of. An investigation may be opened.
Duke also spoke about his contact with Toyota Corporation. His local dealer is very veteran friendly and donations are possible. Also Toyota has made $1,000.00 payments to groups who allow them to display their vehicles when they have outside events.
Secretary's Report: Gary Estermyer reported he still needs information on the chapters meeting date/time/location. He also needs chapter confirmation on delegates & alternates.
Gary spoke about the upcoming National Convention in New Orleans in August.
Treasurer's Report: Floyd Carmichael reviewed the finance report dated 10/07/24 – 12/02/24. He has received funds from the car program, household goods. VVMFI balance is now over $17K. The SC bills are being paid in a timely manner and the monthly deposits of random donations continue. Wreaths Across America is now offering 3 for the price of 2 wreaths.
If chapters wish to donate for this project they should contact their cemetery coordinator.
Floyd also reported that of the seven VVA state council hurricane relief donations made only Georgia has not cashed their check as of today.
National Vice President: Tom Burke stressed that the election of skilled and qualified candidates for officers and directors on the National level is crucial at this time.
Timely submission of election and finance reports is required to vote at the convention and to maintain their chapter charters.
Tom also mentioned that the DOD’s 50th Anniversary program ends next year. Related events are being planned by DOD for the finale with VVA involvement likely in April 2025.
National At-Large Director: Sandie Wilson also reported the importance of delegates attending the upcoming National Convention. Sandie is concerned about the Fort McClellen agent orange issue as this was the site of all Army enlisted female training. She is very hopeful the Senate Bill 3958, Molly R. Loomis Research for Descendants bill passes soon.
The sarin gas exposure issue is also very concerning. Sandie encourages all VVA members to meet and greet their current legislators regarding veteran related issues.
Legacy Task Force: Jack Devine chairs this National committee, and he has held numerous online and face-to-face meetings with archive officials and his committee members to chart a path to leaving our VVA accomplishments and progress on record for future generations.
Announcements & Chapter Roundtable:
9 - Jack Devine, Paul Palazzolo, Mike Sand spoke about the Cass Park Memorial project and their search for previous memorial plaques. They encourage dual VVA/AVVA membership.
133 – Tom Romein reported they remain committed to GLNC ceremonies.
259 – Mike Goodpaster and Russ Hayward reported they will participate in the Wreaths Across America project and their own wreath placement of former chapter deceased members.
The chapter also marched in the Detroit Veterans’ Day Parade and were joined by some Canadian veterans also.
267 – Phil Smith reported his chapter is busy with Christmas dinner plans and will begin making plans for their 24thSuper Bowl party on February 9, 2025, $100 a ticket.
310 – Tim Driscoll reported they will be making their annual Christmas visit to the AAVA hospital soon and they continue to have product sales days at the hospital
528 – Terry Wells and Gary Estermyer reported they will again shop at Kohl’s for clothing items for distribution at the Michigan Veterans Foundation, AA VA hospital, Downriver for Vets and Veterans Haven. The chapter also volunteers to ring bells for Salvation Army.
Committee Reports:
Agent Orange: Sandie reported there are currently 19 additional A.O. presumptive issues for women veterans. Studies and research continue to determine whether some of those conditions also apply to men.
Constitution/Bylaws: Gary Estermyer reported he is considering a state council bylaw amendment to lower the quorum. The deadline for submitting proposed constitutional amendments and resolutions for National VVA is March 31, 2025. Fundraising: Duke Mayo spoke about Toyota Corp in his VP report.
Government Affairs: Jack Devine reported there is a list of 28 legislative issues he is watching.
Membership: Ken Rogge gave this report based on the National Membership Affairs reports; Sep. / 92,162 total VVA membership, 12,241 in Region 5, 4,912 in Michigan.
Oct. / 92,256 “ “ “ , 12,245 “ “ 5, 4,913 in Michigan
Chapter 154 is still in 5th place nationwide with 811 and is the only MI chapter in the top 25.
Dual AVVA/VVA memberships are still climbing and now total 872.
Missing In America: Phil Smith continues to search for veteran cremains for inclusion in the annual Dearborn Memorial Parade.
National Cemetery: Floyd Carmichael reported a current total of 45,380 burials at Ft. Custer. The 500-acre expansion plans include; cemetery roads are to be repaved, may include space for an additional 3-4,000 casketed gravesites and 4-6,000 cremains. A committal shelter has been built as other construction projects continue. On Dec. 9 there will be a special service for seven unclaimed veteran cremains. On Dec. 14th Fort Custer will participate in the Wreaths Across America project. The honor guard is to get a new golf cart for their use.
Floyd reported that current regulations require a minimum of 2 years active service for burial eligibility, with few exceptions.
Tom Meinhardt reported that GLNC new total of interments since opening is 63,988, 826 FY and 346 in November.
POW-MIA: 1,573 – RVN & surrounding SE Asia area. Floyd Carmichael reported that recently there have been 4 sets of remains identified, 3 from Korea and 1 from WWII.
PTSD / Veterans Health Care: Sandie Wilson announced that PTSD remains a major problem with all veteran age groups however the VA claims they can treat PTSD patients in 13 visits.
Veteran’s with asbestos related health issues should file a claim.
V.A.V.S.: Phil Smith and Tim Driscoll reported . Individual and small group visits are permitted and encouraged. Weekly bingo games have also resumed. Monetary donations are always welcomed particularly for the new maternity ward. AVVA personnel have put in over 1,300 volunteer hours while the volunteers at Jacobetti average 30 hours each quarter. Tim also announced that the Ann Arbor VAMC has room for an additional Fischer House facility to have 16 rooms. The Detroit VAMC Fischer House which will have 26 rooms is slated to be open soon.
Veteran’s Benefits / Service Program: Dana Buza reported that we now have 12 accredited staff; 9 service officers, 2 admin. and 1 Director/CVSO.
Recoveries: FY22 - $15,721,015 FY23 - $11,218,931+ FY24 - $22,652,762
September - $2,577,995 October - $2,187,113
Detroit RO, McNamara Building, 477 Michigan Avenue, Room 1226, Detroit 48226 is open
with appointments preferred (313) 961-9568 for hearings and face-to-face meetings.
Our service officers have been participating in VA PACT Act and outreach events statewide.
Dana Buza reported on her duties as Executive Director of the VSO program such as weekly/monthly/yearly reports, running payroll and maintaining the office. She is dual accredited with VetsVOA and helps Michigan and Illinois veterans with their claims.
Veteran’s Incarcerated and in the Justice System: Phil Smith reported there are now 28 Veterans Treatment Courts in MI and more are needed. One female veteran is in the program.
The 19th Michigan District Court now has 12 mentors to help run the two year program.
AVVA: Penny Meinhardt reported they had a mildly successful gift card fundraiser today.
New Business: See www.vva.org for National Convention updates.
AVVA & VVA upcoming meetings & events:
Dec. 7, 2024, 10:00 AM – VVA & AVVA general membership / Christmas luncheon
Detroit Chapter 9, Masonic Temple
500 Temple Street, Detroit, MI 48201
Jan. 8-11, 2025 – National BOD & CSCP meetings, Arlington, VA
Sheraton Pentagon City Hotel
March 8, 2025, 10:00 AM – VVA & AVVA general membership meeting, Chapter 110
American Legion Post 141
3265 W. Grand River Avenue, Howell, MI 48855
June 21-22, 2025 – Region 5 pre-convention meeting, Rock Island, IL
August 5-9, 2025 – 22nd National VVA Convention, New Orleans, LA - Marriott
Closing prayer Tim Driscoll
Adjournment: 1:00 PM
Minutes taken by Secretary Gary Estermye
Lodging in the Howell , MI 48855 area near Tanger Outlet Mall:
Holiday Inn Express Baymont Inn
1397 N. Burkhart Road 4120 Lambert Drive
(517) 548-0100 (517) 547-0712
VFW Post 1138
Monroe Chapter 142
General Membership Meeting
October 5, 2024
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by President John Riling, in Monroe, MI at
1:00 PM. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited, a moment of silence was observed for the POW-MIAs and those serving in harm’s way with the opening prayer by Tom Meinhardt.
Approval of the Agenda: Motion by 1083/310 to accept the agenda as printed, motion passed.
Approval of the minutes: Motion 154/267 to approve the minutes of 06/02/24, motion passed.
Introduction of guests Chap.142 members; President Tom Rymers, Wayne Blank, Mike Goode
Roll Call of Officers:
President John Riling - Present
1st Vice-President Mike Goodpaster – Present Secretary Gary Estermyer - Present
2nd Vice President Duke Mayo – Present Treasurer Floyd Carmichael - Present
Roll Call of Chapters: 9 Jack Devine P, 18 Tom Sibley A, 31 A, 109 John Gibbs P,
110 Ralph Sharp A, 133 Tom Tubbs P, 142 Don Cannon P, 154 Mike Schneider P,
175 Joe Mishler A, 180 Tom Brown A, 237 Fred St. Onge A, 259 Mike Goodpaster P,
267 Phil Smith P, 274 Duke Mayo P, 284 Dennis Bringard A, 287 David Huffman A,
310 Tim Driscoll P, 313 Terry Ivey P, 380 Vic Romback E , 387 A, 390 Charlie Martin A,
494 A, 528 Gary Estermyer P, 571 Dennis Peterson A, 583 Wayne Trapp A, 882 Terry Frank A, 1047 Joe Prato E and 1083 Tom Meinhardt P
Present – 12 Absent – 14 Excused – 2 A quorum is present.
President’s Report: John welcomed everyone to the Monroe VFW Post 1138 for this meeting. He thanked Monroe Chapter 142 for hosting and Don Cannon for organizing this meeting and yesterday’s BOD meeting. John reported 12 MSC VSO’s attended the Leadership Conference and he attended the VSO training as well has the parliamentary procedures seminar.
John reported that National has suspended five chapters; 73, 264, 345, 576 and 730. He has made efforts to save 73. John plans to attend the Oct. 16-19 CSCP & National BOD meetings in Silver Spring. Gary Estermyer will also attend as Secretary of the National Veterans Benefit Program committee of which John is Chairman. John also reported this will be the last meeting in Silver Spring as they will be moving for the January 2025 meeting to the Sheraton Pentagon City by Marriott, Arlington, VA. This move will provide similar meeting rooms, same costs, better in-house restaurant service and there is a free airport shuttle to the hotel. Win win.
Illinois State Council has volunteered to host the Region 5 pre-convention meeting in June 2025.
They may invite U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth as a guest speaker.
1st Vice-President’s report: Mike Goodpaster reported on his Reno experience where he attended many seminars and was impressed with Jack Devine’s Legacy class. Mike has a meeting planned with Keith Tracy on Oct. 23 to discuss the Canadian 30th Memorial Service
and he distributed a flyer for the event which is scheduled for July 6, 2025.
Phil Smith has volunteered to organize the U.S. motorcycle group that will participate.
2nd Vice-President’s report: Duke Mayo proudly announced that his Cheboygan chapter Huey and truck are on the cover of the Sep/Oct 2024 The VVA Veteran. That picture has also been photo-shopped to remove the Huey stanchion which makes it appear to be flying!
Duke hasn’t had contact with any northern chapters except Roscommon 264 which confirmed they had dissolved. Duke also attended the Reno Leadership and attended many seminars which included the Legacy Task Force and parliamentary sessions.
Duke also spoke about his non-VVA political campaign participation.
Secretary's Report: Gary Estermyer reported that according to his records only three chapters haven’t filed their election report; 73 – Holland, 175 – Flint and 264 – Roscommon. As the delegates should know, the required deadline for filing both election and finance reports to National and MSC was July 15, 2024. John has now confirmed that five chapters have been suspended by National for filing violations.
Gary has been updating the chapter contact list as reports were received.
He then requested that all delegates would check with him on the accuracy of their current delegate/alternate delegate and dates/times/place where their chapter meets as this information no longer appears on the newly revised Election Report.
Gary announced that his Reno recap appears on the back page of the August membership report.
He encouraged the delegates to read The VVA Veteran carefully as many pertinent reports and information is provided. Tom Burke wrote an article about the return of DOD property.
Treasurer's Report: Floyd Carmichael reviewed the finance report dated 06/05/24 – 10/04/24. He has received funds from the car program, household goods and anonymous donations.
He also had to transfer $75K, over the past 5 weeks, to the VSO program to cover payroll.
All other SC bills and authorized expenses are being paid in a timely manner.
Floyd reminded the delegates that all chapters should have submitted their annual finance report to MSC and to National by July 15, 2024.
If your chapter treasurer has questions simply contact Floyd at
Floyd will be connecting with Ken Rogge to learn the intricacies of managing our website.
National At-Large Director: Sandie Wilson reported on the adverse travel issues that were faced while attending the National Leadership Conference. Numerous flights were delayed, canceled or had long layovers to and from Reno. Sandie remains concerned about the Fort McClellen agent orange/sarin gas issue as this was the site of all Army enlisted female training as well as MP training. Fort Ord is also a military base that may have been contaminated by chemicals used to control poison oak. VVA National Govt. Affairs director James McCormick has been very helpful in advocating for these issues. Sandie encourages all VVA members to interact with their legislators on veteran issues as this is an election year. Sandie was also pleased to learn U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell supports the AO research legislation.
She reports that Pres. Jack McManus wants to help those states damaged by Hurricane Helene.
Announcements & Chapter Roundtable:
9 – To host Dec. 7 MSC meeting, donated funds to MCL Scholarship Fund, working on establishing a chapter legacy display at Detroit Historical Society, to renew copyright of license plate, to host Nov. 2 suicide prevention summit, working on homeless veteran & VSO donations
109 – continuing to volunteer for area funeral details, involved in local school programs
133 – preparing for Operation Christmas program and helping needy families
142 – seeing membership growth, Nov. 9 Veteran’s Day parade, Nov. 11 Veteran’s ceremony,
Promotes mental health program
259 – participating in local community street fairs including current New Boston Apple Fest
267 – conducted 30th Annual golf outing for Ed’Ju’ Pitek, planning for Christmas & Super Bowl party
274 – spoke about non-VVA political activity permitted, planning Toys For Kids project and
Completed recent Pig Raffle
310 – active in numerous Ann Arbor VA hospital activities; Halloween, socks & clothing
Donations, Christmas visitation & entertainment, merchandise sales in cafeteria and they
Have a regular membership Coffee group meals at local restaurants
313 – hand out Welcome Home business cards to recruit and have seen modest results,
Stage monthly chapter membership dinners
528 – assist local VFW with numerous projects, donate to Goodfellows, volunteer for Salvation
Army bell ringing, promote VSO program with table placement ad book notice,
Planning for chapter 35th anniversary in Sept. 2025, Kokomo brick donations
1083 – planning Operation Santa Claus, clothing donations for permanently hospitalized veterans
Committee Reports:
Agent Orange: Covered in At-Large Director report.
Constitution/Bylaws: Gary Estermyer reported that proposed National constitutional amendments and resolutions can now be submitted. See pages 4 & 5 of the Sep/Oct 2024 VVA Veteran for filing details. The current National constitution is available at www.vva.org.
State bylaw amendments may be submitted by any delegate or officer at any time.
