 Thank you commander and thank you all. I am truly honored and humbled but I would not be the servant or the person I am without the constant support of my family and my fellow veterans. I'd like to start by thanking my family here today, my sons Ian, a Navy veteran and Eric, an Air Force veteran. I am immensely proud to be your mother. There are many reasons why not the least of which my five beautiful grandchildren who you've given me and are here with us today. Olivia, Emma, Ryan, Desmond and Echo. We are all keenly aware of the sacrifices our families make when we decide to wear our nation's uniform. Let's also recognize the sacrifices they continue to make so that we can go on serving long after we take the uniform off. Whether it's a chapter meeting of volunteer opportunity or a multi-day convention thousands of miles from home, they understand that we are called to serve. I also want to thank the veteran role models in my family for setting an example for me as a young child beginning with my father Joe Delfino Espinosa. He enlisted in the Army during World War II and served four tours in Germany over his more than 20-year career. During his first tour he served with the Monuments Men and was a guard when they returned Leonardo da Vinci's Woman with an Irmine to Poland. He was a DAV life member but died at 42 before he could become active in his chapter. My uncle Fred Chavis is the person who introduced my family to the DAV. Fred was a tough Marine. He served during World War II and was shot during the Battle of Saipan in 1944. He became a department commander in Utah and at the time of his death was treasurer for chapter 14 in Davis County. I took over that position when he passed kick-starting my service with DAV. Then there's my uncle Benny Chavis, a 93-year-old Korean War veteran and fellow chapter 14 member. He volunteered for many years at the local VA hospital and provided military honors for service members until he was over 80 years old. Because of his example I plan to serve DAV as long as my body will allow. I also want to thank my mother Eleanor Chavis. She was a tough lady who got things done in the face of adversity. She became a widow at a young age and had to raise three children on her own. She instilled in us the value of independence and hard work. Have a car, have a roof, have a job she'd always say. When mom told me I needed to get a part-time job to help pay for school clothes, I responded to an ad for a clerk typist. No experience necessary. The position turned out to be with the United States Army Reserves and launched my 15-year military career. 10 years later I went on active duty and later transitioned to the New Mexico National Guard. When I separated in 1990 I immediately joined DAV. I had witnessed what this organization did for my family and I knew I'd find the support I needed. What I did not expect was how much our cause would fuel and fulfill my desire to serve others. I've since had the pleasure of being commander for the Department of Utah just like Uncle Fred as well as Adjutant. I'm also a proud member of Chapter 14 where I continue to serve as treasurer as well as a chapter service officer. I've also had the honor of serving as director of DAV's Charitable Service Trust and was a member of the POW-MIA Interim Committee. So many in our DAV family have supported and encouraged me all the way to this podium. I never thought I'd be here and if it hadn't been for some gentle nudges and kicks in the pants I wouldn't be. I want to give a special thank you to Department of Utah and Chapter 14 where my journey with DAV began. I'm also grateful to have served alongside our amazing team of national line officers and NECs including the 17th District's Floyd Watson Jr. who has been one of my biggest cheerleaders. Lastly, I want to thank the person who inspired me to think bigger and do more than I imagined. I have a feeling she's done that for many of you in this room. I met Delphine Metcalf Foster in 2014 during Utah's Department Convention. We went to lunch and soon realized we had much in common both coming from families with legacies of military service. She quickly became a treasured mentor and an honored friend. I was it was Delphine who ushered me into the national organization and opened the doors to our larger community. A few years later, she showed me what was possible when she became the first woman elected to lead DAV and the first woman to lead any of the top three largest veterans charities. Delphine, as you've done so many times before, you blazed a trail and left directions for those coming behind you. You have lived in service to your credo. A child cannot be what a child cannot see. Thank you for showing me the way. Thank you for helping us see who and what we can be. Being part of DAV is a point of extraordinary pride for me. A large part because of members like Delphine and those who wholeheartedly welcomed and supported her leadership. You did so because of her qualifications and her record of dedicated service. For many of you, her gender wasn't even a consideration. While you celebrated the historical significance of electing a woman to serve as national commander, it wasn't what motivated your support. And