As the Senior Vice Commander in Chief of the VFW, I have counterparts in the 52 Departments we have. Fifty-two, because we have 50 States and then the Department of Europe and the Department of the Pacific Areas. As far flung as we are, we continue to use technology to stay in touch.
Friday evening I held a zoom with many of the 52 Department Senior Vice Commanders to bring them up to speed on several initiatives going on at the national level, closing the loop on issues we've been discussing, and then taking the time to listen to them and what's going on in their Departments. Actually, I think listening to what's going on at the grassroots level was the most important part of the evening. We all learn from each other and it truly is a team effort.
Traditionally, in a non-COVID environment, I'd be traveling to attend Department level events. There's no way I could get to each one in a year and over the three year tour I'd try to get to every Department. The Senior team has embraced zoom and I'm actually electronically visiting more Posts, Districts, and Departments now than I could have in a "normal" year. In fact, it would be extremely rare to attend Post and District events as there just isn't enough time in a normal year. I plan on continuing E-events even when we start traveling again, as I can fit them in. It doesn't take the place of an in-person meeting, but it's the next best thing to being there and it shows the troops that we care enough to reach out.
Because it is difficult to get all the Seniors to attend one update on one particular day and time, I'm also hosting two more of these on Sunday so everyone can attend live the one that best fits their schedule. It's not about me, it's about WE!
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