Meeting Report 6-13-2018

The meeting was held at Mikeska’s BBQ, El Campo, TX.

The following Board members were present: Sternadel, Steelman, F. Kulcak, Supak, Woods, Neumann and Mahlmann.

President Leonard Sternadel (see photo below) 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 meeting was then recessed for the meal and reconvened at 1945.

All chapter members who were having birthdays in June were recognized!

Sternadel then introduced and recognized all attending guests and new members.

Chapter Secretary & Treasurer, John Steelman, presented the Secretary's and Treasurer's report.

Mike Harbaugh (see photo below), Chapter member and recently hired as the new Wharton County Veteran Service Officer, gave his Veterans Benefits presenation. Much thanks to Mike for volunteering to give VA/Veterans Benefits presentations at our monthly meetings!

From here on, Mike will be giving the veterans benefits presentations at our monthly meetings, instead of Dwight Winkler. Dwight is taking a well deserved break from VSO duties for both Wharton County and serving as our unofficial Chapter's Service Officer. Over the years, Dwight has helped many, many of our chapter members with their VA benefits claims, which many of them have been successful in getting their claims approved and are today recieving some sort of monthly VA Benefits. I know we all wish Dwight all the best and do THANK him for all the hard work and dedication he has shown to performing outstanding Service Officer duties. THANK YOU DWIGHT!
You can use the links below to View or Print Mike's presentation handouts.
Handout #1: CLICK HERE to View or Print Handout #1
- Contact information for VA claims and other needs
- Contents of the Texas Veterans Commission (TVC) 2018 Edition of the State Veterans Benefits Booklet
- AARP News Story - Many Confused Over New Medicare Cards
Handout #2: CLICK HERE to View or Print Handout #2
- New Veterans Crisis Line Facility Opens in Topeka
- The Veterans Legacy Program - National Cemetary Adiministration Outreach Initiative
- Emergency Medical Care for Veterans - Eligibility and VA Payments
Handout #3: CLICK HERE to View or Print Handout #3
- Issues Submitting a Veterans Identification Card (VIC) Request?
- Before You Start
- Do You Need Assistance?
Use the link below to access Mike's webpage for information regarding the Wharton County Service Officer's office hours, office locations, and other contact information.
CLICK HERE to visit Mike's WCVSO webpage
Use the link below to access Dwight's Veterans Benefits webpage.
CLICK HERE to visit Dwight's Veterans Benefits webpage

Special guest speaker, Bret Macha (picture below), gave a presentation explaining and summarizing the newly signed "VA Mission Act" Bill. Macha is a Veteran's Benefits case worker who worked for Blake Farenthold, who recently vacated as the U.S. Congressman for the 27th district in Texas.
Note: The word "MISSION" in "VA Mission Act" stands for: "Maintaining Internal Systems and Strengthening Integrated Outside Networks".

Macha works out of the Victoria office, where he works with Vannessa Hicks Calloway, the other Veterans case worker resides, and that we all know well. CLICK HERE to read more about her visit to our Feb 2016 monthly chapter meeting.
Note that their Veterans case worker duties are still active, despite the fact that Farenthold is no longer in office. Do note that a new Congressman election was taking place, and more information about that follows below.
Use the link below to View or Print the 1-page document that Macha used during his presenation. The document is a good summarization of the VA Mission Act. It resides on U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson's (R-Ga) website. Isakson is the chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.
CLICK HERE to View or Print the document
If you have trouble accessing the document on Isakson's website, use the link below to View or Print a copy of the same document that we have posted on our chapter's website.
CLICK HERE to View or Print the document

Dana Sternadel, our chapter's PX store manager, had put in a 2nd order for 15 more of the VVA 40th Anniversary commemorative coins (see image below). They were for sale at the meeting in our PX for $5 each. Not sure how many we have left.

Unless there are more requests for wanting to purchase this commemorative coin, we will not be ordering any more. With the 1st order of 30, I think we have ordered and sold about 45-50 of the coins.
If you wish to order some of these coins yourself, use the link below to Print the order form. Note that the order form is located on the VVA WebWeekly publication's website, and not on the VVA National website - go figure!
CLICK HERE to View or Print the Order Form

Warrior's Weekend was held May 18-20 in Port O'Connor. Leonard & Dana had attended the event and volunteered for various duties while there. They gave a short presentation regarding the event and we showed the pictures on our projector. We've included photos of several of the sand sculptures below.

