Virtual National Council of Administration Meeting!

 This certainly is a year of firsts!  We weren't able to have a national VFW convention and that non-event pushed our current Commander in Chief and me into our new roles without a vote!

Next, we had to cancel the in-person Council of Administration because of the resurgence of COVID-19.  Fortunately, Zoom allowed us to have many days of committee meetings, workshops, and yes, even the Council of Administration...all electronically.  Because we had open positions as a result of no convention, mail in balloting occurred and then our Commander in Chief Hal performed yet another first when he installed the newly elected officers over the internet.  It certainly is an amazing time to be alive and serving veterans through the VFW.

I'm excited to be the Senior Vice Commander in Chief and I'm looking forward to seeing you all again at some point in the future!

Illinois VFW Council of Administration Meeting

Even though COVID-19 has placed travel restrictions, and I'm recovering from back surgery, I was able to participate in this Council meeting today via the Zoom platform.  That's what the VFW is all about.  Things might make "the usual" unattainable, but we work through it and get the job done for Veterans!

It was great being able to see old friends and listen to the reports on how the state is doing.  More importantly, I picked up on the vibe that everyone is ready to go and do great things.  Congrats to Commander Laurie and the other officers who pulled together as a team to make this meeting successful.

Zooming into a meeting does have its issues.  I wasn't aware I was on a really big screen.  While I was looking down at my phone and texting to work out technical problems with the feed, it certainly did look like I was sleeping.  Many thanks to all of you in the meeting who were texting me to tell me to wake up...every time I replied I compounded the idea that I was sleeping!!  Hmmm, maybe I WAS sleeping.  But I was texting and that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Good luck in this coming year Illinois!  As our Commander in Chief says, it's a 20/20 Vision for Veterans!

South Africa Joins Us!

Welcome new readers from South Africa!  I appreciate you finding the blog!

While there haven't been many travels to write about lately, I encourage you all to look back at some of the more interesting blog entries I've made as I've skipped around the world.  And, trust me, I'll be providing new content as soon as I can.

Invasion of Kuwait - 30 Years Later

Hard to believe, but it has been 30 years since Saddam Hussein decided to invade Kuwait.  Poor decision making on his part, and I believe that would be the understatement of the century.

Little did the Dictator know that the entire world would not stand for this naked aggression.  There would be no appeasement.  This day in history marked the beginning of the end for Saddam's intervention.

To those of you, like me, who served in Desert Storm and Desert Shield, take this time to reflect on the important part you played in the history of the world.  Thank you for your service!