vol. 14, no. 1

Blast off – full speed ahead into 2010. AMVETS – Department of California is the place to be in 2010, with you the veteran stepping out of the shadows to make good things happen. It

takes a team effort to get more service to our veterans in need and all of you are a part of the team. As we look around we can all see so many things that need to be accomplished in order to help others, yet it seems as if it’s not getting enough support. What should we do first and where do we get the man power and the money are questions being asked. I have received many calls asking about grants and why a post didn’t get all they ask for, or a project whether it is in a VA or medical facility didn’t get all of the requested money. I can tell you that the Service Foundation had close to 200 requests for grants and projects and carefully looked at them all. I can also tell you that the board did an outstanding job trying to fulfill as much as possible within the legal guidelines and with trying to spread things out so most all of them got a share. Trust me it was many hours of review and some very difficult decisions.

One very important grant was to the Ladies Auxiliary so they would finally have a budget to operate with. This has been a long time coming and is most definitely well deserved. It would be great to give all what they requested, but please realize that only so many dollars are available. Tough times with our economy also effects money com-ing in to Service Foundation. As AMVETS it’s up to us to do the best we can with what we have. As veterans we have all seen tough times and fought thru them to make life better for ourselves and others. I ask that you do the same now as together we can make a difference.

For those of you who attended Santa Maria, thank you for being a part of a very informative meeting. If you were in the briefing by our JA on some of the past issues uncovered, you most definitely should have a better understanding of what has happened in the past. At-tending also should have given you a good feeling about our service officers and all the great work being done by them. I feel Santa Maria was a very successful and informative conference. It was proof in pudding that attendance is in fact a value to you, as you will get vital information that can be passed on to others. Information such as a couple of Post working on starting a Sons of AMVETS something we don’t currently have. I call this progress, wouldn’t you?

I have been informed by Chapman Legal Clinic that a law student recently won an appeal for a combat wounded veteran that resulted in a $100,000 paid out settlement. News like this makes one realize that there are many good things happening because of AMVETS and our vision for need in the veteran’s world.

I did get a chance to visit the VA in LA and had a meeting concern-ing the many issues veterans have with the land grab and issues of concern to all veterans. I now have Ray Delgado in direct contact with the VA and he is for sure keeping the pressure on them. We should all keep up the pressure on our government officials to do the right thing for veterans. We have a long hard road ahead but strength in numbers is a key to success.

Spring, 2010 Vol. 14, No. 1

commander’s remarksBy John Byrum, Commander, Department of California AMVETS

Commander Byrum

I had the opportunity to be a part of the Spirit of 45 kick-off that took place on the USS Midway, in San Diego on 18 January 2010. The event has traveled to a few in California in the past month, and I want to thank the posts and AMVETS members that have been involved already. I know Post 40 and Post 22 have been big supporters of this and I thank you. I ask that others step up with this as you will have fun in the process. A good project for posts on this would be to get short letters and quotes from members, family, and friends from that era on what they were doing or remember from August 14, 1945 when World II ended. Let’s all help capture their memories.

Another protect coming up will be the Stories of Service with the emphasis on Vietnam veterans. You will see more information on this from other articles and on our web site. I have been asked as a Vietnam veteran to tell my story and have it recorded. I will ad-mit I am a bit hesitant, but my grandson has asked me to let him do the recording and put it together. I ask that you all in this time of history let someone make your story a part of his-tory forever. We are working to get high school students in your areas to work on this for their school projects as they are pretty high speed with digital technology.

I thank all of you, AMVETS and Ladies Aux-iliary, for your continued hard work and service. Please keep up with the reporting to National. I ask you to remember “Team AMVETS” with “Service to the Past – The Present – The Future” Good fortune and good health to all in 2010. May God bless America.

