Student Veterans of America NATCON 2020 Day 2

There are a lot of wonderful student veterans roaming the halls and rooms at the convention!  It's fun to see the passion they have for the SVA and the opportunities they know they are getting by being a part of it.  This convention has the feel of a TED Talk at times and it is definitely a "modern" way of doing things.

I had a short meeting with the President and CEO of the SVA, Jared Lyon,  This man has a vision and a plan for the SVA and there is no doubt in my mind that there will be success.  He exudes confidence and he is "all in" with the partnership VFW and SVA have.

There were the usual break out sessions [more on those at the end of the convention, I promise].  However, this afternoon I was thrilled to be part of the Keynote Address General Session.  I'm not as motivational as Miss America, and I wasn't here to talk about my story (which doesn't even measure on the scale compared to the other speakers).  With the invaluable assistance of Ryan G, VFW National Veterans Service Director, we were able to prepare a VFW message for the audience of 1500 that we thought was compelling.  I certainly foot-stomped the VFW-SVA Legislative Fellowship!  Judging from all of the people coming up to talk to me after the speech and all the way down the hall I think the notion that we are inclusive and we want these student leaders to succeed and be in our ranks hit a chord.

There's no place to hide on that minimalist stage, but Mama did a great job of having the audience watch her sleep so that took the heat off me!