 The convention will please come to order. As a reminder, I would like to ask everyone to please silence your cell phones and portable devices. Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance to our nation's flag. Hands salute. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Please be... Chaplain Varner? Good morning. Good morning. May we bow our heads for a moment of prayer. Oh, Heavenly Father, Heavenly Creator, we once again thank you. As we enter this part of our business section, we ask for wisdom and guidance. Help us to know and to understand that which is given before us as we recognize and award those who are deservingly of all honors. We thank you for your presence. We thank you for being in the midst of these, your people, and the people of God said, amen. Amen. Please be seated. In order for a delegate to be heard at this convention, you must first be recognized by the chair. Only those delegates at a microphone will be recognized. They must state their name, chapter number, and the state they represent. Comrades, the convention rules are a continuing part of our bylaws. They are part and parcel of Article III and remain in effect continually. They are subject to amendment as provided in the bylaws and do not require re-adoption. I'd like to call on Chairperson Brenda Reed for the Credential's Committee report. Brenda Reed. Good morning, National Commander Marshall, National Agitant Burgess, officers, members, and guests. The Credential's Committee met in the Florida Ballroom A at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Orlando yesterday for the first time at 1 p.m. The first order of business was to elect a chairperson and a secretary. I, Brenda Reed, Department of Florida, District 7, was elected as the chairperson. Warren Tobin from North Dakota, District 14, was elected as the secretary. We met again this morning at 8 a.m. The roll call showed 969 delegates and 63 alternates have registered, which includes 45 departments and 339 chapters registered. There are nine national officers, 21 national executive committeemen, and six past national commanders currently registered for a total of 7,669 votes. The partial report is for informational purposes only, and it reflects the registration at the close of business at 4 p.m. on August 6, 2022. Commander, this completes our partial report. At this time, I would also like to introduce and recognize three people in which you stand when I call your names. My national chief of staff, Thomas Ayala, officer of the day, John Mackis, and Sergeant at Arms, John Raeber. Thank you for your support as it has made my job easier. Before I introduce our first speaker this morning, I'd like to make a special announcement that would be of interest to our members. The Governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, has declared today, August 7, 2022, Florida Purple Heart Day in recognition of the 1.8 million Purple Hearts that have been awarded since 1782. To my fellow Purple Heart recipients, please know that your sacrifices and recognition are appreciated. For those who have received a Purple Heart, I ask you to stand if able and be recognized now on Florida Purple Heart Day. As you can see, I wear my Purple Heart tie proudly, a gift from our national adjutant. It is now my honor and pleasure to introduce the executive director of DEV's National Service and Legislative Headquarters in Washington, D.C., Randy Reese. Randy is a native of Bristol, Virginia. He enlisted in the United States Army in 1984 and served as a rifle squad leader in the 82nd Airborne Division during the Persian Gulf War. After the war, Randy served as an elite black hat instructor in the Air Movement operations and jump master courses at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. It was there he suffered a disabling back injury while conducting a nighttime parachute jump. He separated from the Army in 1995. Randy went on to earn his paralegal degree from Kaplan College of Professional Studies and has become a nationally recognized expert on veterans benefits and services since he joined the DEV as a national service officer the year of his discharge. In December 2018, Randy was appointed the executive director of DEV's National Service and Legislative Headquarters in Washington, D.C., where he serves as DEV's principal spokesperson before Congress, the White House, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. In this role, he continues to lead our advocacy efforts in Washington as others have before him, keeping us at the forefront of the fight on Capitol Hill for veterans' rights. Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in a warm welcome for the executive director of DEV's National Service and Legislative Headquarters, Randy Reese. Good morning, everybody. National Commander Marshall, National Agent Burgess, distinguished guest, and delegates. I'm honored once again to be with you here in Orlando to report on the activities and accomplishments of DEV's National Service and Legislative Programs over the last year. Since we last convened in Tampa, DEV has had another successful year fighting to secure benefits and health care for veterans and their families and their survivors. Despite very difficult, challenging and confronting year our nation has had, while it appears that the worst of COVID is behind us, the damage and disruption caused by the pandemic continues to impact VA's health care and benefit programs. With economic problems at home, a war in Europe, the divide in politics has become increasingly difficult in our nation's Capitol and getting anything done is almost laughable. In fact, more and more I hear people refer to Washington, D.C. as the land of Oz. People say it's a place to go. People who have no courage, no brains, and no hearts. But even with all of the political turmoil, DEV's service program this past year was able, once again, to help hundreds of thousands of veterans seeking benefits. Thanks to our early and aggressive transition to digital and virtual technologies, VAV has been able to adapt readily changing conditions on the ground. Throughout the pandemic, we've expanded our ability to meet veterans where they are. Whether that's online, over the phone, in their communities, and I'm very proud to say that today our national service officers are open in providing face-to-face benefit counseling, even if they're the only ones working in the VA regional office. With over 3,400 DAV accredited or certified service officers led by our national department chapter and transition service officers, DAV last year took over 2.1 million actions to help veterans and their families. And as a point of privilege, I'm going to ask all of our service officers to stand and please be recognized. All totaled, the veterans and survivors represented by DAV obtained more than $25 billion in benefits. Thanks to the continued development of our iTrack learning management system, we have the best trained and most knowledgeable core of national service officers and advocates in the nation, and it's going to stay that way. We're continuing to invest in our people, invest in our new technologies to ensure that DAV remains a leader in assisting veterans with their claims. That's why more than 1.1 million veterans and survivors today choose DAV to represent them. As I've said before, and obviously I'm going to say it again, when it comes to helping veterans secure their benefits, DAV remains second to none. Our national service staff has been collaborating closely with the leaders of the Veterans Benefits Administration, VBA, to help addressing the rising backlog of disability compensation claims. The work our service officers do, assisting veterans in developing and perfecting their claims, helps to reduce the workload on VA claims processors. We're also working with VBA on their new Automation Policy Program, which uses artificial intelligence and other technologies to reduce the time it takes to process claims. DAV will continue working to reform the VA claims processes so that every veteran receives their full benefits without having to endure unnecessarily weights. And just as our service team advocates on behalf of individual veterans, our legislative team has had another successful year advocating and strengthening and trying to expand VA healthcare services and benefits for all veterans. Since we last met, DAV has participated in more than two dozen congressional hearings, roundtables and forums, both in person and virtually, advancing our critical policy goals and promoting legislation to fulfill our national resolutions. In coordination with Benefit Protection Team members across the country who took our message to Congress in meetings, through the phone calls and the emails and on social media, Facebook and Twitter, our communications team has created powerful content to educate and mobilize veterans and the American public behind our critical policy goals, particularly on toxic exposures. Take a look at this video. Do you check that out? Something's burning. For more than a decade, for more than a decade, DAV has been warning veterans and the public about the dangers of burn pits in Afghanistan, Iraq and other locations. From bringing the subject to the public's attention to the creation of the burn pit registry to drafting the Veteran Burn Pits Exposure Recognition Act, DAV has been on point in the fight to aid veterans' harm by toxic exposures of all generations. Over the past couple of years, we've helped build and lead a veterans coalition. We have mobilized a massive grassroots lobbying effort, conducted hundreds of meetings with the House and Senate members, testified multiple times at congressional hearings and participated in