The Department of North Carolina's 83rd Annual State Convention is sched-uled for Thursday, 6 June, through Sunday, 9 June, at the Embassy Suites in Greensboro. The hotel is located at the junction of I-40 and State Highway 68 (Exit 210). All comrades, sisters, and brothers are encouraged to attend the Convention and learn about state-level issues and decision making processes.

Major issues to be discussed at the Convention include a proposed $10 annual member dues increase from VFW National, changes to the Department By-Laws, and the approval or disap-proval of a Department Men's Auxiliary Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). There will be an outgoing Council of Administration meeting on Thursday afternoon, classes/meetings/seminars on Friday, the state-level elections on Saturday, and an incoming Council meeting on Sunday morning.

The elections promise to be particularly exciting, as there are numerous candidates running for several offices. For the posi-tion of State Junior Vice Commander are

State Chief of Staff Steve Amos, District 4 Commander Victor Letourneaut, District 8 Commander Jessie Bellflowers, and Comrade Van Raper of Wilson Post 6651. For the position of State Surgeon are current and longtime Surgeon Saundra Clagett and District 5 Commander Chris Sikes, a VA nurse. So far, the offices of Commander, Senior Vice Commander, Quartermaster, Judge Advocate, and Chaplain are unopposed. Currently running for these offices are incum-bents Ernie Allis for Commander, Jack Goin for Senior Vice Commander, Bruce Edwards for Quartermaster, Dean Harris for Judge Advocate, and Steve Smith for Chaplain. However, any comrade in good standing can be nominated for any Department-level office on Saturday morning, 8 June.

On the Ladies' side of the house, the fol-lowing sisters are running for office so far: Penny Cacoulidis for President, Janice Holm for Senior Vice President, B. Mae Harris for Junior Vice President, Jeanne Gilbert for Treasurer, Fran Redfield for Chaplain, Joyce Preston for Conductress, and Eileen Wokosky for Guard.

Also at the Convention will be VFW National representatives from the Headquarters in Kansas City. The comrades' representative has not yet been determined by National, but the Ladies are sending National Council of Administration Member #9, Helen Bell, of South Carolina. At the Convention, Ms. Bell will finish her term of office and the North Carolina Ladies will select their next 2-year Council member from their own ranks. So far, Past Department Presidents Maria Myers and Deborah Crowder have declared their intention to run for Council Member #9.

The theme of the Convention will be the old Wild West. Attendees are encour-aged to wear cowboy/western clothing at the Department Hospitality Room dur-ing the evenings and at the Installation Banquet on Saturday night. The cost will be $35 overall, which will pay for unlimited snacking and drinking at the Department Hospitality Room all week-end and the Saturday night banquet. If attendees wish to only visit the hospital-ity room, the cost is $10. If attendees wish to only attend the banquet, the cost

is $25. There is no fee for attending the Convention if persons do not want to socialize at either the hospitality room or the banquet.

To make reservations at the Embassy Suites hotel, call 336-668-3901 and tell them you need the VFW rate for those dates. The rate is $112 plus taxes for a suite in the Embassy Suites hotel, or $179 for a two-bedroom apartment in the Homewood Suites hotel across the parking lot. This cost includes free hot breakfasts each morning and two free hotel drinks each evening with the hotel manager for all attendees.

POST SERVICE OFFICERS are par-ticularly invited to attend because State Service Officer Cleo Summers will be providing intensive service training for all-day Friday and half a day Saturday. Because of the sensitive nature of post service officer work, all such comrades should certainly attend this training. Any comrade who attends the conven-tion and stays for the Council meet-ing on Sunday morning will receive a stipend of $.20/mile transportation

reimbursement, whether they drive or not. Besides Service Officer training, internet and website training will be offered. There will be many committee meetings of interest to comrades, sis-ters, and brothers, to include By-Laws, Resolutions, Long Range Planning, State Budget, Men's Auxiliary, and the State Golf Tournament planners. The Eastern, Central, and Western Conferences will all hold their conference meetings, to include elections for their Chairman, Vice Chairman, and Secretary Treasurer. All comrades in good standing in those conferences are eligible to run for these offices.

Also of great interest to comrades, sis-ters, and brothers alike is the VFW Department Store. Thousands of dol-lars worth of excellent VFW and mili-tary items will be available for purchase at very competitive prices. The store has been one of the outstanding success stories of 2012-2013, garnering sales since the last convention in June of over $30,000. Buyers can pay with cash, check, or credit card. The store can also be found online at www.vfwnc.org.

Official Publication of the N.C. Department Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States

Volume No. 75 The VFW Leader JaN/Feb/mar 2013

Inside: • Pg. 2 - Letters • Pg 13 - Patriot Pen Winner • Pg. 3 - Officers Columns • Pg 14 - Gold Medal Winners • Pg. 4 - Veterans Museum • Pg15 - Vander Clute Ride • Pg. 5 - Veterans Retraining • Pg16 - Tarheel Photos • Pg. 6 - GI Bill Trademark • Pg. 10 - Presidents Column • Pg. 11 - Paperless Claims • Pg. 12 - District Meetings

VFW of North CarolinaPO Box 25337Raleigh, NC 27611-5337

Non-Profit OrgUS Postage

PAIDRermit No. 1838

Raleigh N.C.

State Convention Set for June 6th-9th in Greensboro

THE VFW LEADER

2013

WE HOLD THE FUTURE

Voice of Democracy Winner Takes 5th Place NationallyJoanna Paul, a home-schooled 11th grad-er of Greenville, has taken 1st place in the Department of North Carolina's Voice of Democracy oral essay competition, and 5th place in the entire nation. She will receive $3000 in scholarships from the Department and an additional $5000 in scholarships from VFW National.

Joanna, the daughter of Nancy Paul, received her recognition by the state at the Department Winter Council of Administration/Conference in Greensboro on February 2, and from National at the VFW Voice of Democracy/Legislative Conference in Washington, DC, on March 3. She was sponsored by Greenville Post 7032 and District 2.

Taking 1st place in the nation was a female student from San Francisco, California, who walked away with $30,000 in National scholarships. 2nd place went to a female student from Oregon, who will receive $16,000 in scholarships. 3rd place was a female student from Montana, who secured $10,000 in scholarships.

In the Department competition at the Mid-Winter Conference at the Embassy Suites in Greensboro, Christine Lloyd of Sanford won 2nd place and $1500 in scholarships. She was sponsored by Sanford Post 5631 and District 9, and is a senior at Lee County High School. In 3rd place at Department was Miranda Wronecki of Greensboro, a senior at Bishop McGuinness High School in Kernersville. Miranda was sponsored by Greensboro Post 11533 and District 10, and will receive $1000 in scholarships.Joanna's winning oral essay is as fol-

lows:

Is Our Constitution Still Relevant?

It is the summer of 1787. Fifty-five men are crammed into a hot, stuffy room in Philadelphia. They have already risked their lives to create this independent country. But, as the sweat trickles down their faces and flies swarm all around, they know that their mission is not yet complete. These brave visionaries, from different backgrounds, are united with a common vision: to create a Constitution that will establish and secure liberty for all generations of this fledgling nation. They know that this new nation will need a timeless framework built on prin-ciples that will allow it to thrive through tumultuous times.

What emerged from that convention was more than a document; it was the enshrining of the ideas that would become the blueprint for one of the great-est nations the world has ever known! Twelve years earlier, in the Declaration of Independence, the Founding Fathers had laid the foundation for these ideas by identifying two fundamental, self-evident truths. First, that government derives its authority "from the consent of the governed" (US Declaration Ind.). Second, that all men are "endowed by their creator" with the right to "life, lib-erty, and the pursuit of happiness " (US Declaration Ind.).

Some have argued that the Constitution is no longer relevant because it is archaic and is not suited to protect all rights. A

recent New York Post article stated that our Constitution is "out of step with the rest of the world in calling to pro-tect a right to travel... and entitle-ment to food, education and health care" (Liptak). Is that indeed the case?

To fully evaluate this, let's take a clos-er look at the two enduring keys and the structural provisions built into the Constitution to ensure its application irrespective of the times.

The first "key" is the idea of government accountability, implemented through a remarkable system of checks and-bal-ances. This was critical because, as James Madison explained, "The accumulation of all powers in the same hands... may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny" (Madison). By vesting differ-ent power: in three independent branch-es, the Constitution ensured that each branch's power would be checked by both each other and the people. You see, the Founding Fathers realized that while culture would change, human nature would not. The Constitution is relevant because it has prevailed over the natural corruption of human nature.

The second "key" is the provision and protection of liberty. The enormous importance of this was best epitomized by Patrick Henry, who said: "Give me liberty, or give me death!" (Henry) Unfortunately, each day children around the world wake up without the guarantee of this liberty. A little boy born into an "untouchable" family in India is warned that he will never be allowed to break free from the lowest rung of society. A girl in

Pakistan knows that she likely won't have the option of getting a college education. Contrast this to Americans who can live their entire lives without any such barri-ers or fear of punishment for thoughts, words, or actions, as guaranteed by the Constitution.

The Founding Fathers also wisely real-ized that society's progress could bring about the need for potential changes to the Constitution. For this reason, they included an amendment process by which these changes could be included as long as a majority of the people agreed. This brilliant idea would simultaneously allow for needed changes while protect-ing the integrity of this profound docu-ment against minority-held opinions. Samuel Adams noted, "The liberties of our country, the freedom of our civil constitution, are worth defending against all hazards: And it is our duty to defend them against all attacks" (Adams). This is why our President swears an oath to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution. And, why so many brave men and women in our armed forces are willing to give their lives to preserve the freedoms guaranteed by it.

The Constitution is not just words on a page but rather the foundation that has preserved and protected America's most cherished value: freedom. Through this amazing document the brilliant "keys" for the success of our nation - account-ability and liberty -live on. And so today, in 2012, the Constitution remains as remarkable and relevant as it was during that hot summer back in 1787.

Visit Your Post's WebsiteEvery post in North Carolina has their own website. It takes a minute to visit your post's site. Just log in to: www.vfwwebcom.org/northcarolina

Joanna Paul, the Department's VOD 2012-2013 First Place Winner

Joanna Paul being honored at the VFW National VOD/Legislative

Conference in Washington D.C., by State Commander Ted Briggs & Ladies Auxiliary State President Ginger Amos.

State Commander Urges One More Membership Push!The Department of North Carolina is knocking on the door of 100% in membership for 2012-2013, and State Commander Ted Briggs urges all comrades to make one more final member-ship push to achieve that goal. As of 7 March, the Department stood at 95.95%, the highest percentage at this time of the competition than in several years past.

The last times that the Department achieved the incredible goal of 100% in membership was in

2007-08 under John Shelander, 2005-06 under Roy Meares, and 1992-93 under William "Jim" Hendren.

