 The convention will please come to order as a reminder. I'd like to ask everyone to please silent your cell phones and portable devices. If you can please rise and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance to our nation's flag. Salute. Pledge allegiance to the flag of United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Please remain standing. Chaplain Varner, would you please lead us in prayer? Good morning. May we pray. Almighty God, the mighty creative all man, we give you things this morning for allowing us to be in your presence. We thank you for the bountiful blessings of our friends, our comrades, even our visitors who visited with us today. Now we ask that you grant us strength and guidance as we go on throughout this day that we're well able to train and to serve and to give out unto others what have been given unto us. We ask these things of you and the people said amen. Thank you Chaplain Varner. Please be seated. I remind each of you that in order for a delicate to be heard at this convention, you must be recognized by the chair. Only those delicates at a microphone will be recognized. Upon being so recognized, delicates must state their name, chapter number, and the state they represent. I'd like to call on credentials committee chairman and fellow Tampa 4 chapter member Brenda Reed for a report. National commander Marshall, national adjutant Burgess, officers, members, and guests. The credentials committee met this morning at 8 a.m. in Florida ballroom A at the Hyatt Regency in Orlando, Florida. Roll call shows 981 delegates, 63 alternates have registered which includes 45 departments and 348 chapters registered. There are nine national officers, 21 national executive committeemen, and six past national commanders currently registered for a total of 7,784 votes. This partial report is for informational purposes only and it reflects the registration at the close of business at 4 p.m. on August 8th, 2022. This completes the partial report of the credentials committee. Thank you Brenda. A reminder that registration will close this morning at 10 a.m. Next I would like to call on chairman Joe Hall for the report of the committee on employment. Comrade commander and delegates, the national convention committee on employment was called to order on August 7th, 2022 by the committee advisors Rob Lougie and Anthony Lewis. The first order of business was the election of the convention committee chairman and secretary. Joe Hall of North Dakota was elected chairman and Tiffany Koehler of Wisconsin was elected as secretary. The committee then proceeded to review the resolutions and submitted and I will now report to you the resolutions recommended for adoption by the national convention. For the purposes of saving time I will read only the number and the purpose of the resolution. 45, eliminate the delimiting date for eligible spouses and surviving spouses of benefits provided under chapter 35 title 38 USC 46 support licensure and certification of active duty service personnel 47 support outreach and employment of women veterans 159 eliminate the 12-year rule to request VA veteran readiness and employment benefits under chapter 31 leaving the date to apply for that benefit open-ended 160 monitor activities of the mandatory transition gps program 183 provide adequate funding and permanency for veterans employment and or training programs 184 support extension of a period of employment services under VA veteran readiness and employment services 185 require the United States Congress to create a work projects program which guarantees federal employment to service disabled veterans 186 support legislation to extend the duration of the VA veteran readiness and employment benefits beyond 48 months 187 support the adoption of programs and legislation to reduce barriers to employment education and full use and access to the other benefits earned through the service in the military 188 protect veterans from employment discrimination when receiving health care when receiving health care for service-connected conditions 214 remove requirement that the VA compensation to service-connected veterans is counted as income for the purposes of federal financial aid determinations 215 support prompt payment of contracts to service disabled veteran-owned businesses 216 support legislation enhancing government-wide goals for participation by small business owned and controlled by service disabled veterans 217 support legislation to improve and protect education and employment benefits for disabled veterans and their survivors 218 support legislation and reimburse replace and extend education vocational benefits for disabled veterans and their survivors for education training and training impacted by COVID-19 347 provide educational benefits for dependents of service disabled veterans rated 80% or more disabled 349 support veterans preference in public employment 403 adequate staffing levels of the VA veteran readiness and employment service 404 support legislation to provide a reasonable transition period for service disabled veteran owned small businesses to retain federal protected status following the death of the disabled veteran owner 405 create economic opportunity administration within the Department of Veteran Affairs 406 support fraud prevention controls over service disabled veteran owned small business programs 407 support verification improvements for veteran owned businesses within the VA 408 oppose using DVOP and LVER to work with to work with or process assistance programs unrelated to veterans 438 support legislation to strengthen and protect service disabled veteran owned small businesses 439 support legislation to create improve and reform federal programs for service disabled veteran entrepreneurship comrade commander this completes a report of the committee on employment on behalf of the committee i move the adoption of these resolutions and that the committee be discharged with the thanks of the national convention you have heard the motion may i have a second please mic three mic three comrade commander abe jay bacon senior department of florida commander chapter 17 so moves in accordance with rule nine now is the time for any rejected resolutions to be read are there any rejected resolutions you wish read hearing none all those in favor signify by saying aye opposed so ordered i would like to call upon chairman lee giden for the report of the committee on legislation and veterans rights dear comrades commander and delegates the national convention committee on legislation and veteran rights was called to order on sunday august 7th 2022 by the committee advisors joy elam and shade laborman the first order of business was to election of convention committee chairman and secretary w lee giden was elected chairman margarit stubbs was elected secretary the committee then proceeded to review the resolutions submitted and i will now report on the resolutions recommended for adoption by the national convention for the purpose of saving time i will read only the number for this only the number and the purpose of the resolution number zero zero two support legislation to reduce the 10-year rule for dependency and indemnity compensation number six oppose all attempts to change the basis of department of veterans affairs rating schedule for the average impairments and earnings capacity standard number zero zero seven oppose any recommendation by any commission or other source to reduce and eliminate benefits for disabled veterans number zero zero eight oppose reduction taxation and elimination of veterans benefits number zero zero nine increased grant funding for local cemeteries number zero three two increase the grant and special adaptive equipment reimbursement rates for automobiles and other conveyances to certain disabled veterans and authorize reimbursement for new adaptive equipment technologies number zero three three support legislation to improve the va fiduciary program number zero three five support legislation providing that special separation benefit payments not be withheld from va disability compensation payments number zero six three support legislation authorizing presumptive service connection based on herbicide exposure for military personnel that served on the basis in thailand during the vietnam war number zero six six protect claimants from those charging fees for va claims presentation preparation and prosecution number zero six eight reform and improve service connected disability veterans life insurance number zero six nine streamline and improve specially adapted housing and special housing adaptation grants number zero seven zero support va modernization of information technology and improvements to include digital sharing adequate funding and improve access for disabled veterans number zero seven two support legislation for the studies and presumptive diseases related to p-fast exposure number zero seven three support legislation for health care and concession for exposure for burn pits number zero seven four support legislation to remove the prohibition against dav members who are federal employees from communication on behalf of the dav and with federal agencies number zero seven five support reauthorization of the persian gulf war act persian gulf veterans act excuse me number zero seven six support reauthorization of the agent orange act number zero seven seven support legislation to provide studies related to the health care and benefits resulting from toxic exposures at k2 number zero eight four oppose the long term rounding down of colas and veterans benefits number zero eight five support legislation to would exempt the benefits paid to wartime service connected disabled veterans for the pay go cut go provisions in a budget enforcement act number zero eight six amend the law to provide 10 year protection for service connected disability ratings number zero eight seven support legislation to provide for service connection for disabling conditions resulting from toxic environmental exposures number zero eight eight oppose any proposal that would reduce payments for department of veterans affairs disability compensation by payments of social security disability insurance or any other federal benefit paid to the veteran number zero eight nine consider treatment of presumptive service connected conditions as a claim for va compensation number zero nine two support legislation to remove the prohibition against concurrent receipt of longevity retired pay and veterans disability compensation for all longevity retired veterans number zero nine three support interest payments of departments of veterans affairs retroactive awards for one year or more number zero nine four support legislation to provide for presumptive service connection for tinnitus and hearing loss number zero nine five support meaningful claims for appeals reform number zero nine six expand presumptions for service connection for former p o w's number zero nine seven support legislation for the va to provide child care services and or assistance to veterans attending va programs number zero nine nine support legislation to increase disability compensation number one zero zero support legislation to allow all veterans to recover amounts withheld as tax on disability severance pay number one zero one support legislation that requires va to consider private medical evidence provided by licensed private health care providers number one zero two support legislation to provide for realistic cost of living allowances number one zero four support legislation to include veterans disability compensation from accountable income for purposes of eligibility for benefits and services from other government programs number one zero five support oversight of va's practices in evaluating disability claims and residuals of military sexual trauma number one zero six oppose subjecting disability compensation and d i c to means testing number one one three support a more liberal review of other than honorable discharges for the purpose of eligibility for va benefits and health care services number one one four oppose lump sum payments for service connected disabilities number one one five oppose the imposition of time limits for filing disability compensation claims number one one six oppose any change that would redefine service connected disability or restrict the conditions or circumstances under which it may be established number one one seven oppose change of definition of herbicide agents for the purpose of establishing service connected conditions for disabilities related to herbicide exposure number one one eight support legislation to establish presumptive service connection for diseases and illnesses related to contaminants at former clullin alabama number one one nine amend the va schedule for rating and disabilities for mental disorders number one two zero compensate persian gulf veterans suffering from illnesses circumstantially linked to their service in the persian gulf war number one two one support sufficient timely and predictable funding for all va programs benefits and services number one two two support legislation to include children in legal custody as va dependence number one two three support legislation to increase the number of presumptive diseases related to contaminated water at camp lejeune number one five zero support legislation to expand va mental health transition services to all service members upon discharge number one six two support legislation to improve and reform dic benefits number one six seven support the elimination of the 30-day requirement for diseases associated with exposure to contaminants in the water supply at camp lejeune number one six eight support legislation recognizing racial trauma as a stressor for post-traumatic stress disorder number one seven zero support legislation to direct the secretary of va to coordinate with va and with the dod to verify dependency status number one seven one support congressional action to ensure the total disability based on individual unemployment ability remains available for all veterans regardless of age or receipt of any other earned federal benefit number one seven two remove the