numerous press conferences and rallies, including many with their friend and fierce veterans advocate John Stewart, who joined us virtually yesterday morning. And throughout all of this, it has been our DAV members working through our Commander's Action Network, DAV Can, and our Benefit Protection Team leaders, who made all the difference. Let me share with you, in just the past few weeks, you made thousands of phone calls and sent tens of thousands of emails to Congress. And as most of you have probably heard by now, the Senate gave final approval to honoring the PACT Act. By the time we're done with the convention, the PACT Act should be signed. If not, we're hoping as soon as you get home. On Wednesday, while you're in flight, that signing ceremony is going to happen. The PACT Act, once enacted, will begin to extend healthcare eligibility to millions of veterans and extend eligibility to create dozens of new disability presumptions to burn pit exposed items. Finally, at long last, it will add hypertension to the list of presumptions for Agent Orange for all of our Vietnam veterans. And while we strongly supported the PACT Act, like almost all laws, it took compromise. There is still more to do, ladies and gentlemen. After the law is signed, we will continue to work with Congress and the VA to ensure there are sufficient resources to fully and faithfully implement the PACT Act. And rest assured, we will not give up the fight until every veteran and survivor receives the toxic exposure benefits they have earned and deserve. With the PACT Act expanding healthcare eligibility to millions, in the coming years, it's essential that we continue to strengthen the VA healthcare system. We know that VA care is as good or better than private sector care, but shortfall of doctors, nurses, and other clinicians, combined with aging, inadequate, and often mislocated VA facilities has resulted in too many veterans having to wait too long or travel too far for their care. That's why, back in 2018, we supported legislation to establish the Asset and Infrastructure Review Act, or AIR, to create a comprehensive plan to repair, rebuild, realign, and modernize VA hospitals, clinics, and other medical facilities. However, the pandemic did happen, and unfortunately, that legislation did not happen. As last month, a bipartisan group of senators announced their opposition to the AIR process, which effectively ended it. However, considering the flawed data and assumptions underlying some of the VA recommendations, this might have been the right decision. But although the AIR process may be over, our efforts to ensure that VA healthcare system has the people and the infrastructure necessary to provide timely care to all enrolled veterans, especially disabled veterans, simply will never end. Another critical policy goal we're also making progress on is shortening or strengthening the mental healthcare and reducing veteran suicide. According to the VA's own report, suicide. There has been a decrease, but listen to this, down to 17.2 a day, still too high, still too high. And that's why we're supporting the Strong Veterans Act, which is short for support resiliency of our nation's great veterans, to improve mental health services and add new tools and resources to VA's existing suicide prevention efforts. With your help, we hope to see this important legislation signed in the law later this year. But in this national tragedy will take all of us getting involved. Just a couple weeks ago, the new 988 national suicide crisis line went live. Since then, it's already resulted in more veterans reaching out for potential life-saving help. Veterans seeking help and call 988 and press 1 or you can text 988. We can all help promote the new number. Take note of it. Share it. Share it with everybody that you know. Together we can and we must do everything in our power to end veteran suicide. Following up on the landmark Deborah Sampson Act from the last Congress, I'm pleased to report the enactment of two additional laws to support women veterans. The Dr. Kate Hendricks-Thomas Service Act will help to expand and prioritize mammography screening for veterans who served in toxic exposed locations, particularly for those with disabilities. The second is the MAMO Act, which stands for Making Advances in Mammography. We'll also improve cancer screening and treatment options for women veterans. You know, with women veterans continuing to be the fastest growing segment of the veterans population, DAV will continue fighting to ensure they have equitable access to VA care and benefits, including world-class gender-specific care. We're always making progress, and we're also making progress on the new legislation packages that comes out regarding VA's long-term care options and programs for you. The Elizabeth Dole Home Community-Based Services for Veterans and Caregivers Act and the Expanding Veterans Options for Long-Term Care Act would expand home, community, and assisted living options for veterans, helping them keep them out of nursing homes whenever possible. Trust me, I'm going to need it. And while the calendar is short this year, moving into the midterms, both of these bills still have a chance of passing and will be reaching out for your support. And as we're continuing our efforts to expand and fix eligibility problems with the VA's Comprehensive Family Caregiver Program. As most of you know, when Congress created the Caregiver Program over a decade ago, it was limited just to those post-911 veterans. In 2017, DAV launched the Unsound Heroes Initiative to make veterans from all eras eligible for this valuable program. Thanks to our efforts, two years ago, Veterans of World War II, Korea, and Vietnam became eligible for the program, leaving out one last group, those who served between Vietnam and 9-11, like past National Commander Dave Reilly and his wife and caregiver Yvonne. Let's take a look at those impacts. People come up to me all the time and say thank you for your service, and I appreciate that. I appreciate the thanks, but nobody ever comes up to Yvonne and thanks her for the service that she's given to this country in taking care of me. I was just grateful that he made it. I didn't think past him making it every day. She allows me to get up, get dressed, get all my prosthetics on, and walk among the people as an equal, and that really helps a lot. Usually I have to wake him up because he sounds asleep, and we put his shirt on and his arms on and brush his teeth and shave him and comb his hair and get him something to eat and get his legs on, and he's all set for the day. The Coast Guard doctor told me he was going to make it because he was such in good shape, but the other, the civilian doctors didn't think he was going to make it at all, and they said even though he's doing well today, there's always going to be something tomorrow. As we get older, I can see it getting nothing but harder. We call on Congress to correct this inequity by extending assistance to all seriously disabled veterans of all years. I'm glad that the post-911 are getting it. They absolutely need it, but I do feel that we are entitled to it too. We've put in a lot of years. She had a very good paying job and gave it up to take care of me. She has saved the taxpayers so much money, and being my caregiver and in my quality of life has been so much better. When I needed her most, she was there for me, and she has continued to support me through every challenge since. She and all caregivers are truly unsung American heroes. Thanks to Dave and Yvonne, Dennis and Donna Joiner, and so many others in DAV and Auxiliary. Beginning October 1st, just 55 days from now, veterans of all eras can apply to the caregiver program, giving us another victory for veterans. You know, President Abraham Lincoln wrote, honor the soldier and the sailor everywhere, who bravely bears his country's cause. Honor also to the citizen who cares for his brother in the field and serves, as best he can, the same costs. The best way to honor them is to ensure that we never forget what they did. That's why great nations take actions to memorialize and remember their heroes. On this day, 240 years ago, President George Washington created the badge of military merit, which exactly 150 years later became the Purple Heart, a medal that many in this room have been awarded and was just recognized moments ago. A hundred years ago, the Lincoln Memorial was dedicated in remembrance of perhaps America's greatest president. Carved into the walls of the memorial are Lincoln's two most famous speeches, both of which talk about honoring and caring for those who defended our nation. Today, I also want to honor and remember two of my predecessors as the Executive Director of Washington Headquarters. First, Gary Augustine, my dear friend and colleague, dedicated his entire life to DAV and caring for disabled veterans. After retiring as Washington Executive Director just a few years ago, Gary tragically passed away earlier this year after a vicious cancer swiftly took him from us far too soon. Many of the accomplishments that I talked about today, particularly expanding the caregiver program, would not have been achieved without the work that Gary had done. We send our prayers and condolences to his wife Kelly, his daughter Chelsea, and his son Kyle. And finally next week, we'll mark the 20th anniversary of the passing of our beloved Jesse Brown. He, too, dedicated his life to DAV and like Gary, rose to become the Executive Director of our Washington Headquarters. Jesse was then called to serve as the Secretary for Veterans Affairs, the first African American to hold that position. Like Gary, his life was also cut short at far too young of