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| Volume 4 - April 2019 |
| PRESIDENT’S NOTES |
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Gerry Berger
AVHOFS President
Class of 2016 |
Dear Patriots,
I am truly happy it is now springtime and an important event on our calendar has been a success. Kathy Laurier will have more information later in this newsletter. You can view some photographs on the Veterans Hall of Fame Facebook page.
As we are going to press, nominations for the Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame will have closed so we will now be looking for announcement from the Governors Officer and the UAV on who will be inducted into the Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame. Good Luck to all who have been nominated.
I continue to receive photos and articles for our Patriot newsletter, and it is endearing to note our veterans continue to do excellent volunteer work for others. Keep me informed of those events and let us share with others.
I also want to know if you are ill, need a phone call or have had a change of address or telephone number so we can maintain our connections. Please help us by emailing me any changes at bergergerry@hotmail.com
Please note the Society Board is seeking a Chaplain so if interested, please let me know.
Wishing you all the very best in April. Thank you for all you do for veterans.
Aspire to Inspire Before You Expire
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| SECRETARY’S NOTES |
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Dennis DeFrain
AVHOFS Secretary
Class of 2013
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13 MARCH 2019 AVHOFS BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING BRIEFS
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Wanda Wright, Director of the Arizona Department of Veterans Services, briefed the Board regarding the many programs ADVS is championing and how she can use our help (for a more detailed report, please see March 13, 2019 board minutes):
- The additional Veterans Benefits Counselors for the VA received considerable support from the Legislature.
- She asked our members to show up at the AZ House or Senate in the Gallery when Veterans issues are being proposed and to sign up at the Capitol so support comments can be sent from home.
- The BE CONNECTED hotline is logging over 1,000 calls a month.
- Requested our members to support veterans at the Arizona State Veteran Home and/or the Veterans Benefits Counselors (take them out, provide gift cards, fishing poles, etc.).
- ADVS pays interment fees for spouses of veterans who can’t afford burial at AZ Veterans’ Memorial Cemeteries.
- Ground breaking is taking place for the new VA homes in Yuma and Flagstaff.
- AVHOFS Foundation Committee reported that Phase One of the consulting agreement for the 5 Year Plan is nearing completion. A reserve fund has been established. Annual support will be provided to the Patriotic Awards Dinner and Veterans Court. Phase Two projects will include the state fair booth, honor flight support, etc. as funds are available.
- Reggie Yates, reporting for UAV stated that a high priority is communication between the UAV and the AVHOFS.
- The Induction Ceremony for new AVHOFS members is a luncheon and works well; it will be one day only again, and attendance has gone up.
- UAV long range objective is to have veterans pay no Arizona tax on retirement pay like several other states and thanks in large part go to Rep. Gail Griffin who is leading the way.
- One contractor paid the full $5,000 to upgrade the WWI Memorial at Wesley Bolin Plaza.
- Gerry Berger recommended the revised Country Store price list recommended by Roy McClymonds be adopted and all were in favor. It was approved. She also addressed the new ADVS committee entitled Women Staying Connected was formed.
- A new Chaplain is needed for the AVHOFS – individual must be a Society Member.
- The Chapter will donate $300 to help with water, etc. at the National Memorial Cemetery Memorial Day Event.
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| SECRETARY’S NOTES |
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Jerry Wojtas
AVHOFS Treasurer
Class of 2011 |
WHERE HAVE ALL THE MEMBERS GONE?
We started out the year on a high note with a good number of Society members contributing to our Century Club. February slowed down a bit, but March almost came to a standstill!
Perhaps it is my fault. I should have mentioned that if you contributed early in the year, your name would be listed in the Patriotic Awards Program as a contributor.
You should have seen the excited looks on the faces of those receiving one of the scholarships that were presented during the Patriotic Awards presentation. They were most appreciative of the scholarships they received. That could not have been possible without the fund we have built over the years through Century Club donations. Please consider giving to YOUR Century Club.
