Jim Monroe AVHOFS President-Elect Class of 2014

Here we are entering January and still dealing with COVID issues.  I am sure you are just as aware of this as I am, so I will not dwell on it further.

A number of items have occurred since the last edition of the Patriot.  I address each as follows:

2020 AVHOF Induction:
We have all been anxious to learn how we will carry out the Induction of the new AVHOF members – class of 2020.  Last month, I listed all 23 new members and advised that plans were being prepared for their respective inductions.  As previously stated, due to COVID, we are unable to hold a normal Induction Ceremony as we have in the past.  We are moving forward with a plan to induct each new member individually: three members in Flagstaff, two members in Tucson and three groups of six members each in Phoenix.  A spreadsheet detailing the specifics follows:

2021 General Membership and Board of Directors Meeting – January 13:
Each year we make a special effort to invite our membership to join in the first Board of Directors meeting of the year.  The meeting will give you insight into our monthly Board of Directors meeting and the opportunity to see your Society in operation.  Additionally, new officers and directors will be installed at this time.

• President           Jim Monroe
• Vice President   Pat Little-Upah
• Secretary           Open
• Director             21-22   Kathleen Laurier
• Director             21-22   Christine Mahon
• Director             21-22   Tom Sheets

This will be a virtual ZOOM meeting as are most meetings these days.  The invitation to the meeting follows and you will receive a reminder invitation and agenda for the meeting by email on/about 9 January.

James Monroe is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: 2021 General Membership & Board of Directors Meeting
Time: Jan 13, 2021 10:00 AM Arizona

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4803630044?pwd=Lzdmd1NUZC83OEFWS3dZQndjM2wwQT09
Meeting ID: 852 3384 4043
Passcode: 6L02Wr

One tap mobile
1-346-248-7799,85233844043#

Dial by your location
1-346-248-7799 US (Houston)
Meeting ID: 852 3384 4043

Fisher House  -  Moms Program  -  Veterans Heritage Project:
Please be sure to see the article on the Fisher House by Pat Upah-Little, the article on the MOMS Program by Kathleen Laurier and the article on the Veterans Heritage Project by Mike Wold.  The Society is involved with each of these programs and the articles offer a good look at their activities and purpose.

2021 AVHOF Nominations:
Please be aware that the Criteria and Nomination Form for the AVHOF has been updated.  It is available on the UAV website https://azuav.org.  You will find it to be straight forward and clear.  Take a look; you might want to enter a nomination for a deserving veteran.  Deadline for nominations is March 31, 2021.

You may notice that there is no contribution from Society President Gerry Berger.  She is dealing with some personal issues and has expressed the need to step away for a while.  Her leadership over the past two years has been stellar and she will be missed.  I look forward to the time when she will reengage with us.  Best Wishes Gerry.

Finally, I hope the holidays were kind to you and yours.  We now face what will likely be a challenging 2021, but one full of promise and opportunity.  Please consider joining in your Societies activities, we need each of you.

Jerry Wojtas AVHOFS Treasurer Class of 2011

Banks are getting very picky on what they will accept and what they won’t accept.  Please, from now on only write Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame Society or AVHOFS on the PAY TO THE ORDER OF line.  Nothing more or nothing less please.  Anything else on the PAY TO THE ORDER OF line and the check will be and has been rejected.

In the lower left-hand portion of your check, you can write Century Club or Scholarship or Veterans Court or some other program that you wish to support.  That is fine, but not on the PAY TO THE ORDER OF line.

The same goes for the Society Address.  If you only use 4980 S. Alma School Road, Chandler, AZ 85248-5545 you will find your mail has reached a HUGH building with thousands of individual Post Office Boxes inside.  Unless you use Ste. A2-619 in the address when mailing, we will never get your letter or check or whatever you mailed to us.

I’m an old man and getting older as each day passes.  I don’t need headaches at this stage of my life.  Our bank is trying to give me headaches all the time.  Help me live a little longer by adhering to the information about.  Thank you.

Below you’ll see the latest listing of our Century Club donations.  I think everyone is aware that we have exceeded our goal for 2020.  Thanks to all Society members who contributed and continue to contribute to make this year a success.

Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame
4980 S. Alma School Road, Ste, A2-619
Chandler, AZ 85248-5545

CENTURY CLUB DONATIONS (2010 Goal is $7,500. Total to date is $8,915.40.)