an age after struggling with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. But before he departed, Jesse embarked on one final mission to build what would eventually become the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial. Though he never got to see the finished memorial, we can still see Jesse there. In his words etched in the memorial glass walls, Jesse wrote, there are life-threatening injuries to confront and surmount, life-changing disabilities to meet and to master, and life-shaping experiences to make peace with and understand. For every tragic story of a life unravelled by military battle, there are dozens of tales of individuals who have managed to triumph over the harrowing experiences of war and ruin. Jesse was one of those individuals, so was Gary, and so too are many of you sitting in the audience today. It's because we remember and honor our past that we act in the present to create a better future. Abraham Lincoln said, the best way to predict your future is to create it. And working together, that's exactly what we'll do. Thank you. May God continue to bless the AV and thank you for all the work that you do. Commander, that completes my report. I ask that it be accepted by the convention. Thank you, Randy. Good job. Thank you, Randy. May I have a second to accept Mr. Reese's report? Mike Three. Mike Three. Mike Three, Albert J. Bacon, Sr. from the great Sunshine State of Florida, Chapter 17, So Moves. Thank you. We have a motion and a second. All those in favor signify by saying aye. Oppose? Motion carried. It is now my pleasure to introduce our National Headquarters Executive Director Barry Zhezanowski for his report. Barry is a Persian Gulf War era veteran of the Marine Corps who was mentally discharged in 1993. The Minnesota native was appointed to his current position in August 2013 after serving as Executive Director of National Service and Legislative Headquarters and in numerous leadership positions at the executive level in Washington, Cold Spring, and now Erlanga, Kentucky. Barry is widely respected as a selfless and visionary leader who has earned the admiration of key leaders, critical associates, and DAV members throughout the organization whose decisions directly impact the veteran's lives. As DAV continues to involve and enhance the depth and scope of the services we offer our nation's veterans, Barry's leadership has dramatically enhanced the organization's reach and efficiency. He serves as DAV's Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer and his responsibilities cover all national headquarters departments including employment initiatives, voluntary services, communications, membership activities, fundraising, accounting, administration, human resources, information technology, outreach, and logistics as one of America's largest non-profit organizations. Please join me in welcoming this 12 blazing leader in the world of veteran services, National Headquarters Executive Director Barry Zhezanowski. Good morning. Thank you, Commander. Before I begin, let's not pretend I'm going to forget about how rough you've been on Marines the last couple of days. I understand there's a past National Commander convening tomorrow and they're going to talk about your acceptance into their club. I also heard that Dennis Nixon and Don Samuels are going to co-chair that meeting, so both Marines. I better get on up with business before Commander loses his sense of humor. Thank you all. Thank you so much for all that you do and your great service that you offer our fellow veterans. As we mark our first full year in our new National Headquarters facility, being here among you is another reminder that our cause is not tied to brick and mortar, but to our members, the veterans we represent, the families who sacrifice alongside them, and our sacred charge to ensure our promises to them are kept. The more in-depth your path within DEV takes you, the more focused you can become on a single aspect of our mission, whether that is our transportation network, veterans benefits, community service, leadership, legislative advocacy, or through any other area where you might have an intensive interest. But what we cannot forget is that no matter how we experience or serve our DEV, at the end of the day, our core objective is to ensure promises are kept to America's veterans. And that means ensuring we understand, at least at a very basic level, what the promise is. This year, DEV partnered with military veterans in journalism to help educate a core group of disabled veterans for a speaker's bureau that was created to provide outreach to newsrooms across the country, and to ensure that veterans are covered fairly and appropriately. And we had to again examine, at a foundational level, our sacred charge to honor the sacrifices of the veterans we serve. What is this promise? The agreement that binds our nation with its defenders is elegant and simple when distilled. If a man or woman is changed while shouldering the burden of our national defense, we as individuals and our government have a patriotic obligation to ensure we do our utmost to make them whole. As the Marine Corps noted decades ago, we don't promise you a rose garden. No one expects the military life to be one of luxury and serenity. But if your time and service impairs your ability to otherwise care for yourself or your dependence, we have a promise to uphold. The benefits and healthcare system we fought to establish and maintain for these many years mean a lot to those we assist. In some cases, the award of benefits is a validation, the recognition of a sacrifice. In other cases, it's a reprieve from destitution. And in others still, benefits and care represent hope and provide veterans with a precious hand up to pursue their maximum potential. And all those things are important. But at the end of the day, it boils down to a promise and justice. Anything short of meeting that promise to the utmost of our abilities is an injustice to those individuals and families whose lives are forever changed. And when we think of the awesome responsibility that comes with this charge, it is fair to ask who is responsible for keeping our promise. Some would say it's primarily the responsibility of our government. Others might say it's incumbent upon the industries and individuals who benefit most from our national prosperity. And others think it should fall almost exclusively on the purview of charity. But from what we've seen over the past two decades, years we have spent mostly at war, the promise belongs to every American, our government, charities, and all who enjoy the liberties and opportunities our nation affords. And when it comes to keeping our promise today, your DAV is going further than ever before in our long and storied history. If we go back just 10 years into our past, DAV's focus was almost exclusively centered on ensuring that government was upholding its end of the bargain. From DAV's earliest beginnings, we advocated for employment, training, and preference so veterans changed in wartime service could achieve maximum independence. And it worked in a way that brings great credit upon our organization. From the start, we have said, for those who are able, the transition from the military to civilian life is not complete until a veteran has meaningful employment. This year, less than a decade after the creation of DAV's national employment program, we can mark 162,132 job offers for veterans, transitioning military members and their spouses. Since we last met, DAV has co-facilitated 90 career fairs, helping veterans pursue a new mission after service. Our focus is on empowerment, helping veterans receive the benefits they earned based on the abilities they sacrificed in the military is important. It remains the most important and worthy service in DAV's arsenal. But as Commander Marshalls so eloquently pointed out yesterday, a key to recovery is having a mission that you believe in. We here have found that through our involvement in DAV, of course, but complete self-sufficiency requires even more. Helping veterans connect with meaningful employment provides them with a sense of confidence and independence that nothing else can. But something came up last year that piqued our interest. We asked ourselves, what if we were able to provide veterans with a new mission, help them get jobs, ensure they get their earned benefits, and then had the capability to help them become job and benefits creators. When we became aware of Patriot Boot Camp several years ago, we were presented with an opportunity to support an effort that empowers veterans and spouses on an entirely different level. As of January 1st, as you know, our newly acquired DAV Patriot Boot Camp enlists a vibrant community of veterans and business leaders committed to enabling people in our community to become entrepreneurs. We have undertaken this new mission with an almost selfish and single-minded intent. If we can make our fellow veterans millionaires, that's fine. But what we want most of all is to give them the opportunity to employ their creativity, to develop creative solutions to the challenges our nation faces in the world and foremost to create opportunities for other veterans. Our first event last month drew alumni with incredible ventures already under their belts. And if you look throughout that community we've inherited, the ventures founded through Patriot Boot Camp find extremely meaningful ways to give back to their fellow citizens. Alumni have raised over $150 million in venture capital. They employ at least 1,900 individuals, and we know that when they hire they are looking to our fellow veterans and their spouses to fill their ranks. While the acquisition is the