Fundraising: Duke Mayo briefly spoke about the difficulty of selling raffle tickets on the state level. Not enough selling support to maximize profits. Perhaps seeking grants/matching fund donation requests would be more successful. Other fundraising ideas suggested were cookbooks and re-visiting the 3 digit raffle program.
Government Affairs: Jack Devine reported the Michigan budget process was completed to include the Coalition grant which will again see a decrease of $211,000 that MVAA needs to fund 2 of their employees to oversee our grant. Jack agreed Reno Leadership travel was a hassle.
His Legacy Task Force seminar went well and he will be meeting with the Deputy Director of the National Archives to discuss their process. Scanning and digitizing VVA documents on the local and national level is desired. There is outside interest in a documentary on how Jack is approaching this Legacy process. There will likely be events in DC to commemorate the DOD 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War in April 2025.
Membership: July & August National Membership Affairs report;
91,382 total VVA membership, 12,093 in Region 5, 4,894 in MI, Chap. 154 – 808 5th place
August: 91,995 total VVA membership, 12,225 in Region 5, 4,912 in MI
Dual AVVA/VVA memberships are slowly climbing and now total 862.
National Cemetery: Floyd Carmichael reported a current total of 45,040 interments at
Ft. Custer. There has been 1,231 interred this FY with a total of 33 scattered cremains.
Ft. Custer’s newest director Andre Logan is working out very well. The 500 acre expansion plans include; cemetery roads are to be repaved (which creates parking issues), space for an additional 3-4,000 casketed gravesites and 4-6,000 cremains. The maintenance garage is being renovated. Ft. Custer had many volunteer work crews for their Arbor Day event on 04/26/24.
Upcoming events include; Oct. 12 – headstone cleaning, Nov. 11 – Veterans Day ceremony, Nov. 17 – POW ceremony, Nov. 18 – service for unclaimed cremains, Dec. 14 – Wreaths Across America. Floyd then opened discussion on the Wreaths program that DAR also supports.
Last year Ft. Custer only received 1,400 wreaths which amounted to about 3% of the gravesites. GLNC numbers were 2,400 wreaths received or about 3.5% coverage.
Motion 1083/310 to purchase ($17 a wreath) 100 wreaths each for GLNC and Ft. Custer and
15 wreaths for the Grand Rapid Home for Veterans cemetery. Motion passed unanimously.
Floyd also passed out a master list of all 155 national cemeteries which included satellite sites.
He also had “Veterans Legacy Memorial” VA flyers available for the delegates that direct you to a website www.va.gov/remember which explains that program.
Tom Meinhardt reported GLNC now has total of over 65,000 interments since opening,
4,400 this FY and 432 in September. Great Lakes is now recognized as the 5th busiest national cemetery. On Oct. 15 they have scheduled the interment of Thomas Powers, MOH.
On Oct. 19 there will be a headstone cleaning project. PLAV will host the Veteran’s Day program this year on November 11th.
POW-MIA: 1,573 – RVN & surrounding SE Asia area, 7,453 from Korea and 72,003 WWII.
Floyd Carmichael reported there are still 48 missing from Michigan.
Identification and return of veteran remains continue for all wars.
Product Sales: John Riling shipped a suitcase of products to the VVA National Leadership conference in Reno where he had 2 tables of pins, patches and hats. Mary Goodpaster ran the booth and made a small profit. John and his team traveled to Kokomo (which now has two buildings) last month and again made a small profit. Today he has Grunt Style $5.00 t-shirt sale and he has AO flags for sale as well. Since Honor’s military pin source is now out of business
John is forced to deal with new vendors such as in California and shipping costs are high.
PTSD / Veterans Health Care: Sandie Wilson announced that PTSD and veteran suicides remain a major problem with all veteran age groups. Dial 988 for any emergent PTSD related situations.
V.A.V.S.: Phil Smith reported that not all volunteer hours are being recognized.
Reports are not being received. It was noted the Ann Arbor VA hospital only reports yearly.
Phil also mentioned a MVH D.J. Jacobetti article that included a picture of Dana Buza and Gary Estermyer with some Chapter 380 volunteers and staff. Dana & Gary had visited there in June.
Veteran’s Benefits / Service Program: Gary Estermyer reported that we now have 13 accredited staff; 10 service officers, 2 admin. and 1 Director/CVSO.
Recoveries: FY22 - $15,721,015 FY23 - $11,218,931+ FY24 - $18,520,763
May - $2,035,754 June - $1,434,700 July - $1,899,882 Aug. - $2,059,556
Detroit RO, McNamara Building, 477 Michigan Avenue, Room 1226, Detroit 48226 is open
with appointments preferred (313) 961-9568 for hearings and face-to-face meetings.
Our service officers have been participating in many VA PACT Act events statewide.
Motion 310/267 to present a Letter of Appreciation to VSO Director Rob Lichy and the entire staff for their hard work, motion passed.
Veteran’s Incarcerated and in the Justice System: It was suggested to drop this committee
as VVA no longer has any incarcerated chapters in the state. However Phil Smith is still involved in the justice system program.
AVVA: Guests and members who attended today’s meeting included; Bethany Bragenzer and Rhonda Brown from Chapter 259, Bobbi Heidenrich (Sec./Treas.), Norma Demerly from Chapter 528 and AVVA Region 5 Director Tony Gigli from Indiana.
Penny Meinhardt reported the AVVA activities in Reno went well.
AVVA National was able to donate $20,200 to Project Friendship which was presented to ‘Horsemanship for Heros’ in Reno. Penny was awarded the AVVA Commendation Medal.
She spoke about the MOH memorial ceremony and community events that was held in St. Clair on Sept. 18th to honor her deceased brother Dwayne T. Williams. Michigan MOH recipient James ‘Doc’ McCloughan spoke and sang at this emotional event. Gary Estermyer represented the MSC at the event. Check out the YouTube link to this event; https://youtu.be/70aHOd0Otok. Penny also displayed a quilt she was presented with in memory of her brother.
Unfinished Business: From the June meeting there was a motion to consider sending a VVA VSO to the UP for a week every month. A paper was distributed explaining the reasons this is not financially feasible at this time, paper attached. The motion failed.
New Business: Penny Meinhardt spoke about the negative impact of having our VVA/AVVA meetings at 1:00 PM. After discussion there was a second by 1083 to change the start time to 10:00 AM for all future Saturday meetings. Motion passed.
AVVA & VVA upcoming meetings & events:
October 16-19, 2024 – National CSCP & BOD meetings, Silver Spring, MD
November 10, 2024 – Detroit Veteran’s Day parade
November 11, 2024 – Veteran’s Day ceremonies throughout the state
Dec. 7, 2024, 10:00 AM – VVA & AVVA general membership / Christmas luncheon
(Saturday) Detroit Chapter 9, Masonic Temple,
500 Temple Street, Detroit, MI 48201
(Street parking in Masonic building area)
February/March 2025 – VVA/AVVA general membership meetings
(Date & location TBD)
June ?, 2025 - Region 5 Pre-convention meeting in Illinois
(Date & location TBD)
August 5-9, 2025 – 22nd National VVA Convention, New Orleans, LA – Marriott
Room reservations now available.
Closing prayer Tom Meinhardt
Adjournment: 3:14 PM
Minutes taken by Secretary Gary Estermyer
Lodging in the Masonic Temple Detroit area is pricy. Suggest google outer area hotels.
____________
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by President John Riling, in Marquette, MI at 10:00 AM. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited, a moment of silence was observed for the POW-MIAs and those serving in harm’s way with the opening prayer by Tom Meinhardt.
Approval of the Agenda: Motion by 313/1083 to accept the agenda as printed, motion passed.
Approval of the minutes: Motion 267/1083 to approve the minutes of 03/03/24, motion passed.
Introduction of guests: Jim McCloughan (MOH)(had an 8:30 AM flight home this morning),
Jack McManus (National President)(left prior to meeting), Tom Burke (National Vice President),
Richard Lindbeck (National At-Large Director), Richard Arthur (Ohio State Council President), Dana Buza (Executive Administrator MI VSO Program), Robert Neal (MI VVA VSO)
Chapter 380 members; Steve Mahaffey (President), Lynn Chevrette (Secretary/Treasurer),
Vic Romback (delegate), Ted Brody, Charlie Hawes, Dan Jackovich, Ray Jutila, Jim Provost, Mark Soave
Roll Call of Officers:
President John Riling - Present
1st Vice-President Ken Rogge – Present Secretary Gary Estermyer - Present
2nd Vice President Duke Mayo – Present Treasurer Floyd Carmichael - Present
Roll Call of Chapters: 9 Jack Devine P, 18 Tom Sibley A, 31 A, 73 Bob Elliot A,
109 John Gibbs P, 110 Ralph Sharp A, 133 Tom Romein A, 142 Michael Goode E,
154 Mike Schneider P, 175 Joe Mishler A, 180 Tom Brown P, 237 Fred ST. Onge P,
259 Mike Goodpaster P, 264 Ronald Schrieber A, 267 Phil Smith P, 274 Duke Mayo P,
284 Dennis Bringard A, 287 David Huffman A, 310 Tim Driscoll P, 313 Terry Ivey P,
380 Vic Romback P , 387 A, 390 Charlie Martin A, 494 A, 528 Gary Estermyer P,
571 Dennis Peterson A, 583 Wayne Trapp A, 882 Terry Frank A, 047 Joe Prato A and
1083 Tom Meinhardt P
Present – 13 Absent – 16 Excused – 1 A quorum is present.
President’s Report (given after Treasurer report): John welcomed everyone to the Marquette Holiday Inn for this meeting. He thanked Marquette Chapter 380 for hosting the flag retirement ceremony on Friday evening, this meeting, the Town Hall meeting (presented by Sandie Wilson) along with the banquet last night. Special guests James McCloughan (MOH recipient) and
Lt. Gen (Ret) Jack Bergman spoke during our banquet. Both guests were given VVA life memberships and Vic Romback presented “Doc” McCloughan with a Marquette “Ore Dock” plaque. See page 9 of the recent July/August 2024 The VVA Veteran for a photo and writeup.
John announced that Dana Buza and Robert Neal from our MSC VSO staff are here to assist with any VA claim questions. John had attended the CSCP and National BOD meetings this past April which included two Veterans Benefit Program (VBP) meetings. Gary Estermyer (VBP Committee Secretary) and Rob Lichy (MI VSO Director/Chief Veterans Service Officer) accompanied John in Silver Spring, MD.
Jack Devine also attended and gave a ’VVA Legacy Task Force’ report.
John and the other MSC officers are planning to attend the upcoming 2024 National VVA Leadership & Education Conference in Reno the week of August 19th. He encouraged
chapters to consider sending representatives as many important seminars will be offered.
The July/August issue of The Veteran has a major writeup of this event.
VetsVOA has now received the necessary accreditation from OGC to process VA claims.
John, Gary Estermyer and Jack Devine also attended the recent Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency (MVAA) ‘Leadership Summit’ that was held at the Detroit DTE building.
John also reported he has various office furniture and equipment for sale to a good home.
1st Vice-President’s report: Ken Rogge announced that this would be his last MSC meeting as 1st VP as he is retiring. He thanked the delegates for their support and opportunity to serve for the past eight years. He wants to relinquish the website duties and asked for a replacement. Check out the updates Ken had been working on, www.vvamsc.org. He also encouraged the chapters to submit photo’s, flyers and news of their chapter events. The “Vietnam Veterans Michigan Foundation, Inc.” (VVMFI) is open for accepting applications for assistance and Ken has a page on the website for the Foundation.
2nd Vice-President’s report: Duke Mayo announced that his Cheboygan Chapter 274 has reconsidered the offer to host the October 2024 MSC meeting. Any other chapters should speak up if interested in hosting. Duke continues to reach out to northern chapters including the Petoskey and Escanaba areas where chapter formation has been considered.
Secretary's Report: Gary Estermyer reported that according to his records there were 24 chapters that were to hold their elections this year. Gary had emailed and mailed blank chapter election and finance reports to all those chapters. Copies of the forms are available today also. As the delegates should know, the official deadline for filing both election and finance reports to National and MSC is July 15, 2024. Gary or John will check with National membership to confirm the status (delinquent or to be dissolved) of all Michigan chapters. Gary will be updating the chapter contact list as reports are received.
Treasurer's Report: Floyd Carmichael reviewed the finance report dated 03/04/24 – 05/29/24. He has received funds from the car program, household goods and National membership rebates. VVMFI balance is now over $17K. The SC bills are being paid in a timely manner and the monthly deposits of random donations continue as well as ad book income. Floyd reminded the delegates that all chapters need to submit their annual finance report to MSC and to National by July 15, 2024. He has received approximately 60% of those reports thus far.
If your chapter treasurer has questions simply contact Floyd at
National Vice President: Tom Burke announced that National had received a letter regarding ceremonial rifles that some chapters had requested and received in the past. Those rifles were considered to be on loan and ultimately must be returned upon the sunset of VVA National.
This includes other military static display items such as helicopters and tanks that were requested. Hopefully chapters would have a paper trail or electronic record of these requests.
See Tom’s VP report on page 4 of The Veteran, July/August 2024 for further details.
Tom spoke about the claim shark and unscrupulous law firms taking advantage of veterans with their VA claims and charging as much as 30-50% fees. Tom also mentioned that the DOD’s 50th Anniversary program which ends next year. Related events will likely be planned for the finale.
National At-Large Director: Sandie Wilson also reported the importance of delegates attending the upcoming National Leadership Conference. Sandie is concerned about the Fort McClellen agent orange issue as this was the site of all Army enlisted female training.
The sarin gas exposure issue is also very concerning. Sandie encourages all VVA members to interact with their legislators as this is an election year.
Announcements:
Phil Smith,
The Dewayne T. Williams Chapter 1083 will be having a Reverse Raffle with 28 cash prizes ranging from $50 - $1,000 on September 14. The $50 ticket includes entry in the raffle, 5:00 PM dinner and two drink tickets. Call Tom or Penny (810) 985-6595 for tickets.
Cheboygan Chapter 274 is holding a September 20th Summer Raffle with 1st prize of ½ processed pig with a 5 cu. Ft. freezer and 2nd prize of ½ processed pig. Call Duke for these
$5.00 tickets at (231) 625-2202.
After this meeting the following event plans were made available: Phil Smith who serves as Chairman of the Commanders Group ‘Veteran of the Year’ committee reports that the Comerica Park presentation will take place during the Wed., August 28, 2024, 6:40 PM, Tigers vs Los Angeles Angels game. Tickets (10 or more) are available by calling Jackson Billings, Group Sales Account Executive at (313) 471-3178 at $38 each which includes a seat in Section 115, hot dog or slice of pizza, chips and a soda or water.
Tiger tickets for the Tuesday, August 27th game are available from John Riling for $32.00 each.
Committee Reports:
Agent Orange: Sandie reported there are currently 19 additional A.O. presumptive issues for women veterans. Studies and research continue to determine whether some of those conditions also apply to men.
Constitution/Bylaws: Gary Estermyer reported that the newly revised national constitution is now available at www.vva.org. State bylaw amendments may be submitted by any delegate or officer at any time.