eliminating date for persian gulf war illness number one seven three support compensable evaluations for certain disabilities currently at zero percent number one seven four support compensation and pension examinations done by private contractors be placed in the veterans va medical record number one seven eight support resources and oversight the appeals process number one eight zero support legislation to increase maximum evaluation and service connected headaches number two two one amend provisions regarding eligibility for automobile adaptive equipment to include the veteran whose service connected disability inhibits his or her ability to safely operate a motor vehicle number two two two support a change to regulatory requirements for temporary and total disability ratings number two two three establish immediate authorization for grants of the board of veterans appeals for all cases advanced on the docket number two three five support legislative reforms related to the recovery of debts by the va number two four one expand eligibility for mortgage protection life insurance for 100 service connected veterans number two four two support legislation to cap attorneys fees for benefits counseling and claim services before the department of veterans affairs number two four four support legislation that concedes exposure to herbicide agents of service members who served in guam american samoa and johnson atoll during the vietnam era number two four six provide medical benefits and compensation for persian gulf war veterans negatively impacted by seren gas from the va number two seven seven support a change in regulatory requirements rating under section four point three zero under title 38 cfr to provide for temporary and total rating for incapacitation for more than 21 days number two nine one support legislation to provide a temporary and total disability compensation rating for an amputee veteran while a new prosthetic device is developed and delivered number two nine four support legislation to oppose the payments for attorneys fees based on periods of when the attorney was not involved in the claim number two nine five support legislation to allow for the use of intent to file in cases where an initial or supplemental claim for the same or similar similar benefit or the same or similar basis was previously decided number two nine seven support legislations for scientific evaluation to include conditions of the thyroid as presumptive golf war disorder number two nine eight support legislation placing the burden of the va to demonstrate fugitive felon status number two nine nine support legislation authorizing the presumption of service connection for all radiogenic diseases and eliminate dose exposure estimate requirements number three oh five support legislation to award special monthly compensation at r1 to veterans with anatomical loss or loss of use of three extremities number three two one support an increase in the department of veterans affairs burial allowance for service connected veterans and provide automatic annual adjustments number three two two support legislation to provide a realistic increase in va compensation rates to address the loss of quality of life number three two three oppose regional dispersion of the board of veterans appeals number three two four support legislation to require the us court of appeals for veterans claims to decide each appellants assignment of error number three two six increased benefit rate for the home improvement and structural alterations grant number three five eight support legislations to expand and recognize wartime service periods to include those veterans who served in combat environments from hostile military or terrorist activity from november 4 1979 through august 1 1990 number 374 support legislation that recognizes presumptuous service conditions for hypertension and mgus as related to age and orange number 375 support legislation to expand radiation risk activities number 376 support legislation to remove the veterans personal identification information from his or her claim identification number 378 support legislation to clarify and expand entitlement to dependents educational assistance under chapter 35 for children of two veteran households number 379 support legislation to allow expanded entitlement to dependents educational assistance under chapter 35 for children of two veteran households where both parents are shown with a permanent and total status due to service connected conditions number 381 support legislation to allow veteran permanently and total disabled due to service connected conditions to continue to receive dependents compensation for their adult child attending school while the child is in receipt of dependent educational assistance under chapter 35 number 409 require va to request private medical records prior to future examinations number 410 provide for a compensable rating for hearing impaired veterans required to use a hearing aid number 411 support legislations to establish multiple automobile grants for eligible veterans number 412 support using the proposed reduction due process to all disability evaluation reductions number 413 support legislation to establish establish a supplementary special adaptive housing grant number 415 support elimination of the link between conosity and continuity with the chronic diseases listed in 38 cfr section 3.309 number 423 support legislations to grant aid and attendance to veterans seriously disabled child number 424 support legislation to require va to implement an optional path for visual impaired veterans number 425 remove the requirement for manifestation of chloracne and porphyria cutaneous tartar to acute and sub-secute peripheral neuropathy within one year of exposure to age and orange comrad commander yes excuse me i did make a mistake and i am being corrected i will reread it resolution number 104 support legislation to exclude veterans disability compensation for accountable income for purposes of eligibility for benefits and services from other government programs you're welcome sorry about that comrad commander this completes the report for the committee on legislation veterans rights on behalf of committee i move the adoption of these resolutions and the committee be discharged with the thanks to the national convention you have heard a motion may i have a second mic for mic for micah gary state commander department of minnesota chapter two so moved in accordance with rule nine now is the time for any rejected resolutions to be read are there any rejected resolutions you wish read herring done all those in favor signify i oppose so ordered my fellow veterans it gives me a great play deal of pleasure to introduce the honorable denise mcdonough before coming to va secretary served as the 26th white house chief of staff and as principal deputies national security advisor he believes deeply as he testifies to congress that there is no more sacred obligation nor nor noble undertaking than to uphold our promises to our veterans whether they came home decades ago or days ago please join me in welcoming this level secretary of veterans affairs the honorable denise mcdonough well thank you andy for that kind introduction and for your unwavering leadership of da v are kind of our leadership but these organizations coincides so i hope i continue to have near the success that you're having so thank you for everything and good morning to everyone it's an honor to be here with you today in orlando for your hundredth national convention over a century of service to veterans it's an amazing accomplishment and let me just start with acknowledging some of the many people deserving of our gratitude mark burgess your national adjutant barry jezzanoski your national headquarters executive director randy reese who was just talking with backstage your dc headquarters executive director linda helms prasser your auxiliary national commander and bunny claus your auxiliary national adjutant and of course all of your members each and every one of you it's great to see so many of you gathered here today the convention is an exciting time and it's an honor to be with all of you but i'd re i'd be remiss frankly if i didn't acknowledge that there is also a touch of sadness as you gather sadness that a former da v member is no longer with us i'm speaking of course of gary augustine whom we lost in march of this year as most of you know gary was a vietnam vet wonderful father family man an iconic advocate for our nation's veterans a man long noted for his devotion to da v to all of america's veterans and to our great country badly wounded by a landmine of vietnam gary was hospitalized for more than a year and left with lasting injuries that led to his medical retirement from the army in 1972 but determined to live a life of meaning and fulfillment gary married had two wonderful children whom i met last march and was a 50-year life member of da v he first entered service with da v as a hospital service coordinator in the v a hospital in cleveland ohio then he rose through the ranks to increasing levels of responsibility as deputy national service director as national service director and of course culminating in 2013 with his appointment as your national service and legislative headquarters executive director while overseeing your outstanding service and legislative programs and acting as da v's spokesman before congress the white house in v a by the way i used to see him walking through the white house all the time gary became a friend to so many veterans veterans advocates v a employees and to all those pursuing the best interests of disabled vets and i'll say he was less friendly to those who tried to stop them we will all miss gary but his selfless spirit remains with all of us inspires us all and lives on in da v's advocacy for america's veterans so i just wanted to take a moment today to acknowledge him and to pledge to do whatever i can to carry on his tireless great work and yeah i'm for that and look there's so much great work that gary did and that da v continues to do the depth and breadth of da v's contributions to veterans of your contributions to veterans is staggering in 2021 your volunteer drivers logged over a half million hours and nearly eight million miles transporting vets two v a medical facilities to get them the care they need and deserve last year alone you took over two million actions to advocate for veterans counseled over two hundred and ninety thousand claimants and assisted over twenty thousand transitioning service members and i'm in awe of the fact that sends being chartered by congress in 1932 da v has helped veterans with filling more than 12 million claims 12 million claims da v is simply awesome some of our nation you are awesome some of our nation's premier advocates for disabled vets so i thank each and every one of you for all you've done and all i know you will continue to do now i want to talk about what we've done over the past year and what we're going to do over the next year to deliver for vets and i know that it hasn't been an easier for anybody but that just means that our shared mission has never been more important than it is right now and i'm proud to say that together with da v we're stepping up for vets and delivering since president biden took office we've delivered more care and more benefits to more veterans than anytime in our nation's history more care and more benefits to more veterans than at any time in our history when it comes to delivering the benefits that vets have earned and deserve we're processing veteran claims faster than ever before and we've worked together to get the claims backlog down to the lowest total in years when it comes to honoring vets in the lasting resting places they deserve we're now providing almost 94 percent of vets with access to burial sites within 75 miles of home and we've expanded our vegas veterans legacy memorial program which keeps veteran stories alive long after they're gone to approximately 4.5 million vets when it comes to providing world-class health care to vets and their families study after studies study after study shows that we're delivering better health care outcomes for veterans than the private sector which is why 90 percent of vets now trust us deliver their care and when it comes to advocating for vets with your support president biden is leading the way by making veterans a core part of his unity agenda including securing the biggest budget proposal for vets and via history delivering delivering the first toxic exposure presumptives for vets who have fought our wars for for the past 30 years and most importantly signing the historic pact act into law tomorrow perhaps the biggest expansion of veteran benefits in history and look all that work every bit of it adds up to the one statistic that will always matter most veterans lives saved veterans lives improved by the work that we do the avnva together we've made these strides by asking ourselves three core questions every day we come to work every time we make a decision and every time we set a goal first are we putting vets at the center of everything we do that means making va easy for vets to use via projects like the new va mobile app which gives vets access to their benefits right there on your phone it means making sure that every pathway into va is a front door to every va service so vets have access to everything we have to offer and it means making sure that we're delivering for vets on time every time through projects like rob randals is leading on claims automation which is cutting claims processing time for certain conditions from several months to several days the second question we ask is are we improving outcomes for vets with everything we do that means timely access to world-class care to earned benefits into the lasting rest resting places that vets deserve no matter what because vets not us are the ultimate judges of our success and the third question we ask ourselves goes back to something that president biden charged va to do the day i was sworn in to fight like hell for vets their families caregivers and survivors fight like hell so we use that charge that question