first in our organization's history, it's just one way your DAV is evolving in terms of the services we deliver and the way that we conduct our business these days. Within the last decade, every program and process at DAV National Headquarters has undergone an evolution, one that is still underway as we speak. We continue to diversify our fundraising, take on exciting new initiatives based on DAV's strategic objectives, and look for sustainable ways to meet the most important needs our veterans face. We're rapidly taking on new capabilities to help maintain our membership and efficiently recruit and replenish our ranks. Throughout the pandemic, our transportation network was limited, but DAV vehicles were on the road making sure patients received the care that they earned in service. Last year we provided more than 163,000 rides. Now while that's a fraction of the impact we made pre-COVID or that we will make again, it alone is more than many major charities in our sector contribute in a year. We will need to make a concerted effort as we drag ourselves free from the coronavirus doldrums to revitalize that critical program. But we have the resources to do it and we must not overlook the lives that were saved or sustained by our selfless volunteers. If we take a moment to reflect, which is something we may not do often enough, we've already talked about some of the most significant ways to help veterans achieve self-determination. For most who suffer a major setback in their health and uniform benefits, employment, and opportunities to pursue autonomy are key pieces in making veterans whole. But while these tangibles are obvious, they alone cannot fully equip veterans with all they need to overcome the adversity that comes with a life-changing and profoundly devastating illness. Technology has made it possible for us to go further than ever before in replacing limbs lost in war and providing prostheses that allow veterans to overcome challenges in ways that would absolutely boggle the minds of DAV's founders. But sometimes the greatest challenges veterans encounter come from limitations their experiences have caused deep within themselves. In the last several years, DAV has expanded our role in adaptive sports. The National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic, an event we've co-presented for 35 years, remains a world-class event that barreled through COVID and snowmass early this year. The National Disabled Veterans Golf Clinic, which will be held in Iowa next month, though comparatively new to DAV, is showing signs of growth and stability thanks to our partnership with the VA. Supported in large part by contributions from DAV chapters and departments, these events help the veterans we serve by giving them the opportunity to challenge the limitations their most profound disabilities can cause. But through collaborative relationships with other entities, DAV is becoming intimately involved in new initiatives that address the deeper concerns that impact our community and contribute to the alarming statistics we've seen of veterans choosing to end their own lives, as Randy just explained. That includes Save a Warrior, who you'll meet in person on Tuesday morning, both through a significant grant from our charitable service trust and a partnership with DAV. Save a Warrior takes an extremely intensive, innovative approach to drilling down into the issues that plague our veterans' mental health and limit their capacity to embrace their post-service lives. The Trust's $1 million grant is a primary source of funding for Save a Warrior's National Center of Excellence for complex post-traumatic stress, which carries DAV's name as a sponsor. We also continue to build our relationship with Boulder Crest, there too a grant as accompanied with the participation of DAV mentors, working hands-on to address the needs of veterans paralyzed by trauma that is invisible to the eye, but an absolute impediment to their achieving full-quality lives. Through both programs, all female veteran cohorts are in place to ensure effective outcomes for women who struggle as a result of their service. Another partnership with a charity called Operation Honor gives veterans new skills and therapy through woodwork. A $148,000 grant is helping fund the construction of its new home called Patriots Landing in Kentucky. In each case, the Trust and DAV are more than a source of funding. We are true partners. We support the services they provide and, in doing so, introduce their participants to the many services DAV offers that can help them be on the tremendous hurdles that they can overcome with the tools and confidence each provides. We also continue to see incredible momentum in our efforts to educate the public and our fellow veterans about the services we offer. We close 2021 with more than 8.2 billion impressions for our PSA campaign. Over the course of more than 188,000 television and radio airings, 564 print placements, and 5,000 out-of-home items promoting our message, DAV achieved nearly $100 million in donated media. That includes a special partnership with Sinclair Broadcast Group that resulted in more than 100 stations airing our centennial documentary, The Battle Never Ends. A significant donation of PSA airtime and 661 special live and recorded media segments focused on DAV, our programs, and our services. We will likely face a very challenging year in terms of the fundraising climate that is impacting charities in nearly every sector this year. Inflation, uncertainty, and the focus on international efforts related to Ukraine are going to undoubtedly influence our ability to generate support. This isn't a sky-is-falling prediction by any means. However, we remain, of course, thoughtful of this and appropriately prudent in our investments and management of donor dollars. And I can say with absolute certainty that the state of your DAV national headquarters, the programs we oversee, and the mission we support are as strong as they have ever been at any time in our history, as is our steady and consistent financial footing in spite of what is going to be a challenging fiscal time for our nation. We are a better charity this year than last. We continue to move in the right direction. And, combined with the amazing work each and every one of you do every day in chapters and departments throughout our great land, we're going to remain the finest, most relevant charity in the nation serving our most deserving and patriotic individuals and families. Thank you all for your time, for all that you accomplish and service, and for all we do together in the year ahead to keep our sacred promise. God bless each and every one of you. Commander, this concludes my report. Thank you, Barry. Thank you, Barry, for that outstanding report. May I have a motion to accept Mr. Jezanowski's report? Mike Four. Mike Four. Mike Four, District 13, makes a motion to accept Barry's report. I have a motion. May I have a second? Mike One. Mike One. Robert Graves, Department of California, Chapter Five, Los Angeles, makes a second. All those in favor, signify by saying aye. Opposed? Motion is carried. Thank you, Barry. Once again, this year's Arthur H. and Mary E. Wilson Award for top venture impacting veterans will be awarded to a veteran-owned operation that did exceptionally well in the business plan competition in the Entrepreneurship Boot Camp for Veterans Programs, or EBV. The EBV offers cutting-edge experience and training in startup and small business management to veterans with disabilities. The EBV program business plan competition mirrors the EV's mission of empowering veterans to lead high-quality lives with respect and dignity. Sharing in that same vision, the EV is proud to support this competition by offering a financial award with a specialty category of top venture impacting veterans, which is made possible by contribution and ongoing commitment for one of the organization's two true friends. Rick Fenstermacher, who was instrumental in helping erect the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial. This award recognized a disabled veteran who has taken all the challenges of starting their own business and has set an example for others. I'm happy to announce that this year's winner is Erica McKim of And I Like It Bakery in Dallas. After medically retiring in 2014, Navy veteran Erica McKim founded And I Like It, a bakery focused on keto-friendly treats made with all-natural sweeteners. She discovered the health benefits of low-carb foods after a change in diet alleviated many severe health issues that had forced her to retire from the military. And I Like It sells cheesecakes in 11 stores across the Dallas-Fort Worth area along with three different all-natural sweeteners. Her customers include people battling health issues and dietary restrictions of their own. Thank you so much for this opportunity. This has been an amazing year and getting this award from you guys has, it was the key point that's helped me get to the next stage. We make our own all-natural sweetener blends and we have a limited capacity on how fast we can make it and we couldn't keep up with demand. And with this award we have been able to buy equipment that's going to help us produce our sugar substitutes 650% faster than what we've been doing and we're hoping now to be able to bring it nationwide. So I just want to thank you guys so much. This has made a huge difference in our business and I just, I'm so blessed to receive it. So thank you so much. Thank you. I'll ask National Employment Director Rob Lugie to join me on stage please. It is now my pleasure to recognize the outstanding local Veterans Employment Representative and Disabled Veterans Outreach Program Specialist