It gave us all a better idea of what sort of large and interesting event it was. One of the main attractions of the event was a display of many LARGE sand sculptures that were made by professional sand sculptures! Some off the sand sculptures are shown below. Leonard also mentioned that maybe next year, we may consider taking a bus trip for chapter members down to the event in Port O'Conner.
We have found a Facebook link (see below) that shows more pictures taken at the Warrior's Weekend event that was held in Port O'Connor. The Facebook page includes more pictures of the sand sculptures and lots of pictures of the veterans with the fish they caught.
CLICK HERE to Visit Facebook for more pictures taken at Port O'Connor

Leonard wanted to thank all those chapter members & spouses that attended the Memorial Day Program that was held May 28th at the Ganado American Legion. Leonard was guest speaker and we showed the video from the Rose Ceremony when the Vietnam Memorial Travelling Wall was here in July 2015. Use the link below to read the full report of the program, along with many picures.
CLICK HERE to read the Memorial Day Program report

Leonard wanted to thank all those chapter members & spouses that attended the Chapter's Family Fishing Day at Sternadel pond on Sunday, June 3rd. IT WAS HOT! Use the link below to read the full report of the fishing party, along with many picures.
CLICK HERE to read the fishing party report

Leonard then mentioned that the deadline for submitting pictures for VVA National photo contest for the 2019 calendar, was June 15th. Anyone can enter the contest. Note however, that we as a chapter have submitted the following 3 photos that were taken during the Rose Ceremony that our chapter presented when the Vietnam Memorial Traveling Wall came to El Campo in July of 2015. Based off the published photo contest criteria, we feel that one of these 3 photos has a good chance of being in the VVA's 2019 calendar.

Above - Submitted picture #1.

Above - Submitted picture #2.

Above - Submitted picture #3.

Leonard mentioned that a special election was currently being held to fill the 27th district Congressional seat vacated by Blake Farenthold earlier this year. The election will be held Saturday, June 30th, however, early voting is currently in progress, from June 13-26. This election was called by Governor Greg Abbott so that victims of Hurricane Harvey could have full 27th Congressional representation for the remainder of 2018. Leonard strongly encouraged everyone to go and vote!
NOTICE! If you normally vote at the El Campo Library, that room is being used for kids' summer activities! You will be voting at the Northside Education Center, 707 Fahrenthold St, El Campo, TX 77437. (located on opposite end of the block on Fahrenthold Street). See map image below.

Leonard then announced that a Mega Job Fair is returning to Fort Hood. The Job Fair is being held at Fort Hood on Tuesday, June 19th, 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Job seekers can get information on more than 50,000 positions from 190 different vendors. Fort Hood will host its 41st annual Mega Career Fair on June 19 at Club Hood, where more than 50,000 jobs will be available from 190 businesses. The event is open to soldiers, their spouses and civilians. It runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. but organizers say the best time to arrive is between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., while recruiters are still in full swing with plenty of information to share. According to a press release from Fort Hood, job seekers can park at Hood Stadium, on 22nd and 23rd Streets, between Battalion and Old Battalion Avenues and at the Warrior Way Exchange. Parking at Club Hood is reserved for handicapped visitors and career fair support personnel. The Mega Career Fair is free and requires no registration for job seekers. For more information call (254) 287-9909.
Use the link below to visit the KCEN TV website for more details regarding this job fair.
CLICK HERE to Visit the KCEN TV website

Leonard again mentioned the House Bill 5674 and Senate Bill 2372 that has been approved by both House and Senate. It was recently sent to President Trump on May 16th and he signed the bill into law on June 6th.
The massive bill, also nicknamed the "VA Mission Act", was written to streamline veterans’ access to non-VA community care when clinically appropriate, create a new VA benefit of commercial walk-in clinics, and end an indefensible inequity by opening the VA comprehensive caregiver program, on a phased schedule, to older generations of veterans severely injured while in service.
The bill, which features many initiatives and officially is titled The John S. McCain III, Daniel K. Akaka and Samuel R. Johnson VA Maintaining Internal Systems and Strengthening Integrated Outside Networks (MISSION) Act. It is a combination of (House Bill #5674 & Senate Bill #2372). The Bill cleared the Senate on 92-5 vote and the House by a 347-70 margin.
Use the link below to read more details about the bill, on the Military.com website. Of course, there are plenty more websites that explain the pros & cons of the massive VA bill, and what it means to Vietnam Veterans like us.
CLICK HERE to read more about the Bill