to guide us every day that's our north star that's what gary did for so long that's how we've gotten to where we are and that's how we'll get where we're going in the future for vets their family members caregivers and survivors let me give you a couple of examples first we're fighting like hell to maximize access to world-class care for vets that's why we'll stop at nothing to make sure that vets have the best possible experience wherever they access care whether that's at home through community care or at the va for those getting their care at home we're meeting vets where they are we're meeting you where you are by doubling down on telehealth and teleappeals we're also supporting our caregivers who are critical to helping vets age at home where they want to be and where they deserve to be by expanding expanding the program of comprehensive assistance this october to cover all generations of vets and by changing our policies to allow even more veterans and their caregivers into the program so they can get the support they need for vets who are getting care in the community we're working to make their experiences as time as timely and as seamless as possible so they get the care they need wherever they live and those getting their care directly from va we're going to modernize our facilities because vets in the 21st century should not be forced to receive care and buildings built in the early 20th century instead we need to build a va healthcare system with the right facilities in the right places to provide the right care for veterans at every part of the country and that's exactly what we're going to do and look the bottom line with access is the same as ever vets who receive their care at va do better our va clinicians no vets in many cases they are vets and there is nobody better at caring for vets than they are just look at the statistics vets who come to va emergency rooms via ambulance are 20 more likely to survive in the following 30 days than those who were transported to private hospitals 20 so please whenever a veteran comes to you asking where they should get their care send them to us because i promise you this we're going to get them the world-class care they've earned and we're going to do it in a timely way next we're fighting like hell to end veteran homelessness a phrase that i believe should not exist in this amazing country our focus here is on two simple goals getting vets into homes getting homeless vets into homes and preventing them from falling into homelessness in the first instance and we're making progress last october for example we set two ambitious goals to address veteran homelessness in los angeles where there are more homeless vets than anywhere in america the first goal was to get all of the roughly 40 homeless veterans living on what they call veterans row homeless encampment right outside our west la facility into housing the second goal was to get 500 vets in la into housing by the end of the year making sure that they're home for the holidays it's not too much to ask i'm proud to say that with your help we not only accomplished these goals we exceeded them and that's just the beginning nationwide this year we're going to get 38,000 homeless vets permanently housed 38,000 we're not going to try to do it or just take our best shot at doing it with your help we're gonna do it in fact halfway through the year the data through the end of june shows that we've permanently housed more than 19,000 19,000 homeless vets putting us on track to meet that goal and look as we continue to get this done we'll be driving hard on prevention too we all know it cost of housing is going up so we need to increase the housing supply make existing housing more affordable and by getting every vet the wraparound services for substance use disorder for mental health for general health to get them those services that they need because no veteran should be homeless in the country they fought to defend not one not one third we're fighting like hell on our number one clinical priority and that's to prevent veteran suicide you may have seen va's recent report on veteran suicides in 2019 that's the most current year for which we have data the next year the 2020 data will be coming out in the next several weeks a couple things stand out to me from that report first more than 6,000 veterans died by suicide in 2019 it's devastating it's unacceptable and it's why this work is so critical but that report also reminded me of something else which is that suicide prevention is possible and that there is hope because there were 399 fewer veteran suicides in 2019 than in 2018 the biggest decrease in 20 years that's 399 vets who are alive today getting a second chance at life nothing nothing matters more than that so we're looking to build on that momentum together by providing first of their kind grants to suicide prevention organizations on the ground in communities where communities know their vets best by rolling out the new 988 the national suicide prevention lifeline which connects vets quickly and directly to the veteran crisis line by dialing 988 and then pressing one by continuing to offer tele-mental health sessions to vets who want them making sure that they get their mental health care exactly when they need it and not a second later by ramping up our lethal means safety efforts to prevent warning signs from turning into tragedy and much much more suicide prevention is our top clinical priority bar none and together we're going to keep saving lives and help them help those vets not only survive but thrive fourth we're continuing to fight like hell to make sure that all vets feel welcome and safe at va not some vets all vets that means getting women vets our fastest growing cohort of vets the care they've earned and they deserve i'm for that it means making sure that lgbtq plus vets feel supported and well served by every part of va it means investigating identifying eliminating any racial disparities that exist at va and setting up processes to prevent them in the future because va always leads the way on access it means helping non-citizen vets stay in the united states where they belong and making sure that eligible deported vets have access to va benefits and it means delivering care and benefits to those with other than honorable discharges too because we at va don't serve some vets we serve all vets the bottom line is that for too long too many vets who fought around the world to protect our rights and freedoms to protect mine have had to fight brutal battles here at home for their own rights and freedoms but at va those fights are over they're over no veteran is going to have to fight to get the quality care and benefits they've earned no matter who they are where they're from or who they live and last but in no way least we're fighting like hell to deliver for toxic exposed vets as you know while vets while many of you we're fighting for us many of you many of your battle buddies we're breathing in toxic fumes from burn fit burn pits and other sources breathing in particulate matter from those deserts and months even years later they developed conditions that followed them home from war that impacted their lives in some cases took their lives long after the guns had fallen silent it's our job as a nation to provide those vets their families and their survivors with benefits and care for those conditions and that's exactly what we're going to do over the past two years president biden has added new presumptive service connection for asthma rhinitis sinusitis and nine rare respiratory cancers he did that of his own authority and tomorrow he will sign into law the historic packed act a bill that will deliver care and benefits to millions of toxic exposed veterans and their survivals and their survivors a bill that would not have happened without the tireless work of everybody here in this room everybody watching us online and this tireless national DAV team it's a monumental moment for you for VA but most of all most important of all for all those that were blessed to serve with this new law VA will recognize more than 20 new presumptions of service connection for toxic exposure related conditions ensuring that vets who live with these conditions get the care and benefits they deserve it will affirm the new process that we have stood up to add yet more presumptions of service condition we will bring generations of new vets into VA health care and increase the health care benefits of many more vets which will result which will result in better health outcomes across the board we will deliver benefits to many additional survivors of veterans who passed away from toxic exposure and we will invest in our infrastructure and workforce to ensure that we can deliver those services in a timely way including modernizing 31 31 additional new c-box in short this is perhaps the biggest expansion of veteran benefits in history and that's a great thing and rest assured as i said a minute ago it would not have happened without you and your hard work like anything else of this magnitude implementing it and executing it won't be easy so we're going to need DAV's help especially as randy and i were just talking in the back room especially with communicating to veterans what's in this bill and what it means for their families and for them so please share these messages with any veteran survivor you know first any veteran or survivor you know first we at va want veterans and survivors to apply for their packed act benefits right now we don't want them to wait we want them to apply right now second we will begin processing packed act benefits for veterans and survivors on the earliest date possible which is january 1st third any veteran or survivor can learn more about the packed act by visiting va.gov slash packed or by calling 1-800-MY-VA-411 that's va.gov slash packed and 1-800-MY-VA-411 we put that website up the day the senate finally passed this bill and that night alone we had more than 20,000 visitors to the site that's what every veteran needs to know about the packed act and we need your help communicating it because we want every veteran every single one to get the care they need and the benefits they have earned and we won't rest until they do so from access to ending homelessness to the packed act that's what we're gonna do that's how we're gonna fight like hell for vets their families caregivers survivors and that's how i'll close my remarks today with the story of one of those vets who we fight for the story of adam alexander november 10 2011 the day before veterans day adam was grievously wounded in afghanistan when enemy forces attempted to overrun his outpost during the fight a sniper's bullet struck adam in the forehead the round exiting the side of his kevlar helmet despite the devastating brain injury adam lived six days later he woke up at walter reed in maryland and began a long road to recovery all told adam received more than 10 months of va rehabilitation services including almost every type of therapy we have to offer and he came out the other side having met every single challenge eventually adam returned home as reunited with his former army battalion commander mike hurt and mike brought adam to da v to you to the camaraderie of fellow vets now mike and adam both da v life members have corroborated collaborated on a project that helps better serve their fellow vets together they host the outpost a half hour public access television program launched in june 2021 that raises awareness about da v and provides a platform for local veterans and adam has also provided testimony to the wisconsin state legislature for a bill to help other disabled vets overcoming the greatest odds stacked against him adam has proven what other veterans can do for others a model of tough persistent relentless grit in the face of adversity tough relentless grit those are adjectives i think of when i think of da v but many of you already know this story because adam alexander is da v's 2022 disabled vat disabled american vet of the year as your national commander said so well adam's story is not one of struggle it's one of triumph his lights may have gone out across the world during a battle for his life but they unquestionably came back and now he's putting them and the cameras into action that story adam's story is a perfect example of the perseverance of the veterans that we together get to serve that we together are blessed to serve and it's a perfect example of the impact of the work we do together so from the bottom of my heart i thank you for all that you do and i thank you for working with us to ensure that vets like gary augustin and adam alexander receive the care and benefits they've earned and that they deserve let's serve all of them all of you as well as all of them and each of you has served us god bless you all god bless our nation service members our veterans their families caregivers and survivors thank you very much thank you again mr secretary i would like to call upon chairman jim shoey for the report of the committee on hospital and voluntary services jim a shoey that's a tough act to follow comrade commander and delegates the national convention committee on hospital and voluntary services was called order on august 6 2022 by the committee advisors marky bairfield and john cline east the first order business was the election of the convention committee chairman and secretary jim shoey was elected as chairman and andrea gale bennett was elected as secretary the committee then proceeded to review the resolution submitted and i will now report to you the resolutions recommended for adoption by this national convention for the purpose of saving time i will read only the number and purpose of the resolution 010 support enhanced medical services and benefits for women veterans 011 support legislation to grant the president vice president and members of congress the privilege to use the veteran health care system and to receive their care exclusively from the va 013 provide comprehensive dental care to all service connected veterans 014 support sufficient resources for va to improve health care for veterans living in rural and remote areas 015 enhance