Zooming into Rhode Island's Council of Administration Meeting!

 Coming to you today virtually from Bristol, Rhode Island where I had the opportunity to Zoom into the Department Council of Administration meeting.  This was their first foray into the world of hybrid Zoom-in person meetings and I have to say that Commander Ray and his team knocked it out of the park!  

The meeting was held in Bristol, at Post 237.  Bristol by the way holds the distinction of hosting the nation's oldest Fourth of July celebration and parade!  Always nice to learn new things about new places.  The meeting itself was chock full of information provided by in-person and zoom speakers.  It was a seamless transition going back and forth so no one was left out of the conversation.  Commander Ray asked me to say a few words and I was able to pass along "news you can use" items.  I received some good questions from the audience and it clearly shows the members of Rhode Island care about the status of the VFW and how we can continually do more for veterans.  How to connect with Post 9/11 veterans provided a very good discussion and it's clear that the vision is clear in this State!  Diversity is also on the radar and my counterpart, State Senior Vice Commander Dora, is going to be a driving force in shaping the future of the Department.  It was good to see a true cross section of veterans at this meeting! 

I was really impressed with two discussions:  Veteransinc.org and the Providence Clemente Veterans Initiative.  Veterans Inc is a leader in ending veteran homelessness as well as incorporating the "total veteran" approach to assisting vets.  They provide job training, health and wellness initiatives, and other support services.  The Providence initiative provides free college classroom experiences for all veterans who want to learn more about the Humanities and who want to better their opportunities to get ahead.  Veterans can even receive college credit at no cost and without using their VA benefits!  I received my undergraduate degree in Philosophy and I'm a big believer in the Humanities and the broad education they can bring to anyone who studies them.  Way to go!

To bring this back, kudos to Commander Ray and the great veterans of Rhode Island.  You're doing great work and I'm proud of you.  Thanks again for letting me be part of your Saturday and I hope to get out there in person one of these days!

Post 237 in Bristol, RI

A pretty memorial on the grounds of Post 237!

Technology works!  I received a great package of read ahead materials and was able to use them efficiently as the meeting went on.  Kudos to Kasim Yarn [on Zoom] and John Gallo [in person] for working on some technical issues to keep the train on the tracks!