So far this year our members have given $3,000.
| Ady, John |
Filbey, Robert |
Mahon, Christine |
| Berger, Gerry |
Fredricks, Gary |
Mangan, Ed |
| Botwright, Jeanne |
Hessler, Tom |
Perkins, Ron |
| Byers, Charles |
Jonas, Richard |
Saputo, Anthony |
| Carroll, Judy-Ann |
Kloeber, Peter |
Schluter, Chuck |
| Culin, Billee |
Kohrs, Rollin |
Welch, Rob |
| DeFrain, Dennis |
Laurier, Kathleen |
Wojtas, Jerry |
| Eisiminger Jr., Thomas |
Little-Upah, Patricia |
Yates, Reggie |
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Young, Sam |
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| COUNTRY STORE |
The Country Store will remain
open until April 13!
The AVHOFS Board voted to update the pricing of the Country Store items. You will note that pricing is lower than it was, so take advantage of the reduction to upgrade your wardrobe.
Roy McClymonds
AVHOFS Quartermaster
Class of 2017 |
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2019 PATRIOTIC AWARDS DINNER REPORT |
 What an amazing evening! Saturday, March 16th saw our 13th annual Patriotic Awards Dinner and it was a beautiful event. With almost 300 members and guests in attendance, the evening offered tributes, awards, an awesome National Anthem, Sea Cadets presenting Colors and a wonderful dinner. Our wonderful VHP students assisted in registration and escorting guests to their tables.
Our very deserving honorees were excited and expressed their appreciation as they accepted their awards. As you know, we presented two Copper Eagles this year to two very worthy recipients. Ms. Patti Sills-Trausch accepted the Copper Eagle for the Franciscan Renewal Center, CASA Veterans Ministry, and was joined on-stage by 7 of her fellow workers from the CASA. The second Copper Eagle was presented to Clint Sundt, Vice President of Business Development for Sundt Construction. Both organizations have provided amazing support to veterans and our communities.
Our prestigious Copper Sword was presented to Donald W. Slager, President and Chief Executive Officer of Republic Services, Inc. Mr. Slager was unable to attend due to a family commitment, so the award was received by Andrew Shipe, Vice President of Business Development.
The UAV awarded the Copper Star to Mark S. Nexsen, Mayor of Lake Havasu City and their Copper Shield was given to the Honorable Gail Griffin, District 14, for their many actions on behalf of veterans in the State of Arizona.
We presented seven scholarships to deserving students. Scholarships were given to 1 student volunteer from the Tucson VA; 3 VHP students and 3 college veterans. In conjunction with the UAV, we presented $20,000 total in scholarships. Your Century Club donations at work!
 A lovely award presentation was made by our President Gerry Berger as a thank you to our Master of Ceremony, Mike Broomhead, for volunteering to officiate the evening. AVHOFS member, Marshall Trimble, entertained us with some humor and stumped us with fun Arizona military trivia.
Our next Patriotic Awards Lunch is scheduled for April 18, 2020, so mark your calendars. Information will be forthcoming. You won’t want to miss it! Note that we are changing from a dinner to a luncheon event.
Nominations for the Copper Sword and Copper Eagle are due by June 30, 2019, so please consider nominating worthy persons, businesses and corporations for these distinguished awards. The nomination information is located on the Society website. This is our premier event and your nomination is important.
More pictures of the event can be seen on our website, and AZVETCON facebook page and the photographer, Marion Ritcher Cartland's, facebook page.
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VETERAN ISSUES CONSIDERED IN STATE LEGISLATURE |
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Lee Lange
AVHOFS Director
Class of 2018 |
Veteran Issues Considered in State Legislature
The Arizona Legislature is moving into their third month of work on the state’s 2020 budget. Virtually all the House bills requiring Senate approval and vice versa have moved between houses and are completing committee review before final floor action.
Below is a summary of several bills of interest to veterans in Arizona. This list is by no means complete.
HB2093 Veterans Services Counselors (VBC’s): Sponsored by Rep Richard Andrade, the bill calls for $1.2 million to add more paid state VBC positions. The bill passed the House and was sent to the Senate where it was passed by the Appropriations Committee, March 12. Awaiting action by the Rules Committee.