champ va benefits and services 016 enhance long-term services and supports for service connected disabled veterans 017 ensure va clinical appeals process protects veterans 018 support legislation to authorize scholarships for new mental health practitioners in exchange for agreements to serve veterans in va facilities 019 support the provision of comprehensive va health care services to enrolled veterans 020 oppose any restriction or eligibility of military medically retired veterans to receive care in dod or va health health care systems 021 support legislation to change eligibility for community nursing home program 022 reduce va medication co-payments equal to or less than the lowest charge by private sector commercial outlets 023 support modernizing the va health care infrastructure 024 require a veterans attending va physician to provide a medical opinion with regards to a claim for va disability compensation benefits when requested 025 urge va medical facilities to provide reasonable access to service dogs including enclosed animal relief areas 026 support the expansion of salat ganglion block research and implementation to treat post-traumatic stress disorder 027 support legislation to include one one five one protections under title 38 united states code for veterans using va community care services 037 support sufficient resources for polytrauma units at va medical centers 038 support sufficient funding for va prosthetics and sensory aids service and timely delivery of prosthetic items 039 require assistive technology training for va staff who work to rehabilitate blind and visually impaired veterans 040 urge va to provide service connected veterans meaningful access to personal health information 041 encourage department of veterans affairs to submit candidates for the dav youth scholarship program 042 support a robust comprehensive rehabilitative and research program for veterans with traumatic brain injury 055 oppose recovery of third payment third party payments for service connected disabilities 056 support effective recruitment retention and development of the va healthcare system workforce 057 support improvements in provider training and beneficiary travel benefits for veterans seeking specialized treatment programs and care for military sexual trauma 058 support legislation to improve va programs designed to prevent and treat substance use disorders in veterans 059 support program improvements and enhanced resources for va mental health programs and suicide prevention 060 support sustained and sufficient funding to improve services for homeless veterans 071 support legislation to extend eligibility of a qualifying veterans adult child for champ va 078 encourage va to process volunteer applications in a timely manner 080 adequately fund and sustain the successful readjustment counseling services of the va and its highly effective vet center program 081 oppose means testing service connected veterans for va healthcare 082 support programs to provide psychological support and mental health counseling to family members of veterans suffering from post-deployment mental health challenges for service connected conditions 083 support humane consistent pain management programs in the veterans health care system 128 support va research into the medical efficacy of cannabis for service connected disabled veterans 131 ensure sufficient resources for va research to improve care and benefits for veterans exposed to military toxic and environmental hazards 0147 support automatic enrollment of medically retired veterans into va healthcare system with an opt-out provision 148 improve urgent and emergency care benefit for service connected veterans 149 strengthen and protect the va healthcare system 190 support mandated va research on and expanded access to investigational drugs for al s 191 support new models of care within the va for veterans with dementia 192 urge va to provide prompt screening and treatment of veterans exposed to depleted uranium and support additional research into long-term health effects of such exposure 193 support adequate funding for research and legislation to improve the care and benefits of veterans exposed to military toxic and environmental hazards 194 va should provide low dose computed tomography scans as part of veterans yearly physical to effectively screen and diagnose veterans with lung cancer 227 improve timely reimbursements by va for purchase care and protect veterans from debt collections and adverse credit reporting associated with such care 251 supports the rights and benefits earned by service connected native american and alaska native veterans 253 urge va to apply a consistent coordinated coordinated care policy for service disabled veterans with chronic health conditions who have a home residence in two states 258 expand eligibility for va to provide hospital medical services and nursing home care to veterans of world war two and the korean conflict 328 improve the care provided to veterans with service connected disabilities affecting the ability to procreate through assisted reproductive technology 330 support state veterans home programs 385 support equity in access to service and benefits for racial and ethnic minority service connected veterans 397 encourage the department of veterans affairs to submit candidates for the volunteer of the year program 398 implement a pilot program to assess the effectiveness of post-traumatic stress growth 399 provide easy and equitable access to va transportation benefits and services 400 increase capacity at va facilities by operating extended hours and weekends 401 establish studies on the long-term effects of exposure to bisphenol a substance found in plastic disposable water bottles 402 provide beneficiary travel benefits for unscheduled acute and urgent care from va 426 supports a top priority access for service connected veterans within the va health care system 427 support legislations provide comprehensive support services for caregivers of severely wounded injured and ill veterans from all eras 428 conduct well designed studies to determine effectiveness of hyperbaric oxygen therapy on treatment resistance traumatic brain injuries and ptsd 429 ensure adequate representation of all subgroups of veterans that include service connected veterans 430 support va medical and prosthetic research programs 431 urge the va to support comprehensive research on health effects of children of male vietnam veterans exposed to age and orange 432 repeal beneficiary travel deductible for service connected veterans and increase reimbursement rates 433 address social detriments to promote health equity among veterans 434 ensure equity and quality and access from va and veterans community care program providers 435 ensure quality and timeliness of the va and veterans community care program providers 436 ensure va information resources are accessible to veterans with disabilities 437 support a consistent benefit for service and guide dogs prescribed by va providers and examine the benefits of training service dogs 440 extend appreciation to the va Orlando health care system for their support of the medical room and the overall success of the 100th DAV national convention comrade commander this completes the report of the committee on hospitals and voluntary services on behalf of the committee i move for the adoption of these resolutions and that the committee be discharged with the thanks of the national convention you have heard a motion may have a second debbie man from chapter five great district of florida and i move i so move it thank you in accordance with rule nine now is the time for any rejected resolutions to be read are there any rejected resolutions you wish read hearing none all those in favor signify by saying i oppose so ordered thank you jim now i'd like to call chairman met companion for the report of the committee on general resolutions and membership comrade commander and delegates the national convention committee on general resolutions was called to order on saturday august 6 2022 by the committee's advisors john retzer and scott hope the first order of business was the election of convention committee chairman set and secretary matt campanin was elected as chairman and anna schirmar was elected as secretary the committee then proceeded to review the resolution submitted and i will now report to you the resolutions recommended for adoption by this national convention for the purpose sorry for the purpose of saving time i will read only the number and the purpose of the resolutions 003 seek the immediate release of any americans who may still be held captive following any war and the return and identification of the remains of any americans who died during these wars 004 support former po w slave labor claims against japanese firms 005 support move to renew prisoner of war and missing inaction discussions 028 support meaningful accountability measures but with due process for employees of the va 029 encourage all disabled veterans to become registered voters and vote 030 support the continued growth of veterans treatment courts for justice involved veterans 049 provide weekend burials at national cemeteries 050 extend military commissary and exchange privileges in space available air travel to 30 percent or higher service connected disabled veterans separated from service prior to october 1st 1949 051 condemn public desecration of the flag of the united states 052 support the construction of a courthouse for the united states courts of appeals for veterans claims 053 oppose any authorization of use of members of the armed forces experimentation without their knowledge and informed consent 054 support legislation to extend us citizenship to honorably discharge service disabled veterans at time of discharge 283 support for defense po w m i a accounting command 416 extend the travel area that service connected disabled veterans having a permanent disability rated 100 percent may travel from within conus to conus and overseas 417 extend space available air travel to care caregivers of eligible veterans 418 support legislation to protect honorably discharged wartime non-citizen veterans with service connected injuries or illnesses from deportation while applying for citizenship 419 support federal laws regulations programs and policies that oppose those that diminish DAV's ability to fulfill its missions of assisting service disabled veterans their families and survivors 441 appreciation to the Hyatt Regency Orlando hotel for the success of the national convention 442 appreciate to all who are responsible for the success of the 100th national convention 443 appreciation to national commander Andrew Marshall according to tradition i will read resolution number 443 appreciation to national commander Marshall in its entirety expressed an appreciation to national commander Andrew Marshall whereas DAV national commander Andrew Marshall of Palm Harbor Florida served honorably in the united states army and whereas his military career included service in an airborne infantryman as an americal division in the 173rd airborne brigade whereas in december 1970 while serving in the republic of vietnam marshall was injured as a result of friendly fire while engaged in combat against the enemy and whereas while on patrol in january 1971 he stepped on a concealed improvised explosive device resulting extensive damage to his left leg and foot and whereas after receiving the bronze star purple heart with oak leaf cluster in lieu of a second award army combination metal with v device marshall was medically retired from the united states army and whereas after returning home he became a DAV national service officer beginning a 41 year career with the organization and whereas during his storied career he held positions of national service officer supervisor national area supervisor and appellate counsel with the DAV's judicial appeals office in washington dc and whereas he has held several leadership positions with DAV at the chapter department and national levels including adjutant treasurer and commander for DAV chapter 4 in tampa florida adjutant executive director and commander for the DAV department of florida and judge advocate for the DAV department of maryland and whereas the membership of the DAV unanimously elected marshall to lead more than one million member organization as its national commander during the 2021 national convention in tampa florida and whereas commander marshall has shown outstanding leadership during his year as national commander while advancing DAV's mission and promoting DAV's message before congress at events and throughout media across the country whereas commander marshall made it a key priority working tirelessly throughout his tenure to ensure veterans timelessly access to mental health care supports and services and improve suicide prevention efforts by the department of veteran affairs whereas he has advocated on behalf of all veterans to ensure properly funded VA so veterans receive the health care and benefits they have earned and the proper recognition of services and sacrifices made by their family members and caregivers and survivors whereas he was a fierce advocate for his fellow veterans exposed to toxic substances pushing hard for the passage of the sergeant first class he's robinson honoring our promises to address comprehensive toxic pact act of 2022 and whereas because of his strong leadership and advocacy we saw this enactment of this historical legislation the most comprehensive toxic exposure legislation ever considered by congress and whereas now veterans from all eras who are exposed to burn pits agent orange radiation and other toxic substances will have the health care and benefits they have earned for their sacrifice whereas commander marshall has shown incredible compassion during his year as national commander by visiting numerous injured and ill veterans at VA medical facilities nationwide and leading the DAV at the national disabled veterans winter sports clinic all while advancing DAV's mission now therefore be resolved that DAV and national convention assembled in orlando florida august 6 through the 9th 2022 expresses its members