 Hello, I'm Mary with DAV and I'm talking today with Tori Joyner. Tori is the first woman in DAV's employment to reach 30 years of service as a national service officer. Tori, this is a big deal for you. You were in the Army and tell me about how you got started with DAV. How did it all come to be 37 years ago? Well, thank you, Mary. I am so happy to do this interview with you. And yes, as it relates to your question, yes, I was discharged from the Army. And at that time, I was not sure what I wanted to do with respect to a career. But I said, let me go to the VA and see what benefits I'm entitled to. And the VA representative said that it would be important for me to go to the DAV, which was across the hall at that time, and talk to the DAV because they would be the ones to really assist you with getting your claim started with respect to what benefits you would be entitled to, etc. It's a great organization. Go check them out. So I decided to go across the hall and I spoke to the supervisor at that time. And he told me all about DAV, how it was founded, chartered, what they were all about, how they helped veterans, what their main mission is. And I thought this was a great organization. And this is a perfect opportunity for me to see if they had any employment at the time. And so the supervisor said, hey, we do have a position open if you want it as a receptionist. And so I definitely took that opportunity. That was February of 1984. I'm sorry, February of 84. And I was so excited. And that's where I began my journey with the DAV. So you started out as a receptionist before you became a benefits advocate? Correct. Yes. So how long did you do that before you crossed the bridge to the position that you're in now? Well, I rose to the top of that position as secretary five. And that was within seven years. My supervisor approached me and said, would you like to become a national service officer with the organization? And I said, oh my gosh, yes, this is perfect. And so at that time, that's where my career changed years. I was now getting into the realm of becoming a national service officer. I went through the 16 months of training. At that time it was on the job training. And once I rehabbed at that point, I did 25 years at the regional office as a national service officer. And then I was promoted to the board of veterans appeals at the national service office. And now I'm a national appeals officer. And that's what my current status is right now. How long have you been there? I think approximately 12 years now. And I love it. The position I hold is a very important position as far as the appellate process. And I enjoy arguing and of course presenting the cases before the board. And we also do hearings here as well. So over 37 years of being with the A.V., how have you seen the organization evolve? And how have you seen women coming out of the military evolve? Well, there's so many things that DAV has been in the forefront in ensuring that we as veterans are getting the benefits that we deserve. And so as it relates to the difference of when I came in and how DAV has evolved over the years, there's so many things that the DAV has done. As it relates to the two women specifically, I mean, I was a part of the First Women's Summit and I believe that was back in 1996. DAV was the first major veterans organization to co-host what will become a popular reoccurring event that brings veterans from across the country to gather and collaborate on the issues facing women issues. So DAV was in the forefront and a part of that. And I believe Joy Illum and I were at that summit. It was very interesting to meet other women and we met women who were pilots at that time. It was just very, very informative meeting other veterans. And then in 2000 women veterans also that was the second summit that DAV host, which was a part of the continuation of women veterans and their issues. And I've seen DAV grow as far as women veterans, as far as employment. There weren't that many women in the organization at the time I came in, but as time has gone forward and a lot of women now that are transitioning from the military, they definitely see that DAV is an organization that would be beneficial to them in reference to making sure they apply for their benefits and go forward from there. So I've seen that process take place quite a few times throughout the DAV, throughout my career with the DAV. There's so many women in the organization of different ethnic backgrounds that have come into the company. And also the leadership has also changed. There are a lot of women that are in more leadership with the DAV as well. So that that is just a snippet of how the DAV has progressed as far as women and other types of different things that DAV has done throughout the years. So being the first woman to get that 30 years of service ring, plus your years of service in the Army, I mean, you've been serving veterans, you pretty much your entire adult life. How does it feel to be that first woman to get that ring? That's a fantastic question. I don't even know how to describe the feeling because you're absolutely right. DAV has been a part of my life pretty much all my adult life since I've left the military. And one thing the DAV has taught me and that is to fight and keep fighting and continue to fight for our veterans. And that's the mentality that I have and it's outside of my job. I continue to fight and make sure that if I run across a veteran, this is what you need to do and it just never leaves you. It's just part of you. And to be the first woman to be in this situation, it's like a whirlwind. It's like I'm not sure what I can say to actually tell you how I feel about that. It's a feeling of accomplishment beyond what I would have thought when I first became a National Service Officer. This means a lot to me. I've worked very hard to achieve this level of recognition as far as this ring. It's funny. All the conventions I've gone to, all the men, and they get emotional when they accept this ring. And I've always felt like, okay, what would that feel like to get this ring after 30 years? And so I always anticipated getting the ring, but I did not know I was going to be the first woman to get the ring. So it's like a double feeling of, I can't explain it. It's just overwhelming right now. Well, thank you for your dedicated service all these years. And from what we've discussed offline, you're not going anywhere anytime soon, are you? No, I think I'll stick around for a little while. However, I am at that point where I want to see what leads me to either stay with the DAV because I love what I do. So it would be hard for me to leave anytime soon. But if I were to retire anytime soon, I still think this is what I would continue to do, just reach out to veterans and continue to make sure they get in touch with the DAV because DAV is the best organization out there. And of course, I will make sure I tell women that come out of service. If they were like myself didn't have a clue of what to do or really where to go, I'm going to definitely be there out there and make sure I let women know, hey, the first thing you should do is come to the DAV and fire your claim because you will definitely be represented properly before the VA and that's important for all veterans to get a good organization and DAV is the best. Is there anything else that you would like to add? Well, I just want to say that it doesn't feel like it's been 37 years. It just feels like it was yesterday. But I am just blessed to be able to have a now standing career with the DAV and I will always be grateful. And I thank you for this interview. I appreciate it. Well, Tori, thank you so much for leading the way for so many women and for doing so much for veterans over your years. It's been truly a pleasure and we're really looking forward to our national convention coming up at the end of July and seeing you get that 30 year ring that you've worked so hard for and deserve so fully. So thank you so much for everything you've done for our veterans, for our women and what you continue to do every day. Thank you. Thank you. Appreciate it. Thank you.