 More than 100 years ago, wounded American veterans returned home from the European battlefields of World War I. They found a nation plagued by incredibly limited resources and a weakened economy. What's more, the government was ill-prepared to confront the realities of wartime service. That's why, in 1920, disabled war hero Judge Robert Marx formed a group called Disabled American Veterans of the World War. This band of combat-wounded veterans gave a voice to those forever changed by war. Since its founding, DAV has remained focused on serving and advocating for all generations of veterans. And despite the unforeseen challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic this year, our organization continues to step up to the plate as it has throughout the past century. Last August, DAV marked the beginning of its centennial celebration with your selection of our national officers, highlighted by the election of National Commander Butch Whitehead, a combat-disabled veteran of the war in Iraq with 27 years of service in the Army National Guard and the first post-911 veteran to hold the organization's highest post. After taking the reins at our National Convention in Orlando, Commander Whitehead returned home and immediately went to work at the Minnesota Assistant Council for Veterans' Homeless Stand-Down at Target Field in Minneapolis, where he visited with homeless veterans to make them aware of the benefits available to them and DAV services. Veterans, we every day is a different day. Today we can be doing just fine and tomorrow something changes and DAV. Being partnered with events like this event today at MACV just shows that we're connected with the right agencies out there to help every veteran live a quality of life that they have earned. The following month, Commander Whitehead and other veteran service organizations took action by sending a letter to the president regarding the VA stay on Blue Water Navy disability claims, which were made available through the signing of the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019 earlier in the summer. DAV staff in Washington led the charge by hosting a press conference with congressional leaders and other VSOs on the steps of the Capitol where they called on the president to overrule the VA's decision so Blue Water Navy Vietnam veterans who have wrongly been denied benefits and health care for decades would receive the benefits they've earned through their service and exposure to Agent Orange. They are calling directly on President Trump to end the wait for Blue Water Navy Vietnam veterans. In early October, DAV marked the fifth anniversary of the dedication of the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial in Washington with a ceremony in which veterans from each wartime generation laid a wreath representing their brothers and sisters in arms. Special guests included VA Undersecretary for Benefits Dr. Paul Lawrence, who represented all World War II veterans, past national commanders Paul Jackson of the Korean War, Gene Murphy who served in Vietnam, and Delphine Mattcalf Foster of the Gulf War, while Commander Whitehead represented the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Not long after that, the commander picked back up on focusing on veterans in need by joining DAV staff for the annual homeless stand down at national headquarters. Later in the month, he was able to assist fellow members of the Department of Minnesota to keep a local veteran in his home through much needed renovations made possible through the Wells Fargo Foundation Veterans WINS grant program, which donated $100,000 to support DAV programs and services for disabled veterans. November turned into an eventful month for Commander Whitehead as he rejoined the military to serve as the command sergeant major of the Army National Guard's 34th Infantry Division, a post that requires him to lead more than 15,000 soldiers spanning eight states and allows him to keep his finger on the pulse of emerging veterans issues. A week later, Commander Whitehead represented DAV while laying a wreath at Arlington National Cemetery's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier before joining Minnesota Military Radio to discuss various veterans issues during a 45 minute show focused exclusively on DAV. In February, the commander who also serves as Executive Director of the Disabled American Veterans of Minnesota Foundation joined the Department of Minnesota members at an ice fishing event for women veterans. The event allowed for camaraderie as well as the opportunity to discuss issues affecting women veterans. Later that month, Commander Whitehead returned to D.C. to testify before Congress at a joint session of the House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committee during our annual midwinter conference. There, he laid out DAV's legislative priorities to lawmakers beginning with the need for Congress to override the VA's decision to delay adding four pending diseases to the list of Agent Orange presumptive conditions until the end of 2020. If the VA will not take the right action, then in the name of justice, you must. Our Vietnam veterans have waited long enough. The commander also advocated for the passage of the Veterans Burn Pits Exposure Recognition Act, a DAV conceptualized piece of legislation that would formally concede that veterans who served near burn pits were exposed to harmful chemicals and toxins and make it easier to prove direct service connection in their VA disability claims. Commander Whitehead pressed lawmakers on other topics, such as addressing gaps in inequities in programs and services for women veterans and strengthening veterans' mental health care and suicide prevention programs. The