2—California AMVETS Voice Vol. 14, No. 1

DEPARTMENT OFFICERS FOR 2009-2010

Commander John Byrum [email protected]

1st Vice Commander Dennis Starkey 909-355-1061 [email protected]

2nd Vice Commander Charles Ramos [email protected]

Northern Area Commander Thomas Johnson [email protected]

Central Area Commander Frank Guerra 559-960-3682

Southern Area Commander Cephus R. Daniels [email protected]

Finance Officer Phil Plascencia 559-686-8289

Judge Advocate Chuck Kissel [email protected]

Provost Marshal Ben Aguayo 626-337-6152

N.E.C. Man Filbert Bejarano 559-686-0335

Alt. N.E.C. Man Ron Ferrea 626-577-2454

Trustee S.E.B. Leo Simon 530-275-0574

Trustee S.E.B. Ray Delgado [email protected]

Chaplain Tom Sarchipone 707-226-3978

Inspector General Terry Mc Carty [email protected]

Editor Rod Blackman

The Voice is published quarterly by Midwest Publishing, Inc.. Any articles or photographs received after the deadlines will be held for the next edition. All articles must be signed to be printed. The editor reserves the right to edit any submission for clarity, brevity, etc. The opinions expressed in The Voice are those of the authors and not necessarily the opinion of the AMVETS Department of California. Submit articles to:

California AMVETS Voice, Attn: Rod Blackman120 North “M” Street Tulare, CA 93274or E-mail: [email protected]

Table of ContentsOfficer’s Reports ....................................................................................... 3

Legislative Advocate’s Report .................................................................. 9

Riders ........................................................................................................10

2010 Recruiting Contest ......................................................................... 11

Proposed By-Laws Amendments ........................................................... 12

Green Hats ............................................................................................... 13

Photo Stories ..................................................................................... 14-15

Post Reports ............................................................................................. 17

Stories of Service ..................................................................................... 26

www.amvets-ca.org

120 North “M” Street

Vol. 14, No. 1 California AMVETS Voice—3

It was great to see so many delegates at the DEC in Santa Maria in spite of the bad weather. Besides attending the DEC in January, my husband and

I were able to visit Post 922 in Shafter for breakfast and see a new member join the post, later that same day we were able to attend the dedication of the Post home for Post 98 in Sanger. Thank you to both posts for allowing us to be a part of your day.

Please note:1: REVALIDATIONS are due to the department

office no later than 1 July 2010. Please make sure they are signed and dated. If you revalidate on line I still need to have a paper copy- this means that I need ALL three pages including the quality post form (national requirement)

2: REPLACEMENT cards: the $2 is only for life replacement cards, there is no charge for annual cards that are current. Annual cards are made out of heavy paper b/c they are disposable since annuals need to renew every year. Life cards are plastic (or if the life member pays $11 they can get a gold card).

3: VETERAN’S Outreach: our free membership program for new annuals is ONLY for new annuals NOT renewals. And you must fill out a dues remit-tance form and write on the top of it Veteran’s Out-reach. Reminder: the dept. pays national’s share of the cost of the new membership, neither the dept. nor

the post make any money off of new annuals signed up under this program. The goal is to get new mem-bers who once they learn about AMVETS and the great things we do for veterans they will want to re-new their membership in the future or convert to life. It is the responsibility of the post to verify eligibly for membership. Someone must see the DD214 or retire or active card. Some posts keep a copy of the DD214 or card on file, others have a notebook in which they write: Date: Member’s name, “I have seen member’s DD214,” then the person who saw the proof prints and signs their name. At national convention last year they said that this will be ok if your post gets audited.

4: Note from National on Programs Reporting: We report AMVETS Programs executed/deliv-ered on behalf of veterans/military, and the com-munity. One post could meet for weeks determining, discussing how to support a Stand Down. Another post could have a 30-minute discussion. Neither is reported. The “day” of the Stand Down both posts should report the number of volunteers that partici-pated, the total hours of those volunteers for that day, mileage etc. Again, we do not report meeting atten-dance, travel to and from meetings, work on the post home, etc. (We report action/executable/delivery based programs.)

REMINDER: If you plan to run for a depart-ment office you will need to fill out a candidate form, please contact me if you need one. The best way to reach me is by e-mail: [email protected].

I look forward to seeing ALL of our posts at our Department convention in Modesto. Remember two of your delegates (chosen by the post commander) will get mileage to attend the convention (checks are sent out after the convention). Preregistration is greatly appreciated. Delegate fees are still only $10. Each post will be receiving a letter in May telling you how many delegates your post is entitled to. We will be doing things different for the banquet. In February all posts were sent a letter concerning this as well as information on reserving your rooms at the hotel; elsewhere in this paper is also the information so you can reserve your rooms and get your banquet tickets early. I have nice gifts to raffle for the posts that pre-register and buy their banquet tickets early.

