Gerry Berger AVHOFS President Class of 2016

Dear Patriots,
I’m sharing a partial thank you note from one of our scholarship recipients, Sabrina Arevalo: “Thank you so much for the opportunity of your scholarship.  I am beyond excited!  Thank you for helping to make my next step, college, easier! Also, thank you so much for the dinner. It made me feel so special” and those comments increase as we were thanked by other scholarship recipients.  For them, it is special and it is important for the Society to provide these scholarships. By donating at least $100 per year to our Century Club, you are helping many to contribute positively to our communities. If you haven’t already done so, please login to our website to dontate online or download and fill out the donation form.

The Society Board welcomed Vince Sanchez, Sr. as our Chaplain during our recent Board meeting on the 10th of April.  Our sincere thanks to Vince for assisting us at this time. From time to time, you may also see an article in the Patriot from him.  If you know Vince, please also thank him.

And now the sad news is that Dennis DeFrain resigned, due to medical concerns, as our Secretary. I have welcomed Rachel Gutierrez as our Secretary to complete the remaining term to the end of this year. You will hear more from her in the coming months.

The UAV informed us the 2019 Induction Ceremony has moved to Friday, the 18th of October 2019 at Talking Stick Resort.  More information will follow as further confirmations and selections are made.
Our 2020 Patriotic Awards Luncheon will be held on Saturday, April 18, 2020 at the Hilton Doubletree in Scottsdale, 5401 N. Scottsdale Road.  More information will follow in the months ahead as well.
Please continue to provide articles and photos to be included in the Patriot when you participate in your volunteer work for others.

I encourage you to attend any of the Memorial Day Ceremonies where you live.  Thank you for all you do for veterans.  Wishing you a delightful month of May.

I am happy to announce that the AVHOF Interactive Display at the Capitol Museum has been brought up to date and is currently running.  The Class of 2018 plaque has also been posted to the class display board.
I encourage you to attend any of the Memorial Day Ceremonies where you live.  Thank you for all you do for veterans.  Wishing you a delightful month of May.

Aspire to Inspire Before You Expire

Gary Fredricks AVHOFS Vice President Class of 2010

Our Society Bylaws require a nominating committee consisting of 5 members, 2 of which are not currently elected board members, to serve on the committee with a timeline specified in the bylaws leading up to general elections for 2020 Society officers at the October 2019 Business Meeting (all members are encouraged to attend).

The nominating committee has been established and consists of Gary Fredricks (gfredricks@cox.net), Ron Perkins (rbperkins@cox.net), Chuck Schluter (oldlymer@aol.com), Sam Young (sam.young74@ymail.com) and Christine Mahon (retcol27@cox.net).  We have at least two vacancies to fill, those of Secretary and  Vice President, and there may be more.  If you are willing to spend a little of your time in helping us manage your Society in one of these or any other position, we would really like to hear from you.  Just contact any of the nominating committee members and we will be happy to fill you in on details of what we are trying to accomplish through your Society.

Also, please mark your calendars for our 2019 General Membership Business Meeting.  It will be held on October 9.  We are working with The American Legion to identify a host location for the meeting and right now it appears Post 44 is the most likely venue.  We will let you know as plans firm up.  Please mark those calendars and make every effort to attend.  This is our annual business meeting and is your opportunity to help guide the Society as it continues its efforts to support our military, our veterans, their families and their survivors.

Jerry Wojtas AVHOFS Treasurer Class of 2011

CENTURY CLUB UPDATE

For the past 2 months our Century Club donations have been sputtering.  To date we have received a total of $3,700.  In an effort to give it a kick-start, I’m making a challenge to my induction class of 2011. 

For each one of you (and you know who you are) that donates $100 to the Century Club, I will donate an additional $5, over and above the $100 that I have already contributed.
AND if we get 100% participation from the class of 2011, I will round up my donation to another full $100, making my total $200.  The cut-off date for this challenge will be 30 Nov. so that I can report the good news in the December Patriot.

And I think it would be wonderful if other classes adopted a similar challenge.  Remember, it is all for a good cause.

So far this year our members have contributed $3,700.  

Welcome to Vince Sanchez, Sr. as our Chaplain.

Dennis DeFrain resigned as Secretary due to medical concerns.  Please keep Dennis in your thoughts and prayers.

Kathy Laurier provided a positive report on the recent Patriotic Awards Dinner. Jerry Wojtas and Ron Perkins provided the financial status.

Kathy Laurier gave us an update on the Maternity Outreach for Moms Program.

Lee Lange and Ron Perkins provided a report on the status of Phase 1 from the Foundation Committee.  Next meeting is on 26 April.

Ron Perkins provided an update on the Society website. Issues will be resolved.

Reggie Yates announced that the 2019 Induction Ceremony was re-scheduled to Friday, 18 October at Talking Stick Resort.  Nominators will be informed shortly and more information to follow.  Separately, the update for the kiosk at the Capitol Building will occur this month by UAV.

Lee Lange AVHOFS Director Class of 2018

After four months of work, the Arizona Legislature is on the verge of completing its 2019 Legislative Session. The focus of effort in the House and Senate for the last few weeks has been on floor action and final approval of bills before they go to the Governor for signature.   

Here is an update on several bills of interest to veterans in Arizona; 

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. Later word is that the bill has been included in budget negotiations. The Unified Arizona Veterans (UAV) sent a letter to Governor Ducey urging him to include the $1.2 million in the final budget.

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. The bill was amended and passed by the Senate on April 9, then returned to House for concurrence The House passed the amended bill April 11 and it was sent to the Governor for signature. 

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 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. But a poll of votes for the bill fell two votes short and it did not return to the floor. Other efforts to keep the bill alive were not successful.  

SB1157 – Income Tax Subtraction, Veterans Pensions. Sponsored by Sen David Gowen, the bill called for full exemption of military retired pay starting in 2020. The bill passed the Senate and spent weeks awaiting committee action in the House. The bill’s cost of $43.5M in 2020 presented a significant challenge. The bill was ultimately killed in committee by the House.   

It is time to submit your nominations for our two Copper awards – Copper Sword and Copper Eagle. While nominations may be submitted anytime, the cutoff for the next round of awards is 30 June.  The awards will be presented during the 2020 Patriotic Awards Luncheon (18 April 2020).   Additional Information and nomination forms for both awards can be found at on our website.

The Copper Sword Award is presented annually by the Society to a non-veteran whose personal actions contributed significantly to the benefit and well-being of our military, our veterans, their families and their survivors, their communities, and their neighbors. 

The Copper Eagle Award is presentedto a deserving private or public institution, organization or corporation whose actions warrant high recognition for services rendered to the Arizona veteran or military community. The recipient of this award is honored for singularly outstanding performance, leadership and humane compassion. 

Please consider nominating someone you know who is very deserving of recognition for what they do for Arizona Veterans, their families and their communities.

We will let you know when the next ordering period
opens.  Meanwhile you can still look at the items on our website

Roy McClymonds
AVHOFS Quartermaster
Class of 2017

The Jewish War Veterans of the USA Copper State Post 679 in Sun Lakes held their 25th Anniversary Luncheon recently and some members of the Hall of Fame were invited to make presentations.  Those Hall of Fame Society members are Terry Araman (Class of 2016) 6th from left, Joan Sisco (Class of 2009) 2nd from right and Reggie Yates (Class of 2013) at far right.  Others present were from various non-profit and profit organizations that made donations to veterans and were being recognized.

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

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.

9 Oct 19
Annual Business Meeting at a specific date and location to be determined.

18 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.

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.