Election: Chairman Jack Devine opened nominations for the third time. No further nominations were made. Jack announced that Tom Meinhardt withdrew his name from consideration for
1st Vice President which left each position with one candidate. Motion by 380/310 to elect all candidates to their positions by acclamation. Motion passed unanimously. Election results:
President – John Riling, 1st VP – Mike Goodpaster, 2nd VP – Duke Mayo
Secretary – Gary Estermyer, Treasurer – Floyd Carmichael
Fundraising: Duke Mayo briefly spoke about the difficulty of selling raffle tickets on the state level. Not enough selling support to maximize profits. Other fundraising ideas are needed.
Government Affairs: Jack Devine reported on the MVAA Leadership Summit that was held May 1-3, 2024 at the Detroit DTE building. There were 9 sessions, which included; Keynote speaker, Veterans Benefits, Networking with Veteran Service Providers, Working with your Legislators, Aiming for Zero (suicide prevention), What’s Next, VEO & Building Communities, Underserved Veteran Populations in Michigan (The Big Picture) and Aligning Focus (Building veteran-friendly communities). Jack has been watching the state budget process and he attended the Commanders Group legislative affairs meeting on May 18th. Items of discussion included VA claim sharks and establishing a secure electronic voting system for those serving overseas. Also on April 26 he represented MSC at a Liberty Tree dedication in Lansing, see page 32 of the July/August 2024 Veteran for a photo and further details of this event.
Membership: Ken Rogge gave this report based on the April National Membership Affairs report; 91,382 total VVA membership, 12,093 in Region 5, 4,894 in Michigan.
Chapter 154 is still in 5th place nationwide with 808 and is the only MI chapter in the top 25.
Dual AVVA/VVA memberships are slowly climbing and now total 832.
June’s numbers are; 91,627 total, 12,197 in Region 5, 4,899 in Michigan.
Missing In America: Phil Smith reported the morning rain dampened attendance at the Dearborn Memorial Day parade this year. However he is now aware the unclaimed cremains that Stinson Funeral Home had kept were finally turned over to the proper personnel at Great Lakes National Cemetery.
National Cemetery: Floyd Carmichael reported a current total of 44,598 burials at Ft. Custer. Ft. Custer’s newest director Rodney Heard is working out very well. The 500 acre expansion plans include; cemetery roads are to be repaved, may include space for an additional 3-4,000 casketed gravesites and 4-6,000 cremains. Another committal shelter and a maintenance garage are also planned to be built. Fort Custer is in need of flag poles and additional flags.
Ft. Custer “Day of Remembrance” program was held May 26, 2024 @ 2 PM which included a 50 piece concert band.
Floyd reported that current regulations require a minimum of 2 years active service for burial eligibility, with few exceptions.
Great Lakes National Cemetery (GLNC) Memorial Day ceremony was held May 27th @ 1 PM.
Tom Meinhardt reported that GLNC new total of interments since opening is 63,943, 2,056 this FY and 367 in April.
POW-MIA: 1,576 – RVN & surrounding SE Asia area. Floyd Carmichael reported that recently there have been 21 sets of WWII remains identified, 8 from Korea and 1 from RVN.
Product Sales: John Riling is planning to ship a few suitcases of products to the upcoming VVA National Leadership conference to Reno in August. He and his team will then travel to Kokomo the third week in September where he has been attending every year since 1992 except for 1 covid year. He has MSC 40th Anniversary challenge coins available as well as AO flags.
PTSD / Veterans Health Care: Sandie Wilson announced that PTSD remains a major problem with all veteran age groups however the VA claims they can treat PTSD patients in 13 visits.
Veteran’s with asbestos related health issues should file a claim.
V.A.V.S.: Phil Smith and Tim Driscoll reported that COVID restrictions at VA facilities have relaxed, no more masks. Individual and small group visits are permitted and encouraged. Weekly bingo games have also resumed. Monetary donations are always welcomed particularly for the new maternity ward. AVVA personnel have put in over 1,300 volunteer hours while the volunteers at Jacobetti average 30 hours each quarter. Tim also announced that the Ann Arbor VAMC has room for an additional Fischer House facility to have 16 rooms. The Detroit VAMC Fischer House which will have 26 rooms is slated to be open later this year.
Veteran’s Benefits / Service Program: Gary Estermyer reported that we still have 14 accredited staff; 11 service officers, 2 admin. and 1 Director/CVSO. Gary will be retiring on June 21 with G. Rob Lichy taking over as Director/CVSO. The hand-out of all our VSO’s contact and schedule information will soon be up on the MSC website and copies were available now.
Recoveries: FY22 - $15,721,015 FY23 - $11,218,931+ FY24 - $11,090,871
February - $1,620,311 March - $1,662,407 April - $2,139,479
Detroit RO, McNamara Building, 477 Michigan Avenue, Room 1226, Detroit 48226 is open
with appointments preferred (313) 961-9568 for hearings and face-to-face meetings.
Our service officers have been participating in many VA PACT Act events statewide.
Gary manned a table at the Detroit Zoo ‘Kidney Walk’ on May 19th. He mentioned the August 10 deadline for filing Camp Lejeune water contamination claims with Bergman & Moore.
There was a Motion by 380/310 to consider having a VVA VSO work for one week per month in the UP. Motion passed.
Dana Buza reported on her duties as Executive Director of the VSO program such as weekly/monthly/yearly reports, running payroll and maintaining the office. She is dual accredited with VetsVOA and helps Michigan and Illinois veterans with their claims.
Veteran’s Incarcerated and in the Justice System: Phil Smith reported there are now 28 Veterans Treatment Courts in MI and more are needed. One female veteran is in the program.
The 19th Michigan District Court now has 12 mentors to help run the two year program.
AVVA: Penny Meinhardt reported the results of their elections; Penny remains president,
Betty Pike remains VP and Bobbi Heidenrich remains secretary/treasurer. Project Friendship donations will go to ‘Horsemanship For Heroes’ program in Reno, NV. Penny asked for support for this equine-assisted psychotherapy program.
Motion 267/1083 to donate $500.00 for Project Friendship. Motion passed.
New Business: See www.vva.org for Leadership Conference updates.
John reported that Rep. Debbie Dingell was finally awarded the VVA Achievement Award and an Honorary Life Membership at the Trenton, MI Memorial Day parade.
Jim Provost, 380 member, spoke about the need for a state or federal cemetery in the UP.
AVVA & VVA upcoming meetings & events:
August 20-24, 2024 – VVA National Leadership Conference, Silver Legacy Resort,
407 N. Virginia Street, Reno, NV 89501
$69 & $149 (Plus fees) – rooms / $75.00 – registration / Free airport shuttle
October 5, 2024, 1:00 PM – VVA/AVVA general membership meeting hosted by
(Saturday, new time) Monroe Chapter 142VFW Post 1138, 400 Jones Avenue, Monroe, MI 48161
October 16-19, 2024 – National CSCP & BOD meetings, Silver Spring, MD
Nov 30 or Dec 7, 2024, 1:00 PM – VVA & AVVA general membership / Christmas luncheon
(Saturday, new time) (date & location TBD)
August 5-9, 2025 – 22nd National VVA Convention, New Orleans, LA - Marriott
Closing prayer Tom Meinhardt
Adjournment: 12:55 PM
Minutes taken by Secretary Gary Estermyer
Lodging in the Monroe, MI area: Holiday Inn Express & Suites
1687 N. Dixie Hwy.
Monroe, MI 48162
(833) 441-1107
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Plymouth VFW 6695
Plymouth-Canton Chapter 528
General Membership Meeting
March 3, 2024
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by President John Riling, in Plymouth, Michigan at 10:00 AM. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited, a moment of silence was observed for the POW-MIAs and those serving in harm’s way with the opening prayer by Tom Meinhardt.
National Anthem sung by 528 AVVA member Dennis Waling.
Approval of the Agenda: Motion by 1083/154 to accept the agenda as printed, motion passed.
Approval of the minutes: Motion 9/313 to approve the minutes of 12/03/23, motion passed.
Introduction of guests: Chapter 528; Bob Dew, Ron King, Terry Wells, John Spencer,
Rick Waling, Mike Schlott, AVVA 528 – Dennis Waling, Norma Demerly, Bryan Bentley
Chapter 267: Jim Walker
Canadian veterans: “Canadian Vietnam Veterans Memorial Association” & “North Wall Riders Association” who are working on the Be Counted project. Mike Soucie, Keith Tracy, CJ Scott,
Ron Bisnaire, Paul Lauzon, Tom Miller, Jim Scherpe, Bonnie Burian
Congresswoman Debbie Dingell was unable to attend our meeting as she was required to be in Washington DC per President Biden’s request to work on the budget. POTUS bumped us.
John is making arrangements for her to receive the VVA Honorary Life Membership and Achievement Award for her contributions in support of veterans at the April National BOD.
Roll Call of Officers:
President John Riling - Present
Vice-President Ken Rogge – Excused Secretary Gary Estermyer - Present
2nd Vice President Duke Mayo – Present Treasurer Floyd Carmichael - Present
Roll Call of Chapters: 9 Jack Devine P, 18 Tom Sibley A, 31 E, 73 Bob Elliot A,
109 John Gibbs P, 110 Ralph Sharp A, 133 Tom Romein P, 142 Michael Goode P,
154 Steve Bago P, 175 Joe Mishler A, 180 Joe Coullard E, 237 Jerry Cummings A,
259 Mike Goodpaster P, 264 Ronald Schrieber A, 267 Phil Smith P, 274 Duke Mayo P,
284 Dennis Bringard A, 287 David Huffman A, 310 Tim Driscoll P, 313 Terry Ivey P,
380 Vic Romback E, 387 A, 390 Charlie Martin A, 494 A, 528 Ron King P,
571 Dennis Peterson A, 583 Wayne Trapp A, 882 Terry Frank A, 1047 Joe Prato E and
1083 Tom Meinhardt P
Present – 12 Absent – 14 Excused – 4 A quorum is present.
President’s Report (given after Treasurer report): John welcomed everyone to the VFW 6695 hall in Plymouth for this meeting. He thanked Plymouth-Canton Chapter 528 for hosting and asked 1st VP Bob Dew to say a few words. John attended the CSCP and National BOD meetings in January as well as chairing the National Veterans Benefit Program meetings. He will be attending those April meetings next month as well.
John also reported that the law firm Bergman & Moore has now been retained by VVA National to handle all the appellate claim work. Seven attorneys and staff have been terminated.
John, Gary Estermyer and Jack Devine will be attending the May 1-3, 2024 MVAA Leadership Summit in Detroit. John also spoke about the upcoming MSC Convention in Marquette.
The National Leadership Conference in August is something to plan for. Room rates at the Silver Legacy are $49 + taxes on Monday-Thursday and $149 + taxes on Friday-Saturday!
Further Leadership details will soon be available at www.vva.org and in VVA Veteran.
There is a free airport shuttle and Bergman & Moore will be offering advanced VSO training.
1st Vice-President’s report: John gave the membership report, see Committee Reports.
2nd Vice-President’s report: Duke Mayo announced that he continues to reach out to northern chapters including the Petoskey area and those in the UP. Duke also attended the funeral of Chapter 274’s 1st Vice President Neil Hartwick.
Secretary's Report: Gary Estermyer discussed the upcoming MSC Convention and the flyers he had available which includes; hotel reservation form, banquet/luncheon reservation form and most importantly the ad book flyer. All chapters are strongly encouraged to help buy & sell ads to help offset convention expenses. MOH recipient James McCloughan and Lt Gen “Jack” Bergman have been invited to attend and speak to our members. A flag retirement ceremony will take place at Chapter 380 HQ (down the road from Holiday Inn) Friday evening, May 31
and on Saturday, 1:00 PM Sandie Wilson will speak at a Military Toxic Exposure Seminar.
Our Saturday evening banquet will feature MOH James C. McCloughan and Lt Gen (ret) “Jack” Bergman, USMC Vietnam veteran and current Congressman, Michigan District 1.
Gary has listed the chapters that will be holding elections next month, see New Business.
Gary had emailed blank chapter election and finance reports to all those chapters. Copies of the forms are available today also. As the delegates should know, the official deadline for filing both election and finance reports to National and MSC is July 15, 2024. He will be updating the chapter contact list as reports are received. Feel free to bring a copy of your chapter reports to our next meeting on June 2, 2024, in Marquette.
Treasurer's Report: Floyd Carmichael reviewed the finance report dated 12/04/23 – 03/01/24. He had transferred $30,000 from the General Fund to the VSO account due to the State being slow in their monthly processing. He also has received funds from the car program and the VVA National VSO grant. The SC bills are being paid in a timely manner and the monthly deposits of random donations continue. Floyd reminded the delegates that all chapters need to submit their annual finance report to MSC and to National by July 15.
If your chapter treasurer has questions simply contact Floyd at
Announcements: Tim Driscoll, Charles S. Kettles Chapter 310, announced that due to their efforts a section of I-94 has been renamed “Washtenaw County Vietnam Veterans Memorial Highway” to honor the 76 county veterans who died in Vietnam and the 2 MIA’s. Dedication
will take place @ the Washtenaw County Vietnam Memorial on March 29th at 10:00 AM.
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Mike Goodpaster, president of Downriver Chapter 259 announced a March 29th “National Vietnam War Veterans Day” ceremony in Wyandotte at 6:00 PM.
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Jim Walker, Dearborn Chapter 267 announced the 2024 Michigan Kidney Walk at the Detroit Zoo event on Sunday, May 19, 7:30 AM – 10:00 AM. Joint sponsorship opportunity for a table was discussed as kidney disease can in some cases be linked to agent orange exposure. A 3-way agreement was proposed and agreed upon; $300 from MSC (VSO Program), $300 from Chapter 528, $300 from Dearborn Chapter 267 and $100 from a 267 member.
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Warriors and Caregivers United (WACU), www.wacu.org, will be having a live auction fundraiser on May 17th, 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM, at the Ypsilanti Depot Town Freighthouse.
Tickets are $15 at the door or advance tickets are $20 which includes ½ off a meal at the
Sidetrack Bar & Grill from 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM only, booze not included.
Two former Miss Michigan musicians will be there to sing & entertain.
Check out the website or call John K. for further details, (734) 645-8647.
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Duke announced that Cheboygan Chapter 274 will be selling raffle tickets in June.
Committee Reports:
Agent Orange: Sandie reported that AO Town Hall notices will be posted on the www.vva.org website under EVENTS, which will be more user friendly. Sandie will hold a “Military Toxic Exposure Seminar” on June 1 in Marquette. She passed out National Birth Defect Registry business cards with a QR code on the back. More affected Vietnam veteran families should register with this 1st of a kind agency. The website of; https://birthdefects.org/veterans-research/ may be used to submit your child’s case. Sandie continues to monitor the child autism issue in which studies show Tylenol taken during pregnancy contributes to this disease.
There are currently 19 additional A.O. presumptive issues for women veterans. Research is ongoing on whether some of those conditions also apply to men. Ranch Hand study (Air Force) of veteran samples still remains an issue as well.