Currently the Department is in 17th place of 54 Departments in the nation, and 5th place out of 17 Departments in the Southern Conference. State Commander Briggs is confident that the state can reach the desired 100% with just a little more effort.

Districts doing particularly well are District 11 under Pete Knight at 101.90% and District 8 under Jessie Bellflowers at 101.06. Almost to 100% are District 9 under Anthony Hall at 98.83%, District 12 under John Troutman at 98.65%, and District 17 under William "Skip" Ha at 98.33%.

Top Recruiters in the state are District 17 Commander Skip Hall of Cherokee Post 8013 at 52, Certified National Recruiter Roland

Rochester of Fayetteville Post 6018 at 49, State National Guard Coordinator Frances Crawford of Raeford Post 10 at 30, Perry Hair of Holly Ridge Post 9983 at 28, Enrico Dalimonte of Jacksonville Post 9133 at 22, Ron Sherwood of Jacksonville Post 9133 at 20, Thomas Person of Fayetteville Post 6018 at 18, William "Bill" Greene of Hope Mills Post 10630 at 16, Daniel Johnson of Morganton Post 5362 at 15, State Membership Chairman Jack Campbell of Indian Trail Post 2423 at 14, State Chief of Staff Steve

Amos of Winston-Salem Post 1134 at 13, Max Morris of Southern Pines Post 7318 at 13, Mary Ann 0' Connor of Southern Pines Post 7318 at 12, Scott Vanderwerf of Swansboro Post 9960 at 12, Billy Ray Brown of Spring Lake Post 4542 at 12, Joseph Faney of Holly Ridge Post 9983 at 11, and State Quartermaster Bruce Edwards of Henderson Post 2417 at 11.

Page 2 Jan/Feb/Mar 2013 The VFW Leader

The VFW Leader is published quarterly by the Department of North Carolina Veterans of Foreign Wars at 917 New Bern Avenue, Raleigh, North Carolina.

Editor.......................Bruce Edwards

News stories, photographs and other matters for publication should be addressed to Editor, VFW Leader, P.O. Box 25337, Raleigh, N.C. 27611.

Correspondence regarding sub-scription and circulation should be addressed to VFW Leader, P.O. Box 25337, Raleigh, N.C. 27611.

"Department Headquarters normal operating hours 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Monday thru Friday. Closed for holidays: New Years Day, Martin Luther King's Birthday, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day."

The VFW Leader

Letters to the Editor

GIFTS FOR KIDSDecember 29,2012

Thomas AdamsVeterans of Foreign Wars 9899 2923 Archdale Rd.Archdale, NC 27263Dear Thomas,

On behalf of the more than 22,000 chil-dren who are served by The Salvation Army through FOX8 Gifts for Kids, we want to thank you for bringing a smile to each child's face on Christmas morn-ing. We know these are tough times for many, but thanks to your generous gift totaling $1,000 we were able to help The Salvation Army in 12 Piedmont counties serve thousands of families this Christmas.

This amazing task could not be accom-plished without the support of individu-als, families, church groups and corpora-tions in our community. Thank you for your generosity.

For the past 24 years, it has been our mis-sion to help children in the Piedmont. We promise, with your continued sup-port, to keep reaching out to these young people during this special time of year. Thank you again for supporting FOX8 Gifts for Kids through The Salvation Army.

Sincerely Tim Taylor, Vice President of Creative ServicesFOX 8/WGHP

Captain Jim Rickard, Salvation Army

Getting the Word OutChapel Hill - Lee Heavlin, blogmaster

Does your post have an identity prob-lem? Do you do a lot, but the local paper ignores you? Do your post members miss out on what is going on because they don't get to meetings? If yes, you are not getting the word out.

What can a post do? Go into the publish-ing business and start its own newspaper to publish post stories. A post can use the VFW NC Department website that is provided to each post at no cost.

Posts can use the information now flow-ing in emails. News coming in to the post commander, adjutant, quartermaster can be cut and pasted into a news story for the web. Stories on post websites are monitored and picked up daily for state-wide distribution.

When post stories are broadcast by the state, every subscriber gets to see what is going on at another post. If a post in Durham is hosting a special event or a veterans' stand down, everyone gets the information. Your event may encourage other posts to try the same thing.

Local newspapers and radio stations troll

the web for veterans information, people to talk to, people honor, and for partici-pants in patriotic events. Post stories are often selected to be reprinted in local papers as letters to the editor or opinion pieces. Our views are important!

Local schools have patriotic projects and students look to the internet for infor-mation on flag retirements, holidays, the history of local veterans and more. What is on the web about your veterans?

Another added benefit that is millions of people have the opportunity to view what you are writing. Did you know that a short Calabash story on Tuskegee air-men gets read about 300 times a day and this has been going on for about a year! Our VFW web sites are getting read!

Post web sites also put a face on a local post. This is invaluable to students seek-ing information on a post to submit their Voice of Democracy, Patriot's Pen, or Scouting Scholarship application. Some posts report that they get inqui-ries from Virginia and Tennessee from North Carolina students away at board-ing school. Their home is here and they need to submit an application.VFW Post web sites were given a new

look two years ago. Adding information is easier and we use WordPress as the software of choice. We load the software on a central server and give each post a template and space on the server. There is absolutely no cost to the posts. No fees for access and no monthly charges for server use.

Some posts are worried about the com-plexity of using their website. If some-one can create email, then the post has the talent needed. Also, the system is designed to be passed on to another post member to manage. We just grant access and all existing information stays on-line and just as it was before the blogmasters changed.

Want more information? Just look at the state website at http://vfwnc.org and look under TOOLS for details on the post websites, how to use them, and how to add impact to your post stories. You will also find information on how to gain access and a password.

Are you ready to put on your editor's visor and start your post on-line news-paper?

The Wall That HealsWayne County Veterans & Patriots Coalition

The Traveling Vietnam Veterans Memorial - The Wall That Heals" is scheduled to arrive in Goldsboro North Carolina under escort of the Guardian Brotherhood, Patriot Guard, VFW Motorcycle Club, American Legion Riders, and Ghost Riders at 3:00 pm on 16 April.

In addition, The Wall That Heals will be met at the Wayne County line by a Wayne County Sheriff's Office escort. It is to travel east on US Hwy 70 to Wayne Memorial Drive where it will exit and turn left to continue to Wayne Community College. The Wall That Heals will be on display as you enter right onto the campus.

The Wall will open to the public with formal ceremony on Thursday 18 April

beginning at 10:00 am to include a B-52 flyover and a Battlefield Cross Ceremony. Gen. Dan Cherry (USAF Retired) will be Keynote speaker.

A ceremony to honor our KIA is sched-uled for Friday 19 April at 5:00 pm to include a Roll Call/Candlelight Ceremony, Three Volley Salute and Taps. Keynote speaker is Medal of Honor Recipient Col Walter Joseph Marm Jr.. (USA Retired).

The closing ceremony scheduled for Sunday 21 April 4:00 pm is a POW/MIA service to include a F-15E flyover in missing man formation, concluding with Taps. Col Jeanne Leavitt, Commander 4th Fighter Wing, Seymour Johnson AFB will deliver the Keynote address.

The Wall will remain open under guard 24 hours around the clock until sunrise Monday 22 April.

The Greenville VA Connect Van and VAMC Fayetteville Rural Health Care Team will be on site Thursday and Friday to offer assistance to anyone in need with VA Health Care enrollment.

Representatives from The Vietnam Veterans of America, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Military Order of the Purple Heart, Disabled American Veterans, The American Legion, Marine Corps League, Navy Seabee Veterans of America, Fleet Reserve Association, and others will be on hand to assist with memberships. A certified copy of an original DD-214 is required for VA enrollment and mem-berships.

Memorial Wall T-Shirts are now avail-able for purchase ($20.00 each) at The American Legion Wayne Post 11, or by calling Bill Graham at 919-394-2200.

Prescription RefillsDepartment of Veterans Affairs Fayetteville Medical Center, 2300 Ramsey Street, Fayetteville, NC 28301

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 6, 2013Medical Center Telephone System Upgrade "Veterans have continued access to pharmacy and refills" WHAT: Last week, a new phone system and computer software was installed at the Fayetteville VA Medical Center to expand and upgrade our phone system. However, as with many new systems, come some growing pains. VA personnel are working with contractors that man-aged this installation to find and fix any glitches and provide the highest quality of service.

WHO: Veterans, if your call is concern-ing medication refills, here are a few ways to obtain your medications.

Patients can order refills by calling (910) 488-2120 ext. 7045 and then enter the prescription number into the automated system. If there is a problem with this

phone line, you may be transferred to the VA National Pharmacy Call Center in Waco, Texas to speak with a customer service representative and provide your prescription number.

That Call Center number is 910-488-2120 ext 7015.

• Refills can also be ordered by mailing in the refill slip that is provided with each prescription. Mail to: Fayetteville VA Medical Center, 2300 Ramsey Street, Fayetteville, NC 28301 Attn: Pharmacy. Please note that pharmacy refills mailed to Veterans do have a refill slip to place orders. • Refills can be ordered at any time of day through the MyHealtheVet web site: www.myhealth.va.gov. Veterans must be enrolled in this program and be positively identified prior to use. Please note that you must first enroll to use this service. If you wish to enroll or have questions concerning this pro-gram please call 910-488-2120 extension 5266. • If you are visiting the Fayetteville VAMC, you can drop the refill slip in the designated in the REFILL SLIP DROP BOX located in the pharmacy waiting area on the ground floor.

We will keep you informed of our system wide improvements. Thank you again

for your understanding and for choosing the Fayetteville VA for your health care needs. We apologize for any difficulties Veterans may be experiencing with our new phone system at the Fayetteville VA Medical Center, Village Green Clinics, or the Fayetteville Veteran Re-adjustment and Veterans Counseling Center.

WHERE: Fayetteville VAMC, 2300 Ramsey Street, Fayetteville, NC 28301 Fayetteville VAMC Dialysis Center, Robeson Plaza, 2301 Robeson Street, Fayetteville, NC 28301 Wilmington CBOC, 736 Medical Center Drive, Wilmington, NC 28401 Jacksonville CBOC, 241 Freedom Way, Midway Park, NC 28544 Robeson CBOC, 139 Three Hunts Drive, Pembroke, NC 28372 Hamlet CBOC, 100 Jefferson Street, Hamlet, NC 28345 Brunswick Outreach Clinic, 20 Medical Campus Drive, Supply, NC 28462

Media Contact: 5991: Robin DeMark, Fayetteville VAMC Public Affairs Officer, 910-488-2120 ext.Tel: (910) 488-2120 ext. 5991Email: Robin.DeMark@va.govwww.FayettevilleNC.VA.Gov www.Facebook.com/FayettevilleVAMC

State News SubscriptionsPosts throughout the state are publishing stories about local activities. Are you getting to see them? Everyone is encouraged to sub-scribe to the free on-line Veterans of Foreign Wars North Carolina News feed. It is easy and will ensure that you will know what is going on around the district and around the state.