recipients of 2022. These awards recognize the commitment and compassion of two individuals who are dedicated to serving our nation's heroes. The recipients here today are outstanding examples of veterans helping veterans and we're more than proud to honor them for their dedication and selfless service. The award for Outstanding Local Veterans Employment Representative is presented to Navy Veteran and DAV member Serena Bermudez. Serena has been with the Virginia Employment Commission Jobs for Veterans State Grant since 2015 and has helped more than 200 veterans find successful employment. She has established strong relationships with local employers in the public, federal and private sectors to provide veterans with what she calls a hand up and not a hand out. This didn't stop during the COVID-19 pandemic pivoting to video chats and sites like LinkedIn to stay connected with veterans and employers. First of all I'd like to thank DAV for this award. So I will say when you look to your left and you look to your right, we all as veterans and our military spouses also deserve a quality living wage. So I will keep leading that charge. I'll keep focused. I'll keep educating. I'll keep providing knowledge to our veterans and our spouses to be able to gain that gainful employment. Just remember that you're not alone and my motto is that I provide a hand up and never a hand out. So with that saying, I could talk all day but I know I'm limited on time but I will say that God bless for love of our country and God bless United State of America and God bless to DAV. Thank you for this award. 2022 Outstanding Disabled Veteran Outreach Program Specialist is a passionate advocate for Wisconsin Veterans. This year's recipient is Nancy Brown. Nancy Brown, a Navy veteran, has been with Wisconsin's Department of Workforce Development since 2013. Throughout the years she has built strong relationships with employers in her area and has educated many of them on the merits of hiring veterans. This effort has led to many veteran success stories. Just in the past year she helped 31 veterans find gainful employment in North Central Wisconsin. Thank you all so very much for this award. It's amazing to be recognized for something that you love to do. I've been with the state of Wisconsin for almost 10 years and every day is something new so it keeps the job very, very continuously the same thing. It's not redundant in any way, shape or form. It's so fun to hear the successful outcomes that we've provided and I couldn't do any of my job without the support of my team back in Wisconsin and organizations like the DAV. So thank you, thank you very much for this honor. Each year, DAV recognizes companies that go out of the way to recruit, hire and invest in veterans. These companies are crucial in our mission to ensure veterans can lead fulfilling lives after service. So it is my pleasure to announce the DAV Patriot Employer of the Year awards for three outstanding organizations. The 2022 Small Patriot Employer of the Year award goes to a company that truly values what veterans bring to the workforce and it just happens to be a stone's throw away from our DAV National Headquarters in Erlanger, Kentucky. Congratulations to the 2022 DAV Small Patriot Employer of the Year Aeris Tech Services. Aeris Tech Services, LLC, now part of TRNCO, manufactures and distributes surface and design materials around the globe. In 1996, Aeris Tech was proud to have contributed materials to the original traveling replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the wall that heals. Today, Aeris Tech actively recruits veterans and fosters their success with thoughtful policy that celebrates service and recognizes military experiences as an asset to be valued. More than 10% of Aeris Tech employees at its Florence, Kentucky branch are veterans with plans to continue growing recruiting efforts. Because of Aeris Tech leaders, hiring veterans isn't just good for business. It's a way to honor those who served and sacrificed so much. While our friends from Aeris Tech couldn't make it to Orlando, they still wanted to thank DAV for their honor. VP of Human Resources for Aeris Tech Services in Florence, Kentucky, now a part of TRNCO. Today, we are so honored to be here and to be recognized by the DAV for our Employer of the Year category in the Patriot Award. Thank you so, so much for honoring us and our efforts to recruit and retain our military veterans. We are so pleased to be able to offer employment and career opportunities to them and are very committed to their success at Aeris Tech. Again, thank you for this honor. We appreciate it so much and an honor to both of my brothers who both served. Go military, go Navy, go Army. Thank you again on behalf of Aeris Tech Services. Our 2022 DAV mid-sized Patriot Employer of the Year is a service disabled veteran owned small business based in Virginia. Please welcome to the stage Sierra 7 founder and CEO Raphael Fagando. Sierra 7 provides an array of tech support and solutions in the healthcare arena. Raphael Fagando, its CEO and a Navy veteran founded the company with a simple but noble mission, serve those who serve. In pursuit of that mission, Sierra 7 utilizes veterans unique experiences and qualifications. Since 2020, Sierra 7 has hired 166 veterans, over half of whom are disabled veterans. Around 25 percent of its total workforce is made up of veterans. Seeing the immense potential of what veterans can bring to the field, Sierra 7 recently implemented a veterans leadership program designed to empower veterans in their personal and professional growth. That is commitment, not just to a mission but to people, to those who serve. Welcome fellow veterans. On behalf of Sierra 7, we are absolutely honored to receive the award of mid-sized employer of the year from the DAV, an amazing organization that we're so happy to be tied to. At Sierra 7, our company motto is serving those who serve. And there's no better way for us to do that than by identifying, recruiting and hiring veterans. If you ask the question why, amongst all the altruistic reasons, at the end of the day, we run a business. And in our business, two characteristics are incredibly important in this fast-changing environment. That is the work ethic and adaptability. And I can't think of any other community or cohort of individuals beyond the veteran community that are best suited for that given we've all learned that during our time in active duty. So again, on behalf of Sierra 7, we're thrilled to receive this recognition. Thank you guys. Thank all of you for your service. And God bless America. Thank you. The 2022 DAV Large Patriot Employer of the Year is a company that, like DAV, was born out of a calling to serve ill and injured service members returning from a warred war. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome WPS Health Solutions Military and Veteran Liaison Lead Timothy Lassage to accept the DAV's Large Patriot Employer of the Year award. Founded in 1946, Wisconsin-based WPS Health Solutions is a non-profit health insurer that serves millions of service members, veterans, and their families through tricare and Veterans Affairs programs. And WPS has not forgotten its roots. The company's initiatives to recruit and retain veterans include a dedicated military and veteran inclusion manager and a hiring panel with at least one veteran present. Once hire, WPS supports its veterans with a veterans enhancement team meant to build camaraderie and offer mentorship. WPS also invests in the wider veteran community outside of the company. It proudly supports the University of Wisconsin's Missing in Action Recovery and Identification Project and has partnered with the Green Bay Packers to recognize veterans before kickoff. Good morning and to the one Marine in the audience. First off, thank you very much for this award. It's amazing to be affiliated with such an amazing group. After 22 years of active duty service, a couple of Purple Hearts, the scariest thing I've ever done in the military was get out. Not knowing what comes next, it takes a new unit such as the DAV for veterans to transition into and a new team like WPS to really assign ourselves to to give us morale and boost our mission in life. I want to thank WPS. As you heard, we came together in 1946. Physicians saw a gap and a need for service to our veterans coming home from World War II and we have the tricare contract and assist with that processing claims, tricare east, tricare overseas, tricare for life. It's an amazing work environment at WPS and I'd be remiss in my duties if I didn't thank our CEO and president and the audience, Mike Hamerlick. If this will be painful for him, but please stand and be recognized. Yeah, thank you. As you can see at WPS, the CEO and president puts all of the effort into the team players that make the mission happen every day, hence me being up here today as the military and veteran inclusion lead. Our DEI team is here also and very thankful to DAV and our team at WPS for the the work that we do, the mission that we have in supporting our veterans, their claims and everything that you all do in order to help veterans like myself transition into your new unit. So thank you. Through our substantial outreach and cooperation with companies who participate in career fairs, every year DAV receives numerous submissions to the Patriot Employer Program. We ask anyone who knows a company that makes hiring veterans a priority to nominate them or encourage them to nominate themselves at patriotemployers.org. In addition to our top award recipients, we've added categories for additional ventures who excelled in specific categories including hiring and recruiting, career