yet, this organization and its members understand the importance of making sure all our voices are heard and all of our needs represented. We recognize that for decades, too many of those voices were silenced, sometimes intentionally, but often unwittingly. Whatever the case, DAV and its members have shown we must and we can do better. While we love the underdogs of the world, we have to remember that those who have been underestimated have often been underserved, underrepresented, and underrecognized. Take, for example, late DAV member Kouru Motou, a second generation Japanese American born and raised in Hawaii. When Japanese forces attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941, Motou, already in the military, was called to serve his country. By all accounts and despite the internment of Japanese Americans and the hatred spewed toward people who looked like him, Motou served with the utmost integrity and bravery. On July 7th, 1944, near Castellina, Italy, Motou was a scout leading his platoon to higher ground. After he spotted a machine gun nest, he captured a German gunner. Taking his prisoner with him, he took cover at a house a few yards away. After engaging the enemy in fire and forcing most of them to withdraw, a single remaining sniper fired at Motou and struck his left leg, severely wounding him. Injured and bleeding, Motou spotted another enemy gun nest and opened fire, wounding enemy soldiers and forcing them to surrender. For his actions, Motou was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, Purple Heart, Bronze Star, and Italy's War Cross of Military Valor. However, he was denied the recognition many agreed he deserved, the Medal of Honor. But he wasn't the only one. Motou was part of the 100th Infantry Battalion, a unit composed mostly of second generation Japanese Americans, or Nisei. The battalion, which later merged with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, became the most decorated unit of its size and length of service in military history. Its soldiers became synonymous with bravery, yet it was clear that they would not be considered for the nation's highest honor amid a climate of racial prejudice. Finally, in 2000, after a thorough review, Motou's Distinguished Service Cross, along with those of 20 other Japanese soldiers, was posthumously upgraded to the Medal of Honor, correcting the record and more accurately reflecting his contributions. Motou's Medal now sits in an exhibit called the Nisei Soldier Experience at the National Museum of the United States Army. His story illustrates the struggles so many Japanese Americans faced at home and abroad, and their courage on the battlefield. DAV was lucky to call Motou a dedicated life member. His son, Brian, said DAV gave his father community and camaraderie during his postwar years. For the Motou family, DAV was a pillar of support, at one time awarding a scholarship to Brian so he could go to college fulfilling his father's dream for his son. In 2022, Brian paid it forward when he named DAV as a beneficiary of his estate. Nobody knew whether the Nisei of the 100th Battalion could make good war fighters or if they would even willingly fight. They were the definition of underdogs. They proved to be, as Brian Motou calls it, an American story to which all can aspire. As a Hispanic woman with a family legacy of military service dating back to the Civil War, I've always had an affinity for those who face down doubt and adversity. Military history is brimming with such stories and it's easy to see why. Service appeals to the best in us and the best of us. It calls to our grit and determination. It tests us and pushes us to our limits, not for glory or goods, but in service to others. It says to the underdog, you are meant for something bigger than yourself. Those in this room have heard that call at one time or another whether because of the color of your skin or your gender or the circumstances of your time. Many of you have been the underdog. You were met with doubt and prejudice, unfair treatment and towering obstacles and yet you answered the call to serve. When your uniform, when your job in uniform was done, you were faced with more hurdles. You had to learn to live with disability. You struggled to readjust to civilian life. You fought against misconceptions and yet once again you answered the call to serve. This time the call came from DAV. Through volunteerism, legislative advocacy and benefits assistance, you have helped lift your fellow underdogs to new heights. You have proven time and again that we should not be underestimated. You've succeeded in making sure your fellow veterans don't go unserved, unrepresented or unrecognized. We must continue that work with the grit and determination that inspired our military service. Not because we have something to prove but because it's who we are, the underdogs who refuse to back down. Thank you for this opportunity. I do not take this responsibility lightly and promise to give you all my best effort in this role. I look forward to channeling the warrior spirit of my ancestors and the force of character that fills this room as we work toward our shared mission of serving veterans and their families. Thank you.