Government Affairs: Jack Devine reported the 2024 MVAA Leadership Summit will be held May 1-3, at the DTE building in Detroit. There will be 8 sessions, similar to last year which included; Keynote speaker, Veterans Benefits, Networking with Veteran Service Providers, Working with your Legislators, Aiming for Zero (suicide prevention), What’s Next, VEO & Building Communities, Underserved Veteran Populations in Michigan (The Big Picture) and Aligning Focus (Building veteran-friendly communities).
Jack has also been made aware of “National Lifers of America” an incarcerated group.
Jack announced Senate 22 and House Bill 7333 have been introduced to rename the W. Palm Beach VA Medical Center to Thomas H. Corey. Michigan support is encouraged. In Michigan boiler-plate language has been submitted to increase the Coalition budget by $500,000.00.
At the VVA National level, Jack is chairing the Legacy Task Force committee.
Membership: January National Membership Affairs report; 91,092 total VVA membership, 12,183 in Region 5, 4,889 in Michigan, Chapter 154 still holding down 5th with 810 members.
Dual AVVA/VVA memberships were at 784.
Chapters are supposed to report to National their deceased members.
Missing In America: Phil Smith reported Stinson Funeral Home apparently took some unclaimed veteran cremains to GLNC. He is attempting to confirm this.
National Cemetery: Floyd Carmichael reported a current total of 44,350 burials at Ft. Custer. Ft. Custer’s new director, Rodney Heard is working out well. The AmVets bell tower has recently been fixed. All the cemetery roads are to be repaved, expansion plans may include space for an additional 3-4,000 casketed gravesites and 4-6,000 cremains. Another committal shelter and a maintenance garage are also planned to be built. Floyd continues to volunteer on Tuesday’s at Ft. Custer where he has accumulated over 5,600 volunteer hours and over 20 years on their Honor Guard. 1,400 wreaths were laid during Wreaths Across America.
Tom Meinhardt reported that GLNC new total of interments since opening is 62,855. 962 this FY and 236 in the month of January. GLNC will be switching over to all-weather flags soon.
Approximately 24,000 wreaths were laid for the Wreaths Across America project.
A fundraising golf outing event is planned for August 24, 2024 in Lapeer.
POW-MIA: 1,577 - RVN & surrounding SE Asia area.
Floyd reported that 5 sets of WWII and 1set of Korea remains have recently been identified.
It’s not clear how many Canadian Vietnam veterans may have been POW-MIA.
Product Sales: John Riling is looking at options of shipping product inventory to Reno.
“My Exchange” is a good site to check out for flags.
PTSD / Veterans Health Care: Sandie Wilson announced that PTSD remains a major problem with all veteran age groups however the VA claims they can treat PTSD patients in 13 visits.
Veteran’s with asbestos related health issues should file a claim with the VA and consider joining the class action lawsuit. The Women’s Center at the AAVA is to be dedicated soon.
V.A.V.S.: Phil Smith and Tim Driscoll reported that COVID restrictions at most VA facilities have relaxed, no more masks. Individual and small group visits are generally permitted and encouraged. Weekly bingo games have also resumed. Monetary donations are welcome.
Phil needs a letter from MSC to name a VVA Detroit VAVS representative.
The Detroit VAMC is completing a 16 suite Fisher House build on Woodward Avenue, north of W. Grand Blvd. and just 2 miles from the John Dingell VA Hospital.
Veteran’s Benefits / Service Program: Gary Estermyer reported that we have 14 accredited staff; 11 service officers, 2 admin. and 1 Director/CVSO. Gary is to step down as Director to Asst. Director position and Rob Lichy will become the new Director.
Recoveries: FY22 - $15,721,015 FY 23 - $11,218,931+ FY 24 - $5,668,674
Nov - $2,240,174 Dec - $1,595,201 Jan - $1,833,299
Detroit RO, McNamara Building, 477 Michigan Avenue, Room 1226, Detroit 48226 is open
with appointments preferred (313) 961-9568 for hearings and face-to-face meetings.
Our service officers have been participating in many VA PACT Act events state-wide.
The entire staff is expected to attend VSO advanced training in Reno this August.
Veteran’s Incarcerated and in the Justice System: Phil Smith reported there are now 28 Veterans Treatment Courts in MI and more are needed.
AVVA: Penny Meinhardt has attempted to invite all Michigan AVVA members to attend the convention in Marquette.
New Business:
Keith Tracy spoke about their efforts to locate and invite all those Canadians who served in the US Armed Forces during Vietnam to the 30th Annual Memorial service in Windsor on 07/06/25.
Information/registration can be found at; www.canadiansinvietnam.com/be.counted or call, Keith Tracy at 519-796-1452 or CJ Scott 519-259-7555 regarding the “Be Counted” project.
Discussion was held, Motion 1083/142 to hold MSC meetings on Saturday’s @ 1:00 PM.
Motion passed and this will take effect on the Sep/Oct 2024 meeting.
Discussion was held, Motion 154/313 for the MSC to meet 4 times yearly, motion passed.
AVVA & VVA upcoming meetings & events:
April 2024 – Chapter elections
April 18-20, 2024 – VVA National BOD/CSCP/Veterans Benefit Committee meeting,
Double Tree Hotel, 8777 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD
May 31, 2024 – Flag retirement ceremony, Chapter 380 building, Marquette, MI
June 1, 2024 - Opening ceremony (time TBD)
Military Toxic Exposure Seminar, Holiday Inn, 1:00 PM
Banquet, Holiday Inn, 5:00 PM – 9:00 PM
June 2, 2024 - VVA & AVVA Annual/Election meeting, 10:00 AM
1951 US 41 West, Marquette, MI (906) 225-1351
August 20-24, 2024 – National Leadership Conference, Silver Legacy, Reno, NV
Sep/Oct, 2024 – VVA & AVVA general membership meetings (date & location TBD)
December 1, 2024 – VVA & AVVA general membership / Christmas luncheon
(date & location TBD)
August 5-9, 2025 – National VVA Convention – New Orleans, LA, Marriott
Closing prayer Tom Meinhardt
Adjournment: 1:18 PM
Minutes taken by Secretary Gary Estermyer
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Southgate, MI – Downriver Chapter 259
General Membership Meeting
December 3, 2023
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by President John H. Riling at 10:00 AM.
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited, a moment of silence was observed for the POW-MIAs and those serving in harm’s way with the opening prayer by Floyd Carmichael.
Posting of the Colors: Southgate JROTC
Approval of the Agenda: Motion by 528/154 to accept the agenda as printed, motion passed.
Approval of the minutes: Motion 267/528 to approve the minutes of 10/08/23, motion passed.
Introduction of guests: Jack McManus, Tom Burke, Pat Kline, Don Cannon,
Canadian Vietnam vets: Keith Tracy, Richard Gidner, Ron Diznar, Tom Eller, CJ Scott (friend)
Downriver Chapter 259: Craig Wilson, Ken Hunroe, Bob Ferstle, Bob Barley, Russ Hayward and Dave & Nancy Gyorke (KP duty today) and 259 AVVA member Rhonda Brown.
Roll Call of Officers:
President John Riling - Present
Vice-President Ken Rogge – Present Secretary Gary Estermyer - Present
2nd Vice President Duke Mayo – Present Treasurer Floyd Carmichael - Present
Roll Call of Chapters: 9 Jack Devine P, 18 Tom Sibley A, 31 William Collins E,
73 Bob Elliot A, 109 John Gibbs E, 110 Ralph Sharp A, 133 Tom Romein P,
142 Don Cannon P, 154 Mike Schneider P, 175 Joe Mishler A, 180 Joe Coullard A,
237 Jerry Cummings A, 259 Mike Goodpaster P, 264 Ronald Schrieber A, 267 Phil Smith P,
274 Duke Mayo P, 284 Dennis Bringard A, 287 David Huffman A, 310 Tim Driscoll P,
313 Terry Ivey P, 380 Vic Romback E, 387 A, 390 Charlie Martin A, 494 A,
528 John Spencer P, 571 Dennis Peterson A, 583 Wayne Trapp A, 882 Terry Frank A,
1047 Joe Prato A and 1083 Tom Meinhardt E
Present – 10 Absent – 17 Excused – 3 A quorum is present.
President’s Report: John welcomed everyone and announced that VVA General Counsel Patricia Harris is now the Interim Director of the National Veterans Benefit Program. John will be attending the January 18-20, 2024 National BOD/CSCP meeting in Silver Spring, MD. As secretary of the Veterans Benefit Committee, Gary Estermyer will also be attending.
As Commander of the Commander’s Group in Michigan John will be attending their next meeting on December 11, 2023 along with Gary as the MSC secretary.
John spoke about the MSC 40th anniversary dinner at Baldo’s Italian Restaurant last night.
In attendance was National President and former MSC President Jack McManus, National Vice President Tom Burke and his wife Robin, Pat Kline & Don Cannon former MSC presidents and members of chapters 142, 259, 267, 274, 310, 313, 528. The food and company was great.
John also announced that he had attended the Veterans Day ceremony at Ft. Custer National Cemetery in Agusta, MI under clear skies and enjoyed a nice lunch afterwards.
He also participated in a veteran’s program at an Ann Arbor senior facility called All Seasons.
John will be driving down to Ohio for their Christmas state council event next week and he’s leaving for Florida on December 21, 2023. John then began discussion on the June 1-2, 2024 MSC Annual/Election meeting in Marquette, MI. Most delegates in attendance indicated they would attend the meeting in Marquette. It is hopeful all the Upper Peninsula chapter will also make the drive over. Discussion began on inviting MOH recipient James McCloughan to speak at the MSC annual meeting. There are fees to be considered and finances were discussed.
MOTION by 310/528 to invite McCloughan, motion passed. Then there was discussion to also invite U.S. Representative John (Jack) Bergman, retired USMC General. MOTION 267/154 to invite Bergman, motion passed.
1st Vice-President’s report: Ken Rogge announced that he has resolved the IT issues he was having with the MSC website www.vvamsc.org. Ken continues to welcome chapter articles, photographs and flyers of upcoming events.
The “Vietnam Veterans Michigan Foundation, Inc. (VVMFI) is open for accepting applications for assistance and Ken has a page on the website for the Foundation.
2nd Vice-President’s report: Duke Mayo announced that he recently worked with two MI chapters that were on National’s suspended list and was able to get them on line. He continues to reach out to northern & UP Michigan chapters. Duke is recovering nicely from his hip surgery while continuing his rehab.
Secretary's Report: Gary Estermyer reported that according to his records there will be 22 chapters holding their elections next month in April. Gary will email and mail blank chapter election and finance reports to all those chapters. Copies of the forms are available today and they are available at www.vva.org also. As the delegates should know, the official deadline for filing both of these reports to National and MSC is July 15, 2024. Gary will be updating the chapter contact list as reports are received. Feel free to bring a copy of your chapter reports to our Annual meeting on June 2, 2024, in Marquette, MI.
Treasurer's Report: Floyd Carmichael reviewed the finance report dated 10/09/23 – 11/30/23. He had transferred $60,000 from the General Fund to the VSO account due to the State being slow in their monthly processing. VVMFI balance is now over $17K. The SC bills are being paid in a timely manner and the monthly deposits from National and random donations continue. One of the recent MSC raffle winners donated half of her $100.00 winnings back to MSC. Floyd reminded the delegates that all chapters need to submit their finance report annually to the State Council and to National by July 15.
If your chapter treasurer has questions simply contact Floyd at
National VVA President: Jack McManus congratulated MSC for it’s 40th anniversary. Jack was our 6th MSC president serving from 1990-1995. He’s proud of our accomplishments and wishes us continued success. He’s received numerous suggestions for National to continue funding chapters and state councils. He has established a Legacy Task Force and named Jack Devine to chair that committee. He mentioned the upcoming VVA Leadership Conference in August in Reno and is hopeful for a better turnout than in 2022. The National staff will determine whether to continue the Leaderships beyond 2024 based upon the numbers.
National Vice President: Tom Burke welcomed everyone and he also congratulated us on 40 years of representing VVA in Michigan. Tom mentioned there have been some staff changes at National but changes are inevitable and we will work through them. Tom is very concerned about the VA benefit and hospital branches as the turnover is significant, read his article in the November/December issue of The VVA Veteran for further details on that. Tom confirmed that veteran benefits and legislative advocacy are very important to our legacy.
Canadian Vietnam Veterans: The Canadian veterans spoke about their roles building and maintaining the Canadian Memorial on Riverside Drive in Windsor. The Memorial was dedicated in July 1995 and the Canadian Vietnam Veterans Memorial Association (CVVMA) was founded. They estimate 40,000 Canadians, mostly men, served in the U.S. Armed Forces between 1959-1975. They have a mission to identify those veterans so they may be identified and given a proper “Welcome Home”. That project is called ‘Be Counted’ and they are seeking our help in locating those veterans. If you know a Canadian who is perhaps living in the states now please have them reach out to; www.canadiansinvietnam.com. They are also planning a 30th Annual Memorial Service and rededication of the Canadian Vietnam Veterans Memorial on July 6, 2025. You may also contact; Keith Tracy – (519) 796-1452-
Announcements:
Wreaths Across America – Saturday, December 16, 2023.
Without objection the MSC will donate 30 wreaths each for Fort Custer & GLNC and 15 wreaths for Grand Rapids Home for Veterans cemetery.
Committee Reports:
Constitution/Bylaws: Gary Estermyer announced the revised VVA constitution is now available @ www.vva.org. If any delegate wants to submit an amendment to the MSC bylaws they can do so at any time.
Election Committee: Jack Devine announced that he has recruited Phil Smith and Vic Romback to serve on the committee with him. He then opened nominations for officers;
President – John Riling, who accepted.
1st Vice President – Mike Goodpaster, who accepted.
Tom Meinhardt, who was absent
2nd Vice President – Duke Mayo, who accepted.
Secretary – Gary Estermyer, who accepted.
Treasurer – Floyd Carmichael, who accepted.
Nominations were then closed until the next meeting in March 2024.
Fundraising: Duke Mayo reported that MSC had a profit of $2,044.00 from the last raffle.
He is not confident we should pursue another similar raffle at this time. Any and all suggestions are welcome for another fundraiser. Gary spoke briefly about the www.charitymania.com fundraiser but that also mandates selling tickets and we don’t have much success in that area.
Government Affairs: Jack Devine reported on the upcoming MVAA Leadership Summit to be held May 1 - 3, 2024 in Detroit. Jack mentioned that as the chair of the National Legacy Task Force he wants to include BOD members and state council presidents on the committee.
Jack remains very active with the Commanders Group on the legislative affairs committee.
He announced that MVAA has a new director, Brian Love. It turns out the recent budget that was approved by the state included language that pulled funds out of the Coalition grant.
This shortage actually helps the argument that the grant should be increased $500,000 next FY.
The property tax waiver legislation also recently passed, improves the process for those entitled to that benefit.
Membership: Ken Rogge gave this report based on the recent October National Membership Affairs report; 90,979 total VVA membership, 12,170 in Region 5, 4,899 in Michigan.
Chapter 154 is now in 5th place nationwide with 811 members.
Missing In America: Phil Smith reported that Stinson Funeral Home still has four unclaimed veteran cremains in their possession that they won’t release. The MSC sent them a letter in hopes of getting their cooperation but apparently to no avail.