Black - up to $100  GREEN - $101-$199   BLUE - $200-$299   RED - $300 and above

The Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame Country store closed on 30 October 2020 and will open 1 April 2021.
The Country store catalog can be found on the AVHOF Web site. If you have a problem finding what you want please feel free to contact me at (480) 694-2425 or my email at ramnpt@cox.net.

Roy McClymonds
AVHOFS Quartermaster
Class of 2017

Pat Little-Upah AVHOFS Director Class of 2014

The Fisher House Foundation assists communities to build homes where military and veteran families can stay free of charge, while a loved one is in the hospital.  These homes are located at military and VA medical centers around the world.  Fisher Houses come in various sizes but are all the same basic design.  They can have up to 21 suites with private bedrooms and baths.  Families share a common kitchen, laundry facilities, a warm dining room and an inviting living room.  These facilities have saved military and veterans’ families an estimated $500 million in out-of-pocket costs for lodging and transportation. 

The first step in this process was to gather letters of support from community-based veterans’ organizations, legislators and community businesses to prove the need for a Fisher House in Phoenix.  The support was amazing, and Michael Welsh submitted these letters along with our application this fall.  After review in December, we were approved for a Phoenix Fisher House.

This type of project generally takes about four years and the next step is to find land near the Phoenix VA Medical Center as we begin fund raising to support this project.  Once completed the VA Medical Center takes responsibility for the Fisher House.  There will be many ongoing volunteer efforts needed to support the running of the home when finished. 

The Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame Society and the United Arizona Veterans are key supporters of this initiative. 

Kathleen Laurier AVHOFS Director-Elect Class of 2012

With COVID causing so many disruptions, one program that has been put on hold for the last several months, is the MOMS Program at the Phoenix VA.  The AVHOFS is a major contributor to this program.  Because of their generosity, along with other organizations, the Phoenix VA Women’s Clinic was able to hold a drive-thru baby shower for pregnant veteran mothers.  On December 5, a drive-thru area was set up in the VA parking lot where 22 expecting veteran moms were gifted with baskets of baby and personal hygiene items.  Having worked this program from its inception, I can assure you that these gifts are very much needed and appreciated.  While volunteers were not permitted, they contributed by providing the VA with items from an off-site storage room, building the baskets at home and delivering them to the VA.  Should the virus continue to disrupt events, another drive-thru is planned for March.  A flyer is placed in each basket listing organizations that donate and our Society is listed in the first position.

I am sure many of you know about this program, but I want to let you know that I was recently interviewed by a high school student as part of the Veterans Heritage Project. This is a program where high school students are trained to interview veterans so that the stories of their military service are documented for posterity. The stories go into a book that is put into the Library of Congress.

One of the reasons I agreed to be interviewed is so that the story of my service in the US Navy will be available to my grandkids and great grandkids. There was another unexpected benefit for me. I found myself remembering so many things that I had not thought about for years including the great guys I served with in the Navy.

I have attended presentations where the high school students from the Veterans Heritage Project who have interviewed veterans said that they not only enjoyed the connection with a veteran but that they came out of the interview with more patriotism and respect for the sacrifices veterans make for our country.

If you have not yet been interviewed as part of the Veterans Heritage Project, I recommend that you do so. You will really enjoy the experience and contribute to the patriotism of one of their wonderful high school student interviewers.

If you would like to be interviewed, you can go to the Veterans Heritage Project request form at the bottom of the veterans page on the Veterans Heritage Project website.

Amazon Smile.
https://smileamazon.com

Arizona Department of Veterans’ Services.
www.dvs.az.gov

Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame Society.
www.avhof.org

Unified Arizona Veterans.
www.azuav.org

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 Jim Monroe at j.c.monroe@cox.net.

Known members that have passed in 2020:
Earl Milford (Class of 2012) passed 19 May
Henry Ong, Jr. (Class of 2005) passed 2 July
Jose Aldecoa (Class of  2014) passed 19 July
Leo Pimple (Class of 2011) passed 20 July
Mike Ferguson (Class of 2018) passed 12 October
Edward MacIntyre (Class of 2002) passed 15 October
William (Bill) Hess (Class of 2009) passed 8 November

John O’Malley (2017 Copper Sword awardee) passed 15 November
Mr. John O’Malley was awarded the prestigious Copper Sword Award by the Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame Society at their 11th Annual Patriotic Gala on April 8, 2017 for helping secure donations exceeding $175,000 to help support the MANA House, Mary Ellen’s House, Wounded Warriors, the Marine Corps Old Breed Detachment #767, the USS Argonaut memorial, St. Vincent De Paul, Phoenix Rescue Mission, and Southwest Human Development, among others.