Editor's Note:Thank you to everyone who sent in articles for

the paper. It’s great to see what all of you are do-ing in your communities and for our veterans. Please remember that pictures that are e-mailed should be taken at high resolution when possible.

From the desk of the executive directorBy Rose Blackman

Well the 2009 – 2010 year is almost finished. Our Department has made great strides over the past year. Thanks

to the Veterans Outreach Program our membership is on the rise and most Post have reported. Word is getting out about how much we do for our Veterans and our communities thanks to the hard work of our members. The US Army has even named us a Center of Influence for the work that we do. I personally want to thank all of our members that have worked so hard to improve our Department and to do our programs. Keep up the good work. Follow the Golden State award program. I would like to see every post receive an award next year.

Soon it will be time for Convention and elections again. I urge every post to send their quota of del-egates and help make this the best Convention that we have had in a while. I am running for Department Commander this year along with Charlie Ramos. For those that know me know what I do and what I have done. I would like to have your votes but no mat-ter who is running for what office vote for who you think will be the best to keep our Department mov-ing forward as we have done the past two years. We are the number one VSO in the state and with all of your help and dedication we will continue to be.

1st Vice Commander's ReportBy Dennis Starkey

mailto:[email protected]


It’s official,

DD-214’s are NOW Online www.vetrecs.archives.gov/

AMVETS DEPARTMENT OF CALIFORNIA

65TH ANNUAL CONVENTIONJUNE 11-13, 2010

DOUBLETREE MODESTO1150 NINTH STREET, MODESTO, CA 95354

1-800-222-8733$104 plus tax per night mention AMVETS to get this rate, cut-off date is May 10Overnight parking in the hotel parking garage is $5 per night and will be added

to your final bill. Complimentary shuttle to and from the Modesto Airport, lots of fun things to do in downtown Modesto after our meetings.

Delegate preregistration is greatly appreciated, delegate fees are only $10 per delegate. Saturday night Banquet:

Tri tip with Chef’s choice sauce, mashed potatoes.or

Herbed Chicken with Mushroom Pan Sauce, rice pilaf.

Both entrees come with fresh seasonal vegetables, classic Caesar salad w herbed croutons, and shredded cheese, ranch or Italian dressing, rolls and butter and dessert.

Our host Posts 98 and 99 will have some great entertainment for us.

Presold tickets are $35, (please send your order and check to arrive at the dept. office no later than May 25th). Any remaining tickets can be purchased from the Executive Director on Friday before the convention

starts for $40 each). Pre sold Tickets will be mailed out no later than June 1st. Only tickets issued by the Department Executive Director with the purchaser’s name and post on them will be accepted by the waiters.

chaplain’s messagePast Department Chaplain George McNally

We only have to look about to enjoy God’s creation in the land of

the free and the brave, especially here in California. The majestic mountains, the greenery of the northern forest, the flowers in sifting sands of the southern dessert and the coming and going of the waves on our long shore line. So that we may keep this land and our way of life, join with me in praying for out troops in harms way and their families.

Be proud of the servicemen and women who have taken cen-ter state in helping the Haiti vic-tims; as well as those who gave of their time and money. A true expression of the spirit of the American way.

God help those in need in the AMVETS family. Give us the motivation to achieve a bet-ter life for all of our active mili-tary and veterans in the com-ing department convention.

District 2 is moving forward to assist veterans. I have two issues to discuss in this report.

West LA VA Land Grab IssueI am very happy to read that the ongoing battle of the West LA VA “Land grab” issue was openly discussed

at the Spring Conference. Ray Delgado, Frank Suarez and others are working hard on this issue for veterans. I would like to see the work done to determine whether or not there is a legal case for going forward to deter-

mine who is the rightful owner of the property in question, and as to whether or not the current administrators of the property are following both their own regulations in their land use, and are following through with the “spirit” of how the original property was deeded to back in 1887. I am hoping that at some future juncture, AMVETS might consider working towards getting the needed answers to either slow or completely halt the erosion of the 1887 veterans property grant. This project has my full support.