heartfelt appreciation and profound gratitude to commander marshall for his sacrifices selfless service professionalism and dedication to his fellow wounded ill and injured veterans their families their survivors and DAV during his year as DAV national commander and be it further resolved that DAV also salutes and extends our sincere appreciation to commander marshall's wife susan and his family for their steadfast support and sacrifices during his year as DAV national commander comrade commander this completes the report of the committee on general resolutions on behalf of the committee i moved to the adoption of these resolutions and that the committee be discharged with thanks of the national convention do you have heard the motion may i have a second mic three drag palo madison number two wisconsin i move in or second in accordance with rule nine now is the time for any rejected resolutions to be read are there any rejected resolutions you wish read hearing none all those in favor i oppose so ordered it is now my honor and privilege to introduce the president of the DAV charitable service trust richard marbs a green bay wisconsin native mr marbs enlisted in the united states air force in 1955 and served as an airborne radio operator while assigned to medical evacuation and troop carrier squadrons in france and germany he was medically evacuated back to united states following an injury that resulted in the amputation of his leg he was medically retired due to service connected disability in 1958 please give a very warm welcome to the revered leader past national commander dick marbs past national commander dick marbs served in dav's highest elected position from 1993 to 1994 in 1978 he was named the wisconsin disabled veteran of the year since his retirement in 1987 he has pursued his passion full-time for helping ill and injured veterans a life member and service officer for chapter three in green bay he has held numerous elected positions at the chapter department and national levels thank you commander for your very kind introduction and thank you to my fellow veterans for this opportunity to speak with you about our charitable service trust as president let me introduce the trust governing board they are vice president mark burgess secretary treasurer dave tonmo and our directors national commander andy marshall denise williams danie oliver and denis nixon in this day and age it's easy to get caught up in what divides us what worries us and what's wrong in the world no matter how you get your information we're all bombarded by an abundance of headlines that stoke those negative feelings but from my perspective the headlines are misleading they don't accurately capture all the good that is truly happening in our country including what so many organizations are doing for our ill and injured veterans and their families in my role i am privileged to highlight their work and the trust role in keeping the promise we've all made to those who've changed in service while it's not always in the headlines i could not be prouder of this community of organizations and donors brought together by the trust you've all provided hope help and healing to the lives of countless veterans and their families the trust exists because of donor support without their gifts we would be unable to do our work of helping renew the lives of veterans and their families their contributions are evidence of their continued commitment to those who defended our way of life as we have for the past 35 years the trust continues to carefully evaluate those whom we partner with our nation's veterans deserve the very best support and will continue to provide grants to those organizations that deliver we've also committed to sound financial stewardship more than 95 cents out of every dollar donated dollar directly supports programs that contribute to the vehicles the trust makes possible victories the trust makes possible people can confidently give to us and know exactly how we use their money the trust has been awarded a perfect overall score twice from charity navigator the nation's largest independent charity evaluator and we've received their coveted four star rating more than 15 times since first being evaluated the trust also maintains a guide star platinum seal of transparency the highest level of recognition offered by guide star these recognitions wouldn't be possible without the diligent effort of Bridget Sorrell and her team that administers the trust thank you for all your hard work corporate matching gift programs bequests and other forms of contributions from corporations foundations and individual donors enable the trust to fulfill its mission in 2021 these gifts along with income derived from investments total 21 million dollars allowing the trust to devote nearly seven million dollars toward critical health care education employment transition assistance creative healing legal services and therapeutic activities addressing both physical and psychological barriers every organization we support does important work for veterans and their families they reflect our mission of empowering veterans to lead high quality lives with respect to dignity and we are proud to back their initiatives one organization i would like to highlight today has taken up the fight against the suicide epidemic afflicting our veteran community and they're seeing encouraging results these statistics we hear about service member and veteran suicides are heartbreaking with 17 a day choosing to end their life this affects everyone in our community whether it's someone we know something we face ourselves struggles with mental health are pervasive and we must respond with urgent force to eliminate suicide in our ranks save a warrior is a leader in this fight and a partner you'll hear about more in the years to come to date more than 2000 men and women have gone through their program which begins with an intensive 72 hours of cohort based healing facilitators go beyond a veteran's experiences during service to explore the root of what in some cases is a lifetime of pain they have saved and transformed lives people who have felt they were at their end have come through this program finding purpose and healing we want to see this continue so the trust granted save a warrior one million dollars to build its national center of excellence for complex post-traumatic stress the building's dedication was this past june we've also awarded another 200 thousand dollars for its programming here's a look at our support of save a warrior and how the organization is helping to change the lives of veterans who are experiencing mental health issues save a warrior was founded on the possibility that they could step into a space to end the veteran suicide epidemic since that time our organization is also stepped up to encompass and serve first responders many of which served our country in a military capacity in the past and our mission is to take an individual that is struggling that has tried a lot of different other modalities maybe they've tried traditional therapy you know they've been impatient they've been out there searching for some way to get help where da v provides the perfect partnership and stewardship for save a warrior is the credibility of partnering with an organization that has a century of reputation for seeing that returning veterans make it all the way home they have a recipe that is proven to work so that's why we we are here and supporting save a warrior in this very significant endeavor one two three often in-service trauma as well as pre-service experiences combined to make a situation that is extremely disabling for some of our nation's heroes and we want to be part of a process along with save a warrior that helps them look back on their military service not only with pride but to use it to equip themselves for life after service we provide this incredible transformative experience for them to take a different path in life unlike anything else out there where they can come have a conversation with a peer-to-peer model with warriors who have sat in the seat just like them and and have them basically have that experience that ends up taking them out of the darkness and into the light ladies and gentlemen please join me in welcoming jake clire president and founder of save a warrior good morning everyone my name is adam car and i'm a lifetime member of da v it's an honor to be down here i represent an organization called save a warrior over a decade ago i was on the phone with my team trying to call a former teammate and i'll tell you what that silence on the other end of the line was louder than any combat zone i've ever served in that teammate's name was tim mahalik and little did we know that tim would take his life that day we've lost about three veterans around this country since we had breakfast and coffee this morning and we have it that that's unacceptable now you heard the secretary come up here and he talked about nearly 6000 people in 2019 around this country and the veteran community that had taken their lives that's nearly the same amount of people that died in combat for this country over a 20-year period in the wars in iraq and afghanistan that's also unacceptable now i spent my career in the united states army as a green beret operating on the front lines and combat zones all over this country right at the tip of the spear because i believe in this country i believe in what it stands for and when i transitioned out i was looking for an organization to work with to dive my life's work into to be a part of that was doing something at the tip of the spear save a warrior is that organization looking in disciplines from neurobiology psychology psychiatry mythology anthropology mindfulness and meditation and to date we've served over 2000 people with a 99.9 percent success rate when they've come to us like this we're so grateful to da v's executive leadership team to the charitable service trust for building this partnership and looking into the future because we're an organization of innovation we never stop we never turn this off how could we with those numbers how could we barry jason oski said to us when we created this partnership as long as you guys are doing this work da v will be there with you to have your back and we're honored we're grateful for that because we're just getting started and it's my honor this morning to introduce to you the founder a friend of mine a mentor of mine of sable warrior jake clark spent his entire career serving both on the federal side as an fbi agent as an la pd police officer serving in the army as an enlisted soldier in panama in the 80s and as an officer serving overseas in the Balkans during that conflict he started this organization with a declaration out of the trunk of his car and now we stand here before you two months removed from the ribbon cunning of the first and only national center of excellence for complex post-traumatic stress so without further ado let me introduce to you jake clark thank you good morning thank you so much thank you to everyone at da v charitable service just that's a good-looking young man huh wow that's hard to follow thank you dick thank you to the secretary yeah challenge accepted veteran centered save a warrior all day long improve outcomes all day long fight like hell all day long i'm not going to embarrass anybody other than myself here today but i want you to know that there's a veteran in this space today it happens everywhere we go and i had the opportunity to meet this person this person is going to be coming to warrior village in the coming months and that experience will be transformative and perhaps lifesaving um you know when when you have an idea like save a warrior you start by yourself and it was scary you know giving up a paycheck for about four years there there were times when we didn't know how we were going to pay for the next cohort um the direction that we were headed but it doesn't look anything like that today you know your names on that building if you're part of da v every time we walk out to that new center on a facility that was donated by a very gracious man in central ohio the facilities in southern ohio it's 350 beautiful acres that this retired businessman spent millions of dollars to buy it out of his own trust to give it away because he was so moved by the mission you know i'm going to tell you something barry said it in his statement about pre-service experiences we specialize in that after talking to more than 2000 returning veterans over the last decade after spending 25 years in recovery myself because not only am i the hair club president i'm also a client you know i grew up i grew up as a little kid and i don't recommend this starting at six years old visiting my mother in mental institutions and i knew two things number one my mother was not going to get better and come home and number two unfortunately the people to whose care she was entrusted were not that interested and seeing her get well when you come to our facility i'm very interested i'm very interested that you get well because my heroes my entire life my father is a my my late father is a prior service marine of the vietnam era dad is that you he said he would haunt me dad hold my water um you know when when this idea struck me because i was very bothered like a lot of you are by these suicides all of which are preventable you know he he voiced his objections about why i shouldn't do it you know i'd come home from deployments it was my second time in the military and um he said you know you're in your mid-forties now you're getting your life back together and i and i said dad listen i got another love for you but i'm going to do this i'm the i love you dad i'm not asking your permission and he said you know if you just save one it'll all be worth it and i said do you mean that he said yeah i mean that i said okay that's a done deal then and and i love your motto of keeping our promise to america's veterans i give you my word that inside of your promise we're keeping our promise because if you know someone thank you thank you thank you and you know i had a chance to speak with someone today as i said who's going to spend