Local news items get published by individual posts and the state website locates new news items for broadcast as subscription news. It is All My VFW NC News.

How do you subscribe? Just go to the state website and scan down to the subscription box. Visit http://vfwnc.org and look for:

Enter your email address to receive news from the My VFW NC Website

Subscribe

FOR A SPOT ON THE LEADER, VISIT THE NC WEBSITE SCAN HERE

Comrades and Sisters.

First I want to thank each of you for all the fine work you have done so far this year for our Department. Keep up the good work the remainder of the year.

I have received a letter from Commander-in- Chief John Hamilton, congratulating North Carolina on our mem-bership percentage, and our Community Service programs. The first six months of the 2012-2013 year North Carolina volunteered 28,919 hours and $88,467.00 has been spent or donated to complete projects in Community Service. If we continue with this fine work, I feel sure we will place high on the National level.

I am still visiting as many Posts as my schedule will allow. In December after participat-ing in the Walkertown Parade December 1, 2012, it was a pleasure to visit 5381 Lenoir, 8989 Kannapolis, 2057 Rocky Mount, 9133 Jacksonville, 10400 Boiling Springs Lakes, 9960 Swansboro, 10346 Hamptonville, 5464 Monroe, and, 6365 Locust. December 11,2012, I had the honor of attending the dedication of the Veterans Nursing Home in Kinston. Another awesome event.

January 2013, my travels

The VFW Leader Jan/Feb/Mar 2013 Page 3

CoMMander’s CoLuMn

took me to VFW Post 2087 Greensboro, 9134 Rockwell, 9157 Black Mountain, 10685 Glenville, 4059 Mint Hill, 1160 Charlotte, 6724 Paw Creek, and 7794 Elkin. January 17,2013 I traveled to 2423 Indian Trail to attend the Banquet honor-ing National President Leanne Lemley, which was a very nice event. The highlight of the month was visiting Past State Department Commander (1963-64) Jim Black, at the Assisted Living Home where he resides. Had a very enjoyable visit, and he is still a very sharp gentleman.

Started the month of February, 2013, with the Council of Administration meeting in Greensboro. It was great to have all seventeen Voice of Democracy winners at the Banquet, thanks to Wal-Mart. Many compliments were received about the entire weekend. After the Council of Administration meeting, I visited 6018 Fayetteville, 10 Raeford, 7946 Jefferson, 10403 Wadesboro, 8969 Lumberton, 2972 Gibsonville, and 12025 St. Paul.

I will be attending the Washington Conference March 2- 6, 2013. Also, my plans for March are to visit 5483 Mars Hill, 2740 Durham, 2908 Albemarle, 891 Asheville, and 10349 Columbus. I will contin-ue visiting Posts until my term ends. It is very rewarding hav-ing the opportunity to meet and get to know so many Comrades from our Department.

As you know my goal for Membership is 30,000 mem-bers. With the help of each of you we will succeed. Let us all give a final push during April, May, and June.Thanks for all you do for the Veterans.

Yours in Comradeship,

Ted Briggs

sr. ViCe CoMMander CoLuMn

Ted h. briggs

ernie aLLis

The newly renovated

and painted VFW State

Recruiting Trailer is

available for sign out and

pick up by contacting

the State VFW

Headquarters at

919-828-5058.

It comes complete with

recruiting documents &

Patriotic Giveaways.

Comrades,

I was pleased to see so many of you at the last C of A. I hope each of you had a good time. I learned that the seminars and committee meetings had record numbers in attendance. Outstanding! That is what these weekends are all about. I hope you got involved in the discussions, and went

away with information that will be useful to your Districts and Posts.

The Long Range Planning Committee Chairman was delighted to have so many of you in attendance. Your participation, and the input you provided was very helpful, and more is needed. The Committee has accepted the challenge to develop a marketing plan to increase membership and improve retention. For the rest of this year and next year, any sug-gestions you have or assistance you can offer in development of the marketing plan, can be for-warded to the Chairman.

There were over 20 visitors in the Budget Committee and we had a lot of dialogue. I hope the meeting was informative for the attendees and all questions answered to your satisfaction. Do not hesitate to participate in any committee meeting or training seminar at your next C of A. You

will be welcomed.

These are just a couple of examples of the increases in participation and interest demonstrated by our members. Keep it up Comrades. Take the time to learn the By-Laws. Attend meetings and get informed about how the Post, District, and State fit together and operate as an integral piece of the entire organization. The more you understand, the better we operate as a team in support of our mission at the National leve!.

As we finish out the year keep in mind the men and women who still serve in Afghanistan an Iraq. Be diligent in our mission, make sure their needs are met, and their families are supported in any way we can. Reach out to them so they know that we will never fail them.

See you at the next meeting.Ernie Allis

Jr. ViCe CoMMander CoLuMn

JaCk goin

Greetings

What a rewarding winter Conference of Administration meeting we had in February in Greensboro. From the moment we all arrived we really liked our new location at Embassy Suites. The highlight of the weekend was our formal banquet on Saturday night honoring all seventeen Voice of Democracy winners and the three

Patriot Pen winners. From the response I heard and the number of comrades and sisters in attendance it was a huge success and hopefully will continue for years to come. Thank you Wal-Mart for your sponsorship. When you go to Wal-Mart and perhaps run into a store manager don't forget to tell them thank you for honoring all the students.

Our business sessions were also well attended and informative. Several important subjects were discussed and voted upon, thanks to all the comrades who gave a verbal statement on motions that were brought on the floor for a vote. I also had the privilege of being the escort / guide for our National Vice Commander John Stroud who was our National Representative at the CofA. Thank you Commander Ted for the use of the department (beetle) vehicle to take John around.

Congratulations to all our posts that participated in the Teacher of the Year program. Fifteen of the seventeen dis-tricts had entries with a total of (59) posts and (41) auxiliaries, nominat-ing (77) teachers. The winners were K-5 Betty Ann Byerly submitted from Post 9110 Chapel Hill in District 6 ,Elementary level Jeff Barrett submitted from Post 5362 Morganton in District 14, High School level Kelly Cain submitted from Post 5381 Lenoir in

District 15. Keep up the great work in nominating our children's teachers they deserve the recognition for shaping the mind and hearts of all children.

At the CofA I gave a short presenta-tion on The Department of Defense Office of Commemorations honoring the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War between 2013 and 2017. It is an important program which I feel all our posts should get involved in, for it is a hometown-centric community program honoring all Vietnam veter-ans. You can get information and guide lines by going onto the web at www.VietnamWar50th.com . This program can also be an important avenue for all posts to get the word out in your communities to honor Vietnam veter-ans and to sign up new members and deliver the message what the "Veterans of Foreign Wars" is all about.

I encourage all my comrades to attend the Department convention in June in Greensboro. This is your opportunity to cast your vote for your future depart-ment leaders over the next few years. Commanders and Quartermasters please make sure YOU have sent in your election reports, trustee reports and delegate fees, etc. If you have questions you can call the department headquar-ters for any clarifications. Don't short change your post in having a voice.

By the time the Leader arrives at your home, my first year as your Department Chaplain will either be at its end or very close. It is my desire to continue to serve as the Department Chaplain, but as my "freshman" year comes to a close, let's take a moment to review. The position of Chaplain is one of those few that have very little descrip-tion written about the duties, both in our National and State By-laws. The duties may not be written, it is well known what the Comrades and Sisters expect from their Chaplain. I pray that I have lived up to that. As

your Chaplain, I didn't want to come to this position just to give opening and closing prayers when we gathered together. I wanted to also empower our Post, District and Conference Chaplains. Having served as a VFW Chaplain at each of these levels, I know that our Chaplains do great work for our VFW both inside and outside of our Posts. To this end, I started three programs. The devel-opment of a Chaplain's Resource Binder, Chaplain Leadership meet-ings at the CofA, and a Department Chaplain of the Year Award. There is also a Facebook Page, "VFW Department Chaplain NC". There isn't much activity, so pass the word. As with anything we do in life that is worthwhile, it takes work, passion and a bit of "hardheadedness". The binders and the meetings are still a work in progress, but I can announce that a Department Chaplain of the Year will be awarded at this year's Department Convention. For all those that took the time to nominate your Chaplain, thank you. You made the Award Committee's job a hard one and that's the way it should be! For those Chaplains nominated, you stand with impressive compa-ny. Please continue the outstanding

work you do for your Veterans and their families.

As I stated there is very little written about my duties, but there is much expected. In the Navy there is a term, "Shakedown Cruise". As my "fresh-man year" I hope that I have gotten the bugs out. Or to quote Chaplain AG Parker, "All the wrinkles will fall out of a shirt if you leave it hanging long enough". Publicly, I wish to thank our Department Commander, Sr Vice and Jr Vice for your sup-port this year. You always made time to listen to me and supported my ideas. Madam President, thank you for your enthusiasm, it was catching and always gave me a boost. Madam Chaplain, you were a blessing to me. It may not as seemed as so, but every time to offered your assistance it was always at a point when the world was swirling around me. Your smile and light in your eyes reassured me that I could do the task at hand, thank you. The first year can be rough, mistakes will be made and I did. Bruce, thank you. The corrections that you gave were given in a way as to get it right, but not embarrass. Comrades, Sisters and Brothers, it was a pleasure to serve as your Chaplain this year and

it is my prayer that I can continue to do so. May God Bless each of you! One study demonstrated that indi-viduals who reported relationship conflict lasting one month or longer have a greater risk of developing illness and show slower wound heal-ing. Similarly, the effects that acute stressors have on the immune system may be increased when there is per-ceived stress and/or anxiety due to other events. For example, students who are taking exams show weaker immune responses if they also report stress due to daily hassles. Bottom line? Become the Fire Extinguisher and release the pressure. Make that break fit your schedule as often as you can. For me, prayer works (just saying). Looking forward to seeing all my fire extinguishers and ketchup packets in my travels.

May God Bless!

SR Smith

ChapLains CoLuMn

sr sMiTh

Page 4 Jan/Feb/Mar 2013 The VFW Leader

Veterans Museum Opens at VFWReprinted from the Nov. 21 issue of the Alleghany News. By Toby LaRue.

The Alleghany Veterans Museum was unveiled on Veterans Day for the first time, with a public grand opening being held on Monday, Nov. 12, at the Bruce Wayne Osborne Veterans of Foreign Wars Post No. 7034.

Attending the Nov. 11 ceremony, which was set aside for Veterans and VFW members only, was the VFW State Commander Ted Briggs, and the State Ladies Auxiliary President, Ginger Amos. Also attending was District Commander Doug Blevins, who formerly was the local post com-mander, a position currently held by Thomas Owens, and Ladies Auxiliary District President Nancy Lecornu. The local post's Ladies Auxiliary President is Vickie Todd.