Los Angeles National Cemetery Memorial Day ProgramOn May 31, 2010 from 1030 – 1200 at the Los Angeles National Cemetery, 950 South Sepulveda Blvd, Los Ange-

les will be the annual Memorial Day Program. This program is unlike any program that has been produced anywhere else. We have actor/veteran Jon Voight as our Master of Ceremonies, and a group of other Hollywood celebrities who participate with us. The AMVETS Department of California Service Foundation has generously agreed to offer support of this program for 2010, and I want to thank the entire Service Foundation Board of Directors for assisting the Los Angeles National Cemetery Support Committee in their efforts to honor the 86,000 veterans buried at the Los Angeles National Cemetery. AMVETS supporting this project demonstrates to the entire citizenry that AM-VETS Department of California honors all who have served our nation. All are invited and I hope to see you there.

George McNally

district 2 reportJeff Sharp – CommanderAMVETS District 2


President's reportservice Foundation

By Jim Pidgeon

Special thanks to all who braved the rain to attend the DEC conference in Santa Maria! JA Kissel bombarded members

with lots of valuable info on post goverence and more. Dept. Executive Committee meeting was open to all in attendance, including the women’s auxiliary. Following the E Committee meeting, JA Kissel gave a slide presentation outlining many of the legal issues, again open to all, that your Department has been working on for the past couple of years.

Foundation Executive Director Bradley re-ported to the body, touching on the many new programs introduced by your Foundation and highlighted the great work done by the service officers in 2009. Doug reported your service officers had nearly doubled money benefit rewards from the VA, since last in Santa Maria, awarded to deserving California veterans. Brad-ley’s report was well accepted...much applause… and well deserved!

I was honored to thank your Department of California officers and Foundation board of directors for their great work! As Team AMVETS, the Department and Foundation board of directors have worked close-ly together, in the spirit of co-operation, for the betterment of Cali-fornia veterans. Special thanks to Cmdr. Byrum and the Post Grant committee (1st Vice Dennis Starkey, 2nd Vice Charlie Ramos and PDC Mel Posey) for the many hours going through over 100 posts, VAVS and third party grant requests. The body of my report focused on the many changes and accomplishments since we last gathered in confer-ence, in Santa Maria, a few short years back. Full funding from your Foundation to support the work AMVETS do everyday assisting the nearly three million veterans in California is now reality! For the first time your Department and women’s Auxiliary both have submitted operational budgets and they both were funded by your Foundation.

I reminded the members of finance office Phil Plascencia’s alarm-ing report, back in 2007, that your Department would be broke in five years, if new funding was not secured! On behalf of the board of direc-tors, I apologized to Madame President Scovil, of the women’s Aux-iliary, and pledged to support the women of California AMVETS. In my opinion, they are the backbone of the volunteer work done in our posts, clinics and VA hospitals. Again on behalf of the Foundation board of directors, I thanked your service officers for a job well done and loudly proclaimed the $96,146,300 dollars they had helped obtain for nearly 6,100 California veterans! Doug Bradley rose and set the goal of $100 million dollars for 2010. I jokingly countered with $125 million.

In conclusion, we as team AMVETS have many challenges yet to face. The Commander in Chief has promised to bring the troops home from the middle east…more sooner than later. We as California AM-VETS have taken the lead in ramping up to handle the large numbers of brave men and women veterans returning to our state who will need our help.

You, as Team AMVETS, are now the number one VSO in Cal-ifornia, meeting the needs of our veterans, both past and pres-ent. Together, in the new Spirit of Team AMVETS, I applaud your service and challenge you for more! Together let us raise the bar! Let us lead the nation, in five years, ensuring ALL veterans across this great country, receive ALL the benefits… they have earned. Thank you. I look forward to seeing you all in Modesto.

CALIFORNIA AMVETS THRIFT STORES1-800-640-8387AMVETSThrift Store777 W. foothill Blvd. Azusa, CA 91702626-334-3111

AMVETSThrift Store1130 E. Main StreetEl Cajon, CA 92021619-442-0238

AMVETSThrift Store3441Sutherland St.San Diego, CA 92110 619-297-4213

AMVETSThrift Store2085 E. Valley Pkwy Escondido,CA 92027 760-747-2793

AMVETSThrift Store4125 Shields fresno, CA 93726559-220-2622

AMVETSThrift Store999 Cardiff StreetSan Diego, CA 92114 619-697-9796

AMVETSThrift Store335 E. South StreetLong Beach, CA 90805 562-531-2383

UPcomInG eVenTsFALL DEC: Oct 1st- Oct 2nd Bakersfield MarriottMARRIOTT BAKERSFIELD801 Truxtun Avenue, Bakersfield, CA 93301Tel: (661) 323-1900 Fax. (805) 928-5690 toll free 1-800-267-3983Rooms: $90.04 plus tax (single/ double)Cut off date for reservations is Sept 9, 2010

As the Southern Area Commander I would like to thank all my Area and post Commander’s for all their hard work, helping get the Southern Area on line reporting completed, we must remember that on-line Programs

needs to be reported every year, so please report your post activities, I would like to see the Southern area at 100% this year.