HB2488 – Annual Report, Veteran Suicides. Sponsored by Rep Jay Lawrence, the bill calls for an annual report by the Arizona Department of Health Services (DHS) on information related to veteran suicides in the state. The bill passed the House by a vote of 60-0 and was sent to the Senate. Committee action was completed favorably, and it now awaits floor action.
HB2011 – Veterans Increased Income Tax Subtraction. Rep Gail Griffin’s bill originally called for increasing the state tax exemption for military retired pay to $10K. After being passed in committee, the bill has faced a difficult time on the House floor and was amended to call for a $5K exemption. The bill failed a House vote, 35-25, on March 11 but was approved for reconsideration. Further action is pending.
SB1157 – Income Tax Subtraction, Veterans Pensions. Sponsored by Sen David Gowen, the bill calls for full exemption of retired pay starting in 2020. The bill passed the Senate and is awaiting committee action in the House. The bill’s cost of $43.5M in 2020 presents a challenge but work continues to move the bill forward. |
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| PINAL COUNTY’S VETERAN’S COURT |
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Pictured is Robert Ranaglia with Officer Genesis Barrett, Pinal County Adult Probation. |
Robert Ranaglia an Army Veteran going through Pinal County's Veterans Court, has completed the 90-day DOM program at the Prescott VA in Prescott AZ. He received several certificates for his excellence in different stages of the program along with the completion certificate for this program. Honorable Steven F. McCarville, presiding Veterans Court Judge, February 21st, 2019, commended Mr. Ranaglia for his achievements. Mr. Ranaglia was awarded a gift card for his accomplishments.
James (Jim) Sylvester
Class of 2015
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| VETERANS HERITAGE PROJECT |
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Sammy L. Davis, Medal of Honor Recipient, Barbara Hatch, Founder of Veterans Heritage Project and Rick Romley (Class of 2007). |
By Barbara Hatch, Veterans Heritage Project Founder and Program Director
On March 9, Veterans Heritage Project held its first-ever fundraiser to help connect more students with veterans in their communities. Medal of Honor recipient Sammy L. Davis, “the real Forrest Gump,” visited two Valley schools and allowed a Cactus Shadows student to interview him for next year’s book. At the gala, he shared his harmonica story with the attendees and then auctioned it off to help raise funds for the organization.
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Rick Romley accepting award
Photos by Marion Cartland |
The Honorable Rick Romley (Class of 2007), former Maricopa County attorney who is presently a judge with Arizona Veterans Court, received VHP’s first “Storyteller Award” for sharing his service story with former VHP student Patrick Ward, along with lessons of inner strength and “Service before Self”. Rick was severely wounded in Vietnam, where he served from 1968 to 1970 with the Marine Corps. Many veterans and their families were in attendance to support VHP’s mission of connecting students with veterans to honor veterans, preserve America’s heritage, and develop future leaders. For more information on Veterans Heritage Project, go to our website (www.veteransheritage.org). You may want to share your story, make a donation to our mission, or volunteer in other ways. |
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| TONI GRIMES ON CAPITOL HILL |
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 Toni Grimes (Class of 2018) stormed Capitol Hill with the Lupus Foundation of America on March 4-5, 2019 during the National Lupus Advocacy Summit. She also sat on the Department of Defense Lupus Research Program Panel where she discussed her role as a Consumer Reviewer during the FY18 peer review panel which looked at high risk, high payoff research proposals.
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| BUFFALO SOLDIERS ARIZONA MONUMENT |
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Robert E. Welch
Class of 2016
UAV Board of
Directors |
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A.R. Yates
Class of 2013
UAV Board of Directors |
March 20, 2019
Whenever we hear, recall or utter the two words “Buffalo Soldiers”, our thoughts are of those brave, bold, highly trained, skilled, disciplined and hearty men, and yes, even a few women who successfully posed as men, risking their all to provide safety and security of settlers and vital supply lines. Their role was critical in easing the expansion of our country to the Southwest and ultimately, to the Pacific. The iconic exploits of primarily the 9th and 10th United States Calvary and the 24th & 25th States Infantry Regiments, are well chronicled, and rightfully so celebrated throughout our Nation’s history and popular culture.