More than 100 veterans and their family members attended the event on Sunday, during which a special meal was served by the local post's ladies auxiliary.

The museum, which is in the post's basement area, includes displays from all the country's major wars, from WWI through Afghanistan, said Owens. "We also have individual booths for each branch of service, includ-ing the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines," he added. Local veterans built the museum them-selves, with the project headed up by Blevins, who still lives in the Turkey Knob community and remains a member of the local post, despite serving in the dis-trict wide capacity.

On Monday, Nov. 12, a public grand opening was held. All told, some 100 people visited the new museum that day.

At the opening, District Commander Blevins noted that it was appropriate to have the first museum opening occurring on the same day as Veterans Day-Nov. 11 and the public openingon the day Veterans Day is observed.

Blevins oversaw the construction work and said a grant from the Home, Depot Foundation helped buy the materials. ''They contrib-uted an unconditional amount of money for this," he said. "Other contractors also contributed." Many, local veterans gave their time to help get the museum ready as well, he noted.

He joked, "We started out cheer-fully, but we grumbled, growled and fought to get it all in place down there. It was done with sweat, tears and a little bit of elbow grease. It goes to show that money is not the answer for everything."

He said the museum covers his-tory in a way that can't be expe-rienced elsewhere. "We need to bring school children in here," he said. "This is what history is, not what books say it is."

Meanwhile, Post Commander Owens said there were three young men in fatigues at the first event. "It was great to see them," he said, pointing out that recently wounded vet from Afghanistan, Jeremy Goodwin, was at the event.

He said Kathy Murphy, a local veteran, is working on a mural for the museum entrance.

He said the museum will "con-tinue to get more items in, and the displays will change. I'm hop-ing to get more of a local flavor to it." He added, "We've got enough stuff to fill a museum with."Other speakers at the event includ-

ALLEGHANY VETERANS Emmet Bowers and Sonny Poole (left) and (right side, from left), Billy Nilo, Thomas Ham, Neil Howell and Jeremy Goodwin, other veterans in attendance stand at attention as VFW State Commander Ted Briggs and District Commander Doug Blevins enter the ceremony marking the opening of the Veterans Museum at the local VFW Post. The men were brought in with a Navy whistle ceremony piping an officer on board that typically would be reserved for times when a high-ranking officer boards a ship. Ed Mack Wooten, a Navy veteran, blew the whistle pipe to start the ceremony. Visible in the background is Ginger Amos, the VFW Ladies Auxiliary State President.

ed Town Manger Bryan Edwards, Mayor John Miller and out-going County Commission Chairman Ken Richardson. Edwards said the building was used for stu-dents in the 1963-1964 school year as, the new high school was being built. "Mayor John Miller and a group of 7-8 graders came down here," he said, noting he was among them.

Owens later pointed out the building had also been home to WEOK Radio Station and hosted blood drives, parties, events and more. Miller recalled that once slot machines had been put in the VFW basement, with the proceeds donated to the town to help pay for Sparta's sewer works. He con-gratulated the veterans and said, "We're very, very proud of it."

Richardson said that he was at the fist dedication of the memorial for veterans on the lawn of the Alleghany. County Courthouse. He presented a photo of the event to the post.

He said the recent plans to move forward with Veterans Park and the dedication of the Sparta Parkway as a Blue Star Highway were other recent honors for vet erans.

He noted that the new Veterans Park will be envied by people all over the state and said it will later be considered the same way as other great accomplishments in the county.Following the speakers, the group was invited to view the museum and have refreshments.

The museum has a program where items can be either donated to the post or loaned to the post, at the request of the donor. Items in the museum were donated by local veterans and their families,

including war relics, flags, hel-mets, swords, photographs and-much more.

For more information on dis-playing items, call Lonnie Joines at 200-0083 or. Owens at 657-1484.

Museum hours ate Wednesdays from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. Each Wednesday morning, veter-ans are invited to a free breakfast at the post from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m.

Depending on the number of

people coming to visit the muse-um, hours could be changed in the future. However, a sign stating that the museum is open is always posted on the building's front lawn when peopIe may come and visit. There is no charge to visit the museum, but donations are accepted.

"We welcome anyone to come by and view our museum," said Owens. "It's not just for those who were in the service. It's for everyone to enjoy."

American Heart DiseaseVA TEAMS UP WITH:THE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION TO 'RAISE AWARENESS' OF HEART DISEASE IN WOMEN - Health and Fitness Event will run durn-ing Vermont Avenue Farmer's Market.

WASHINGTON - The Department of Veterans Affairs will raise aware-ness of heart disease in women, particularly women Veterans andVA employees, at a "VA Goes Red" health expo Thursday, Sep. 27, outside VA's central office at 810 Vermont Avenue. The event will run in conjunction with the FRESHFARM farmer's market held at the same location ftom 11 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

"We are proud to team with the American Heart Association's (AHA) Go Red For Women move-men to raise awareness of heart disease in women Veterans and VA staff," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. "This event not only highlights our commitment to care for women Veterans, but it's also a great opportunity to share information about cardiovascular disease and prevention."

Activities will include healthy cooking demonstrations, fitness classes, health screenings and CPR instruction. VA's Undersecretary for Benefits Allison A. Hickey and Principal Deputy Undersecretary for Health, Dr. Robert Jesse, a cardiologist, will speak during the programmed portion ftom noon to I:00 p.m.

AHA President Donna Arnett, Ph.D., M.S.P.H., and chair-person of the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health, will also speak during the event. "With the num-ber of female Veterans and women in the military rising, and Go Red For Women entering its 10th year, now is the time to unite in the fight against the number one killer of women and advocate for an increase in women-focused research," said Dr. Arnett.

"Currently, 90 percent of women have one or more risk factors for developing heart disease, so we're thankful for the opportunity to provide thousands of women with life-saving information about their personal risks through our

relationship with VA."

VA and the AHA announced their collaboration in May. By com-bining efforts, the organizations can maximize their resources and share Go Red For Women's messages and tools with women Veterans and VA employees.

The farmer's market, which opened as a result of First Lady Michelle Obama's mission to make healthy food options more accessible to the DC population, provides an ideal venue to discuss heart disease prevention strate-gies, which include exercise and healthy eating.

Women serve in every branch of the military, representing 15 per-cent of today's active duty mili-tary, and nearly 18 percent of National Guard and Reserve forc-es. By 2020, VA estimates women Veterans will constitute 10 percent of the Veteran population.

Visit www.va.gov/womenvet and www.womenshealth.va.gov to learn more about VA programs and services for women Veterans.

Member BenefitsWhat would your doctor say if he or she could actually see inside your arteries? Now it's possible with a simple ultrasound screen-ing that can reveal 'dangerous' plaque buildup or blockage. Screenings can scan for poten-tial health problems related to: • Blocked arteries, which can lead to stroke.. • Abdominal aortic aneurysms, which can lead to a ruptured aorta. • Irregular heart-beat, which can increase risk for a stroke. • Hardening of the arteries in the legs, which is a strong pre-dictor of heart disease. • A bone density screening used to assess the risk of osteoporosis.

Who needs to be screened? The answer is anyone over 50 who wants to be proactive about his or her health. The National Stroke Association (NSA) states that your

risk of stroke doubles each decade after age 55. However, if you have a family history of stroke or heart disease, or if you have high-risk factors, such as being overweight, high cholesterol, smoking or lack of exercise, you may wish to be screened, even if you are in your 40s. Your risk of suffering a stroke is high. It affects 1 in 5 women and 1 in 6 men and takes a terri-ble toll on families. Many people who suffer from them experience no prior symptoms or warning signs.

As a valued member, we care about the health of you and your fam-ily. If you would like additional information on screenings, please contact the Member Benefits Department at 1~800-821-2606, option 1.

1.7% COLA for 2013The Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the official Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) increase for 2013 is 1.7 percent.

This increase is less than last year's 3.6 percent COLA and will be reflected in military retired pay, VA benefits for disabled veter-ans, survivor annuities and Social Security benefits for next year.

The increase is effective on in December 31, 2012 checks.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) determines the rate of inflation and is used to calculate the annu-al COLA. The CPI is based on the cost of a basket of goods for the average American during the period from October 1 to September 30 each year.

The VFW Leader Jan/Feb/Mar 2013 Page 5

VA Fills First Phase of Veterans RetrainingWASHINGTON The Department of Veterans Affairs has approved applications for all 45,000. slots available in fiscal year (FY) 2012 under the successful Veterans Retraining Assistance Program (VRAP) and is in the process of approving applications for a total of 54,000 slots available in FY 2013.

"At VA, we know first-hand that Veterans make exceptional employees, which is why this Administration has deployed a full~court press to connect veterans with good jobs," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki."The surge of Veterans applying for VRAP demonstrates this program's importance to provide unemployed Veterans the opportunity to fmd employment in high-demand fields."

VRAP is a new training and edu-cation program for unemployed Veterans who want to upgrade their skills for high-demand jobs. The goal of VRAP is to train a total of 99,000 Veterans over the next two years in more than 200

job skills that the Department of Labor (DOL), has determined are the most sought-after by employ-ers.

The joint VA/DOL program is a provision of the Veterans Opportunity to Work (VOW) to Hire Heroes Act of 2011, which Congress passed and President Obama signed into law in November 2011. The pro-gram allows qualifying Veterans to receive up to 12 months of education assistance equal to the cuuent full-time Montgomery GI Bill Active Duty rate of $1,473 per month. October 1st, 2012 the rate was increased to $1546 per month.

To be eligible for VRAP, a Veteran must: • Be 35-60 years old, unem-ployed on the day of application,and not dishonorably discharged • Not be eligible for any other VA education benefit program such as the Post-9/11 GI Bill, Montgomery GI Bill, or Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment • Not be enrolled in a federal or state job-training program within

the last 180 days • Not receive VA compensation at the 100 percent rate due to individual unemploy-ability.

"We're gratified that 45,000 unemployed Veterans can begin the retraining they need to com-pete for in-demand jobs," said VA Undersecretary for Benefits Allison A. Hickey. "We're going to maintain the momentum of our outreach to make sure we get the maximum of 54,000 Veterans retrained in fiscal year 2013."

Veterans approved for VRAP are encouraged to enroll as soon as possible and begin training full time in a VA-approved program of study at their local community college or technical school. The program of study must lead to anassociate degree, a non-college. degree, or a certificate for a high- demand occupation as defined by DOL.

Some of the high-demand job training programs Veterans pur-sued in FY 2012 include com-puter support specialist, general

and operations manager, business operations specialist, and heating, air conditioning and refrigeration mechanic and installer.