Thank you and have a successful 2010.I’m proud to be selected as part of the planning committee, for the Grand

Opening ceremony, for the new Veterans Home of California-West Los An-geles. I’ll keep AMVETS & Dept of California informed on my progress.

southern area commander’s reportSouthern Area Commander, Cephus R. Daniels

66th National ConventionAugust 7-14, 2010

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(SACRAMENTO) –Ted Lieu was promoted today to the rank of Lieu-tenant Colonel in a ceremony in the State Capitol. The President of the United States promoted Lieu after 15 years of service, including four years on active duty.

“I am humbled the President of the United States has approved my promotion,” said Ted Lieu. “For the last fifteen years it has been a privi-lege for me to serve our country as a JAG officer and military prosecutor because I believe I can never give back to this country what it has given to my family.”

Lt. Colonel Lieu was promoted today by Major General Bruce Casella, Commanding General of the 63rd Regional Support Command. The cere-mony was lead by Assembly member Paul Cook (R-Yucca Valley), USMC Ret., and was highlighted by a pin-on of the new rank, a silver oak leaf, by Major General Casella, his wife Betty Chim-Lieu and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Dean Galarneau, USMC Ret. The American Legion Post 108 Honor Guard from Sutter Creek was also on hand.

“I want to applaud Assembly member Lieu for his service to our country over the course of so many years,” Speaker Karen Bass said. “He has fought for his district, his state and particularly homeowners in the Legislature. His commitment to our nation’s defense, however, deserves a special level of rec-ognition and I congratulate him on his promotion to Lieutenant Colonel.”

Ted W. Lieu has prosecuted numerous cases. He was a former law clerk on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, represents the 53rd Assembly District in the California State Assembly and currently serves as Chair of the Joint Rules Committee in the California State Legislature.

The silver oak leaf is pinned on Ted Lieu’s uniform by Major General Casella and his wife, Betty Chim-Lieu, while Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Galarneau pins the new rank on his hat.

Military Prosecutor Ted Lieu Promoted in CeremonyAfter 15 years of service, Lieu promoted to Lt. Colonel

Commander Frank Guerra continues to meet with members from the Central Area Posts that he represents. With continued participation from Posts 22 – Visalia, 56 – Tulare, 98 – Sanger and 99 – Fresno/Clovis.

The monthly meetings have been held in Visalia at their Memorial Building and just recently met at Sanger’s new building.

Members from the Central Area attended, along with other members from through out the state all convened in Santa Maria for the DEC in January. There they all participated in the meetings planned and listened to State Commander Johnny Byrum talk about his experiences at the kick-off for the Spirit of ’45 on the Midway in San Diego. Central Area members were advised and planned for their Spirit of ’45, which took place in Visalia (see Visalia Post 22 article for all that information).

While at the DEC in Santa Maria, Commander Guerra showed off the new banner that members collaborated on. Banners have been made for all the Posts in the Central Area that Commander Guerra represents. They will display the banner at various functions and events to call attention to the works of AMVETS. The banner was very well received.

In February, many members of the Central Area attended the building dedi-cation for the new Post building in Sanger. Post 98 Commander Ralph Davila hosted the event with several guest speakers: Assemblyman Jim Costa and State 2nd Vice Commander Charlie Ramos were among the invited speakers. Many dignitaries were present, Sanger Mayor being one of them. AMVETS participa-tion included Executive Director Rose Blackman, Service Foundation Trustee Helen Wong, District 6 Commander Robert Cadena and Post 56 Commander Tom Donwen. The members of the different posts that attended were treated to a nice reception and luncheon. Thanks to all the members of Post 98 for the very warm welcome.

Commander Guerra continues to be a force in the Central Area and asks for ALL posts to attend the meetings, their participation is paramount to the success of all activities planned. In order for the Posts to get a NEW banner, their atten-dance at the Central Area meeting is necessary.

