 The DAV is privileged to have the best of the best in our national adjutant, Mark Burgess. Since his appointment as national adjutant in 2013, his subprime leadership and commitment to the organization's ideals has continued to the direction to remain the premier and most capable and effective veteran service organization. Mark is an 80 Persian Gulf veteran who joined the DAV while still on active duty and is a life member of chapter 19 in Cold Spring, Kentucky. A native of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, here in a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Pennsylvania in 1996. A Bachelor of Science in Paralegal Studies from Stevenson University in 1998 and a Master of Arts from the University of Cincinnati in 2010. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome our national adjutant, Mark Burgess. Good morning. Good morning. Let me start by saying how pleased I am to be here with all of you today at one of DAV's strongest demonstrations of strength in the realm of veterans advocacy, our annual midwinter conference. It's been extremely difficult to ignore the swell of interest surrounding veterans issues over the past two years. Frankly, it's not something that we should ignore. If you've watched the news, paid attention to the presidential election cycle, picked up a DAV magazine or received an alert or newsletter from the national organization, you know this year we stand at a critical juncture when it comes to the future of our healthcare system. We continue to move forward ambitiously and your presence here is always one of the most important ways we can put a face on these issues and show lawmakers their actions affect real people, real veterans, and their families each and every day. That's a very powerful message and one you have always carried to the hill with dedication and fervor. You've accomplished a great deal here in Washington through your presence and through continued action in your local communities. I'm proud of the solid network you've established and I know many of you are chomping at the bit to take on more advocacy work and let me assure you this year we will keep your dance card full. If there's one thing I know about this crowd and about the base of the 80s membership is that we stand up for our rights and benefits when they're threatened. All too often those negotiating our future are individuals who never put on the uniform. We are not and must not be willing to accept changes born out of back room deals. Not when it comes to something as sacred as what veterans earned through their service to our nation. So here we are facing down major changes to the VA healthcare system. What we know is that for two years we've heard steadily from veterans in places where the system is not working and not meeting their needs. These are more than just bumps in the road. That's why DAB's offered a comprehensive framework to reform the VA so that every veteran gets the best care that they've earned. In some cases we've even seen gross misconduct and we will continue to demand full accountability for anyone who breaks the law or through negligence harms veterans. But we also know that there's a substantial number of veterans, the vast majority in fact who are getting the care they need from the VA. We hear from members all the time about places within the system where things are being done right. These veterans would undoubtedly suffer if VA were significantly downsized or closed and they were left to fend for themselves in a private sector that lacks the expertise to care for the unique needs of those who have served. If we don't speak up, if we don't voice our opinions on what is working as well as what isn't others will not hesitate to make the decision for us. And we may not like the outcome. It's not enough to stand by and listen. We must remain active in the conversation. And that's where many of you come into play. You'll hear much more about DAB's revitalized benefits protection team throughout the week here. But let me tell you that I am excited to see this initiative take off and begin to make a difference not only on the national scale but in all of your local communities. Many of you in this room have already stepped up to the plate as veterans advocates and have shown what an impact you can have. You all play a very special role in DAV in keeping the link strong between the national organization and our chapters and our departments. It's a role that demands strong and capable individuals and I wanna thank all of you for taking that on. Now, in addition to the issues of veterans health care reform, you may know we are bringing Congress or to Congress this week a few more agenda items of great importance, women veterans and caregivers. These are two areas where DAV has led the way and thanks to your continued involvement and support, the Senate is moving forward on legislation to expand caregiver support. And this month, the House passed several women veterans bills based on recommendation from DAV's report on women veterans. But these bills are only halfway to the finish and still need our push to bring them into law. These bills represent many of you as well as the many men and women back in your hometowns. You are essentially DAV's pulsekeepers. You are the conduit for making things happen at the local level. You are the lightning rod that engages members back at home in turn making significant changes possible here in Washington. In that same vein, we have some incredible members and leaders within DAV are going out there and walking the beat, so to speak, with their local media sources. They have become the go-to spokespersons on veterans issues. They are getting DAV's name and message out front and doing a heck of a job of representing our calls. And just to note a few, the Department of South Dakota has commanded significant media attention thanks to their annual poker run. And just recently, a story broke about veterans treatment courts in the state and who do you think the reporter looked to for a quote? If you guessed DAV, you'd be right. There was a great piece recently on chapter 110 in South Shore, Florida. Detailing the services DAV provides and spelling out exactly when veterans should go see one of the service officers for help. Not long after that, another Florida publication did a story on a drop in the VA backlog and they turned to our local DAV representatives for quote. The Tribune Star covered a group from chapter nine in Terre Haute, Indiana, visiting the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial here in Washington, DC. Chapter 10 in Billings, Montana was featured touring a veterans medical clinic. And in New Jersey, reporters ran a piece on chapter 22's plaque dedication to a former chapter commander. In each of these examples, the media reached out to the local DAV chapter or our members were able to reach out to the media because of the relationships that they had forged. And because you are getting our name and our message out there, we are seeing more and more that reporters are looking to us, looking to DAV when they need to talk about veterans issues, events and opportunities. We all know that our volunteer base is at the tail end of changing of the guard. But many enterprising chapter members and hospital service coordinators are contacting the media to enlist volunteers to support our transportation network and our volunteer initiatives. Because the program is so valuable to veterans and communities, we're seeing more content than ever in the media encouraging participation. The commander and your entire DAV leadership team understand the value of your efforts projecting DAV's brand in your community. So in addition to the legislative information you take home from this year's midwinter conference, one tool I believe that can be extremely effective in helping you get the word out back home is our DAV Veterans Pulse Survey, which was released this past November. This landmark survey gives us insight into the attitudes and perceptions of veterans of all generations and identifies gaps in support for veterans. The facts and figures within the report can help you better discuss veterans issues with the media, with the general public and with your lawmakers. It will prepare you to really drive home exactly why our government and country need to do more to ensure that we're keeping the promises made to America's veterans. And if you haven't already done so or taken a look at the DAV Veterans Pulse Survey, you can see it at www.veteranspulse.org. You are doing critical work. There is something unique about our community that should remind us of the importance and the value of our mission. Nearly everyone in this room has personally faced or intimately been involved in a situation where we or someone we've loved faced daunting odds for mere survival. Whether it was a comrade on the battlefield or conversation with a doctor that involved words like malignant or terminal, our community knows the value of time. And the most inspiring thing to me about DAV members is the passion I see throughout our ranks every single day. I cannot thank you enough for the support that you've always so readily shown our commander when he calls on you and the continued dedication both to our organization and to our veterans. Midwinter would simply not be what it is without all of you in this room and we could not be as strong of an organization without your leadership and your enthusiasm. I appreciate the opportunity to speak to you this morning and of course for allowing me to serve alongside you. No doubt we are facing a busy and challenging year, but I've seen the tremendous strides you have put forth in years past. 2016 has the potential to be one of the most decisive, pivotal years in our history and one of the most important for the future of veterans' healthcare. Volunteering and standing up for your fellow veterans, family members and survivors is a particularly sincere commitment when you know that time is our most valuable commodity. It's the one thing we spend without ever knowing how much of it we really have. By making the most of your time here, you honor the service and sacrifices made by veterans and their families past and present. This is why ours is a sacred charge. And this is why I'm proud of all of you, my brothers and sisters in the DAV. Thank you for the bottom of my heart for what you do. May God bless you and may we all make the most of our important week. Thank you.