VRAP applications were received from all 50 states, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands. The Top 10 states for Veterans approved for training in the FY 2012 phase of VRAP are: California, Florida, Georgia, Texas, North Carolina, New York, Michigan, Illinois, Virginia. VRAP also attracted Veterans interna-tionally, with applications coming from Veterans living in Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, the Philippines, Canada, Japan, the Northern Mariana Islands, and areas of Europe and the Pacific where American military units are based.

Undersecretary Hickey explained that continued outreach on VRAP is particularly important because the program applies to a segment of the Veteran population that may not have regular interaction with VA or stay informed about the benefits and opportunities for

which they may qualify.

VRAP is one of many efforts that VA and the Administration are undertaking to connect Veterans with employment. VA has held major live and virtual hiring fairs, as well as connected Veterans with career coaching and other career tools through the VA for Vets ini-tiative. VA has also set a goal to increase Veteran employment within the Department having partnered with Joining Forces and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Veteran hiring.

Potential applicants can leam more about VRAP and apply online at www.benefits.va.gov/VOW, or call VA toll-ftee at 1-800~827-1000. Information about the Department of Labor's programs for Veterans is available at www.dol.gov/vets. Veterans can also visit the nearly 3,000 One-Stop Career Centers across the nation, listed at www.servicelocator.org, for in-person employment assis-tance.

VIPs Break GroundMilitary brass and Washington VIPs broke ground on the Education Center at The Wall. It will tell the stories of the 58,282 service members who died in the Vietnan War or later, as a result of Vietnam service and those who died in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Jan Scruggs, president and founder of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund hopes to com-plete construction and open the center's doors in 2014, in time for the return of the troops from Afghanistan.

As the VIPs arrived for the cere-monial groundbreaking, Scruggs, stood on the sidewalk looking for

a particular guest. It was singer Jimmy Buffett, and his appear-ance at the site of the center capped a morning of tributes and helped close the ceremony with a heartfelt sing-along of 'God Bless America'.

Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta also spoke at the ceremony, as did members of Congress, for-mer top military officials, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Vice President Biden's wife, Jill.

Also Vietnam veteran Michael McClung, whose daughter Marine Corps Maj. Megan McClung was killed in Iraq, spoke for all of them.

National Army MuseumARLINGTON, VA- The Army Historical Foundation announced that Veterans groups and service organizations now have a spe-cial opportunity to forever honor their membership in the National Museum of the United States Army's Veterans' Hall through a unique sponsorship program.

The National Army Museum is set to open in 2017 at Fort Belvoir, Va., just outside Washington, D.C. The future national landmark will tell the stories of the 30 million men and women who have worn the Army unifonn since 1775.

The National Army Museum's Veterans' Hall will serve as a multi-purpose space for Veterans to host reunions, meetings, din-ners, and officiaI functions in the nation's home of Army his-tory. The Hall will feature the Registry of the American Soldier, a searchable, electronic database of Americans who have served in the U.S. Army, and all sponsor-ing organizations will have their names permanently displayed on

the wall. There will be no better place to share stories and recon-nect with friends and other Army Veterans than inside the Veterans' Hall.

Corporations, foundations and individuals from across the nation have already begun supporting the Museum. The Veterans' Hall sponsorship, however, is an exclu-sive opportunity for Veterans' service organizations, military service associations, and other reunion and service groups.

"Veterans organizations have long played a valuable role in celebrat-ing, honoring and remembering the contributions and sacrifices of our service men and women," said MG John P. Herding (USA - Ret.), Campaign Executive Director. "It is only fitting that these organi-zations have a place within the National Museum of the United States Army to call their own."

All sponsoring organizations will be recognized within Veterans' Hall. Additional benefits such as

access to the Hall for meetings and events are available to groups that offer higher levels of sup-port.ABOUT THE ARMY HISTORICAL FOUNDATION

The Army Historical Foundation establishes, assists, and pro-motes programs and projects which preserve the history of the American Soldier and pro-mote public "understanding and appreciation" for the contribu-tions by all components of the U.S. Army and its members. The Foundation serves as the Army's official fundraising entity for the Capital Campaign for the National Museum of the United States Army. The Museum will be constructed at Fort Belvoir, Va., to honor the service and sacrifice of all American Soldiers who have served since the Army's inception in 1775.

For more information about the Foundation, the National Museum of the United States Army, and the Veterans' Hall, visit www.armyhi-story.org.

The Department of North Carolina has opened its own Department VFW Store to cater to the wishes of the com-rades, sisters, and brothers ofthe Tarheel State. It is avail-able both at the Department Headquarters at 917 New Bern Avenue in Raleigh and online at www.vfwnc.org, then "Tools", then "VFW NC Online Store."

After negotiating with VFW National Headquarters, the Department was able to adver-tise both VFW items and non- VFW military items on the new store. VFW State Secretary and Ladies Auxiliary Past State President Lynn Edwards was able to negotiate lower prices

with the National store when the Department buys in bulk. Therefore, the prices of special-ized North Carolina items are being offered at a low, competi-tive price. Additionally, when buying at the Department Store, the profits stay in North Carolina to help Tarheel vet-erans and their families, as opposed to going to other states.

Comrades, sisters, and broth-ers may purchase items from the store by either attending the Council of Administration meeting or Annual Convention (where the store will be physi-cally present), or by visiting the Headquarters, or by calling the

Headquarters at 919-828-5058 to order over the telephone, or by visiting the Online site and using a credit card or Paypal. The physical store accepts cash, checks, debit cards, and credit cards.

There are many specialty items available for purchase. For example, individuals or posts or auxiliaries may purchase shirts displaying the appropri-ate VFW/Auxiliary Cross of Malta symbol, the individual's name, his/her position, and the post number. Or caps can be purchased with the symbol and the post location and number.

Department Opens It's OwnVFW Store

Page 6 Jan/Feb/Mar 2013 The VFW Leader

VA Registers 'GI Bill' as a Registered TrademarkWASHINGTON- The Department of Veterans Affairs announced that GI Bill is now a registered trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and VA is the sole owner of the mark."We will continue to support our veterans by helping them obtain the best education of their choosing, a right for which they have bravely served, and which they have truly earned" said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. "We all want vet-

erans to be informed consumers in their educational pursuit." On April 26, 2012, President Obama signed Executive Order 13607, directing the VA, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Education to undertake a number of measures to "stop deceptive and misleading" promotional efforts that target the GI Bill educational benefits of service members, veterans,. and eligible family members and survivors. One of the key components of the order was for

VA to register the term "GI Bill" as a trade-mark in order to protect individuals and ensure they are directed to the right resourc-es to make informed decisions. In addition, VA obtained the rights to the GIBill.com website after the original owners agreed to give up the site. VA is taking a proactive approach in continuously taking action to eliminate fraudulent marketing and recruit-ing practices. "Trademarking 'GI Bill' is a great step forward in continuing our mis-

sion to better serve this nation's service members, veterans, and their families," said Allison A. Hickey , VA undersecretary for benefits. VA will issue terms of use for 'GI Bill' within the next six months. "We want to ensure the right balance with these new guidelines so that our stakeholders can still promote 'GI Bill' and we can prohibit oth-ers from using it fraudulently," said Curtis L Coy, deputy undersecretary fo economic opportunity.

Since August 2009, VA has paid over $23.8 billion in Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to over 866,000 veterans, service members, and dependents. VA received over 478,000 Fall 2012 enrollment for Post-9/11 GI Bill.

For more information on GI Bill programs, please visit www gibill.va.gov or call 1-888- GI Bill-l (1-888-442-4551) to speak with a GI Bill representative.

DISTRICT 11 SUPPORTS STEVE AMOS AS DEPARTMENT OF NORTH CAROLINA'S JUNIOR VICE COMMANDER.

The VFW Leader Jan/Feb/Mar 2013 Page 9

VA Fills First Phase of Veterans RetrainingWASHINGTON The Department of Veterans Affairs has approved! applications for all 45,000. slots available in fiscal year (FY) 2012 under the successful Veterans Retraining Assistance Program (VRAP) and is in the process of approving applications for a total Of 54,000 slots available in FY 2013.

"At VA, we know first-hand that Veterans make exceptional employees, which is why this Administration has deployed a full~court press to connect veter-ans with good jobs," said Secretary of The Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki."The surge of Veterans applying for VRAP demonstrates this program's importance to provide unemployed Veterans the opportunity to fmd employment in high-demand fields."

VRAP is a new training and edu-cation program for unemployed Veterans who want to upgrade their skills for high-demand jobs. The goal of VRAP is to train a total of 99,000 Veterans over the next two years in more than 200

job skills that the Department of Labor (DOL), has detennined are the most sought-after by employ-ers.

The joint VA/DOL program is a provision of the Veterans Opportunity to Work (VOW) to Hire Heroes Act of 2011, which Congress passed and President Obama signed into law in November 2011. The pro-gram allows qualifying Veterans to receive up to 12 months of education assistance equal to the cuuent full-time Montgomery GI Bill Active Duty rate of $1,473 per month. October 1st, 2012 the rate was increased to $1546 per month.

To be eligible for VRAP, a Veteran must: • Be 35-60 years old, unem-ployed on the day of application,and not dishonorably discharged • Not be eligible for any other VA education benefit program such as the Post-9/11 GI Bill, Montgomery GI Bill, or Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment • Not be enrolled in a federal or state job-training program within

the last 180 days • Not receive VA compensation at the 100 percent rate due to individual unemploy-ability (ill).

"We're gratified that 45,000 unemployed Veterans can begin the retraining they need to com-pete for in-demand jobs," said VA Undersecretary for Benefits Allison A. Hickey. "We're going to maintain the momentum of our outreach to make sure we get the maximum of 54,000 Veterans retrained in fiscal year 2013."

Veterans approved for VRAP are encouraged to enroll as soon as possible and begin training full time in a VA-approved program of study at their local community college or technical school. The program of study must lead to anassociate degree, a non-college. degree, or a certificate for a high- demand occupation as defined by DOL.

Some of the high-demand job training programs Veterans pur-sued in FY 2012 include com-puter support specialist, general

and operations manager, business operations specialist, and heating, air conditioning and refrigeration mechanic and installer.

VRAP applications were received from all 50 states, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands. The Top 10 states for Veterans approved for training in the FY 2012 phase of VRAP are: California, Florida, Georgia, Texas, North Carolina, New York, Michigan, Illinois, Virginia. VRAP also attracted Veterans interna-tionally, with applications coming from Veterans living in Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, the Philippines, Canada, Japan, the Northern Mariana Islands, and areas of Europe and the Pacific where American military units are based.

Undersecretary Hickey explained that continued outreach on VRAP is particularly important because the program applies to a segment of the Veteran population that may not have regular interaction with VA or stay informed about the benefits and opportunities for

which they may qualify.