Monthly meetings are generally the 1st Sunday of each month. The next meet-ing is scheduled for Visalia with an April visit to Post 922 – Shafter. On the agenda will be another Central Area Bar-b-que and Membership Drive and that is in the planning stages and may be held at Santa Barbara’s Post 3.

Plan on attending a Central Area Meeting to see what this is all about. We plan on having 2nd Vice Commander Charlie Ramos speak about pro-gram reporting and on-line reporting. This is something each post needs to be doing, by making every member familiar with the process.

central area commander’s reportSubmitted by Jerry Guevara, Adjutant, Post 22


AMVETSList of state legislators who repre-sent the various AMVETS posts in CA. This is an excellent resource for posts and individual members to use when wanting to communi-cate with their local representatives regarding veterans issues at the state level. It is assumed that posts will update these lists as their legislators change. Thanks to Pete Conaty’s staff for putting this list together for us.

AdelantoPost 20 17960 Adelanto RoadAdelanto, CA 92301San Bernardino County(760)-530-0263

Assembly Member Stephen ‘Steve’ Knight - State AssemblyDistrict 36 (Republican)

Senator Roy Ashburn - State SenateDistrict 18 (Republican)

AlhambraPost 88P.O. Box 6385Alhambra, CA 91801Los Angeles County

Assembly Member Mike Eng - State AssemblyDistrict 49 (Democratic)

Senator Gilbert A. ‘Gil’ Cedillo - State Senate District 22 (Democratic)

AnaheimPost 80AMVETS Service Foundation1213 South Dale AvenueAnaheim, CA 92804Orange County(714)-761-5811

Assembly Member Van Tran - State Assembly District 68 (Republican)

Senator Lou ‘Lois’ Correa - State Senate District 34 (Democratic)

BarstowPost 311100 East Veterans ParkwayBuilding B #209Barstow, CA 92311San Bernardino County(760)[email protected]

Assembly Member Connie Conway - State Assembly District 34 (Republican)Senator Roy Ashburn - State SenateDistrict 18 (Republican)

LeGIsLaTIVeadVocaTe's rePorTBy Pete Conaty

SAVE THE DATE:AMVETS, Dept. of CA AnnuAl CApitol ADvoCACy DAy

April 20, 2010 (tuesDAy)stAte CApitol, sACrAmento, CA. All DAy event

The Department will hold its 1st Annual Legislative Day on April 20 this year. This is a very important event and all AMVETS members are encouraged to attend.

This is your chance to meet your legislators and their staffs and educate them on veteran’s issues. Beginning at 8:30 am in the State Capitol Basement Cafeteria, attendees will have a Continental Breakfast, catered buffet lunch and hear from key legislative speakers.

The Department will also award its 2009 Legislator of the Year awards at the Legislative Day event. This year’s recipients are Senator Jeff Denham (R-Merced) and Assem-blywoman Mary Salas (D-Chula Vista).

Over 1300 new bills were introduced prior to the February 19th deadline. Over one fourth of these bills were introduced on the 19th alone. So far we have found 49 military and vet-eran related bills. Some bills are “spot bills” or [placehold-ers, which are vehicles that can be amended later with actual language. Most spot bills have a brief paragraph stating some general aim within a general section of the California Code. An example is SB 1385, authored by the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs:

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

SECTION 1. It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that will revise and modernize various provisions of the Military and Veterans Code.

Once bills are in “print” (available for public review, which nowadays means they are up on the Legislature’s web-site: www.leginfo.ca.gov ), they cannot be amended or act-ed upon for 30 days. This is to give the public time to review the bills. Most bills will not be heard in committee until early April after the Spring / Easter Recess. We are working with the Legislative Committee to develop the Department’s po-sitions on bills. We continuously update the listing of bills as new ones are discovered, spot bills reveal themselves to

be veterans related, or bills are amended in such a way as to require a different level of involvement from the Department.

2010 will be an interesting year. All bills must be through the entire legislative process by August 31. The Governor must sign or veto bills passed by the Legis-lature before September 1. However, within this time frame, there is also an epic budget battle, a primary elec-tion, and a November election run-up which will be sure to distract everyone’s attention from June to November.