In present day Arizona, our researchers indicate that there are as many as sixty-six (66) registered organizations and groups who proudly use those two hallowed words to identify, or otherwise link their activities to the traditions, culture and spirit of those colorful, pioneering warriors of the Territorial era. Notably, absent among the statuary tributes to our nation’s conflicts at Wesley Bolin Plaza (WBP) in the shadow of the State Capitol, there is no edifice representing the epic contributions of the “Buffalo Soldiers”. Significantly, JUST ONE organization has been officially recognized and accepted the challenge to rectify that omission.
Founded in 2007 by Commander Fred Marable and Deputy Commander Michelle London-Marable, and based in Mesa, Arizona, the OFFICIAL ARIZONA CENTENNIAL LEGACY “BUFFALO SOLDIERS of the ARIZONA TERRITORY- LADIES AND GENTLEMEN OF THE REGIMENT” is organized as a 501(c)(3) and is registered with the Arizona Corporation Commission (www.buffalosoldiersazterritorymonument.com). Sponsored by prominent, veteran state legislators Richard Andrade and Catherine Miranda, Governor Ducey signed a bill on April 5, 2018 assigning space at WBP and the responsibility for funding and development of a “Buffalo Soldiers Monument” solely to the Mesa group. This is an important distinction which has fundraising implications. The public must be aware that many organizations around the state identified as “Buffalo Soldiers” have and continue to raise substantial amounts of money for a host of worthy causes and events. However, only the OFFICIAL ARIZONA CENTENNIAL LEGACY “BUFFALO SOLDIERS of the ARIZONA TERRITORY-LADIES AND GENTLEMEN OF THE REGIMENT“ has been granted the authority by the State of Arizona to install a permanent “Buffalo Soldiers” monument at Wesley Bolin Plaza. Our effort here is to achieve clarity, to promote transparency and to assure potential donors, sponsors and supporters of the fund-raising campaign, that ONE HUNDRED PERCENT (100%) of your contributions will be applied to the development, installation and maintenance of the monument.
We invite you to contact the Marables at mlondon3@cox.net or telephone 480.415.5439 for additional information, or to schedule a presentation for your club or group. |
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| MEMBERS AT THE MOWW MASSING OF THE COLORS/SERVICE OF REMEMBERANCE |
 The West Valley Chapter 131 of (MOWW) the Military Order of the World Wars recently held its annual Massing of the Colors / Service of Remembrance. Our Hall of Fame Society flag was in the procession of flags.
The event was held at the Palm Ridge Recreation Center in Sun City West.
Pictured left is Jerry Wojtas (Class of 2011) who stood in the back of the room and announced each flag unit in order. There were 32 flag units in total, including our Society flag.
Pictured below (left to right) are Society members Dick Minor (Class of 2005), Phil Hanson (Class of 2004), Dennis Grau (Class of 2014), Gerry Berger (Class of 2016), Lea Seago (Class of 2013), George Van de Langeryt (Class of 2018), and Jerry Wojtas (Class of 2011).
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IN MEMORY OF |
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Request you let us know as soon as you know of an inductee’s passing. If available, we would like to know the inductee’s name, date of passing, funeral and memorial service details, and a copy of the obituary. Send notices to me at bergergerry@hotmail.com.
Gerry Berger
AVHOFS President
Class of 2016
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| EDITOR'S NOTE |
Many of our Society members are very active in their communities. You are invited to send me articles with pictures of our “members in action”. Be sure to identify the members in the pictures. We will select a few of the best for publication. Please send to me (tom Hessler) at tjhessler@cox.net.
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| UPCOMING EVENTS |
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30 Jun 19
Postmark deadline for submitting nominations for the Copper Sword and Copper Eagle.
30 Sep 19
Postmark deadline for submitting nominations for the Copper Shield and Copper Star.
Oct 19
Annual Business Meeting at a specific date and location to be determined.
25 Oct 19
Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame Induction at a location to be determined.
8 Jan 20
Annual General Membership Meeting at the Arizona State Veterans Home, Phoenix
18 Apr 20
Patriotic Awards Luncheon at a location to be determined.
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