building and retention, excellence in community support. The names of these outstanding employers will be submitted for the record. Also they and all who were recognized through patriotemployers.org will receive digital badges to promote their excellence in hiring our nation's heroes. Please give these and all employers who support our community one more round of applause. In 2007, DV created the local veterans assistance program or LVAP, giving volunteers nearly unlimited opportunities to serve and receive the same recognition and incentives as those available traditional VA and transportation network volunteers. Under LVAP, opportunities are bound for individuals to assist veterans and their families from something as precise as building a wheelchair ramp or setting up a computer software to basic tasks such as grocery shopping or running other errands. Volunteers perform any tasks that may help to improve a veteran's life. I'll ask John Kleinies and National Headquarters Executive Director Barry Jezanowski to the stage for their assistance please. Ladies and gentlemen, it is my extreme pleasure to recognize our top DEV state-level departments in the area of LVAP service. The Division I local veterans assistance program recipient, I hate to say this, is the Department of Virginia, past department Cynthia Bailey with 236,408 hours. Here to accept the award is Assistant Department Adjutant Lisa Gregory. The Division II local veterans assistance program winner is the Department of South Carolina past department commander Joyce Roberts with 190,607 hours. Here to accept the award is Department Adjutant Andy Miller. The Division III local veterans assistance program winner is the Department of Wisconsin past department commander Matthew Campanon with 77,856 hours. Here to receive the award in his new role is Department Adjutant Matthew Campanon. The Division IV local veterans assistance program winner is the Department of Nebraska past department commander James Jacob with 40,119 hours. Here to bring home the award is Department Adjutant Jamie Jacob. The Division V local veterans assistance program winner is the Department of South Dakota past department commander Dick Turnwall with 30,394 hours. Here to receive the award is Department Commander Dan Francis. We thank all volunteers in VA hospitals, our transportation network drivers and participants in the local veterans assistance program for their compassionate service to injured and ill veterans and their families. Thank you for helping hands and kind hearts. Please join me again in giving them all a big round and big hand for their service. For our next Order of Business, I ask Washington Headquarters Executive Director Randy Reece and National Service Director Jim Marseilleck to the stage for our next important presentation. DV partners continuously across the country with thousands of passionate VA employees to ensure the promises to our men and women who served are kept. Together we ensure veterans get the resources they need and the assistance they have earned. We stand together to improve the delivery of services where they are needed for the benefit of all veterans. It is my distinct pleasure now to present the National Commander's Outstanding VA Employee of the Year awards to three remarkable VA staff members. These awards recognize their leadership, compassion, and dedication to supporting our ill and injured veterans who have given so much for this nation. The 2022 Outstanding Veterans Health Administration Employee of the Year is our rack war veteran Ashley Lowry. Ashley Lowry is a dedicated intensive care unit nurse at the John J. Cochran Veterans Hospital in St. Louis. After leaving the Army, she has continued to show a commitment to helping others. Ms. Lowry spent countless hours at the sides of veterans during the COVID-19 pandemic. She volunteered for extra shifts. She did not let the virus come between her and the patients. When she's not at the hospital, she helps her fellow disabled veterans as an active DAV member. She remembered how DAV assisted her and continues to help others connect with DAV resources. She is a prime example of selfless service and passion for her fellow veterans. Hi, I just want to say thank you for the DAV for being such an amazing organization and helping veterans like myself. Also to Thomas Becker and the St. Louis DAV office who have been extraordinary in helping me and being an advocate for me and all veterans in the area. For the VA, for letting me serve the heroes who served. And for my mom, somewhere she's out there, been my biggest supporter and best friend of the past 30-plus years. So thank you guys so much. Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming the 2022 Outstanding Veterans Benefits Administration Employee of the Year, Rebecca A. Brennan. Rebecca Brennan is recognized as going above and beyond in her position as Veterans Service Center Manager at the VA in Los Angeles. It was a very short time after she started in her position in 2020 that DAV service officers connected with her. Through collaboration, DAV, veterans, survivors, and their families have found a tremendous friend and partner in Ms. Brennan. She has gone out of her way to work with service officers to enhance DAV's capabilities. She has a true open-door policy with DAV, ensuring there is accurate awareness of delays and backlogs of VA disability claims pending decisions. Ms. Brennan oversees the workload of 13 teams. She provides leadership for nearly 270 employees. Yet she will stop what she is doing to help a veteran on a call with DAV to resolve an issue and even reopen claims on the spot. She does this even if the veteran lives in another state. Thank you for this amazing honor. A very special thank you to Adam Barnes and Leveria Acosta for the recognition and nomination. As the Veterans Service Center Manager at the LA Regional Office, I also need to thank my entire division. My team is always ready and willing to assist with any inquiry I send their way so I cannot do what I do without them. I have worked for VA for almost 14 years and in three different offices and I truly value the dynamic partnership DAV has with the VA. I will cherish this award forever. Thank you again for naming me this year's VBA Employee of the Year. It is my privilege to serve you. Now I ask the Legislative Director, Joy Elam, to come to the stage. The responsibility of ensuring our fallen heroes are honored and their survivors are supported in their times of grief is a sacred job. Our next honoree has enabled many to say goodbye in their own words. We are honored to present the 2022 VA National Cemetery Administration Employee of the Year Award to James LaPaglia. Retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel LaPaglia is Digital Services Chief for the National Cemetery Administration. The 2019 launch of the Veterans Legacy Memorial was just in time for people to remember Loveland's Lost during the COVID-19 pandemic. The memorial is a single place online to honor the more than 4.3 million veterans interred in VA national cemeteries and at VA grant-funded tribal, state, and territorial veterans cemeteries. We have Colonel LaPaglia to thank for this resource. An information technology professional, he led the initiative to make the website interactive by leading IT developers and stakeholders to ensure the system worked and that the wider public was aware of its availability. Grieving sons and daughters have left heartfelt letters for their departed parents. People who could not hold funerals because of COVID-19 were able to mourn and salute veterans anyway. This is truly a resource that honors our veterans and their survivors. Accepting the award for Colonel LaPaglia is National Cemetery Administration Executive Director Danny Devine. Thank you on behalf of James. You know that guy sounds really good. I'm glad he's working for me. James is kind of embarrassed that he's not here personally. He's with his family instead having the final vacation of the year. So he means absolutely no disrespect. This honor is a big deal to him and I thank the body and I thank the commander for what you've done in honoring James. He's a really good employee and I'm glad I'm able to keep him this way. So thank you very much DAV. DAV is bolstered by the evidence of nearly 2,000 members dedicated to recruiting veterans into our organization. They help maintain a strong voice with lawmakers and keep DAV at the pinnacle of excellence as our nation's premier veterans group. Even as technology and changing demographics continue to affect the way we do all of DAV's businesses our dedicated recruiters stay ahead of the curve by working diligently to welcome new members into our ranks. This unyielding effort helps to ensure DAV's legacy lives on for future generations of veterans. I'd invite Executive Director Barry Jezanowski and National Membership Director Doug Wells to the stage as we recognize our top division winners in recruiting for 2020-2021 and 2022. The division one winner is the DAV Department of Massachusetts. Please give a round of applause for past department commander William Egan. The division two winner is the DAV Department of Missouri. Please give a warm welcome to past department commander David Gerke. The division three winner is the DAV Department of Puerto Rico. Please give a warm welcome to department commander Ruben Arce. The division four winner is the DAV Department of Connecticut. Please give a warm welcome to department commander Juliet Taylor. The division five winner is the DAV Department of Wyoming. Please give a warm welcome to department adjutant Floyd Watson. Our next award is the general Jonathan M. Wayne Wright award. It is presented to the