National Cemetery: Floyd Carmichael reported he doesn’t have a current total of burials at
Ft. Custer but its approx. 43,000. Ft. Custer has a new director, Rodney Heard. All the cemetery roads are to be repaved, expansion plans may include space for an additional 3-3,500 casketed gravesites and 4-6,000 cremains. Another committal shelter and a maintenance garage are also planned to be built. Ft. Custer “Wreaths Across America” program is planned, Dec. 16th.
POW-MIA: 1,578 - RVN & surrounding SE Asia area. Laos and Cambodia recovery missions are on going.
Product Sales: John Riling and his crew set up at the All Seasons facility but are done for the season now. John is seeking a reasonably priced vendor for a new MSC challenge coin.
V.A.V.S.: The program has been formally changed to “The Center of Development and Civic Engagement”. We will continue to recognize it as Veterans Affairs Voluntary Service. Phil Smith and Tim Driscoll reported that VA hospitals are open for visitation however masks are still required in the ICU areas. Volunteer hours should still be submitted to Phil and donations to Volunteer Services are always welcomed.
Veteran’s Benefits / Service Program: Gary Estermyer reported that we have 14 accredited staff; 11 service officers, 2 admin. and 1 Director/CVSO. The staff recently completed training at Higgins Lake and Gaylord. We’re looking forward to training in Reno during the August Leadership Conference in Reno, NV.
Recoveries: FY22 - $15,721,015 FY23 - $11,218,931+
July - $1,766,632 Aug. - $2,125,777 Sep. - $2,180,646 Oct. - $1,554,007
Detroit RO, McNamara Building, 477 Michigan Avenue, Room 1226, Detroit 48226 is open
with appointments preferred (313) 961-9568 for hearings and face-to-face meetings.
Our service officers continue to participate with the VA at PACT Act events statewide.
AVVA: Penny Meinhardt thanked everyone who supported their gift card fundraiser.
23 cards were donated which resulted in a $460.00 profit for them.
Life membership applications were submitted for the entire VSO staff.
New Business: According to the secretary’s records the following chapters will hold elections in April 2024: 9, 18, 73, 109, 142, 154, 175, 237, 259, 264, 284, 287, 310, 380, 387, 390, 494, 528,
571, 583, 882, 1083
AVVA & VVA upcoming meetings & events:
January 18-20, 2024 – VVA National BOD/CSCP/Veterans Benefit Committee meeting
Double Tree, 8777 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD
March 3, 2024, 10:00 AM – VVA & AVVA general membership meetings
Plymouth-Canton Chapter 528 @ VFW Post 6695
1426 S. Mill Street, Plymouth, MI 48170
April 2024 – Chapter elections
June 1, 2024 – Possible A.O. Town Hall event, afternoon, Holiday Inn, Marquette, MI
Possible flag retirement ceremony, evening @ Chapter 380 HQ
June 2, 2024 – VVA & AVVA Annual/Election meeting
Holiday Inn, 1951 US 41 West, Marquette, MI (906) 225-1351
August 20-24, 2024 – National Leadership Conference, Silver Legacy, Reno, NV
August 5-9, 2025 – National VVA Convention – New Orleans, LA, Marriott
Closing prayer Floyd Carmichael
Adjournment: 12:35 PM
Minutes taken by Secretary Gary Estermyer
Red Roof Inn Comfort Inn Plymouth
39700 Ann Arbor Road 40455 Ann Arbor Road
Plymouth, MI 48170 Plymouth, MI 48170
734.459.3300 734.455.8100
Many other hotels in nearby Canton / Livonia area.
Chateau at Black Mountain
Cheboygan, MI – Chapter 274
General Membership Meeting
October 8, 2023
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by 1st Vice President Ken Rogge at 10:00 AM. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited, a moment of silence was observed for the POW-MIAs and those serving in harm’s way with the opening prayer by Tom Meinhardt.
Approval of the Agenda: Motion by 180/310 to accept the agenda as printed, motion passed.
Approval of the minutes: Motion 267/1083 to approve the minutes of 07/23/23, motion passed.
Introduction of guests: Dan Ashcraft, former MSC vice president.
Roll Call of Officers:
President John Riling - Excused
Vice-President Ken Rogge – Present Secretary Gary Estermyer - Present
2nd Vice President Duke Mayo – Present Treasurer Floyd Carmichael - Present
Roll Call of Chapters: 9 Dave Gurtowsky P, 18 Tom Sibley A, 31 William Collins A,
73 Bob Elliot A, 109 John Gibbs P, 110 Ralph Sharp A, 133 Tom Romein E,
142 Michael Goode A, 154 Steve Bago P, 175 Joe Mishler A, 180 Joe Coullard P,
237 Jerry Cummings A, 259 Mike Goodpaster E, 264 Ronald Schrieber A, 267 Phil Smith P,
274 Duke Mayo P, 284 Dennis Bringard A, 287 David Huffman A, 310 Tim Driscoll P,
313 Terry Ivey P, 380 Vic Romback P, 387 A, 390 Charlie Martin A, 494 A, 528 Gary Estermyer P, 571 Dennis Peterson A, 583 Wayne Trapp A, 882 Terry Frank A,
1047 Joe Prato A and 1083 Tom Meinhardt P
Present – 11 Absent – 17 Excused – 2 A quorum is present.
President’s Report (written report read by Ken Rogge, copy attached.)
1st Vice-President’s report: Ken Rogge announced that in regard to the MSC website www.vvamsc.org he’s been dealing with additional IT issues (audio) as he’s now working with a new rebuilt computer. Ken continues to welcome chapter input as he works out the bugs.
The “Vietnam Veterans Michigan Foundation, Inc. (VVMFI) is open for accepting applications for assistance and Ken has a page on the website for the Foundation.
2nd Vice-President’s report: Duke Mayo announced that he has attempted to reach out to northern & UP Michigan chapters. He was hopeful that Pat Kline of Petoskey would be at our meeting today, however Pat is a no show. Duke has some hip surgery scheduled next month so he’ll be slowed down for recovery and rehab. We all hope everything goes well.
Duke attended many convention meetings and in the Membership Affairs committee meeting he found it very interesting to read about the age groups of VVA members, copy of chart attached. Duke agreed the audio system in the main convention ballroom was terrible.
Secretary's Report: Gary Estermyer reported that he has not received chapter election reports from chapters 73, 175, 264, 287, 387 and 583. Some of those chapters may have sent National a copy but not the MSC secretary. As the delegates should know, the official deadline for filing the election and finance reports to National and MSC was July 15, 2023. Gary has been updating the chapter contact list as reports are received. If you haven’t already filed feel free to bring a copy of your chapter reports to our next meeting on December 3, 2023, in Southgate, MI.
Gary also attended multiple convention sessions including Veterans Benefits & constitution.
He provided copies of the DMVA “Michigan Vietnam Veteran Recognition Certificate” application, also attached.
Treasurer's Report: Floyd Carmichael reviewed the finance report dated 07/20/23 – 10/02/23. All the bills are being paid timely and 2 donations ($2,000 & $5,000) were received. VVMFI balance is now over $18K. Floyd reported he has received all the chapter finance reports.
If your chapter treasurer ever has questions simply contact Floyd at
Floyd reported the weather in Orlando in August is hot! Convention business ran fairly well.
National At-Large Director: Sandie Wilson was re-elected as a National At-large Director at the convention. She will continue to chair the Agent Orange Committee. Sandie is hopeful AO Town Halls will increase across the country. She will travel and participate if asked. Her contact info is; (734) 216-4862 and
See your copy of The VVA Veteran, Sep/Oct 2023, for a full convention report.
Committee Reports:
Agent Orange: Sandie reported that the Birth Defects Registry now has 10 states actively participating, www.birthdefects.org. Claims should be submitted for affected children and grandchildren of veterans who served overseas where AO was used or stored. The Denver RO handles all those claims. She reminded the delegates that a law was passed for AO research by President Obama and was thereafter ignored by President Trump. This research is still needed. There is also a need for further AO research for male veterans. It is noted that October is Agent Orange awareness month. The other health issue Sandie is following is child autism. She cites studies/research that show Tylenol taken during pregnancy can contribute to autism which can take 3 years before being diagnosed.
Constitution/Bylaws: Gary Estermyer announced that the MSC supported National proposed constitution amendment was passed at the convention without objection. The 2023 revised constitution can be found on the VVA website, www.vva.org.
Election Committee: In Chairman Jack Devine’s absence Gary Estermyer reported that Jack had not yet formed his committee. He is working on creating election process guidelines.
Nominations for officers may begin at the Dec. 3rd meeting.
Fundraising: Duke Mayo then held the drawing for the 2023 Summer Raffle. The winners were: 1st Prize - $250.00 – Sandie Wilson (ticket 1295), 2nd Prize - $150.00 – Michelle Fejedeem (ticket 0240) and 3rd Prize - $100.00 – Lynne Martinez (ticket 0221). The MSC profit was $1,941.00. Duke thanked all the chapter sellers for their support.
Gary Estermyer spoke about a possible future Charity Mania fundraiser.
Membership: Ken Rogge gave this report based on the recent National Membership Affairs report; 90,755 total VVA membership, 12,156 in Region 5, 4,899 in Michigan.
Chapter 154 is still in 5th place nationwide and the only MI chapter in the top 25.
Dual AVVA/VVA memberships are now at 748.
Missing In America: Phil Smith reported he had received news that Stinson Funeral Home in Detroit was going to cooperate in releasing the unclaimed veteran cremains in their possession. On behalf of the MSC a letter urging Stinson cooperation had been mailed to them. Phil has been trying to contact them to finalize the details.
National Cemetery: Floyd Carmichael reported that Ft. Custer National Cemetery is now over 44K interments. Ft. Custer has another new director, Rodney Heard. All the cemetery roads are to be repaved, expansion plans may include space for an additional 6-8,000 new gravesites.
A new committal shelter, columbarium and a maintenance garage are also in the planning stage.
Seven sets of unclaimed veteran cremains were recently interred.
Veterans Day ceremony @ Ft. Custer will be Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023, 11:00 AM, 11/11/11.
Great Lakes National Cemetery (GLNC) 2023 Veterans Day ceremony will be 11/11/11.
Tom Meinhardt reported GLNC held 425 services last month, 4,498 services YTD and 61,898 services since opening in October 2005. GLNC will also be repaving the driveways. They will be switching over to polyester flags on Nov. 13th. The advisory committee reported they profited $11,800 from a recent golf outing fundraiser.
POW-MIA: 1,578 - RVN & surrounding SE Asia area.
Product Sales: John Riling had reported he was able to cover expenses in Orlando and sales were about average at Kokomo which greeted him with rather cold temps.
PTSD / Veterans Health Care: Sandie Wilson announced that PTSD remains a major problem with all veteran age groups. Sandie also reported the VA has plans to open women veteran health clinics.
V.A.V.S.: Phil Smith and Tim Driscoll reported that earlier COVID issues have been relaxed. Individual and group visits are generally permitted and encouraged. Volunteer hours should still be submitted to him and donations to Volunteer Services are always welcomed. Masks may still be required for long term care unit visits. Tim also shared that veteran suicides remain a very real concern and that such an incident recently occurred with a chapter member.
Veteran’s Benefits / Service Program: Gary Estermyer reported that we again now have 14 accredited staff; 11 service officers, 2 admin. and 1 Director/CVSO. We hired Bethany for the receptionist and she is waiting for final VA/OGC accreditation processing. Two other new hires are in training at this time. The VSO contact and schedule information handout is being tweaked to include new locations for some members of our staff. The entire staff attended training in Higgins Lake and Gaylord, MI.
Recoveries: FY21 – $13,925,883 FY22 - $15,721,015 FY23 - $11,218,931
Detroit RO, McNamara Building, 477 Michigan Avenue, Room 1226, Detroit 48226 is open
with appointments preferred (313) 961-9568 for hearings and face-to-face meetings.
Our service officers continue to participate with the VA at PACT Act events statewide.
Gary also spoke about the Michigan property tax waiver law which was changed to favor the veteran and their surviving spouse.
Veteran’s Incarcerated and in the Justice System: Phil Smith reported there are now 28 Veterans Treatment Courts in Michigan and more are needed.
AVVA: Penny Meinhardt reported they had a busy National Convention in Orlando where all the officers were elected and much discussion was held on their amendments.
AVVA will again hold their gift card fundraiser at the Dec. 3, 2023 meeting. They are asking for donations of $25.00 gift cards that will be sold for $15.00.
New Business:
See www.vva.org for convention highlights.
Tentative plans for a 40th MSC anniversary dinner in the Downriver area on Dec. 2, 2023.
After discussion MOTION 180/267 to pay for lifetime AVVA membership for all VSO staff, motion passed.
After discussion MOTION 267/313 to donate $1,000.00 to the POW-MIA Committee of Michigan for repair/replacing of brickwork @ Oakland Hills Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Novi, motion passed.
After discussion MOTION 267/154 to encourage chapters to donate $1.00 per member to support Fisher House of Michigan, motion tabled 180/380 until Dec. 3 meeting.
Vic Romback volunteered his chapter 380 to host the 2024 MSC Annual Meeting at the Holiday Inn in Marquette in May or June (date TBD). MOTION 267/154 to support, motion passed.
Unfinished Business: Phil Smith reported on the Commanders Group ‘Veteran of the Year’ project which received 8 nominees. Tom Wilson of the Dearborn Allied War Veterans group was selected as this year’s winner. Tom is also a member of Dearborn Chapter 267.
Phil, John Riling and many other veterans were in attendance at the Sep. 28th Tiger game @ Comerica Park for Tom to throw out the first pitch and receive his award.
AVVA & VVA upcoming meetings & events:
October 8, 2023 – VVA/AVVA general membership meeting in Cheboygan
The Chateau at Black Mountain
October 19-21, 2023 – VVA National BOD/CSCP/Veterans Benefit meeting
DoubleTree, 8777 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring MD
John, Gary & Rob Lichy (Asst. VSO Director) attended
November 11, 2023 – Veterans Day – ceremonies throughout the state and
30th Anniversary of the Vietnam Women’s Memorial in DC
December 2, 2023 – MSC 40th Anniversary dinner - Baldo’s Italian restaurant
7:00 PM 20051 Telegraph Road, Brownstown, MI 48174
December 3, 2023 – VVA / AVVA general membership & Christmas luncheon
10:00 AM Downriver Chapter 259 @ VFW Post 9283
16200 Dix-Toledo Road, Southgate, MI 48195
January 18-20, 2024 – VVA National BOD/CSCP/ Veterans Benefit meeting
DoubleTree, 8777 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD
March 2024 – VVA / AVVA general membership meetings (location & date TBD)
May / June, 2024 – VVA / AVVA annual/election meeting (dates TBD)
Holiday Inn, 1951 US 41 West, (906) 225-1351 Marquette, MI 49855
August 20-24, 2024 – National Leadership Conference, Silver Legacy, Reno, NV
August 5-9, 2025 – National VVA Convention – New Orleans, LA, Marriott
Closing prayer Tom Meinhardt
Adjournment: 11:55 AM
Minutes taken by Secretary Gary Estermyer
Lodging in the Southgate, MI area:
Hampton Inn Hampton Inn Holiday Inn Express
13555 Prechter Road 16400 Southfield Road 13333 Heritage Center
Southgate, MI 48195 Allen Park, MI 48101 Southgate, MI 48195
734.463.1885 313.383.9730 833.617.1943
Comfort Inn & Suites Comfort Inn
3600 Enterprise Drive 18950 Northline Road
Allen Park, MI 48101 Southgate, MI 48195
313.323.3500 833.900.2501
____________
VFW Post 1008
Oakland County Chapter 133
General Membership Meeting
July 23, 2023
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by President John Riling, in Waterford, Michigan at 9:00 AM. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited, a moment of silence was observed for the POW-MIAs and those serving in harm’s way with the opening prayer by Tom Meinhardt.
