- The monthly VVA chapter 1069 meeting was held in the big banquet room at Mikeska's BBQ (located on Hwy 59), in El Campo, TX.
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VVA Chapter 1069 President, Leonard Sternadel, declared the meeting open at 1900 hours and the following
business was transacted.
- The Pledge of Allegiance to the flag was recited and a prayer was said.
- The following Board members were present: Sternadel, Steelman, F. Kulcak, Laitkep, Neumann and Supak.
- The first order of business concerned serveral proposed updates (by the chapter officers and BOD) to our chapter's By Laws. Chapter Secretary/Treasurer, John Steelman presented the proposed changes/updates to our By Laws before the membership in an open forum. A copy of the proposed changes/updates of the By Laws had been also distributed to all the members for their review, while Steelman described each of the proposed changes and also opened each change item for discussion. Eventually a membership vote was taken and the proposed By Laws changes were unanimously approved.
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Our chapter's Veterans Service Officer (VSO), Dwight Winkler, then gave his monthly presentation on
veterans benefits and various VA related news. Winkler also commented on and thanked all those in the chapter who
participate behind the scenes to make our chapter what it is today. Steelman agreed and added ...
"I would say that for a small group, out in the middle of nowhere, we manage to do a damn good job."
Winkler also presented a handout with contact information of the various resources available for benefits
or questions, and included several other VA related news topics.
MUCH THANKS GOES OUT TO DWIGHT FOR KEEPING US ALL UP TO DATE ON THE LATEST VETERANS BENEFITS NEWS AND FOR
WORKING WITH THOSE WHO NEED HELP WITH THEIR VA CLAIMS!
Sept 14, 2016 Meeting Handout: (Handout topics listed below)
(1) CONTACT INFO
View or Print Dwight's Sept 2016 Meeting Handout
(2) MEDICALLY RELATED TRAVEL, LODGING, AND PER DIEM
(3) VETERAN ID CARD
(4) CAR RENTAL DISCOUNTS
(5) VIETNAM SPECIAL EDITION #3-MEDALS OF AMERICA CATALOG
(6) FREE TRIP THROUGH VFW'S "RETURN TO VN" DRAWING
(7) POTPOURRI OF INFORMATION
- Sternadel then thanked all those chapter members and spouses that attended the DAR "Tribute to Vietnam Veterans" Program, held last month at the Wharton County Museum. It was sponsored by the Wharton County chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). Sternadel was very pleased that so many VVA chapter 1069 members and spouses attended the Program! He feels that the DAR sponsorship was very happy because of our large attendance. CLICK HERE to see the full report (with photos) of the DAR Program
- He also thanked all those chapter members and spouses that participated in the National Guard Family Day at Ryan's Pond. The event was a great success, with 200-300 attending. Sternadel wants to thank those chapter members and spouses who attended the event to help setting up and serving all those National Guard and family members in the chow line. Sternadel stated, it was our chapter's way of saying to all those Iraq & Afganistan veterans... "Never again will one generation of veterans abandon another!" Read the full Report on the event with Pictures
- Sternadel then informed the members that the chapter Board of Directors has recommended that Wayne Woods, of Eagle Lake, be approved as the replacement for Ed Kulcak. Unfortunately, Ed has had to resign from the post due to work related conflicts. The chapter wants to thank Ed for all his contributions while serving on the Board of Directors! The recommendation for Wayne serving as a new BOD member was then opened for discussion. Everyone approved of the nomination and therefore a motion was made & duly seconded. The vote for approval was unanimous that Wayne be appointed to fulfill the term. Note that there is a relatively large group of Vietnam veterans from the Eagle Lake area, that belong to our chapter. Sternadel feels that those veterans will now have a fair representation and input for any future chapter projects, events, etc. The chapter Officers and BOD are very happy that so many Vietnam veterans from that area have chosen VVA chapter 1069 as their home.
- Sternadel then stated that an Agent Orange Town Hall meeting was being considered in Victoria for next year. This Town Hall meeting would include participation by a team from National VVA organization that specializes in these sorts of large scale Agent Orange presentation events. He added that the meeting is currently just in the planning stages and many details will need to be worked out. He basically wanted to know if the Chapter is interested in participating in the event, along with several other local VVA chapters. Following a lengthy discussion, it was wholy agreed to move forward with the event planning and obtain more information about the event details. Everyone agreed that the event was a worthwhile endevour and that our chapter should participate in the event. Everyone felt that there were still many Vietnam Veterans out there who do not know about their exposure to Agent Orange and all the various deseases that are related to the exposure and recognized by the VA as being grounds for approved VA benefits.
- Sternadel also informed the members that Congressman Farenthold would be conducting an informative meeting on September 15th, for anyone (you or any family member) interested in attending a military academy.