department that closes the year with the largest percentage increase in total new members. The winner is DAV Department of Wyoming. It's a privilege to welcome to the stage again department adjutant Floyd Watson. The general Jonathan M. Wayne Wright award is named after a past DAV national commander and Medal of Honor recipient who served with distinction as the commander of Allied forces in the Philippines at the time of their surrender to Japan in World War II. The judge Robert S. Marks award is presented to the department that completes the year with the highest percentage increase of fully paid life members over goal. This year's winner is the department of South Dakota. Please welcome department commander Dan Francis. The judge Robert S. Marks award is named after DAV's founder. Marks served in the army in World War I. He earned the Distinguished Service Cross and was injured in the Musargon offensive in 1918. He later became a superior court judge and law professor. Veterans who are assisted by DAV know firsthand the value of our organization. It's no surprise that these same veterans are more likely to join as members as a result of the excellent assistance they receive from national service officers. As our NSOs provide free services they also provide enough close look at the life changing value of our organization. While they have an edge it still takes a skilled communicator and driven representative to turn new allies into lifetime DAV members. Our next award recognizes individuals who go above and beyond to bring new members into our ranks and help perpetuate the strength of DAV. As a retired NSO is with great pride that I present the top recruiter from our NSO Corps who remarkably recruited 258 veterans to join our ranks. Ladies and gentlemen please put your hands together for Carlo Malone of the Chicago National Service Office. Our top recruiting member of the year is Michael Crow from DAV Chapter 8 in Mesa, Arizona. He recruited 80 new members. Since 1994 DAV has recognized the successes of its members who have signed 100 or more new members for three consecutive membership years with a gold lapel pin and by entering their names into the membership recruiters hall of fame. A few of these folks may be here and will join us on stage. This year's inductees are Carlo Malone who recruited a total of 258 new members. Hank Myers who recruited a total of 231 new members. And John Rodriguez who recruited a total of 202 new members. As always thank you to all of our recruiters for another incredible year. Keep up the wonderful work all of you do. It is my distinct honor to introduce someone who has made in his life's purpose to provide the fullest possible accounting of our missing personnel to their families and the nation. A retired major general with 34 years of service in the Air Force, Kelly McKeague serves as a director of the Defense POW MIA Accounting Agency or the DPAA. While he has been in his current position since 2017, this was not his first position with the agency. The general served as the first ever deputy director of DPAA and before that as commander of the joint POW MIA Accounting Command at Joint Base Pearl Harbor, Hickam, Hawaii. He received his Air Force commission in 1981 after graduating from Georgia Institute of Technology and served as a civil engineering officer until his retirement in 2015. Please join me in welcoming retired general Kelly McKeague. National commander Marshall, national agitant Burgess, distinguished DAV members, warm greetings. I'm deeply privileged to participate in your national convention and more importantly to thank DAV for championing the POW MIA mission. DAV and DPAA share a common theme in our mottos. Yours is keeping our promise to America's veterans. Ours is fulfilling our nation's promise. Searching for, recovering, and identifying Americans missing from past wars is a sacred obligation because it involves your comrades in arms and it's a moral imperative because they made the supreme sacrifice for the nation we all love. This mission is global because we go wherever Americans went missing in battle since World War II. It's also generational because second and third generation family members still carry a void in life and heart in their deserved quest for answers. As you see here, the numbers of MIAs are staggering. Even with the 38,000, 38,000 that we estimate to be recoverable, these numbers together with the passage of time are the enemies we battle today. However, we benefit greatly from the acknowledgement and cooperation, strong cooperation, from 46 countries toward this humanitarian effort. And here in the United States, the POW MIA issue still generates interest and visibility, which are due to devoted veterans like yourselves from across America. As it did for you, COVID-19 impacted us. But over the last year, more countries are permitting us access, subject to us meeting their health and safety protocols. This very day, we have teams deployed in Europe and the Pacific, 10 of them. In total this year, we will have deployed 100 teams to 36 different countries. We have the unique authority to establish private partnerships, which are proving to be very successful. We have over 111 active and emerging arrangements with universities like the University of Wisconsin-Madison and nongovernmental organizations like Ancestry.com. These partners are talented, they're passionate, and above all, they increase our capacity and capabilities to be able to do more. Ladies and gentlemen, with 20% of the recoverable being in a World War II or Korean War unknown, buried in an American cemetery somewhere in the world, we continue to dissenter and identify them with great success. This included two Medal of Honor recipients. Last year, Army Captain Chaplin Amel Capen of Pilsen, Kansas, a chaplain lost during the Korean War. And this past April, Army Air Force's Lieutenant Colonel Addison Baker of Illinois, a B-24 pilot lost in World War II and awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. Both are now home. You may recall the 55 boxes of remains North Korea turned over to the United States in 2018, the first fulfillment of a commitment they made to President Trump. Since receiving those boxes, we have identified 82 service members and anticipate to be able to do more. However, despite the commitment made by the North Korean leader for us resuming field work in North Korea, our negotiations ended when their Army stopped communicating with us over three years ago. Now, while the numbers of MIAs are daunting, they are so much more than just figures. Each and every one has a unique story, with memories that their families still carry and treasure. I'd like to briefly share three such stories of an MIA from World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, all of whom are now home. This is Marine Corps Private William Rambo of La Porte, Indiana. He was a member of the Second Marine Division and was killed in action on the very first day of the Battle of Tarawa in 1943, at the age of 20 years old. He was buried in a temporary cemetery that was lost for decades when Navy CB battalions constructed an air base on the island. One of our private partner's history flight found and excavated several of these burial trenches several years ago. We identified the remains of Private Rambo in 2019, and the Marine Corps notified his nephew and niece, they are children of Private Rambo's younger brother. Seen here in this picture, they brought together 23 family members for his internment at Arlington National Cemetery. Many of them had lost touch with their relatives or did not even know they were related. They described the internment as giving new life to their family. Then there's the story of Army Sergeant Roy De Lauder, member of the Seventh Infantry Division. He was 21 years old when he was killed and declared missing from the Korean War in the Battle of the Chosen Reservoir in December 1950. This past January we identified him from among the 55 boxes North Korea had turned over. His remains actually came from two boxes, number 27 and number 41. This year on the April day he would have turned 93 years old. The community of Smithburg, Maryland turned out en masse to welcome him home and bury him home, bury him with full military honors in Hagerstown, Maryland. The ladies you see here are his two daughters who were three and almost two years old at the time he went missing and his three younger sisters who today are all in their 90s. Sergeant De Lauder's older sister Evelyn said, knowing buddy is at rest next to our parents and our younger brother brings us such comfort. Last but not least is Navy Commander Paul Charvet who hailed from Grandview, Washington. He was an A1H Sky Raider pilot and was shot down in 1967 in North Vietnam at the age of 26. Ladies and gentlemen this was his third combat tour in Vietnam and sadly he was to return home the very next day after his fateful mission off the USS Bonhomme Richard. At the height of COVID restrictions, a Vietnamese team trained by the US a decade earlier recovered his remains which we identified last year. Here's what's incredible, his mother Blanche is 101 years old and his two sisters were 22 and 24 years old when he went missing. After a Navy honor guard moved his remains from an Alaska airline 737 737 to a waiting hearse his sister Lorraine who you see here stepped forward to hug her big brother. She said, even when I saw the casket it was just like that's really you Paul after all these years welcome home. Distinguished DAV members these are just three of many examples of why this noble mission matters and how your awareness and advocacy enable us to provide MIA families with answers they have long sought. The fact that