VRAP is one of many efforts that VA and the Administration are undertaking to connect Veterans with employment. VA has held major live and virtual hiring fairs, as well as connected Veterans with career coaching and other career tools through the VA for Vets ini-tiative. VA has also set a goal to increase Veteran employment within the Department having partnered with Joining Forces and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Veteran hiring.

Potential applicants can leam more about VRAP and apply online at www.benefits.va.gov/VOW, or call VA toll-ftee at 1-800~827-1000. Information about the Department of Labor's programs for Veterans is available at www.dol.gov/vets. Veterans can also visit the nearly 3,000 One-Stop Career Centers across the nation, listed at www.servicelocator.org, for in-person employment assis-tance.

VIPs Break GroundMilitary brass and Washington VIP broke ground on the Education Center at The Wall. It will tell the stories of the 58,282 service members who died in the Vietnan War or later, as a result of Vietnam service and those who died in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Jan Scruggs, president and founder of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund hopes to com-plete construction and open the center's doors in 2014, in time for the return of the troops from Afghanistan.

As the VIPs arrived for the cere-monial groundbreaking, Scruggs, stood on the sidewalk looking for

a particular guest. it was singer Jimmy Buffett, and his appear-ance at the site of the center capped a morning of tributes and helped close the ceremony with a heartfelt sing-along of 'God Bless America'.

Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta also spoke at the ceremony, as did members of Congress, for-mer top military officials, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Vice President Biden's wife, Jill.

Also Vietnam veteran Michael McClung, whose daughter Marine Corps Maj. Megan McClung was killed in Iraq, spoke for all of them.

National Army MuseumARLINGTON, VA- The Army Historical Foundation announced that Veterans groups and service organizations now have a spe-cial opportunity to forever honor their membership in the National Museum of the United States Army's Veterans' Hall through a unique sponsorship program.

The National Army Museum is set to open in 2017 at Fort Belvoir, Va., just outside Washington, D.C. The future national landmark will tell the stories of the 30 million men and women who have worn the Army unifonn since 1775.

The National Army Museum's Veterans' Hall will serve as a multi-purpose space for Veterans to host reunions, meetings, din-ners, and officiaI functions in the nation's home of Army his-tory. The Hall will feature the Registry of the American Soldier, a searchable, electronic database of Americans who have served in the U.S. Army, and all sponsor-ing organizations will have their names permanently displayed on

the wall. There will be no better place to share stories and recon-nect with friends and other Army Veterans than inside the Veterans' Hall.

Corporations, foundations and individuals from across the nation have already begun supporting the Museum. The Veterans' Hall sponsorship, however, is an exclu-sive opportunity for Veterans' service organizations, military service associations, and other reunion and service groups.

"Veterans organizations have long played a valuable role in celebrat-ing, honoring and remembering the contributions and sacrifices of our service men and women," said MG John P. Herding (USA - Ret.), Campaign Executive Director. "It is only fitting that these organi-zations have a place within the National Museum of the United States Army to call their own."

All sponsoring organizations will be recognized within Veterans' Hall. Additional benefits such as

access to the Hall for meetings and events are available to groups that offer higher levels of sup-port.ABOUT THE ARMY HISTORICAL FOUNDATION

The Army Historical Foundation establishes, assists, and pro-motes programs and projects which preserve the history of the American Soldier and pro-mote public "understanding and appreciation" for the contribu-tions by all components of the U.S. Army and its members. The Foundation serves as the Army's official fundraising entity for the Capital Campaign for the National Museum of the United States Army. The Museum will be constructed at Fort Belvoir, Va., to honor the service and sacrifice of all American Soldiers who have served since the Army's inception in 1775.

For more information about the Foundation, the National Museum of the United States Army, and the Veterans' Hall, visit www.armyhi-story.org.

The Department of North Carolina has opened its own Department VFW Store to cater to the wishes of the com-rades, sisters, and brothers ofthe Tarheel State. It is avail-able both at the Department Headquarters at 917 New Bern Avenue in Raleigh and online at www.vfwnc.org, then "Tools", then "VFW NC Online Store."

After negotiating with VFW National Headquarters, the Department was able to adver-tise both VFW items and non- VFW military items on the new store. VFW State Secretary and Ladies Auxiliary Past State President Lynn Edwards was able to negotiate lower prices

with the National store when the Department buys in bulk. Therefore, the prices of special-ized North Carolina items are being offered at a low, competi-tive price. Additionally, when buying at the Department Store, the profits stay in North Carolina to help Tarheel vet-erans and their families, as opposed to going to other states.

Comrades, sisters, and broth-ers may purchase items from the store by either attending the Council of Administration meeting or Annual Convention (where the store will be physi-cally present), or by visiting the Headquarters, or by calling the

Headquarters at 919-828-5058 to order over the telephone, or by visiting the Online site and using a credit card or Paypal. The physical store accepts cash, checks, debit cards, and credit cards.

There are many specialty items available for purchase. For example, individuals or posts or auxiliaries may purchase shirts displaying the appropri-ate VFW/Auxiliary Cross of Malta symbol, the individual's name, his/her position, and the post number. Or caps can be purchased with the symbol and the post location and number.

Department Opens It's OwnVFW Store

Page 10 Jan/Feb/Mar 2013 The VFW Leader

Department Teachers of the Year Announced

Teachers from the Western part of the Tarheel State dominated the Citizenship Education Teacher of the Year competition this year. The middle and high school win-ners hail from Morganton and Lenior, while the elementary school winner is from Durham. The winners were picked from 75 entries from all over the state, the Department's best showing ever in this core VFW program.

The Elementary School Teacher of the Year is Betty Ann Byerly, who teaches at the Grady Brown Elementary School is Hillsborough. She was nominat-ed by Chapel Hill Post 9100 and won for District 6 before taking 1st place at Department. With a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education and Health, Ms. Byerly is the "phys-ed" instructor at her school, as well as a member of many committees and support groups.

She teaches citizenship by con-centrating on the "Champion

Program" invented at the school. "Good Morning, Champs" is announced on the intercom each morning to begin the day.

The entire student body then sings the Champion Song. The school's mascot, a cougar, is evened named Champ. The acronym "CHAMP" stands for Caring, Helpful, Achieving, Motivated, Problem Solvers. Each day a class is select-ed as the Best Champ Citizenship Class of the day, with the program overseen by the school Safety Patrol. Champ procedures and expectations are posted every-where, showing positive results amount the students, to include office referrals reduced to 27 in 2011 compared to 73 in 2010.

Ms. Byerly demonstrates to her students how a good citizen should participate in the local commu-nity by being a State Employee Credit Union Advisory Council Member, a North Carolina Association of Educators School Representative, a Home Owner's

Association Board of Directors' Member, a Summer Character Camp Founder, and a Little Heels Softball Camp Director.

The Middle School Teacher of the Year is Jeffrey Scott Barrett of Morganton, who teaches at East Burke Middle School in Connelly Springs. Nominated by Morganton Post 5362, Mr. Barrett represented District 14 in that category of the competition. He has taught seventh grade math, social studies and science, eighth grade social studies, and sixth grade science and social studies. His contributions to good citi-zenship behavior includes teach-ing "Hands on Archaeology" and "Basic Survival" to academically gifted students, teaching "Jump Start" to upcoming sixth grad-ers, mentoring in "Dropout Prevention," and coaching wrestling and softball. He is a member of the Parent Teacher Organization, the Professional Educators of North Carolina, and the North Carolina Association of

Educators.

In addition to these "civilian" pursuits, Mr. Barrett is a combat veteran, who deployed to Bosnia in support of Operation Joint Forge in 1997 and to Iraq with the 30th Heavy Brigade in 2004. He is a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, the 82nd Airborne Association, the 1 st Infantry Division Association and the Marine Corps League Table Rock Detachment. He is currently serving as a NCO with Detachment 1, 1451st TC, North Carolina National Guard, in Morganton.

Rounding out the trio of out-standing teachers is the winner of the High School competition, Ms. Kelly Cain, also of Morganton. She was, however, nominated by Lenoir Post 5381 and took the prize at District 15, slightly to the north. She teaches Language Arts at Caldwell Early College High School in Hudson, to include 10th grade World Literature, 12th

Sisters...

Time has quickly passed and we are coming to the end of the 2012-2013 Membership year and my position as Department President to the NC VFW Ladies Auxiliary. It has been an honor and privilege to serve our Department and our Veterans!

I have enjoyed visiting Auxiliaries throughout the Department and hearing about all of the wonder-ful programs and projects that you have been doing to benefit Veterans and your communities. You have been "Creating a Recipe For Success" with each box that you fill and send to troops, by visiting VA Hospitals and Nursing homes, donating to the National Home or Military Service pro-gram as well as countless other projects.

We are currently still working on program reporting and member-ship and I'm confident that we will make our goal! It is evident that we have all worked very hard to inspire, motivate, dedicate, rejuvenate, recruit, retain and reinstate members.

I appreciate and thank District 13 and the Indian Trial Post and Auxiliary for hosting our National President Leanne Lemley during the National President's visit in January. You provided great fel-lowship, food, entertainment and a true commitment to the project. We had a wonderful time!!!

I applaud our VFW Ladies Auxiliary Hospital Representatives and Deputies who give countless' hours in the four VA Hospitals. My hospital visits just sealed what I already knew...you're wanted, needed and you "Serve from the Heart for Our Veterans".

Sisters, as we close this mem-bership year and begin another, let us all rededicate ourselves to the purpose of our organiza-tion... "Serving Veterans and Our Communities".

When we lose sight of our pur-pose, WE ARE NOT CARRYING OUT THE WORK OF OUR ORGANIZATION'!

Many thanks and much love,Ginger Amos, Dept. President

PresidenT's CoLuMn

GinGer Amos

CANDIDATE FOR NATIONAL COUNCIL MEMBER # 9 MARIA MYERS

My name is Maria Myers and I am running for the office of National Council Member # 9.I am a life member of VFW Ladies Auxiliary 2401 in Beaufort, NC, and I have been a very active member since 1984. I joined under my husband, Daniel T. Myers, who retired from US Air Force and is a Viet Nam Veteran. He also retired after 20 years from Cherry Point. I have served in all chairs up to and includ-ing President in the Auxiliary, District, and Department.

I have served in most of the appointed Chairs and all elected offices all the way to up to President in the Auxiliary of Jones-Austin Post 2401. I have been Auxiliary president eleven times.

I have gone through the District 4 Chairs up to District 4 President, served as Chairman and Trustee several times in the 4th District, and served as District 4 President two times.

I have gone through the Department Chairs up to Department President and served several times on committees and chairmanships. I also have been appointed as a Page several times.

I joined the Gold Star Mothers of America in 1997 after I lost my son Captain Donald J.

Lee, who was a helicopter pilot serving in the US Army. I belong to the Azalea Chapter in Wilmington, NC.