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He then reminded everyone of the upcoming VVA Chapter 1069 Vietnam Veteran's Day Celebration at FB Helen, which is
intended for for all VVA chapter 1069 members and family. The event is currently scheduled for Saturday, November 12th
(please mark you calendars).
A head count will be needed at the next meeting. If you cannot attend the next meeting, please contact Sternadel or Steelman
to let them know if you and any family members will be attending. Sternadel also emphasized that we should all make
an effort to attend this gathering as it is a wonderful opportunity for all of us to get together and to also include
our family members.
In brief, everyone needs to come out for a day of relaxation and fun - as ordered by our chapter
President!
- Sternadel then mentioned the latest VVA National MAC (Membership Affairs Committee) report. This report is a compilation of various statistics for all VVA chapters nationwide. Sternadel pointed out that in the report, Texas VVA chapters were listed as the #2 state with respect to chapter membership growth. So it seems that our chapter membership, which is now 80+ members, is a good indication of the number of Texas Vietnam veterans that are starting to "Come out of the woodwork", and join local VVA chapters. They are all discovering, that there is finally an organization out there that will greet them with open arms and eagerly say to them... "WELCOME HOME!". And so, the next time you run into Sternadel or Steelman, it might be a good idea to tell them "Thank You", for taking the interest, time and effort to start up a new VVA Chapter 1069 in Wharton County. I think for many of us members and spouses, good things have happened since we have become members of this wonderful chapter. This not only includes the great commaraderie of being with fellow Vietnam veterans, but also as important, the wealth of VA benefits information we've received and the personal help that many have received since joining this chapter.
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Sternadel then stated that he had received phone calls, telling him that the flag flying at the 2015 "Traveling Vietnam
Memorial Wall" location, had been neglected and was terribly tattered and torn. See photo below.
He further stated that this flag/flagpole display was not our Chapter's responsibility, however, he then asked if anyone
from our chapter would volunteer to maintain the flag. Chapter member, Randy Ratcliff said that he goes by the location
just about every day and has been, on his own, maintaining (cleaning & polishing) the plaque located at the bottom
of the flag pole. He said that he would be honored and proud to continue maintaining the plaque and to also perform the
flag maintenance (monitor & replacement) duties.
THANKS TO MARINE RANDY RATCLIFF FOR THIS PATRIOTIC ACT!
"OOH RAH!"
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Sternadel then asked if anyone in attendance had not yet received their
"50 Year Anniversary Vietnam War Commemorative Coin".
If not, they were then given one. Hopefully by this time, every chapter member has received one of these commemorative coins.
And for those of you who may be new to the chapter, the coins were a gift from a local Veteran supporter and handed out
at our February 2016 meeting. You can
CLICK HERE
to read about all the details on the coin itself and the person who donated them to our membership. For those who were
not at that February meeting, the coins were later mailed out to them.
He also informed the members that Bob Supak was working on finding a special ring holder for the coin, and that
he had finally found one that looks like it might work. See above photo.
Bob thought that it was a shame that the coin would most likely wind up in someone's drawer at home and not be viewable.
However, some folks may already have some sort of Challenge coin collection that this particular coin would be added to.
Anyway, Bob's idea was that the ring could be attached to (hung from) a member's chapter vest for prominent display.
See photo above.
Also note that the coins have an area on the back reserved for engraved text and/or images. The above coin shows an
example engraving. So, by hanging the coin from your chapter vest, it is then very easy to simply turn/flip the coin
and show the information on the backside. Note that the above shown coin was purchased from and engraved by an online
company called Northwest Mint. The cost of the coin is $12 with an additional cost of $7 for the engraving. The link
to the coin page is shown below. Of course, you can most likely take your coin to any local jeweler to have it engraved.
Northwest Mint 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin
Finding the proper ring holder has been a bit difficult. Although the one shown in the photo is of the correct 44mm diameter,
the width of the ring channel is only 3mm. As a result, Bob has had to slightly modify the ring width, and has also made a special
clamping/compressing device in order to properly set the coin into the ring. Bob has offered to take orders (no charge) for
anyone who may be interested in wanting their coin set into one of these gold rings. He said he will present more details at
the next meeting and will also send out some email when he feels he has a good install process in place.
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And on a final note, the chapter membership would like to thank Dana Sternadel for attending every meeting and making sure
that our member PX is open for business. We also appreciate her hard work at keeping the PX stocked with a full line of
various & interesting Veteran related products, including caps, patches, stickers, coffee cups, etc. (see photo below).
And at this last meeting, she introduced a new set of patriotic dress flag pins (see photo below), one that could be worn by the
men and the other (sparkly one) for the ladies.
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There being no further business, President Sternadel declared the meeting adjourned at 2045.
Much thanks to our chapter Secretary, John Steelman for providing the basic contents of this report. And to protect
John from any malicious feedback, chapter member Bob Supak, admits to have included some of his own additional
commentary regarding the meeting into this report.