I briefly said hello to the first time attendees to the Fall
conference last night during the welcome and introduction to the
conference. Today I sat in on the
session for all attendees before they hit the hill. Commander in Chief Doc, Senior Vice Hal, and
I gave a short warm up thanking the attendees and reminding them of their
awesome responsibilities as they represent the VFW before Congress this
week. As always, Carlos Fuentes,
National Legislative Director, and his staff in our Washington DC office
provided pertinent information to our members and handed out numerous pamphlets
and brochures containing our Priority Goals, Legislative Victories, etc. Representative Joe Wilson from South Carolina stopped in to thank the VFW for all of its work on behalf of veterans. His comments were well received and we thanked him for thinking about us. Following this morning’s session, members
from our departments around the world started their two day blitz to speak with
their legislators on behalf of the VFW.
I was able to catch up with our two member Illinois
delegation, long time member Victor Smith and our newly appointed Vice Chairman
of the National Legislative Committee, Jay Hoffman. They were reviewing the materials that are going to ensure their success. The
hard work they are doing here is mirrored in our home state, the Land of
Lincoln, where they are actively engaged in state legislative matters on behalf
of veterans.
Jay was also a Veterans of Foreign Wars - Student Veterans
of America Legislative Fellow in 2017.
Clearly, there is plenty of work available for veterans who want to get
involved!