Approval of the Agenda: Motion by 310/267 to accept the agenda as printed, motion passed.
Approval of the minutes: Motion 109/267 to approve the minutes of 05/21/23, motion passed.
Introduction of guests: Tom Burke, National VP – Richard Arthur, OH SC President –
Michael Dolan, IN SC President - Gary Hanson Chapter 9 – Vance McCrumb Chapter 310 - Russ Howard & Ken Hunroe Chapter 259 - Bob Dew, Terry Wells & Al Sneath Chapter 528 – Ed Jackson & Al Tarlo Chapter 133
Roll Call of Officers:
President John Riling - Present
Vice-President Ken Rogge – Present Secretary Gary Estermyer - Present
2nd Vice President Duke Mayo – Present Treasurer Floyd Carmichael - Present
Roll Call of Chapters: 9 Jack Devine P, 18 Tom Sibley A, 31 William Collins A,
73 Bob Elliot A, 109 John Gibbs P, 110 Ralph Sharp A, 133 Tom Romein P,
142 Michael Goode P, 154 Steve Bago A, 175 Joe Mishler A, 180 Joe Coullard A,
237 Jerry Cummings A, 259 Mike Goodpaster P, 264 Ronald Schrieber A, 267 Phil Smith P,
274 Duke Mayo P, 284 Dennis Bringard A, 287 David Huffman A, 310 Tim Driscoll P,
313 Terry Ivey P, 380 Vic Romback E, 387 A, 390 Charlie Martin A, 494 A,
528 Dennis Bielskis P, 571 Dennis Peterson A, 583 Wayne Trapp A, 882 Terry Frank E,
1047 Joe Prato E and 1083 Tom Meinhardt P
Present – 11 Absent – 16 Excused – 3 A quorum is present.
President’s Report (given after Treasurer report): John welcomed everyone to VFW Post 1008 hall in Waterford for this meeting. He thanked Oakland County 133 for hosting and providing lunch today and to the VFW post for providing the meeting space.
VetsVOA has now received the necessary accreditation from OGC to process VA claims.
John had been offered a Board position on VetsVOA but turned it down due to a potential conflict of interest. John mentioned that the National veterans benefits committee will be meeting during the upcoming convention. He has a July 27 invitation to attend a Lansing meeting with the Lt. Governor & other veterans regarding veteran suicide.
Discussion on the proposed constitutional amendments and resolutions follows this meeting.
1st Vice-President’s report: Ken Rogge reported he is having IT issues with the website recently is and working to correct the problems, www.vvamsc.org. Ken continues to welcome chapter input. The “Vietnam Veterans Michigan Foundation, Inc.” (VVMFI) is accepting applications for assistance and Ken has a page on the website for the Foundation.
2nd Vice-President’s report: Duke Mayo reminded the delegates that his chapter Cheboygan 274 will be hosting the October 8, 2023 MSC meeting. Duke continues his attempts to reach out to northern U.P. chapters including the Petoskey area. He’s not getting much response.
Secretary's Report: Gary Estermyer reported that according to his records there are now eight chapters that have not sent him their election reports. Those chapters are; 31, 73, 175, 264, 287, 387, 571 and 583. Gary had emailed and mailed blank chapter election and finance reports to all those chapters. As the delegates should know, the official deadline for filing both election and finance reports to National and MSC was July 15, 2023. Gary or John will check with National membership to confirm the status of all Michigan chapters. Gary has been updating the chapter contact list as reports are received.
Treasurer's Report: Floyd Carmichael reviewed the General Account finance report dated 05/22/23 – 07/20/23. He had paid Himrod & Associates for our audit and submitted the SC 990 to IRS and to VVA National. He has issued 8 grant checks to chapters for convention expenses. He also has received funds from the car program and National membership rebates.
VVMFI balance is now over $18K and Floyd will create a grant application form. The SC bills are being paid in a timely manner and the monthly deposits of random donations continue.
National At-Large Director: Sandie Wilson also reported the importance of delegates expressing their opinions on the future of VVA at the upcoming National Convention.
In her opinion agent orange should be the major issue of concern among our membership.
Sandie asks the questions, “What can we do in our time left and who will take over?”
While the VVA Veteran’s Initiative (VI) program continues, Sandie fears it may be losing
its effectiveness. Grant & Mokie were able to meet with senior members of the Vietnam leadership during a recent trip.
National Vice President: Tom Burke announced that Phillip Waite (AF Col., ret.) has been hired recently as the new managing director to handle the day-to-day operations.
Tom offered his opinion on the upcoming convention and suggested VVA only has about 3 constructive conventions left. That means the 23rd biennial convention in 2027 would be the final one. The date of February 29, 2028 could be the dissolve date of VVA National.
He noted that state councils and chapters can continue their missions if they choose.
Our national political clout will naturally be gone at that time. VetsVOA is being promoted as a separate entity to take over the VVA veterans benefit program. This plan has been favorably received by OGC which offers legal opinions and advice. Whenever the dropdead date arrives Tom believes that VVA may be gone but not forgotten. Tom announced that the main convention hotel at the Rosen Center is full and the overflow hotel the Rosen Plaza is about ½ mile away. Tom is aware 856 delegates have registered and that number could increase to 900.
It has also been determined that the 2024 VVA Leadership Conference will take place at the Silver Legacy in Reno, NV. The date for Leadership is TBD.
Announcements: John Riling announced that he is waiving the $5 out-of-uniform fee for this meeting. Recipients of the VVA Achievement or Commendation Medal should wear them. Phil Smith of Dearborn Chapter 267 announced they will have their annual golf outing on August 27th at Inkster Valley Golf course. Hog Heaven fundraiser in September will have prizes of $10K, $5K and $3K. There will be a PACT Act event in Dearborn on July 28th, 4 – 7:00 PM.
Tom Meinhardt of Chapter 1083 will be holding a Reverse Raffle on Sep. 16, $50 ticket gets you dinner & drinks. Dennis Bielskis of Chapter 528 reported they will be having a Steak Fry on August 25, 5 – 7 PM, at the VFW Post 6695 in Plymouth, $20 a ticket.
Vance McCrumb of Chapter 310 announced they will have their annual Pig Roast at the Saline American Legion on August 26th, dinner, product sales and music 1 – 9:00 PM.
Gary Hanson of Chapter 9 discussed the Keith Famie, Detroit/Auto documentary carried by PBS. Member Dave Gurtowsky is in it and it may be viewed nationwide soon.
Michael Dolan, IN SC president announced that the Grissom Air Museum in Peru, IN will be having a B58 Hustler reunion the weekend of 09/29 – 10/01/23 for anyone interested.
Committee Reports:
Agent Orange: Sandie Wilson stated the obvious that Agent Orange exposure continues to cause illness and death to those who served in contaminated areas. Research is overdue and still needed on this issue. A VVA sub-committee recently traveled to the Denver RO to check on Spina Bifida/child birth defect claims. It was discovered only 2 women vets filed claims.
Sandie also reported on the child health issue of autism. Studies and research are now showing that Tylenol taken during pregnancy is a leading cause of autism. Researchers are now warning that by 2030 up to 50% of children in the school system will be autistic to some degree.
Constitution/Bylaws: Gary Estermyer had submitted the MSC supported National Convention proposed constitutional amendment and it will be discussed at the convention.
Fundraising: Duke Mayo spoke about the 2023 Summer Raffle fundraiser. These $5.00 tickets are available for distribution to chapters today. For each ticket sold $1.00 will go to the seller’s chapter. It is imperative that chapter support (selling & buying tickets) is crucial for a successful raffle. The drawing date is October 8, 2023 @ 11:00 AM during our meeting in Cheboygan. Prizes are; 1st - $250.00 / 2nd - $150.00 / 3rd - $100/00.
Government Affairs: Jack Devine reported he has been involved with the MVC legislative discussion to incorporate a roll-over clause as part of a permanent budget. The Jacobetti home for veterans is to be renovated. Jack reported that any future sites for veterans homes cannot be on leased property, which was a problem for the Detroit site.
Membership: Ken Rogge gave this report based on the recent National Membership Affairs report; 90,436 total VVA membership of which 1,442 are women, Chapter 154 is now in 5th place nationwide and the only MI chapter in the top 25.
Missing In America: Phil Smith reported there were 2 unclaimed veteran cremains that were honored in the Dearborn Memorial Day parade. Unfortunately, those cremains have not yet been released by Stinson Funeral Home to be interred at Great Lakes National Cemetery.
Without objection, MOTION to contact/write Stinson to urge release of those cremains.
Two Army veteran unclaimed cremains were interred recently at Ft. Custer National Cemetery.
National Cemetery: Floyd Carmichael reported a current total of 43,418 burials at Ft. Custer. Ft. Custer had a new director, Andre Logan who has since taken on the duties at Great Lakes National Cemetery. All the cemetery roads are to be repaved, expansion plans may include space for an additional 3-4,000 casketed gravesites and 4-6,000 cremains. There are up to 750 acres available for expansion which includes a scatter area. Also, another committal shelter and a maintenance garage are in the planning stage.
Tom Meinhardt reported that Great Lakes National Cemetery (GLNC) new total of interments since opening is 60K+, 2,500 YTD and 614 in June. GLNC is planning a golf outing fundraiser on September 27th in Lapeer, MI.
POW-MIA: 1,578 total which includes 1,238 from Vietnam, 285 Laos, 48 Cambodia and 7 from China territorial waters. Floyd also did some research and found there are still 72,248 missing from WWII, 7,508 from Korea, 186 from the Cold War and 5 from the Gulf War. 81,500 is the total of American’s MIA.
Some 09/15/2023 POW/MIA ceremony plans include; Oakland Hills Memorial Garden in Novi @ 6:00 PM with Debbie McClain, president of the POW Committee of Michigan as emcee,
Sue Scott of the National League of Families will emcee the event @ Resurrection Cemetery in Clinton Twp. and Marty Eddy will emcee the event at VFW Post 2233 in Detroit.
On 09/16/2023, 4:00 PM there will be a POW/MIA Plaques of Honor ceremony at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Island Park in Mt. Pleasant.
Product Sales: John Riling and his crew is looking forward to driving down to Orlando for the upcoming VVA National convention and then Kokomo in September. He will be staging an inventory counting party soon also.
PTSD / Veterans Health Care: Sandie Wilson announced that PTSD remains a major problem with all veteran age groups however the VA claims they can treat PTSD patients in 13 visits.
Veterans with asbestos related health issues should file a claim.
Mike Dolan reported that a large number of Indiana veterans are filing hypertension claims.
Mike and his team are working hard with his Indiana benefit program.
V.A.V.S.: Phil Smith and Tim Driscoll reported that COVID restrictions at most VA facilities have relaxed, no more masks. Individual and small group visits are generally permitted and encouraged. Weekly bingo games have also resumed. Monetary donations are always welcomed. Volunteer hours are down by 30%, probably due to the pandemic.
Tim reported that Washtenaw Community College recently hosted a Vet Fest and it had a light turnout which may have been affected by the Ann Arbor Art Fair event.
Phil reported he had received his first VAVS report from the Jacobetti facility in Marquette.
Veteran’s Benefits / Service Program: Gary Estermyer reported that we still have 14 accredited staff; 11 service officers, 2 admin. and 1 Director/CVSO. The hand-out of all our VSO’s contact and schedule information will soon be up on the MSC website and copies were available now.
Recoveries: FY21 – $13,925,883 FY22 - $15,721,015
The process of reporting recoveries has changed and we are going to use the old and new system to provide future numbers.
Detroit RO, McNamara Building, 477 Michigan Avenue, Room 1226, Detroit 48226 is open with appointments preferred (313) 961-9568 for hearings and face-to-face meetings.
Our service officers have been participating in many VA PACT Act / Vet Fest events, including Fowlerville, Genessee County and the Calhoun County Fair.
Our staff will be attending service officer training at the Higgins Lake DNR after the convention in August and more training offered by MVAA at TreeTops Resort in Gaylord in October.
VVA is quite concerned with the Caregiver benefit as 98% of claims have been denied.
VVA National service benefit office plans to settle all the legacy claims by Sep. 1, 2023.
Veteran’s Incarcerated and in the Justice System: Phil Smith reported there are now 28 Veterans Treatment Courts in MI and more are needed. One female veteran is in the program.
AVVA: Penny Meinhardt reported they are preparing for their National Convention in Orlando where all the officers will be elected. Each chapter’s AVVA representative will be recognized as a delegate at their convention. Penny will provide $300.00 for each delegate. Project Friendship donations will go to the National Birth Defects Registry in Orlando.
New Business: See www.vva.org for convention updates.
Phil Smith reported that applications for Veteran Of The Year are lagging. He asked the delegates to consider a member for consideration.
Thursday, September 28, 2023, 1:10 PM, will be Veterans Appreciation Game @ Comerica.
Tickets are now $30.00 per person, in groups of 10 or more which includes a drink & hot dog. Call Jackson Billings, Ilitch Sports Entertainment @ (313) 471-3178 or email him with a credit/debit card.
You could also send Phil Smith a check/money order or cashiers check payable to him
(memo – Veterans Appreciation) and he will pick up tickets or make arrangements for you: Phillip S. Smith, c/o Veterans Appreciation Game, 7774 Patton Street, Detroit, MI 48228.
You’re on your own for parking: bar shuttle, People Mover, car pool or Chapter 9 lot are options.
Chapter 310 was able to petition state legislators to rename a section of I-94 as the Washtenaw County Vietnam Veteran Memorial Highway.
AVVA & VVA upcoming meetings & events:
August 8-12, 2023 – 21st VVA National Convention, Rosen Centre
9840 International Drive, Orlando, FL 32819
$122.50 – rooms $75.00 – registration Free parking
October 8, 2023 – VVA/AVVA general membership meeting hosted by Cheboygan Chap. 274
Chateau by Black Mountain, 10621 Twin Lakes Road, Cheboygan, MI
ALL ROOMS RENTED OUT. (231) 625-9322
October 19-21, 2023 – VVA National BOD & CSCP meeting @ the Double Tree
8777 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD
December 3, 2023 – 10:00 AM - VVA/AVVA general membership meetings,
MOTION 259/9 to approve hosting by Downriver Chapter 259, motion passed.