commander himself is an ambassador for the President's roadmap to empower veterans and end a national tragedy of suicide or prevents a program focused on community integration, research, and implementation strategies to prevent veteran suicide. He also spoke to DAV's dedication to improving benefits for spouses and survivors of disabled veterans, citing the organization's work to include a provision in the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, which was signed into law, that will completely eliminate the survivor benefit plan, dependency, and identity compensation offset by 2023. During his testimony, Commander Whitehead also told Congress that DAV would be monitoring the full and faithful implementation of the VA Mission Act, noting the VA's failure to meet the October 1, 2019 deadline for expanding the caregiver program to pre-911 veterans. Despite 16 months to prepare, the VA failed to implement the required IT solution and delayed the expansion until later the summer at the earliest. This is simply unacceptable. We call in Congress to take whatever actions are necessary to mandate that the VA end of the delay and begin caregiver's expansion immediately. DAV continues to be the nationwide leader in representing veterans and their clients for benefits, fighting to ensure they receive justice for the sacrifices they've made during service. With more than 1.1 million powers of attorney, DAV provided representation for more than 210,000 VA claims and helped veterans and family members obtain more than $21 billion in earned benefits in 2019. DAV's disaster relief program also continued making an impact by aiding our fellow veterans across the nation who unfortunately found themselves victims of natural disasters such as the tornadoes in Nashville. Over the past five years, the program has provided nearly $4 million to veterans affected by natural disasters. This year, however, our service department has been called upon for a different reason than in the past and it has stepped up to show why we're the best in the business of serving veterans each and every day. Through the teamwork of our service and fundraising departments, DAV established a COVID-19 Unemployment Relief Fund to assist veterans who have lost jobs or income as a result of the pandemic. So far, more than 6,000 veterans have received more than $1.5 million in relief. Our accounting department also played an integral role in very quickly cutting hand processing and mailing these checks. While the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated the closure of our offices to in-person traffic across the country, DAV immediately set up a nationwide call system to allow our national service officers and employees to triage disability claims and provide normal benefits services uninterrupted to those in need from home. After bringing in more than 35,000 attendees in 2019, the coronavirus outbreak also necessitated moving the balance of this year's nationwide 125 in-person job fairs with recruit military to virtual events where they have seen a dramatic uptick in participation. Since 2014, over 207,000 attendees have received more than 146,000 job offers through these events. These efforts, along with our partnership with Hiring America's Televised Veteran Employment Series, highlight DAV's growing influence in this area. First released in 2018, the Veteran Advantage, DAV's guide to hiring and retaining veterans with disabilities, remains as the organization's premier tool in educating employers on the benefits of hiring America's veterans. The first of its kind hiring guide, which was a result of four years of research into what the veteran community contributes to the workforce, dispels myths for employers and demonstrates the business case for how hiring veterans can positively impact the company and bolster its bottom line. This year, our membership department ramped up its efforts to recruit new members through a new initiative called Recruit a Warrior, a program designed to help our members reach as many veterans as possible with just a few clicks of a mouse. By signing up for and sharing personalized recruit a warrior links on social media, members can collect recruitment points to be used toward DAV gear and other rewards. The department also developed the ability to provide chapters and departments with hot lists of veterans who are eligible to join DAV. These lists not only allow our local organizations and recruiters the ability to invite prospective members to join our ranks, but they're also a great way to extend DAV's mission of service into our communities. For 2019, DAV Transportation Network driver spent more than 1.2 million hours logging over 20.5 million miles and providing more than 615,000 rides to veterans at no cost. When my eyes got bad and I couldn't drive to the VA no more, they picked me up with a van and take me and I tell you those guys they're all volunteers and those people are just absolutely super. But for them I couldn't go to the VA so I'm really grateful for them. Since 1987, DAV chapters and departments along with the National Service Foundation's Columbia Trust have donated more than 3,400 vehicles at a cost of more than 79 million dollars to the program while Ford Motor Company, which has been a loyal friend of DAV since Henry Ford provided 50 Model T to bring Disabled World War I veterans to our second national convention in 1922, has donated more than 230 vehicles worth more than 5.4 million dollars. Before COVID-19 necessitated the first ever cancellation of the National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic this year, DAV once again teamed up with the VA to co-present the National Disabled Veterans T Tournament in Iowa in 2019. Among