I am an MOCA member, occupied the MOCA chairs, served as President of PT 6 Sand Fiddlers in Beaufort, NC, and now I belong to MOCA PT #14 in New Bern, NC.

I am also a life member of the American Legion Post 11 in Goldsboro, NC.

Department President of the Year, runner up 2004-2005, District President of the year 2009-2010, Auxiliary President of the year 1997-1998, 1998 -1999 and 2006-2007, Auxiliary Member of the year 1999-2000 and 2001-2002, National Aid de Camp 1999-2000 and was many times State and Auxiliary Aid de Camp over the years. I was Chairman, National Award Junior Girls 1st place 2006-2007, Hospital Volunteer of the Year in 2000, Carteret/Craven County Retired Senior Volunteer of the year 2000, Caswell Center Volunteer of the year award 2001.I have a plaque recognizing my many hours given to Helpline of Carteret County 2002, and a Plaque from the Department of the Army (Adopted Unit to Post 2401) for my support in 2007.

I received numerous letters and commenda-tions over the years for my service to our veterans and other organizations for my vol-unteer work (too many to list all of them), but some memorable ones are from President George W. Bush, President Barrack Obama, Senator Kay Hagan, Senator Richard Burr, Governor Jim Hunt, Governor Mike Easily, and Governor Beverly Perdue. In addition to those, I also received letters from Senator Jesse Helms and Senator Lauch Faircloth when I eagerly became a US citizen in April 1981. I was so very proud to become a citizen of the United States and retain that pride of citizen-ship to this very day.

I have several awards from the Navy/Marine Relief Society for crocheting baby blankets. I don't know how many I have made over the last 10 years. I got a lot of awards and I just

got a clock and a 6,OOO-hour pin.

I have also received United States Marine Corps plaques and several awards for my work at the Air Terminal at Cherry Point in the last seven years for seeing the troops off on training and deployment overseas. I serve all branches of the military and all reservists that come through Cherry Point Terminal, all of whom are all looking for something to eat or drink. For some it is the third, fourth, or even fifth time through, and they know we are there for them with all the goodies. I can count on the help of Betty Mace, past commander Joe Mlzzi, and Commander Dan Myers at all times if I cannot be there myself. They know all there is to know and take care of things. All three have several awards themselves. We serve cof-fee, water, Kool-Aid, lemonade, cakes, cookies, muffins, brownies, gum, crackers, candies and anything else I can get. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are a favorite. I bake a lot of the items myself, and with the help of Dan I make more than 240 P&J sandwiches at a time and they all disappear in no time at all.

I also send care packages overseas with home-made cookies, brownies, hard candy, and toi-letry items. We exchange emails, letters, and pictures.

In the last 25 years I missed two national conventions, one Southern Conference, one District Meeting, and two Auxiliary Meetings, all due to circumstances beyond by control. I have missed no Department C of A meetings and no Department Conventions. I always plan everything around my Auxiliary obliga-tions.

Thanking you in advance for your consider-ation of me as your National Council member # 9.

I am Loyally,

Maria Myers204 South Drive Beaufort, NC 28516 Email: dmyers4@ec.rr.com Phone: 252-342-3728

10th grade World Literature, 12th grade British Literature, and 12th grade Seminar. With a Bachelor's degree trom Mars Hill College and a Master's Degree from Regent University in Virginia Beach, Mrs. Cain has been at her current school since 2007 and taught at East Burke High School for 5 years before that.

The daughter of a veteran, Ms. Cain challenges her students to appreciate the American military and patriotism. For example, she assigns writing topics in which students must reflect on their ideas of patriotism, citizenship, and democracy. Topics such as "Define Freedom," "Define the American Dream," and "What is Citizenship" are a few examples. She created a grade-wide learning experience about the Holocaust and America's role in world his-tory and World War II at that time. When the town of Hudson asked for volunteers to decorate a tree in their downtown area with the theme of "Home for the Holidays," Ms. Cain immediate-ly had her students participate to honor veterans and military fam-ilies. Students gathered names, photos, and hometown memo-ries of the county's military men and women, and displayed them on the tree.

Betty Ann Byerly Jeffrey Barret Kelly Cain

The VFW Leader Jan/Feb/Mar 2013 Page 11

National Deployment of Paperless ClaimsWASHINGTON - The Department of Veterans Affairs announced today the nationwide transition to paperless processing of veterans' disability claims at its regional benefits processing offices is underway. VA is aggres-sively guilding a strong foundation for its new elec-tronic claims processing system, called Veterans Benefits Management System (VBMS) - a lasting solution that will transform how VA eliminates the backlog in 2015. "Our approach to claims processing is being modern-ized to better serve veterans and address the complex claims our employees are dealing with every day," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. "We con-tinue to transform our claims system to be more respon-sive through new processes and technolog, because taking care of our veterans and their loved ones is our highest priority." As of December 2012, 18 VA regional offices have implemented the new system and are begin-ning to process newly received compensation claims in an entirely digital format. The VA is on track for full deployment of the system to the remaining 38 regional offices in 2013. "For our veterans, VBMS will mean faster, higher-quality and more consistent decisions on claims. We recognize that too many veterans are wait-ing too long to get the benefits they have earned, and that is unacceptable. This is a decades-old problem, and

we are implementing a robust plan to address it," said Undersecretary for Benefits Allison A. Hickey. "For our employees, VBMS will be a more user-friendly system that offers bet-ter access to decision-level informa-tion, rules-based calculators, and automated tools that help them process claims more consistently." This marks a major milestone in VA's transformation of the processes and systems used to deliver ben-efits to veterans, their families, and survivors, even while the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) has completed a recordbreaking 1 mil-lion claims per year the last three fiscal years. Critical to VA's transfor-mation is ending the reliance on the outmoded paper intensive processes which prevent timely and accurate claims processing. VA is deploying technology solutions which improve access, drive automation, reduce variance, and enable faster and more efficient operations to eliminate the backlog. The current backlog of claims is the result of increased demand, over a decade of war with many veterans returning with severe, complex injuries, and increased out-reach to veterans informing them of their benefits. Secretary Shinseki also made important decisions to recognize medical conditions related to Agent Orange service in Southeast Asia, and to simplify the process to file claims for combat PTSD. These decisions expanded access to benefits for hundreds of thousands of veterans and brought significantly more claims into the system. VBMS was pilot-tested at select regional

offices between 2010 and 2012, with improvements and greater function-ality added to system software releas-es throughout the testing period. In pilot programs, the new system cut the time to process claims nearly in half. The most recent version of VBMS software allows VA claims representatives to: establish veterans' Claims entirely in a digital environ-ment as "e-folders;" receive, store, and view Veterans' submitted claim documents electronically; identify and track the evidence VA needs from beneficiaries and other out-side sources; quickly direct claims electronically among regional offic-es to better match VA's workload with invaluable workforce capacity. The system also enables VA claims processors to access online rules-based calculators and drop-down menus to enhance standardization md accuracy of decisions, for both electronic claims and those received by VA in paper form and uploaded into VBMS. Processors will also use VBMS to generate letters to veterans concerning their claim status and send requests to private physicians for medical records needed to evalu-ate claims. When VBMS is combined with VA's other transformation ini-tiatives, including improved claims rater training, cross-functional daims handling teams, and prioritized lanes to speed processing based on type of claim, VA will be positioned to meet Secretary Eric K. Shinseki's priority goal of processing veterans' claims in 125 days or less, at 98 percent accuracy, by the end of 2015.

Sport Clips CampaignChallenges team members and clients to make calls home pos-sible for overseas U.S. troops through VFW's Operation UplinkTM

October 15, 2012 - Beginning today, more than 950 Sport Clips Haircuts locations will launch the company's annual "Help A Hero" fundraising campaign to support the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Operation UplinkTM in their communities across the country. Sport Clips' goal is to raise $500,000 in its sixth year of donating to Operation Uplink, a program that offers free call days to deployed and hospitalized American service members. Donations to "Help A Hero" will be collected in-store and through local fundrais-ing events. A key part of the effort will be "The Biggest Haircut Day of the Year" on Veterans Day, Sunday, November 11, when the company will donate a dollar from every hair-cut service to the program.

"Our generous clients and team members have helped make our Help A Hero program a true success," says Sport Clips Founder and CEO Gordon Logan, a lifetime member of the VFW and VFW Foundation board member.. "With the draw down in troops, many might think free call days aren't as important, however, the numbers tell us a differ-ent story. An average of 32,700 calls have been made by our hospital-ized veterans and active-duty service members - many on their second, third or even fourth deployment, during our sponsored call days so far this year."

Since it began in 2007, Sport Clips has made almost 2 million calls possible and donated more than $1.3 million

to Operation Uplink, becoming the VFW's largest Free Call Day sponsor. "The 'Help a Hero' campaign has been extremely successful in terms of providing our service men and women with a free connection home throughout their deployments," says VFW National Commander John Hamilton. "In fact, Sport Clips can be largely credited with the success of the Operation Uplink Free Call Day program overall. We couldn't be more grateful to the entire Sport Clips family for their continued ded-ication."

To find out more about Sport Clips'Help A Hero program, visit http://www.sportclips.com/Hero

ABOUT SPOrT CLIPS HAIrCUTSSport Clips Haircuts is headquar-tered in Georgetown, Texas and was established in 1995 by founder and CEO Gordon Logan. The sports-themed salon franchise, which spe-cializes in hair care for men and boys, ranks in Entrepreneur Magazine's top 20 "fastest growing franchises" and in the top 100 in the "Franchise 500, " and in the top 10 in Forbes' "Top 20 Franchises To Start." Sport Clips is the "Official Haircutter" of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), offers veterans preferential pricing on haircuts and franchises, and was named in the "50 Top Franchises for Military Veterans" ranking by World Franchising. Our "Help A Hero" program has donated more than one million dollars to help deployed andhospitalized U.S. service mem-bers call home thr:ough the VFW's Operation Uplink. Sport Clips is a proud sponsor of Joe Gibbs racing's NASCAr driver Denny Hamlin and holds partnerships with sev-eral NCAA and professional sports teams. To learn more about Sport Clips, visit www.sportclips.com

Tony Hawkins, the recipient of trained dog rJ., seen by many com-rades at the recent February Mid-Winter Conference. The Eastern Band of Cherokees has agreed to partner with the program through the American Legion post.