time with us and it's just it's just i was so moved you know i i got to see all the folks from da v got to shake hands with the secretary i invited him to warrior village you want to do me a favor get that secretary to warrior village because we'll show you what the solution looks like for a particular subgroup in the veteran population when he talks about fight like hell and barry jezanowski talks about pre-service experiences that's all we deal with all day long and those secrets come to save a warrior to be exposed processed mourn green grieved and put to death there is a part of us that needs to die and it's the story that goes with why we want to kill ourselves because people just want to be acknowledged for what happened they want to have their dignity preserved and they want to heal and they want to get on with their life and they want to pay this thing forward and that's who we are as a community of warriors we're really really really good at coming back for each other and we stake our lives on that you don't know what adam car looked like six years ago when i met him he was on the internet with a bottle of booze a bag of pills and a gun and his wife looking at him in terror as he went live and that went viral and that's how i met adam car you wouldn't know that when he comes up here today looking cleaner than the board of health i can go all day i can go all day we have almost 2000 stories like that 10 years later with three suicides and your help makes all the difference in the world please i beg of you please help us be in a position where when somebody comes and asks us for our support that that support is going to be there because there's again there's a slice in that broad ecosystem of solving this problem we will absolutely do our part please we're so grateful for everything you've done for us bringing that building up out of the mud is a miracle that started that started with nothing and now it's on this beautiful facility that your name is on you have an open invitation just let us know that you're coming we would love to show you what you made possible god bless you thank you for everything you pay for it and god bless america thank you dav thank you so much thank you thank you thank you jake we are proud to stand alongside your organization and support the work you do for the veterans on their healing journey every veterans path is different and no one organization can do it all this is why the trust exists to find and partner with the very best organizations in the country that are working toward a common goal of helping veterans and their families some veterans need legal assistance others may help as they face food insecurity some need assistance completing their education or job training others may find relief through animal therapy or music therapy or family counseling and programs some have found their purpose because of save a warrior others have benefited from housing assistance from programs including swords to plow shares and welcome home incorporated organizations such as got your six support dogs provide trained service dogs to veterans in need veterans experiencing ptsd have gained valuable job skilled training through patriots landing another organization i wanted to briefly highlight is concussion legacy foundation we provided a grant for their project enlist program which does outreach to increase the number of veteran brains donated for research on traumatic brain injuries post-traumatic stress disorder and other conditions they're with us this week so if you'd like to learn more i encourage you to visit the booth they have here the trust can make impactful contributions in all these areas and more because of the generosity of loyal supporters corporations and foundations thank you to every donor in this season of uncertainty with the economy you have continued to prioritize giving in support of those who have given so much of themselves for our country we promise to continue to be good stewards of your gifts as i close out this year's report i also want to thank each of you for the work you've done the work you continue to do all in the name of our brothers and sisters who serve this nation you can learn more about the da v charitable service trust and keep up to date with our initiatives at cst dot da v dot org or by liking us on facebook thank you for the opportunity to make this presentation and thank you for allowing me to share some of the incredible work the trust grant recipients do god bless each and every one of you thank you for your attention this concludes my report commander thank you dick may i have a motion to accept that impressive report mic three mic three come right commander i avid j bacon senior as department of florida commander chapter 17 so move may i have a second like four like four tim walls chapter one department of south dakota seconds the motion all those in favor i oppose so ordered dv played a pivotal role in the implementation of the american veterans disabled for life memorial which opened october 5th 2014 and has since become a prominent and profoundly important monument in washington dc we are proud to be joined today by a well known dv leader who helped lead the charge to establish this memorial he has been an in endless presence and determined advocate for its use without further delay please welcome to the stage the disabled veterans life memorial foundation president and my good friend past national commander denis joiner da v past national commander denis joined was appointed board president for the disabled veterans life memorial foundation in 2015 while speaking about the importance of the memorial service during its dedication ceremony in 2014 mr joiner said although i've been blessed with many achievements in life the achievement i am most proud of is this memorial a memorial that gives me and the many thousands of other disabled veterans like me a sense of contentment knowing what we gave what our families gave and what we continue to give will be forever remembered here in our nation's capital thank you commander marshal for your kind introduction adjutant burgess national officers delegates and guests it has been nearly eight years since our aspiration of a memorial dedicated to the sacrifice of disabled american veterans became reality this deeply moving memorial did not happen by accident it was realized through the hard work and determination of da v and the auxiliary if you haven't had the pleasure of walking or rolling through the memorial i encourage you to check it out the next time you're in washington dc trust me it doesn't disappoint da v was a driving force behind this venture including hundreds of our chapters and thousands of our members for those of you here who help support the memorial with donations at the individual chapter or department levels thank you please give yourselves a round of applause now i would like to take a moment and introduce the disabled veterans life memorial foundation board of directors vice president mark burgess secretary secretary treasurer gene murphy and our directors national commander andy marshal dav riley dav gorman don samuels and ex officio member art wilson maintaining the memorial at the heart of our democracy in our nation's capital is no easy task and would not be possible without the thoughtful consideration of these dedicated veterans thank all of you october 5th 2014 the day the american veterans disabled for life memorial was dedicated it is a date seared into my memory and my heart it was the pinnacle of nearly a two decade campaign to honor those men and women who have given so much for our nation thank you but our work did not stop there when one task is completed even one is demanding as building such a beautiful memorial many more opportunities arise since 2014 our foundation has concentrated on getting the word out so current and future generations will come to fully appreciate everything disabled veterans have done for them it is also set out to maintain the memorial and improve its existing structures despite the turbulent past few years the memorial has stood as a symbol and vigorous reminder of those who shed blood to defend our freedom throughout the pandemic the memorial's message with you with the u visit virtual tour was more important than ever offering visitors the opportunity to experience it from the comfort and safety of their homes this technology allows more people to become aware of the memorial and its important message da v has also promoted it across its social media pages underscoring the deep partnership that we have together in 2021 the tour captured the attention of more than 1,400 unique visitors bringing the total visitors to roughly 14,900 since the site's launch online visitors stem from all over the united states as well as 12 other countries a new call to action button titled veterans assistance has been included on the website now with a click of a button visitors are taken to the veterans landing page of the da v website where they can find their nearest national service office and learn more about what da v has to offer and get connected with employment resources just to name a few once again our outstanding volunteers from da v chapter 10 in arlington fairfax virginia continued to meet to clean the memorial by offering their most precious resource their time particularly during saturday mornings they will ensure the memorial will reflect the respect it deserves let's take a look and see how it went very special memorial since i'm a wounded veteran and to get other service members to come out and realize the the duty and honor and respect that we're giving back to our nation even even though they've already given so much means everything to me we want to make sure that the memorial looks good and at the same time when we're cleaning it we get to read everything too all over again they resonate so well with many of us as being disabled veterans we want to make sure that everybody else that's here gets to see that message as clear as possible here lies the cost of war a memorial dedicated to men and women who sacrifice so much that they're living examples of that sacrifice it's just a testament to veterans living with something for the rest of their lives that most people don't understand it's a reminder we all have scars great job great job to all of the volunteers and a heartfelt thank you to chapter 10 for your continued dedication to the memorial and your fellow veterans thank you so much chapter 10 just as just as it took the extraordinary generosity of many people and organizations to be built to build the memorial it will take the same commitment to keep it pristine and in front of americans minds it is now on all of us to continue our mission of education and outreach it falls on the very people in this room to promote the memorial and do what we can to make the public aware of its existence its significance and all that it represents and honors in order to help spread the word we've included a brochure about the memorial in your convention bags it is my sincere hope that you will take just a few seconds out of your day to review the materials and share it with others back home to every member of the board of directors past and present for the to the entire dav including state departments chapters and of course the auxiliary thank you for your unwavering support i hope that you walk away from this with a newfound sense of pride for everything that you have done to make this noble project a reality please give yourselves and one another a resounding round of applause but our work is not done we will continue to stand alongside national park service staff volunteers and supporters in improving the site as needed and providing a means for both veterans and their loved ones to access its meaningful message throughout the country to take the virtual tour or learn more about the american veterans disabled for life memorial please visit avdlm.org you can also follow us on facebook thank you commander this concludes my report thank you denny may i have a motion to accept that report mike three i'd like to do a motion to accept the report chapter five florida name trying to get this right i'm sorry commander sir i'm debbie man chapter five florida may i have a second please this side of the room you can participate mike one dave e-department of california past state commander librae costa seconds all those in favor signify by saying i oppose so ordered now will you please welcome burl jiverson newly elected president of the commanders that adjutants association for 2022 and 2023 national commander marshal national adjutant burgess national officers and delegates and guests good morning i'm proud to have been elected as president of the state commander and adjutants association for 2022 2023 we pledge to continue our support of national organizations through our sponsorship of the state commanders and adjutants orientation the mid-winter conference the mid of the winter sports clinic we look forward to another very productive year in the dav i would like to read into the record the our officers and committees for the coming year president burl jiverson vice president william robinson executive committee pamela bill kurt johnson michael elmore lisa gregory betty minas debba olson past president brian wilner secretary treasurer rita aberek assistant treasurer dav tannenbaum judge advocate floyd watson chaplain gerome washington assistant chaplain janette taylor or juliet taylor sergeant arms jerry estes hugo pares audit paul artisan lancie espinoza thomas aya la constitution and bylaws gregory dunham jamie jacob jay halford pandas bill doland resolutions donald peak jr marianne keckler special projects danie oliver richard brazos vicki brown this time with the national commander marshal and national adjutant burges please join me to receive a presentation on behalf of the state commander in adjutants association i would like to present you to with two donations from the national service foundation one it is with great deal of pleasure that i present our donation of three thousand dollars to the dav service foundation in addition an additional check for one hundred dollars in the in