the participants was the first ever recipient of the DAV Freedom Award at the event, Army Vietnam Veteran and former DAV National Service Officer Bill Kaywood. A combat wounded DAV life member, Bill stood out as a shining example of how the national event promotes rehabilitation, fellowship and camaraderie among disabled veterans through adaptive sports. With all these events you get, I think as the young guys college you get stoked and then the more you get stoked the smaller your disabilities get. They become more diminished. These type of activities just really bond you together with other veterans and it helps everybody in the group to try to aspire to new levels of places they may never have reached before. DAV also challenged members and supporters during our Centennial year to take part in a new voluntary services campaign, 100 Acts of Honor, to contribute to the historical celebrations by completing 100 Acts of Honor for veterans in their local communities. The Charitable Service Trust supports dozens of unique initiatives that provide injured and ill veterans rehabilitative and emotional therapy, transition assistance, employment support, emergency relief and a range of other services. Last year the Trust received a perfect score from charity navigator for sound fiscal management and commitment to accountability and transparency. It was the 15th time the Trust has received a coveted four star rating from America's largest independent charity evaluator since first being evaluated in 2002 and the acknowledgement speaks volumes about the Trust's careful and efficient stewardship of donated funds as more than 95 cents of every dollar donated to the Trust went to programs that directly support veterans. We have also continued expanding our social media reach with 53 million interactions on Facebook, 4.9 million interactions on Twitter, 2.8 million on Instagram and 1.8 million on LinkedIn. Additionally our public service announcements garnered 9.1 billion impressions at an earned media value of nearly 120 million dollars in 2019. DAV also began a partnership with Ultimate Fighting Championship to highlight the organization and the impact it makes in the lives of veterans. In early October, the UFC provided a unique training opportunity for a group of DAV members. Former UFC Champion and Hall of Famer Forrest Griffin hosted a mixed martial arts inspired workout for DAV Ambassador and Army veteran C.C. Mazik, DAV's 2016 Outstanding Disabled Veteran of the Year Bobby Boddy and DAV's National Service Officer Mike Franco at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas. Today I had the opportunity to take some DAV veterans through some MMA style workouts through a little punch. In November, UFC invited National Commander Butch Whitehead and other DAV members to UFC 244 at New York City's Madison Square Garden where the organization was put front and center during the event's broadcast. Leading up to Memorial Day, DAV introduced a new DAV Honor Wall tool which helped thousands of grateful Americans create personalized videos and messages about fallen veterans and reach millions of people to honor their sacrifices. In 2019, we also continued our partnership with Golden Corral through the restaurant's Military Appreciation Night which provides free meals to veterans around Veterans Day. The annual event raised more than $15 million for DAV since the event began in 2001. We also entered into a new partnership with EG America in 2019 which is one of the nation's largest convenience store retailers. From the funds raised during their in-store fundraising campaign inviting customers to make donations to DAV, they provided DAV with a donation of $1 million. Needless to say, we were very grateful for this level of support and we are very excited to have EG America as part of the DAV family. We also continued our partnership with A&W restaurants which, like DAV, has been a part of America for a century. To show their appreciation for the men and women who have sacrificed so much, A&W stores collected customer donations from early July up to National Root Beer Float Day in August resulting in a $170,000 donation to DAV. Government CIO, which donated $100,000 of DAV in 2019 and 2020 respectively, also stepped up in a big way during our COVID-19 Unemployment Relief fundraising efforts. Employees, partners and members of Government CIO's network raised $15,000 for the relief fund before the company added another $25,000 donation to help DAV assist veterans in need. Thanks goes to all our corporate partners for helping DAV fulfill our mission throughout the year. It is through their generosity that we are able to make differences in the lives of our nation's heroes. Supporting us in this effort, the Fight for Caregivers and more is the DAV Auxiliary which had a busy year under the guidance of Commander Diane Frans. Through their unmatched dedicated service to local community veterans, Commander Frans, National Agent at Pat Kemper and the rest of our friends and allies in the Auxiliary continued their National Caregiver Initiative to assist with funding caregiver and companion activities for DAV events. The COVID-19 pandemic has certainly brought challenging times for our nation, its veterans and their families, but DAV, an organization of veterans serving veterans, has adapted to continue meeting the needs of those we serve throughout the last year. Our dedicated members, volunteers and supporters serve as an inspiration to make sure our government and our organization do right by those forever changed in service. I'm proud of all we've accomplished over the past year and I look forward to another year serving alongside you to keep our promises to America's veterans and their families.