Service Canines SuppliedWhittier VFW Post 8013 has partnered with Cherokee American Legion Post 143to continue its efforts to supply VFW comrades with service dogs under the Canines 4 Warriors logo, after the Department Councilof Administration voted to discontin-ue the program. recently Mr. Gary Jennings of Mountain City Ford con-tacted Bryson City Post 9281 to reach out to disabled veterans. Through that post and Canines 4 Warriors, a handi-cap van was donated free to Comrade

Page 12 Jan/Feb/Mar 2013 The VFW Leader

COMRADE STEVE McKINNEY OF MARS HILL POST 5483 WAS THE LUCKY WINNER OF THE STATE COMMANDER'S VACATION

GIVEAWAY PACKAGE OF A 3-DAY, 2-NIGHT STAY A THE OCEAN DUNES RESORT AND VILLIAS IN MYRTLE BEACH. COMRADE

McKINNEY'S NAME WAS DRAWN FROM A CONTAINER CONTAINING THE NAMES OF ALL COMRADES AND SISTERS WHO HAD RECRUITED VFW COMRADES THIS YEAR. WHILE AT THE RESORT, COMRADE McKIN-NEY WILL NO DOUBT VISIT THE RESORT'S

FAMOUS "HALL OF HEROES" EXHIBIT, COMPLETE WITH A SCALE REPLICA OF THE

VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL WALL.

The VFW Leader Jan/Feb/Mar 2013 Page 13

State Patriot PenSTATE PATRIOT PEN WINNER SNAGS 12TH PLACE AT NATIONAL COMPETITION

Victoria F. Franco of Fayetteville was announced as the first-place winner of the Patriot Pen mid-dle school written essay competi-tion at the Department of North Carolina's Mid-Winter Conference/Council of Administration meet-ing in Greensboro in February. Department Headquarters then received word from VFW National, that she also won 12th place at their level.

Victoria will receive $500 and a plaque from the Department for her win, and $1000 from National for being awarded the Golden Valley VFW Patriot Pen prize, given each year by Post 7051 of Golden Valley, Minnesota.

A student at St. Patrick Catholic School in Fayetteville, she was spon-sored by Hope Mills Post 10630, and won 1st place at District 8. An 8th grade student, she was given a Patriot Pen backpack, a medal, and a certificate at the conference. She will receive her monetary award and a special Patriot Pen plaque at her school in front of her peers. In second place at Department level was Frances L. Massey of Denver. She is an 8th grader at East Lincoln Middle School, was nominated by Lincolnton Post 1706, and won 1st place at District 14. She received a Patriot Pen backpack, a medal, and a certificate, and will be awarded $400 and her plaque at her school. Taking in third place at Department level was Alexis Malone Saint-Arnand of Kinston. An 8th grader at Woodington Middle School, she was nominated by Kinston Post 2771, and won first place at District 2. She received her Patriot Pen backpack, medal, and certificate at the conference, and will be awarded $300 and her plaque at her school.

Victoria's winning essay follows:

What I Would Tell America's Founding Fathers

In a hot, muggy room two-hun-dred and thirty-six years ago sat the very men that laid down the solid foundation for a govern-ment that would go on to guide a country of 300,000,000 people. Some of these men included George Washington, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Adams, Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin, known as the founding fathers of the United States of America. If given the

opportunity, I would tell these pro-digious men of America's progres-sion. I would include our progress in the sciences, our social progression, and lastly our rise to become the most powerful country in his-tory.

America's journey to the top begins with the sciences. From linking smoking to cancer, to being the first country to send man to the moon, America has proven to be on the forefront in medicine, space explo-ration, and technology. The world renowned computer company Apple Inc., launched in the United States, was named as the most admired company in the world from 2008 to 2012 by Forbes magazine.

The Hubble telescope and the dis-covery that the universe is expand-ing are phenomenal scientific advancements of our recent era. The USA was a tremendous contributor in the discovery of mapping of the human gene construction.

Social progression has made boun-tiful strides. The Civil War ended in 1865, abolishing slavery. This was a turning point in our nation's history, and is a prime example of America's dedication to freedom. We continued to develop as a nation during the 1950s and '60s, the peak of the Civil Rights Movement. Now, discriminating against someone due to race or religion is agaist the law.

Finally, I would tell them how America has risen to power. I would explain how the United States has a top-notch military, one of the high-est standards of living, and how the American culture has spread glob-ally. American movies are viewed all around the world, our music is listened to in almost every coun-try, and our democratic ways are modeled in other countries. Most importantly, the dream envisioned by our founding fathers has become a reality for Americans today.

I thank the wise and brave men that formed the nation I live in today. We reap the rewards of the hard work and forethought of these amazing men. They left a legacy that will forever be remembered and honored.

Page 14 Jan/Feb/Mar 2013 The VFW Leader

Gold Medal Safety Awards

Three outstanding North Carolina public servants have been chosen by the Department of North Carolina for this year's Gold Medal Awards in the fields of Law Enforcement, Firefighting, and Emergency Medical Services. They are Lieutenant Chase Coble of the Union County Sheriff's Office, Captain Vince Lewis of the Fayetteville Fire/Emergency Management Department, and Sergeant Steven B. Keech of the Vanceboro Rescue Squad.

Lieutenant Coble, the Department winner of the Law Enforcement Gold Medal, started his police career as a reserve Police Officer with the Marshville Police Department in 1997. He swiftly became a full-time Police Officer there, and transferred to the Union County Sheriff's Office in 2003. He graduated from the Law Enforcement Management Academy in 2008 and the FBI National Academy in 2012. Nominated by Monroe Post 5464, Lt. Coble was born and raised in Marshville, and graduated from Forest Hills High School, and then from Stanley County Community College. Confessing that to be a policeman was his childhood dream, he works tirelessly for public safety in Union County, to include even volunteering in the classrooms at the Unionville Elementary School. He has received the recognition of the community by being awarded several certificates of appreciation from local schools and some local homeowners' associations. In 2004 he received an award from the Sheriff's Office for

Going Above and Beyond the Call of Duty, and received the Advanced Law Enforcement Certificate from the NC Sheriff's Education and Training Standards Commission in 2006.

Captain Vince Lewis has been award-ed the Firefighter of the Year award in the Gold Medal competition. He was born in Indiana, but attended Hoke County High School in North Carolina. Since he joined the fire department in 1995, he has earned the following fire and rescue certifica-tions: Firefighter I and II, Emergency Medical Technician, Hazardous Materials Responder II Technician, Fire Officer I and II, Public Fire Educator I, Fire Instructor II, Driver Operator Pumps/Aerials, Technical Rescuer GeneralNMR, Technical Rescuer Ropes, Technical Rescuer Trench, Technical Rescuer Confined Space, Technical Rescuer Agricultural Rescue, Technical Rescuer Tower Rescue, and various other instructor levels of expertise.

Nominated by Fayetteville Post 6018 for this prestigious award, Captain Lewis has been a Fire Captain since 2005. He is also a National Fire Academy Instructor, and participates in the local community as the Co-Chairman of the Rescue Committee, member of the Fayetteville Firefighter Relief Fund Board, instructor at the Fayetteville Fire Academy, instructor at the Fayetteville Fire Department Officer Development Program, and member ofNC USAR Task Force 9. To show his versatility, he developed

policies and procedures for animal rescue devices, and was applauded for installing children's car seats while off duty.

The Emergency Medical Technician of the Year is Sergeant Steven B. Keech of Pollocksville. He is a combat vet-eran, with two combat tours in Iraq under his belt with theNorth Carolina National Guard. He was a U.S. Army combat medic, and completed the Health Care Specialist Program in 1993 at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. He then completed Hazardous Materials Technician certification at Fort Lewis, Washington in 1993, and National Registry Emergency Medical Technician Basic at Fort Bragg in 2007. Joining the Vanceboro Rescue Squad to 2010, he swiftly completed NC EMT Intermediate training at Craven Community College Sergeant Keech was nominated by Vanceboro Post 11119 and also won the District 4 competition. Among his awards are the US Army Outstanding Leadership Award in 2011 and the Vanceboro Rescue Squad Member of the Year in 2011. He also received the Army's Combat Medic Badge (CMB) in 2004. He continues to serve in the North Carolina National Guard as a medic. His service to his local community is proved by his "volunteer" duty with the Vanceboro Rescue Squad and his serving as a Den Leader for his son's Cub Scout Pack. He is employed at Coastal Carolina Health Care at New Bern Internal Medicine as a Medical Technician.

Captain Lewis Lt. CobLe sgt. KeeCh

The VFW Leader Jan/Feb/Mar 2013 Page 15

Heroes on Wheels Rider Sign Up

Post Happenings Around the State

Liberty Post 8721 recently dedicated this veterans' monument in front of the library in Liberty. Names on it include 57 veterans, 8 POW's, 9 KIA's (of which one is a dog named Rinny), and 1 POW. There are stepping stones that lead to the monument

Mt. Gilead Post 10940 Commander Jim Cranford awards a Certificate of Appreciation to Comrade Harold Story. Story is the posts top ticket seller year after year for their annual Barbecue Fundraiser. He is a life member with a long record of service to the post.

Dunn Post 6767 combines with American Legion Post 59 to sponsor Boy Scout Troop 780, which has produced eight Eagle scouts in last several years. Shown here are new Eagle Scout Alan Agosto, mother Betty Agosto, father Alex Agosto, brother and Scouter Anthony Agosto, and Scout Chairman John "Mac" McNamara, a member of 6767.

Page 16 Jan/Feb/Mar 2013 The VFW Leader

Officers of Gastonia Post 9337 present Christmas presents to veterans in 17 nursing homes in their area for the past 23 years. This last Christmas 156 eterans received a hand knitted red, white and blue toboggan. Here World War II veteran Joe Kenny receives his toboggan from comrade Wayne Bolding.

Gastonia Post 9337 comrades play Santa Claus and spread Christmas joy to veterans in nearby nursing homes.

Newton Post 5305 presents checks of $1335 each to the St. Jude's Childrens' Hospital and the Childrens' Wall of Tears. The money was aised in a Poker Run.

The new North Carolina State Veterans Home in Black Mountain. This is an ultra modern facilty, based upon a com-munity concept, and has a sister location in Kinston. Both are now open for occupancy, joining the existing homes in Fayetteville and Salisbury.

Brave U.S. Navy sailors celebrate receiving "goodies" from Henderson Post 2417. Post comrade Dawn Fabretti, a member of the Naval Reserve, is currently serving on active duty in the Gulf, and asked her post to contribute packages from home for her fellow sailors. The sailors, according to Dawn's comrade husband, Kevin, particularly like receiving Cracker Jack, a favorite of oer 100 years!

Wake Forest Post 8466 delivers 36 meals and fruit baskets to shut in families in their community. Left to right are Jerry Ammon, owner of the Border restaurant, who cooked the meals, and Comrades Gene Ressegiue, Alex Heroux, Daniel Brodeur, Hank Pierwola and Dennis Mecum.

Captain Vince Lewis of the Fayetteille Fire/Emergency Management Department receives the Department of North Carolina's State Firefighter of the Year award from District 8 Commander Jessie Bellflowers and Fayettevile Post 6018 member Roland Rochester.

Happenings Around the Tarheel State