our past president brian wilner's honor now ladies and gentlemen i like anyone who wants to support the national service foundation but hasn't done so at the booth to please make your way to the back of the room i'd ask that you do it as quietly as possible if you've already donated at the booth please bypass the table in the back and take your place in line incorporated in 1986 the dv national service foundation has played a unique role in safeguarding the long-term financial stability needed to support dv services at the local state and national levels using resources from the foundation dv is able to continue caring for veterans of today and tomorrow although one of the foundation's core missions is support dv's daily work to meet the most significant and immediate needs of veterans increasing public awareness about the foundation's mission is an extremely important component of what the foundation does when they are able to open the hearts and minds of the american people they better understand the needs of ill and injured veterans and their families which in return enables all of us to do our part to ensure veterans are properly cared for for the long term this includes providing free professional assistance with disability claims and benefits no cost transportation to and from medical appointments and other vital services imperative to the quality of life of veterans and their families with service before self in mind is only fitting and an honor to introduce your president of the dv national service foundation and past national adjunct of dv my friend arthur h wilson and native of massachusetts art wilson enlisted in the air force in september 1962 he served as a runway construction specialist in vietnam the philippines thailand and taiwan from 1964 to 1966 immediately after his discharge mr wilson became the first of his era to join dav's professional staff as a national service officer apprentice in atlanta he was appointed as dv's national adjutant and ceo in 1994 a position he held until his retirement in june 2013 following his retirement he was elected president of the dv national service foundation and serves as an ex-officio member of the disabled veterans life memorial foundation board good morning thank you commander adjunct berges national officers and all of our members friends and guests i want to thank you for your very long support of the national service foundation this year has been an banner year for the foundation and its mission to stand up and support our dv in 2021 dv service officers submitted more than 151 thousand claims for more than 422 thousand injuries and illnesses on behalf of veterans their families and their survivors our nso's in spite of the ongoing uncertainty related to covet retained vital capabilities to our toll-free hotline to ensure that we're available to advocate for benefits at all times the columbia trust grants of nearly 1.2 million dollars to help chapters and departments provide medical transportation coordinate volunteerism in hospitals enable department and chapter service programs and support and assist other initiatives that those that combat homelessness to trust helps chapters and departments purchase 61 new vehicles which contributed to the almost 164 thousand rides that we provided at no cost now to put that in perspective the 7. million miles dab volunteers drove are the equivalent of traveling to and from the moon 16 times put that one down we are grateful to have supported many of the 161 hospital service coordinators nationwide who always saw transportation and ensured our veterans received the care that they earned we're also grateful to have aided many of the 235 state level in 1992 chapter level service officers who were on the front lines ensuring veterans claims for benefits were protected in 2021 we dispersed more than 4.8 million dollars to support DAV's mission the majority of those funds went to the national service program we've helped to ensure that they received essential tools and resources to help veterans achieve justice based on the sacrifices that they have made in 2022 we mark 91 years since the establishment of the foundation for nearly as long as the VA has existed and DAV has been pushing for care and benefits for veterans the foundation has ensured that our ability to advocate to serve continues no matter what happens as surely as DAV fights to guarantee the promises that are kept the foundation exists to safeguard that sacred mission and protect and augment the many programs and services that provide hope to our wounded heroes their families and survivors the last 41 years it has been my sincere honor and privilege to be intimately involved in the foundation's mission and though my hair was certainly darker darker than and a bit more of it i'm extremely proud of the impact that we've listed and witnessed with your support in 1981 the revenue for the foundation total just over 282,000 which is around 920,000 in today's dollars we can and should be very proud of the foundation's total support in revenue today top 12 million at years in back then the net assets were just about 5.3 million in today's dollars today they top 151 million dollars for nearly as long as DAV has been serving veterans the foundation has been a close partner and ally that has provided ongoing support and stability it's been my pleasure to seem of the very innovative ways that we've contributed to that mission since its establishment grants exceeding nearly 35 million dollars have empowered our leaders at every level to purchase vehicles conducting central programs and services in spite of limitations that they may have in terms of available funds and we supported DAV's nationwide efforts in many key areas here are just some of the many highlights that i've had the pleasure to see with your incredible support 1990 as our nation ramped up for the war in the person Gulf the fund established an expert medical and vocational opinions program this groundbreaking initiative allowed our professional national service officer corps to procure expert medical opinions so we could enhance our ability to get justice for the veterans that we represent in 1996 we developed the Colorado Trust later renamed the Columbia Trust for allowing leaders at every level to spread the wealth through your contributions financially disadvantaged chapters with important and creative service initiatives have been able to tap into a pool of funds to support veterans in the ways that could otherwise been impossible in 2000 the foundation funded a pre-discharge outreach program by purchasing computers and materials needed to train and equip DAV's transition service officer program over the course of the last four decades the foundation has funded numerous DAV outreach initiatives documentaries and special campaigns those include the toxic poisoning project service when women come marching home the national world war two memorial a testament to freedom the march of the bonus army and korean war stories and by the way not to go all hollywood on you the korean war stories won an Emmy award the foundation provided seed money that DAV needed to expand our representation at the u.s court of veterans appeals for veterans claims more recently the foundation partnered with DAV and funded the training and resource program itrack which is vital to platform to ensure DAV continued primacy in the leader of benefits advocacy forgive the history lesson here if you will but as i reflect in this time it makes me think of many veterans who contributed to this aspect of our mission and many whose lives have been enhanced because of the national service foundation i think of dick conscript a good friend who served the as the foundation's president for 25 years dick's life was changed dramatically in world war two and was he was as he was medically discharged in 1945 he joined DAV chapter two in san diego was an active member who dedicated most of his life to our mission you may know him better as the namesake for our richard j cos griff pay setting performance awards in fact at this time i'd like to call upon national service director jim marzellak to the stage as we can present this important honor the richard j cos griff pay setting award performance awards recognizes the national service office in each division that has the largest combined total of contributions made in its name the 2021 winners division one the national service office in sacramental california with a total of 17 300 and accepting on their behalf the center so supervisor diana came out division two the national service office in providence wrought island with a total of more than 7 9700 dollars welcome in a so supervisor mike sanbury to accept the award on their behalf division three the national service office in chicago illinois with a total of more than 18 000 dollars and so supervisor robert bettenowitz is here today to accept on their behalf division four the national service office of st lewis missouri with a whopping total exceeding 75 000 dollars and representing our division four winners from the st lewis national area supervisors andrew edwards division five the national service office in seattle washington with a total of over 11 000 dollars accepting on their behalf is so supervisor jacob holland division six the national service office in cleveland ohio with a total of nearly 21 000 dollars and here today to accept the district six award is so supervisor jacob trust please join me again in thanking our nationwide core of incredible national service officers from the gallows of the last recorded words of the revolutionary war patriot patriot nathan hayle where i only regret that i have but one life to give for my country as remarkable as that is i think in many ways the people who have supported the foundation and the people that supports have gone further today i also think of my dear friends who suffer blindness brain injuries amputations and other catastrophic wounds that in effect resulted in them contributing an entire way of life to our national defense and after they continued to serve and give what life they had to to save one another and i regret i regret too that i have only one life to give in service to dav but i'll tell you this it's been one hell of a ride for me and my family when i returned from vietnam it was a great honor to be the first in my era to join davey's professional and so staff but greatest still has been the honor of meeting and serving alongside so many great people all of you thanks so much for your support your support has placed the foundation in such a stable position to continue its mission all that said friends i want to tell you that i'm going to be stepping down as foundation president after this convention it's time it's been a tremendous blessing to serve alongside each of you and i'm confident that the future of this great institution is in very good hands and although i appreciate any good will that you may have to share the today i hope that you do so in the form of the support to the davey national service foundation every cent you donate will not only support the many service initiatives the foundation backs it'll put davey in even better position to save safeguard our great charity for many years to come you can also donate online all by mail on the addresses noted on the screen this is a way to donate in honor or to commemorate our friends brothers and sisters and show our commitment to america's finest to kick off this time of giving i'm pleased to acknowledge contributions from the memorial rearmament league of 2100 dollars finnegan henderson farbrough and gunner 50 000 so now it's your turn to speak and to show the nation what you and your chapter department are willing to do to support the cause with us that you brought with us here today start this off mr wilson sir you have you have the floor a personal donation one thousand dollars to the national service foundation the personal donation one thousand dollars to the columbia trust adjutant burges on behalf of arthur a markow chapter one two falls department of south dakota we'd like to donate five hundred dollars to the national service foundation from the state of south dakota i'd like to give five hundred dollars to the national foundation my name is scott stevensson representing chapter 158 from the great state of new york i have three donations the first one is from our chapter 158 for one thousand dollars for the just be kids program the second one is for the national service foundation from the department new york as department commander for thirty thousand dollars and the third one is a donation to the just be kids program for twenty thousand dollars for total of fifty one thousand dollars from new york thank you i'm alan pritchard da v chapter two huntington west virginia we donate two thousand dollars to the national service foundation in memory of her shall woody williams usmc morning my name is john macelli i'm the commander for new york chapter 144 i'm proud to say we like to make a two thousand dollar donation to kids just speak kids i gave it to michael geary state commander from minnesota i'd like to present the columbia trust with our donation of fifteen thousand dollars from the department of minnesota from the great state of minnesota past department commander ron haugen the minnesota da v foundation donates fifteen thousand dollars to the national service foundation good morning on behalf of district 14 the states of minnesota montana north dakota and south dakota we'd like to donate two hundred and fifty dollars to the national service foundation a j bacon senior from the great sunshine state of florida on behalf of the department of florida is my honor and privilege to donate five thousand dollars to the national service foundation as well as five thousand dollars to the columbia trust again the department of florida i'm john reiber from da v chapter 18 and bravington florida our members will donate again twelve thousand five hundred dollars to just be kids thank you very much one department of nevada commander chapter 15 prompt nevada five hundred dollar donation to the national service foundation chapter one out of uh rito department of nevada