the United States of America vigorously searches for finds and recovers and accounts for our MIAs from World War II through Operation Iraqi Freedom is the right thing to do. It's the fulfillment of a promise made to those who made the ultimate sacrifice and to their families. Since they are unreturned veterans it's also a commitment to you their comrades in arms and those in uniform today that they cannot be left behind. Two years after the end of World War I then Vice President Calvin Coolidge said this, the nation that forgets its defenders will itself be forgotten. The nation that forgets its defenders will itself be forgotten. Ladies and gentlemen I can assure you that the Department of Defense has not forgotten but I also thank again the DAV for also not forgetting. In keeping your promise to America's veterans you also help fulfill the promise made to those veterans who have not yet returned home. May God bless each and every one of you. May he bless our MIAs and their families and may he shed his grace upon the DAV and our great country. I now like to call on the Board of Directors Treasurer William Baker for his report. National Commander Marshall, fellow members of the National Executive Committee, DAV members, guests, good morning. Let me begin by recognizing with those who I served on the Board of Directors. First Chairman Stephen Whitehead of Minnesota, Vice Chairman Joseph Parchetage, Montana. Secretary and National Adjutant Mark Burgess, Director, National Executive Committee member, 20th District, Charles W. Edwards, Senior of Texas. Director and NEC 7th District, Floyd Watson, Jr. of Wyoming and Director and NEC 7th District, Frank A. Chicolo of Florida. It's my honor and privilege to present a report on the financial affairs of organization for the six-month period ending June 30th, 2022. DAV's total fundraising support through that date was a little over 51 million dollars. Contributions were in excess of 40 million dollars and bequest was just under 11 million dollars. Under the department fundraising program, payouts to the department in December 2021 and 2022 totaled about three million dollars. Since the program began in 1994, almost 113 million dollars have been distributed to departments for their service programs. The Board would like to thank all of our departments for their continued participation in these programs, especially our members for their continued generosity. As of June 2022, DAV has received a total support and revenue from all sources of roughly 36 million dollars. The total support and revenue is greatly affected by the negative securities market performance over the first six months of this year. Our investment portfolios and investment policy statements to guide decision making, especially during a bear market. We plan to stay the course of our long-term investment strategy and do not intend to realize these current market declines by prematurely selling securities. Also, through June 2022, DAV had a total expenditure of 134 million dollars, of which 110 million dollars were for service programs, which is 82 percent of our total expenses. Over the same period, fundraising expenditures, roughly 19 million dollars, were three million dollars more than through June 2021. Administrative outlays were a little less than five million dollars. As of June 30, 2022, the market value of our general fund long-term investment portfolio is roughly 432 million dollars. DAV's net assets or net worth decrease slightly more than 462 million dollars at this time last year to an excess of 399 million dollars, a 63 million dollar increase or 14 percent. Again, the security markets have been extremely tough on everyone this year and we're looking ahead to better days while maintaining our investment portfolio and our discipline. On June 30, 2022, the Life Membership Fund Reserve was approximately 47 million dollars. Commander is my privilege to present DAV's proposed 2023 annual budget for ratification by the convention. At the May 26, 2022 board meeting of directors, the board presented the 2023 proposed budget. The board unanimously approved the proposed budget at that time, a copy which has been provided to all convention attendees at registration. I would like to thank National Agenda Mark Burgess and his staff for their hard work, which made this report possible. Let me thank you, Commander Marshall, for the support I received and my role on the board of directors as treasurer. It has been a privilege to hold this position. Commander, this concludes my report to the National Commission. I feel honored to offer our delegates and thank you for the adoption. I thank you and move for the adoption of the report and approval of the proposed 2023 annual budget. Thank you, Bill, for your service and that very informative report. I have a motion. May I have a second? Mike 2. Mike 4. Warren Tobin, Chapter 31, Department of North Dakota probably seconds that report, that remotion. All those in favor signify by saying aye. Oppose? So ordered. I would like to call on Chairman, past National Commander Robert Reynolds, for the report of the Committee on Constitution and Bylaws. This is the first reading of the proposed bylaw changes. Chairman Reynolds. Comrade Commander and delegates, good morning. The National Convention Committee on Constitution and Bylaws was called to order on August 6, 2022 by the committee advisors, Rob Reynolds and Ed Hartman. The first order of business was the selection election of a Convention Committee Chairman and Secretary. Rob Reynolds was elected as Chairman and Tom Olrab 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. Resolution number one, allow DAB chapters to conduct routine meetings of the governor and body using virtual platforms, but continue to require in person participation of delegates and alternates for department and national conventions. Resolution number 421, add the following as article 7, section 7.8, paragraph 5 of the National Bylaws. No person shall succeed himself or herself as National Commander. This is already ratified in DAB's constitution. Resolution number 422, delete article 14, section 14.5, paragraph 3 of the bylaws. This is a housekeeping matter giving the issue is dated and specifically covered in article 13, section 13.1 of the National Bylaws and the Board of Director Policy 8. Comrade Commander, this completes the first reading of the report of the committee on constitution bylaws and the recommended changes to the constitution and bylaws. Thank you, Rob. There will be no action taken at this time. We'll hear the final report of the Constitution and bylaws committee at the final business session on Tuesday. National Agent Burgess, do you have any announcements? Thank you, Commander. Immediately following this session, join us for a quick snack break sponsored by Heroes with Hearing Loss. Please head outside the ballroom to Regency T-Foyer where you'll find some delicious refreshments. Thanks to our friends at Heroes with Hearing Loss for their generous support. The My Journey Workshop for Women Veterans takes place from 3.45 to 5.45 pm in Regency Ballroom T through U. This goal and action plan creation workshop will help women veterans envision and plan for significant life events pre and post separation and offers women veterans the opportunity to connect with and learn from their fellow sisters in arms. Join us right here in the Regency Ballroom for Fun Night tomorrow at 8 pm for the return of Gary Sinise and the Lieutenant Dan Bann. This year's concert is sponsored once again by our good friends at TriWest who've generously donated to bring Gary and the team back to Orlando to perform. We'll be trying to get as many people through as possible in a short time we have so please be courteous to others and make an effort to keep the line moving. Don't forget that today at 4 pm is the cutoff for you to make reservations to attend the line officer dinner you'll need tickets to enter and there will be a sign seating. Our regular business will begin again Tuesday morning at 8 30 a.m. We'll start off with committee reports including the final report of the Constitution and Bylaws Committee. We'll hear reports on the Charitable Service Trust and the National Service Foundation plus an update on our Memorial in Washington D.C. All who wish to donate to any DAB entity in the interest of time are encouraged to fill out the donation form in your bags before making your way to the donation space at Regency counter three located near the will call on the convention level. On Tuesday afternoon we'll hold our final business session and conclude with the nominations and elections of our national officers and again we're giving away $350 gift cards that can be redeemed at the DAB store online or here while you're at convention. You must be present to win if I call your name please come to the stage and see membership director Doug Wells. Winner number one John Higginbotham Pennsylvania Lehigh Valley Chapter 7. Erie Beard Tennessee Nashville Chapter Number 3 and Angel Lopez Comoss Puerto Rico SFC Luis Morales Chapter Number 3. Commander that's all announced since I have. Thank you Mark. Ladies and gentlemen if they will please rise I ask chaplain Varner to please lead us in a closing prayer. Let us pray. Almighty creator our Lord our God help us to be reminded as we leave this place that you're the one that has loved us and has expressed it in so many ways. Now as we depart from this place never for your presence help us and teachers to walk in wisdom and knowledge that will always be the great and the better there are these and all things we ask and believe by faith and the people said amen. The convention stands and recessed until 8 a.m. Tuesday morning.