VFW Post 9283 – 16200 Dix-Toledo Road, Southgate, MI 48195
July/August 2024 - National Leadership Conference, Silver Legacy, Reno, NV
Date TBD
August 5-9, 2025 – National VVA Convention – New Orleans, LA, Marriott
Closing prayer Tom Meinhardt
Adjournment of meeting: 12:10 PM
Adjournment of pre-convention meeting: 1:10 PM
Minutes taken by Secretary Gary Estermyer
Lodging in the Cheboygan, MI area:
Continental Inn Fleetwood Inn & Suites
613 N. Main Street 889 S. Main Street
Cheboygan, MI 49721 Cheboygan, MI 49721
231.627.7164 231.627.3126
(10% discount for vets)
Creek Side Monarch
231.627.4696 231.627.2143
________________
VIETNAM VETERANS OF AMERICA
MICHIGAN STATE COUNCIL
American Legion Post 257
Battle Creek Chapter 313
General Membership Meeting
May 21, 2023
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by President John Riling, in Battle Creek, Michigan at 10:10 AM. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited, a moment of silence was observed for the POW-MIAs and those serving in harm’s way with the opening prayer by
Tom Meinhardt.
Approval of the Agenda: Motion by 1083/142 to accept the agenda as printed, motion passed.
Approval of the minutes: Motion 142/109 to approve the minutes of 03/12/23, motion passed.
Introduction of guests: Preston Russell, VVA VSO
Roll Call of Officers:
President John Riling - Present
Vice-President Ken Rogge – Present Secretary Gary Estermyer - Present
2nd Vice President Duke Mayo – Present Treasurer Floyd Carmichael - Present
Roll Call of Chapters: 9 Jack Devine E, 18 Tom Sibley A, 31 William Collins A,
73 Bob Elliot A, 109 John Gibbs P, 110 Ralph Sharp A, 133 Tom Romein E,
142 Michael Goode P, 154 Steve Bago P, 175 Joe Mishler A, 180 Joe Coullard A,
237 Jerry Cummings A, 259 Mike Goodpaster P, 264 Ronald Schrieber A, 267 Phil Smith P,
274 Duke Mayo P, 284 Dennis Bringard A, 287 David Huffman A, 310 Tim Driscoll P,
313 Terry Ivey P, 380 Vic Romback E, 387 A, 390 Charlie Martin A, 494 A, 528 Gary Estermyer P, 571 Dennis Peterson A, 583 Wayne Trapp A, 882 Terry Frank E,
1047 Joe Prato E and 1083 Tom Meinhardt P
Present – 10 Absent – 15 Excused – 5 A quorum is present.
President’s Report (given after Treasurer report): John welcomed everyone to the American Legion hall in Battle Creek for this meeting. He thanked Battle Creek 313 for hosting and American Legion Brian Mohlman for providing the meeting space. John reported that VVA BOD had approved the MOU with ClearTrust Claims LLP. Mr. Geoffrey Bestor of CTC has offered to represent VVA members with their asbestos claims and only charging a 10% fee. This class action lawsuit is independent of VA claims. Mr. Bestor has offered to travel to Michigan maybe in June or July to personally train our service officers on asbestos claims. John attended the CSCP and National BOD meetings in April last month which included a 1 day special meeting with all the directors and officers, as well as chairing the National Veterans Benefit Program meetings. He also had a list of the proposed resolutions and constitutional amendments which is now available at www.vva.org. John also reported that the law firm Bergman & Moore had entered a co-counsel agreement with Beasley Allen Law Firm to offer their service and advice to VVA members regarding the PACT Act / Camp Lejeune water contamination class action lawsuit and to knock down the backlog of VVA claims and appeals.
VetsVOA has now received the necessary accreditation from OGC to process VA claims.
John also reported he has various office furniture and equipment for sale to a good home.
John, Gary Estermyer, Jack Devine, Duke Mayo and Rob Lichey (VVA VSO Asst. Director) had attended the May 3-5 MVAA Leadership Conference in Traverse City. He also attended a meet and greet with Gov. Whitmer to discuss veteran legislative business. John also attended a recent Chapter 154 meeting and presented the VVA Achievement Medal to Marty Eddy and Debbie Pineau (POW-MIA Committee of Michigan).
1st Vice-President’s report: Ken Rogge announced that MSC is now working with new website management which is much more user friendly. Check out the updates Ken has been working on, www.vvamsc.org. Ken continues to welcome chapter input. The “Vietnam Veterans Michigan Foundation, Inc.” (VVMFI) is open for accepting applications for assistance and Ken has a page on the website for the Foundation.
2nd Vice-President’s report: Duke Mayo announced that his chapter Cheboygan 274 will be hosting the October 8, 2023 MSC meeting. Duke continues to reach out to northern chapters including the Petoskey area and those in the UP, some of which we haven’t seen in years.
Duke reported he thought the Leadership Summit event was well planned and executed.
Secretary's Report: Gary Estermyer reported that according to his records there were 24 chapters that were to hold their elections last month. Gary had emailed and mailed blank chapter election and finance reports to all those chapters. Copies of the forms are available today also. As the delegates should know, the official deadline for filing both election and finance reports to National and MSC is July 15, 2023. Gary or John will check with National membership to confirm the status of all Michigan chapters. Gary will be updating the chapter contact list as reports are received. Feel free to bring a copy of your chapter reports to our next meeting on July 23, 2023, in Waterford. Gary was also impressed with the turnout and information provided at the Traverse City MVAA event.
Treasurer's Report: Floyd Carmichael reviewed the finance report dated 03/13/23 – 05/20/23. He had transferred $20,000 from the General Fund to the VSO account due to the State being slow in their monthly processing. He also has received funds from the car program and National membership rebates. VVMFI balance is now over $17K. The SC bills are being paid in a timely manner and the monthly deposits of random donations continue. Floyd reminded the delegates that all chapters need to submit their annual finance report to MSC and to National by July 15.
If your chapter treasurer has questions simply contact Floyd at
The MSC is currently offering $750.00 National Convention grants. Floyd has the application and it’s on the website.
National At-Large Director: Sandie Wilson also reported the importance of delegates expressing their opinions on the future of VVA at the upcoming National Convention. The future of VVA chapters and state councils will also be discussed. Chapters should begin to consider what issues are important to them. POW-MIA has always been a top priority for VVA but how important is it today? Sandie had attended the DOD 50th Commemorative event in DC earlier this month and she was not impressed. The weather was hot, not enough shade nor available fluids. Events were to spread out, too much walking.
Announcements: Terry Ivey of Chapter 313 reported on the June raffle they were running. There will be a daily winner of prizes from Litchfield Outdoors. $20.00 a ticket.
Terry also announced his chapter is having a going-out-of-business product sales sale.
Phil Smith of Dearborn Chapter 267 announced they will have their annual golf outing on August 27th at Inkster Valley Golf course. Hog Heaven fundraiser in September will have prizes of $10K, $5K and 4$3K.
Committee Reports
Agent Orange: John entertained a motion 154/142 to approve Sandie Wilson as the new Agent Orange committee chairperson. Sandie agreed as long as Mike Goodpaster would be the co-chair. Motion passed. Sandie reported there are currently 19 additional A.O. presumptive issues for women veterans. Studies continue to research whether some of those conditions also apply to men. She is aware that due to staff shortages the Birth Defects Registry data input is affected.
Constitution/Bylaws: Gary Estermyer had submitted the MSC supported National Convention proposed constitutional amendment. To insert language in Article II, Section 6, A and/or Article II, Section 8 … “The state council president may appoint the Election Committee Chair as with all the other committee chairs, without objection.”
Finance Report: Floyd reported that the Smile.Amazon donation program has ended, effective on Feb. 20, 2023, however we should expect one more donation. Floyd had spent over 14 hours to complete an economic census report.
Fundraising: Duke Mayo spoke about the 2023 Summer Raffle fundraiser. These $5.00 tickets are available for distribution to chapters today. For each ticket sold $1.00 will go to the seller’s chapter. It is imperative that chapter support (selling & buying tickets) is crucial for a successful raffle. The drawing date is October 8, 2023 @ 11:00 AM during our meeting in Cheboygan. Prizes are; 1st - $250.00 / 2nd - $150.00 / 3rd - $100/00.
Government Affairs: Jack Devine reported in March on the MVAA Leadership Summit that was held May 3-5, 2023, in Traverse City. There were 9 sessions, which included; Keynote speaker, Veterans Benefits, Networking with Veteran Service Providers, Working with your Legislators, Aiming for Zero (suicide prevention), What’s Next, VEO & Building Communities, Underserved Veteran Populations in Michigan (The Big Picture) and Aligning Focus (Building veteran-friendly communities). MOH recipient James C. McCloughan was a guest speaker.
Jack was a co-presenter on one of the sessions. The Legislative Priority packet he co-produced on behalf of the Commanders Group was presented to the MI Senate and House Veteran Affairs Committee members and all the MSC delegates. One important bragging right is the fact that for the $4.25 million received from the State grant the Coalition has returned $660 million in recoveries in the State!
Membership: Ken Rogge gave this report based on the recent National Membership Affairs report; 89,990 total VVA membership, 12,061 in Region 5, 4,872 in Michigan.
Chapter 154 is now in 5th place nationwide and the only MI chapter in the top 25.
Dual AVVA/VVA memberships are slowly climbing towards 700.
Missing In America: Phil Smith reported there will be 2 unclaimed veteran cremains that will be honored in the Dearborn Memorial Day parade, May 29, 9:30 AM. The Great Lakes National Cemetery ceremonies for those veterans will take place 1 week after Memorial Day.
National Cemetery: Floyd Carmichael reported a current total of 43,206 burials at Ft. Custer. Ft. Custer had a new director, Andre Logan who has since taken on the duties at Great Lakes National Cemetary. All the cemetery roads are to be repaved, expansion plans may include space for an additional 3-4,000 casketed gravesites and 4-6,000 cremains. Another committal shelter and a maintenance garage are also planned to be built.
Fort Custer is in need of flag poles and additional flags.
Ft. Custer “Day of Remembrance” program is planned, May 28, 2023 @ 2 PM.
Great Lakes National Cemetery (GLNC) Memorial Day ceremony will be on May 28th @ 1 PM.
Tom Meinhardt reported that GLNC new total of interments since opening is 59,112, 1,781 this FY and 268 in April. GLNC will have a flag retirement ceremony on June 14, 2023 and they will have a golf outing fundraiser on August 26th.
Motion 1083/313 to donate $100.00 for the golf outing. Motion passed.
POW-MIA: 1,579 - RVN & surrounding SE Asia area.
Floyd reported in March that 8 WWII and 5 Korea remains have recently been identified. Floyd also did some research and found there are still 72,248 missing from WWII, 7,508 from Korea, 186 from the Cold War and 5 from the Gulf War. 81,500 is the total of American’s MIA.
Product Sales: John Riling is looking forward to the upcoming VVA National convention and then Kokomo in September. He will be staging an inventory counting party soon also.
PTSD / Veterans Health Care: Sandie Wilson announced that PTSD remains a major problem with all veteran age groups however the VA claims they can treat PTSD patients in 13 visits.
Veteran’s with asbestos related health issues should file a claim.
V.A.V.S.: Phil Smith and Tim Driscoll reported that COVID restrictions at most VA facilities have relaxed, no more masks. Individual and small group visits are generally permitted and encouraged. Weekly bingo games have also resumed. Monetary donations are always welcomed. Volunteer hours are down by 30%, probably due to the pandemic. Tim also announced that the Ann Arbor VAMC has room for an additional Fischer House facility to have 16 rooms. The Detroit VAMC plans to build a Fischer House which will have 26 rooms.
Tim said that Betty (VVA VSO) continues to get complements from vets he speaks with.
He also gave a shout out to Home Depot who helped his chapter with the Ypsilanti Veteran’s Memorial.
Veteran’s Benefits / Service Program: Gary Estermyer reported that we still have 14 accredited staff; 11 service officers, 2 admin. and 1 Director/CVSO. The hand-out of all our VSO’s contact and schedule information will soon be up on the MSC website and copies were available now.
Recoveries: FY21 – $13,925,883 FY22 - $15,721,015 FYTD - $11,218,931
February - $2,217,340 March - $2,286,107
Detroit RO, McNamara Building, 477 Michigan Avenue, Room 1226, Detroit 48226 is open
with appointments preferred (313) 961-9568 for hearings and face-to-face meetings.
Our service officers have been participating in many VA PACT Act events.
Gary also spoke about the Michigan property tax waiver change which now only applies on the homestead where the veteran lives or had resided if deceased.
Veteran’s Incarcerated and in the Justice System: Phil Smith reported there are now 28 Veterans Treatment Courts in MI and more are needed. One female veteran is in the program.
AVVA: Penny Meinhardt reported they are preparing for their National Convention in Orlando where all the officers will be elected. Each chapters’ AVVA representative will be recognized as a delegate at their convention. Penny will provide $300.00 for each delegate. Project Friendship donations will go to the National Birth Defects Registry in Orlando.
New Business: See www.vva.org for convention updates. Phil Smith also reported that applications for Veteran Of The Year are lagging. He asked the delegates to consider a member for consideration. He will also probably ask the Commanders Group for an extension to receive applications. He also will meet with Comerica Park personnel about enhancing the program.
AVVA & VVA upcoming meetings & events:
July 23, 2023 – VVA/AVVA general membership meeting hosted by Oakland Cty. Chapter 133,
*** 9:00 AM *** VFW Post 1008, 1690 Airport Road, Waterford, MI 48327
August 8-12, 2023 – 21st VVA National Convention, Rosen Centre
9840 International Drive, Orlando, FL 32819
$122.50 – rooms $75.00 – registration Free parking
October 8, 2023 – VVA/AVVA general membership meeting hosted by Cheboygan Chap. 274
Chateau by Black Mountain, 10621 Twin Lakes Road, Cheboygan, MI
(231) 625-9322
December 3, 2023 – 10:00 AM - VVA/AVVA general membership meetings in Howell, MI
August 5-9, 2025 – National VVA Convention – New Orleans, LA, Marriott
Closing prayer Tom Meinhardt
Adjournment: 12:10 PM
Minutes taken by Secretary Gary Estermyer
Lodging in the Waterford, MI area:
American Inn & Suites Cass Lake Hotel Also check numerous hotels
7076 Highland Road 120 S. Telegraph Road in Clarkston & Auburn Hills
Waterford, MI 48327 Waterford, MI 48341 area
(248) 666-8555 (855) 516-1090
__________
F. O. Eagles Hall
Jackson Chapter 109
General Membership Meeting - March 12, 2023
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by President John Riling, in Michigan Center, MI at 10:00 AM. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited, a moment of silence was observed for the POW-MIAs and those serving in harm’s way with the opening prayer by Floyd Carmichael.
Approval of the Agenda: Motion by 310/154 to accept the agenda as printed, motion passed.
Approval of the minutes: Motion 154/109 to approve the minutes of 12/04/22, motion passed.