drone washington on behalf of our department our members we have several donations here we have two thousand to the national service foundation one thousand to the charitable service and we have a five hundred dollar donation to each of the following the sable veterans life memorial fund the jesse brown memorial youth scholarship the transportation vehicle grant program and just be kids totally in a donation of five thousand dollars from the department of nevada from the great state of georgia i am saty hill the department commander we would like to donate twenty five hundred dollars to the national service foundation twenty five hundred dollars to columbia trust ten couture commander of the state of illinois we we have ten thousand dollars going to the clinic and six going to the uh service i'm al Reynolds commander chapter 17 makin county illinois i got three donations i got ten thousand dollars the national service foundation ten thousand dollars to the sports clinic and ten thousand dollars the national uh disaster relief i'm al bowers and terry and i have donated each year at the end of my financial because i'm the secretary treasurer of the foundation at the end of my report i always say and we are giving a thousand dollars today i just gave two thousand five hundred thank you st louis missouri chapter one donated ten thousand dollars to the national service foundation in memory of the nso office in st louis department of main would like to donate seven hundred fifty dollars to the columbia trust and seven hundred fifty dollars to the national service foundation john f mcpherson chapter one main is also donating seven hundred fifty dollars to the national service foundation greg palo senior vice commander for the department of wisconsin we donate two thousand dollars to the national service foundation my name is richard connor from the state of massachusetts i'm the commander we like to give a thousand dollars to the national service foundation and a thousand dollars to the columbia trust thank you tom mccoy department of arizona donates twenty five hundred dollars to the national service foundation on behalf of the department of ohio and its members please accept our gift to the national service foundation the amount of one hundred thousand dollars i can't follow that one up too well i'm mike steth chapter 35 of ohio with a thousand dollars for the national service foundation in honor of our nso's it's jake and matt and uh richard and steve and all the nso's and staff at the cleveland office thank you morning george is commander of district columbia department we pledge five hundred dollars to the national service foundation good morning my name is jones debris second junior vice commander from the awesome department of maryland we would like to donate five thousand dollars to dv national emergency relief fund on behalf of commander terry lin and state adrian samuel petrovich we'd like to make a donation to the national service foundation from the department of pennsylvania and a personal check for one thousand dollars to the national service foundation in memory of my brother kenneth a veteran of the korean war and the navy corpsman who died from what i believe to be service connected condition in august of 1995 and my brother elman who was us army air force pilot who was killed in action in january of 1944 i'm hank baker commander department of tennessee we've donated two thousand five hundred dollars to the winter sports clinic two thousand five hundred dollars to the columbia trust fund thank you my name is lee getting chapter 35 located in akron ohio our chapter proudly donates five thousand dollars to the nso five thousand dollars to the jesse brown foundation and one thousand dollars to veteran services i'm commander joe moseley and on behalf of the golden state of california we proudly contribute ten thousand dollars to the national service foundation and one thousand dollars to the charitable service service trust thank you nancy espinoza davis county chapter 14 department of utah we donate two thousand dollars to the national service foundation and five thousand dollars to just be kids i'm ken mesters from the state of colorado and we would like to donate two thousand five hundred dollars to the national foundation michael schilville buying colorado chapter seven would like to donate one thousand five hundred dollars to the columbia trust and one thousand five hundred dollars in honor of our awesome uh service officers out of colorado thank you very much good morning comrades my name is will i'm out of general washington chapter seven are the most awesome state of virginia and i'm proud to announce that we are donating twenty thousand dollars to the national service foundation i'm the way ramie from the most awesome state of virginia and we donate twenty thousand dollars to the national golf tournament good morning i'm the immediate past department commander sythia belly from the most awesome state of virginia we're donating twenty five thousand dollars to disaster relief i'm francis mitchell i'm the department commander for the awesome awesome awesome state of virginia we are donating forty thousand dollars to the winter sports clinic for a total of one hundred and five thousand dollars from virginia from the natural state of arkansas we're donating fifteen hundred dollars to the columbia trust good morning and shirmer from the great state of oklahoma past department commander we're donating a thousand dollars to the national service foundation in honor of our great nsos out of muskogee and i'd like to thank all of the oklahoma chapters and units for donating helping our youth our juniors raise five thousand and one dollars for the golf clinic thank you i'm kim tasam from the show me state and i have two personal donations one for the national service foundation of two thousand dollars and two thousand for the charitable service trust in honor of our outstanding nsos in our saint louis office david jerky commander state of Missouri twenty five thousand to the national service foundation in honor of the saint louis service office dean travis past department commander from Missouri we're donating twenty five thousand dollars for the winter sports clinic and a mcdonald from chapter two senior vice i have two donations first one is to the disabled their veterans golf clinic for five thousand the second one is to the winter sports clinic for twenty thousand thank you good morning my name is launch dixon commander of chapter two in kansas Missouri i'm proud to donate not me but our chapter twenty thousand dollars to disabled veteran natural service foundation in honor of the nsos of saint louis good morning i'm bill muffley senior vice commander a department of delaware and we'd like to make a contribution to the national service foundation of 200 dollars in memory of a pdc arthur chick good morning my name is ray are you all from the great state of texas i represent chapter 20 blue blind chapter and we're donating one thousand dollars to the national service foundation and five hundred dollars to the charitable service fund thank you maxine nixon auxiliary texas we have juniors here thank you they do a fundraiser every year and they're excited to be here thanks to our chapters our units and our leaders our juniors can do this we have their support we have atticus and joshua we have a donation for the national disabled veterans golf clinic for five thousand dollars and they like the big checks good morning i'm rock sand james the senior vice commander from the department of south carolina state of south carolina and we're here this morning to give three checks one is for the sports clinic one is for the national service trust and the other ones for the columbia trust good morning i'm leon booker commander of wilmi tape chapter number one from the great state of georgia we like to make a donation for one thousand dollars to the charitable service trust and one thousand dollars to the national service foundation comfort commander from the great state of north carolina home of camp nejune and fort bragg we donate a thousand dollars to the national service foundation and a thousand dollars to this charitable service morning my name is eric oans and department adjit for kansas we donate five thousand dollars to the gav national service fund i am joe hall from your favorite vacation destination north dakota adjit we are donating five thousand dollars to the national service foundation my name is erie boysford i went chapter 12 in mortisland and we donated five hundred dollars to the national service foundation and five hundred dollars to columbia trust i challenge all of you next convention to come up here and make your donations i'm ale bell uh department of wisconsin chapter 57 i would like to make three personal donations uh first of all uh a donation of five hundred dollars to the charitable service trust in the name of joy elam who's outstanding inspiring leadership of the legislative department as director second one would be to uh shane i would be 250 dollars to uh the national service foundation in the name of uh shane lamin who has deputy national's legislative director was instrumental in the passage of the pact act and the third one would be a kind of an unsung hero in the name of peter dickinson who was instrumental in making sure the provisions in the pact act were done as we desired and finally i have a personal message to national commander for the first time in over a hundred years on saturday i rode in a model team around the city of tampa and i just want you to know that it was much smoother ride than the ride to the 1922 tv national convention in san francisco the quick math tells me that was about 800 thousand dollars i would like to just take a moment for final thanks to all of you in particular i want to thank gary burns past foundation president mark burges bridget surrell and her staff who administers the foundation nancy o'brien who ministered the foundation many years prior and if i don't want to spend the rest of my life in the couch my best friend and partner marie wilson by the end of the day it's you the folks who have supported our great charity for these many years who deserve the great credit although i'm stepping down i won't be far i'm going to look forward to continue my 56 years of service as an active dave member and thank you for making the foundation and the dave organization deserving of a humble servant's life's work god bless you all and thank you thank you art for your outstanding report and continued leadership may i have a motion to accept the report from president wilson for the national service foundation mic two mic two may i have a second mic three comma ceo chapter one florida seconds all those in favor i pose so ordered i would like to call on chairman rob reynolds for the final report of the committee on constitution and bylaws comrade commander and delegates good morning still i will now proceed with the second reading of the proposed changes to the constitution bylaw which which are recommended for adoption in the interest of time again i will read only the number and purpose of the resolutions resolution number one allow dave chapters to conduct routine meetings of governing body using virtual platforms but continue to require in person participation of delegates and alternates for department and national conventions resolution number four twenty one add the following as article seven section seven point eight paragraph five of the national bylaws no person shall succeed himself or herself as national commander this is already ratified in dave's constitution resolution number four twenty two delete article fourteen section fourteen point five paragraph three of the bylaws this is a housekeeping matter given the issues dated and specifically covered in article thirteen section thirteen point one of the national bylaws and the board of director policy eight comrade commander on behalf of the committee i move that the committee recommendations be accepted that the resolutions be adopted and that the committee be discharged with the thanks of the national convention you have heard the motion may i have a second mic three mic three baby man chapter five florida i second it in accordance with rule nine now is a time for any rejected resolutions to be read are there any rejected resolutions you wish read all those in favor sigma five by saying i oppose motion carried in the ladies restroom someone left a wedding band so if you want to claim it come up to the podium after we're done shortly it'll better fit your hand all right or finger mark do you have any announcements immediately following this morning's business session the final meeting of the nominating committee will be held in florida ballroom c this afternoon's final business session will properly begin at one thirty p.m. we'll start off with the important business of nominations and elections of officers please be on time pick up your line officer dinner tickets between sessions right outside the exit to the to this ballroom this new method is designed to alleviate waiting in line tickets will be available until just before the doors open at six p.m. we're again giving away three fifty dollar gift gift certificates that can be redeemed in a d.a.b. store right here in front of the stage as soon as we um adjourn and the lucky winners are jeffrey blonder massachusetts e.f. gilmore chapter number 64 chad rigs missouri east shubin hank chapter number two and jose remerow new mexico luchata castnor chapter number 15 commander chaplain vader will you lead us in prayer may we pray almighty creator we once again want to give you thanks for the gift of unity we thank you father that this gift has inspired us to establish great relationships in this place as we continue to work together and now because of this gift we compliment one another strength that counsel out all weaknesses as a team we look forward to being united in one body of this great organization that we stand for reasons purpose visions and determination and we give you thanks once again and the people said amen thank you remember waiting band up front the convention stands in recess until 130