Introduction of guests: Tom Burke, National Vice President
Cheryl Gawne, DAR State Chair Commemorative Events
Chapter 109; Michael Finch, Bill Stoka(sp) and Edith of AVVA
Roll Call of Officers:
President John Riling - Present
Vice-President Ken Rogge – Present Secretary Gary Estermyer - Present
2nd Vice President Duke Mayo – Present Treasurer Floyd Carmichael - Present
Roll Call of Chapters: 9 Jack Devine P, 18 Tom Sibley A, 31 William Collins P,
73 Bob Elliot A, 109 John Gibbs P, 110 Ralph Sharp A, 133 Tom Romein A,
142 Michael Goode A, 154 Steve Bago P, 175 Joe Mishler E, 180 Joe Coullard E,
237 Jerry Cummings A, 259 Mike Goodpaster P, 264 Ronald Schrieber A, 267 Phil Smith P,
274 Duke Mayo P, 284 Dennis Bringard A, 287 David Huffman A, 310 Tim Driscoll P,
313 Terry Ivey P, 380 Vic Romback E, 387 A, 390 Charlie Martin A, 494 Ray Essenmacher A, 528 Gary Estermyer P, 571 Dennis Peterson A, 583 Wayne Trapp A, 882 Terry Frank E,
1047 Joe Prato A and 1083 Tom Meinhardt E
Present – 10 Absent – 15 Excused – 5 A quorum is present.
President’s Report (given after Treasurer report): John welcomed everyone to the Eagles hall in Michigan Center for this meeting. He thanked Jackson 109 for hosting and the Eagles personnel for providing the meeting space. John reported that VVA BOD has approved the MOU with ClearTrust Claims LLP. Mr. Geoffrey Bestor of CTC has offered to represent VVA members with their asbestos claims and only charging a 10% fee. This class action lawsuit is independent of VA claims. Mr. Bestor has offered to travel to Michigan maybe in June or July to personally train our service officers on asbestos claims. John attended the CSCP and National BOD meetings the weekend of January 18-21, 2023, as well as chairing the National Veterans Benefit Program meetings. Gary Estermyer serves as secretary of the VBP committee. John also reported that the law firm Bergman & Moore has entered a co-counsel agreement with Beasley Allen Law Firm to offer their service and advice to VVA members regarding the PACT Act / Camp Lejeune water contamination class action lawsuit.
VetsVOA is still on hold pending accreditation from OGC.
VVA National will have a tent near the Mall during the DOD 50th events from May 11-13, 2023, www.vietnamwar50th.com. There will be displays, exhibits, entertainment at the event.
It was mentioned that the Space Force is underrepresented at times. A Space Force flag should be added to the other branches on display. On March 22 John had attended the Dearborn South unofficial VVA meeting in Florida. John also reported he has various office furniture and equipment for sale to a good home.
On the Region 5 front, John and Mike Goodpaster had just traveled to Illinois for their state council meeting. John is exploring the option of holding individual state pre-convention meetings instead of holding one weekend meeting for all the Region 5 states.
John also suggested our members should consider becoming dual VVA/AVVA members, which is $50 lifetime and includes voting rights at AVVA meetings.
1st Vice-President’s Report
Ken Rogge announced that MSC is now working with new website management which is much more user friendly. Under the new system Ken noted there has been 43 visits to the site for the month of February. Check out the updates Ken has been working on, www.vvamsc.org. Ken continues to welcome chapter input. The “Vietnam Veterans Michigan Foundation, Inc. (VVMFI) is open for accepting applications for assistance and Ken has a page on the website for the Foundation. MOTION by 259/267 to donate $5,000.00 to the Foundation from the MSC general fund, motion passed.
2nd Vice-President’s report: Duke Mayo announced that his chapter Cheboygan 274 would like to host the October 2023 meeting. MOTION by 274/310 to hold the October 8 meeting at The Chateau by Black Lake, motion passed. Duke continues to reach out to northern chapters and those in the UP, some of which we haven’t seen in years. John Gibbs reported he has been in contact with some veterans in the Lansing area who have expressed interest in re-forming a chapter. John will investigate further.
Secretary's Report
Gary Estermyer reported that according to his records there will be 24 chapters holding their elections next month in April. Gary had emailed and mailed blank chapter election and finance reports to all those chapters. Copies of the forms are available today also. Chapters not holding elections this year (they are on a 2-year cycle) are; 9, 109, 133, 284, 882 and 1083. As the delegates should know, the official deadline for filing both of these reports to National and MSC is July 15, 2023.
Gary will be updating the chapter contact list as reports are received. Feel free to bring a copy of your chapter reports to our next meeting on May 21, 2023, in Battle Creek.
Treasurer's Report: Floyd Carmichael reviewed the finance report dated 12/05/22 – 03/05/23. He had transferred $20,000 from the General Fund to the VSO account due to the State being slow in their monthly processing. He also has received funds the car program. VVMFI balance is now over $17K. The SC bills are being paid in a timely manner and the monthly deposits from National and random donations continue. Floyd reminded the delegates that all chapters need to submit their finance report annually to the State Council and to National by July 15.
If your chapter treasurer has questions simply contact Floyd at
The MSC will again be offering the National Convention grants in 2023, without objection the amount will be increased to $750.00. Floyd has the application and it’s on the website.
National VVA Vice President: Tom Burke and his spouse Robin had also attended the Illinois state council meeting and decided to double down and attend our meeting also. Tom reported that VVA National President Jack McManus has scheduled, April 20th, an all day SC presidents and directors meeting to discuss the future of VVA. Tom personally thinks we (VVA) have maybe 3 more effective conventions to conduct our business. The aging veteran community has many issues to deal with. Tom and many of us are attending an increasing number of funerals.
Tom has read some national statistics that state approximately 1,500 Vietnam veterans die each month in the U.S... The dissolution plan of 2019 speaks to many relevant issues however Household Goods fundraiser and staff issues were not addressed. National VVA is now starting to exert some pressure on OGC to approve accreditation of VetsVOA which will be an option for VVA POA’s in the future. OGC finds it intriguing that VVA is the only organization that has endorsed a new entity to transition it’s benefit program in the future.
Tom is involved in the National VVA budget conversation which is also extremely important.
Tom emphasized the importance of the upcoming National Convention in August 2023. He encouraged all chapters to send their delegates. Check www.vva.org for convention details.
National At-Large Director: Sandie Wilson also reported the importance of delegates expressing their opinions on the future of VVA. It is hoped there will be answers to the questions of VVA chapters and state councils being able to continue their work even after the National level closes. Sandie mentioned that all VVA chapters have their own EIN number. Chapters should begin to consider what issues are important to them.
National essentially believes veteran benefits and legislative advocacy are very important. POW-MIA has always been a top priority for VVA but how important is it today?
Announcements
John Gibbs (109) announced his chapter will be holding an open house on Mar. 29th and they will be holding a raffle on April 29th. .
Mike Schnieder (154) announced his chapter will feature their Traveling Wall, a pinning ceremony along with a DAR presentation on March 29th.
Mike Goodpaster (259) announced his chapter will have a ceremony at the Wyandotte Vietnam Veteran Memorial with speakers, Canadian Vietnam veterans and a DAR presentation on 3/29.
Phil Smith (267) announced his chapter is planning their 21st Annual Dinner Dance.
Tim Driscoll (310) announced his chapter will participate with the Ann Arbor VAMC event on the 29th. Most VA hospitals will also have events honoring Vietnam veterans.
John Riling announced that IL has an Unknown Soldiers display from Rome, GA.
Cheryl Gawne, DAR Special MI Commemorative Event Coordinator then made her presentation to MSC. John Riling accepted the DOD Partnership Award from her.
Committee Reports
Constitution/Bylaws: Gary Estermyer announced that he is withdrawing his proposed MSC bylaw amendment relating to the Election Committee.
Instead, he will now present 2 motions for the delegates to vote on, one after the other.
MOTION 1 – Effective immediately to make the Election Committee Chair an elected position.
2 votes for, 9 votes against, motion failed.
MOTION 2 – Effective immediately to make the Election Committee Chair an appointed position. 10 votes for, 0 votes against, motion passed.
Without objection President John Riling appointed Jack Devine as Election Committee Chair.
Gary then presented a National Convention proposed amendment.
To insert language in Article II, Section 6, A and/or Article II, Section 8 … “The state council president may appoint the Election Committee Chair as with all the other committee chairs, without objection.”
The delegates voted 11-0 to approve moving this proposal forward.
Finance Report: Floyd reported that the Smile.Amazon donation program has ended, effective on Feb. 20, 2023, however we should expect one more donation.
Fundraising
Duke Mayo spoke about a Cabela’s gift card or cash raffle fundraiser. He suggests a top prize of $500.00. Duke recommends that for each $5.00 ticket sold $1.00 would go to the sellers chapter. It is imperative that chapter support (selling & buying tickets) is crucial for a successful raffle. The delegates voted to support this fundraiser. Duke plans to have the drawing date at our October 8, 2023 meeting in Cheboygan.
Government Affairs
Jack Devine reported on the upcoming MVAA Leadership Summit to be held May 3-5, 2023, in Traverse City. There will be 9 sessions, which include; Keynote speaker, Veterans Benefits, Networking with Veteran Service Providers, Working with your Legislators, Aiming for Zero (suicide prevention), What’s Next, VEO & Building Communities, Underserved Veteran Populations in Michigan (The Big Picture) and Aligning Focus (Building veteran-friendly communities). MOH recipient James C. McCloughan will also speak.
Jack also spoke about the Legislative Priority packet he co-produced on behalf of the Commanders Group. This informational packet will be presented to the MI Senate and House Veteran Affairs Committee members and all the MSC delegates. One important bragging right is the fact that for the $4.25 million received from the State grant the Coalition has returned $660 million in recoveries in the State! The Coalition is also pushing for a rollover clause of the state grant money. The current state veteran homes are located in Grand Rapids, Chesterfield Twp., Marquette (plans to rebuild), Detroit (future plans to build) and Traverse City/Clare area (future plans to build). There are also plans to seek a Federal cemetery in Crawford County and perhaps in the Upper Peninsula in the future. We also support hyperbaric health care, keeping the Michigan Veterans Trust Fund strong and functioning and reviewing the Michigan Vietnam Veteran Bonus act.
Membership
Ken Rogge gave this report based on the recent National Membership Affairs report; 89,486 total VVA membership, 12,061 in Region 5, 4,874 in Michigan.
Chapter 154 is now in 5th place nationwide and the only MI chapter in the top 25.
Dual AVVA/VVA memberships are slowly climbing towards 700.
Missing In America
Phil Smith reported that he now has four unclaimed veteran cremains in his possession that will be honored in the Dearborn Memorial Day parade, May 29, 9:30 AM. The Great Lakes National Cemetery ceremonies will take place 1 week after Memorial Day.
National Cemetery
Floyd Carmichael reported a current total of 42,925 burials at Ft. Custer. Ft. Custer has a new director, Andre Logan. All the cemetery roads are to be repaved, expansion plans may include space for an additional 3-4,000 casketed gravesites and 4-6,000 cremains. Another committal shelter and a maintenance garage are also planned to be built. Floyd has retired from their Honor Guard with over 5,500 volunteer hours but will still serve on their Advisory Board. Floyd will also now volunteer on Tuesday’s in the front office answering the phone. Ft. Custer “Day of Remembrance” program is planned, May 28, 2023 @ 2 PM.
Great Lakes National Cemetery (GLNC) Memorial Day ceremony will be on May 28th @ 1 PM.
POW-MIA
1,581 - RVN & surrounding SE Asia area.
Floyd reported that 8 WWII and 5 Korea remains have recently been identified. Floyd also did some research and found there are still 72,248 missing from WWII, 7,508 from Korea, 186 from the Cold War and 5 from the Gulf War. 81,500 is the total of American’s MIA.
There was recent news that the National POW-MIA League of Families was going to disband.
However, they did in fact receive a sizeable donation to allow them to continue.
Product Sales: John Riling is looking forward to the upcoming VVA National convention and he is also seeking design suggestions for a new MSC challenge coin.
PTSD / Veterans Health Care
Sandie Wilson announced that PTSD remains a major problem with all veteran age groups. Sandie also reported the VA has plans to open women veteran health clinics.
V.A.V.S
Phil Smith and Tim Driscoll reported that COVID issues (masking required) still persist at most VA facilities, so most group volunteer efforts/activities are on hold. Individual visits are generally permitted and encouraged. Volunteer hours should still be submitted to him and donations to Volunteer Services are always welcomed. Tim also announced that the Ann Arbor VAMC has room for an additional Fischer House facility to have 16 rooms. The Detroit VAMC plans to build a Fischer House which will have 26 rooms.
Veteran’s Benefits / Service Program
Gary Estermyer reported that we still have 14 accredited staff; 11 service officers, 2 admin. and 1 Director/CVSO. The hand-out of all our VSO’s contact and schedule information will soon be up on the MSC website and copies were available now.
Recoveries: FY21 – $13,925,883 FY22 - $15,721,015
Oct. - $1,517,109 Nov. - $1,468,864 Dec. - $1,551,213 Jan. - $2,178,298
Detroit RO, McNamara Building, 477 Michigan Avenue, Room 1226, Detroit 48226 is open
with appointments preferred (313) 961-9568 for hearings and face-to-face meetings.
Our service officers have been participating with the VA at PACT Act events.
Gary also spoke about the Michigan property tax waiver change which now only applies on the homestead where the veteran lives or had resided if deceased. Michigan is still assisting IL veterans until VVA National hires someone to take over.
Veteran’s Incarcerated and in the Justice System
Phil Smith reported there are now 28 Veterans Treatment Courts in Michigan and more are needed.
AVVA
Betty Pike reported they are preparing for their National Convention in Orlando where all the officers will be elected. Each chapters’ AVVA representative will be recognized as a delegate at their convention. Treasurer Floyd Carmichael made a motion (from the Executive Committee) to donate $2,000.00 to MI AVVA to help offset convention expenses. Motion passed.
New Business
See www.vva.org for convention updates
AVVA & VVA Upcoming Meetings & Events
April 20-23, 2023 – National VVA BOD & CSCP meeting, Silver Spring, MD
8777 Georgia Avenue, DoubleTree
May 3-5, 2023 – MVAA Leadership Summit, Traverse City, MI VFW hall
May 11-13, 2023 – DOD Vietnam 50th event, DC, www.vietnamwar50th.com
May 21, 2023 – 10:00 AM - MSC/AVVA General Membership meeting
American Legion Post 257 Battle Creek Chap. 313
7475 B Drive North Battle Creek, MI
June / July 2023 – Region 5 pre-convention meetings, in OH, IN, IL
July 2023 – VVA/AVVA general membership meeting (date & location TBD, Howell?)
August 8-12, 2023 – 21st VVA National Convention, Rosen Centre
9840 International Drive, Orlando, FL 32819
$122.50 – rooms $75.00 – registration Free parking
October 8, 2023 – VVA/AVVA general membership meeting in Cheboygan
The Chateau by Black Lake lodge
August 5-9, 2025 – National VVA Convention – New Orleans, LA, Marriott
Closing prayer Floyd Carmichael
Adjournment: 12:55 PM
Minutes taken by Secretary Gary Estermyer
Lodging in the Battle Creek, MI area:
Fairfield Inn Red Roof Inn Holiday Inn
4665 Beckley Road 5050 Beckley Road 12812 Harper Village Drive
Battle Creek, MI 49015 Battle Creek, MI 49015 Battle Creek, MI 49014
269.979.8000 269.979.1100 269.979.0500