A few key bills are:AB 2609-Anderson, Firearms: handgun safety certificate:

exemptions for veterans.AMVETS is the sponsor of this bill. Existing law re-

quires, with certain exceptions, that a person obtain a hand-gun safety certificate before purchasing a handgun. Existing law exempts honorably retired members of the United States Armed Forces, National Guard, or Air National Guard, from this requirement. However, the law does not exempt veter-ans. This used to be the case, but it was removed a few years ago when gun laws were revamped. This bill seeks to put that exemption back in.

AMVETS: SPONSORAB 1829-Cook, Stolen ValorThis bill is sponsored by the Vietnam Veterans of Ameri-

ca. AB 1829 is the latest of a series of bills which seek to curb abuses by veteran and military impersonators, many of whom seek to defraud the public by misrepresenting themselves. AB 1829 will provide that any person, who orally, in writing, or by wearing any military decoration, falsely represents him-self or herself to have been awarded any military decoration with the intent to defraud, is guilty of an infraction.

Recommend Support

AB 1644-Nielsen, Veterans RemainsAllows mortuaries in possession of the cremated remains

of a veteran to release the remains to a veterans’ service orga-nization. Requires the veterans’ service organization to take steps to inter those remains.

Recommend Support

AB 1925-Salas, Vet Courts, Diversion This bill is sponsored by the Vietnam Veterans of Ameri-

ca. AB 1925 would authorize superior courts to develop and implement veterans courts for eligible veterans of the United States military. The objective is to create a dedicated cal-endar or a locally developed collaborative court-supervised veterans mental health program, which will lead to the place-ment of as many mentally ill offenders who are veterans into community treatment. This will include those who have PTSD, TBI, military sexual trauma, substance abuse, or any mental health problem stemming from military service. AB 1925 would also authorize the veterans courts to operate as a pre-guilty plea program, deferred entry of judgment program, or a post-guilty plea program.

Recommend Support

SAVE THE DATE:Also, on WednesdAy, June 23rd, the 3rd AnnuAl VeterAns

recognition luncheon Will be held At the sAcrAmento conVen-tion center from 12:00 to 2:30. Pete conAty And AssociAtes hAs been the orgAnizer And coordinAtor of this eVent since its incePtion.

http://www.votesmart.org/summary.php?can_id=71098











http://www.leginfo.ca.gov


ChicoPost 2813Veterans Memorial Hall554 Rio Lindo AveChico, CA 95926Butte County(530)-345-7236

Assembly Member Dan Logue - State Assembly District 3 (Republican)

Senator Samuel ‘Sam’ Aanestad - State Senate District 4 (Republican)

ChinoPost 10012180 Central AvenueChino, CA 91710San Bernardino County(909)[email protected]

Assembly Member Norma J. Torres - State Assembly District 61 (Democratic)

Senator Robert S. ‘Bob’ Huff - State Senate District 29 (Republican)

Chula VistaPost 700700 East Naples CourtChula Vista, CA 91911San Diego County(619)[email protected]

Assembly Member Martin ‘Marty’ Block - State AssemblyDistrict 78 (Democratic)

Senator Denise Moreno Ducheny - State Senate District 40 (Democratic)

ConcordPost 26Concord Vet Center 1899 Clayton Road, Suite 140Concord, CA 94520Contra Costa County(925)[email protected]

Assembly Member Tom A. Torlakson - State Assembly District 11 (Democratic)

Senator Mark DeSaulnier - State Senate District 7 (Democratic)

CorningPost 2002Corning Veterans Hall1620 Soland StreetCorning, CA 96021Tehama County(530)-824-2200

Assembly Member Jim Nielsen - State Assembly District 2 (Republican)


Culver CityPost 2AMVETS Hall10858 Culver BlvdCulver City, CA 90230Los Angeles County(310)-837-5411

Assembly Member Karen Bass - State Assembly District 47 (Democratic)

Senator Curren D. Price - State Senate District 26 (Democratic)

El CajonPost 17Veterans Memorial Building136 Chambers StreetEl Cajon, CA 92020San Diego County(619)[email protected]

Assembly Member Joel Anderson - State Assembly District 77 (Republican)

Senator Dennis Hollingsworth - State Senate District 36 (Republican)

FontanaPost 1240VFW9190 Fontana Ave.Fontana, CA 92335San Bernardino County(909)[email protected]

Assembly Member Wilmer A. ‘Amina’ Carter - State AssemblyDistrict 62 (Democratic)Senator Gloria Negrete McLeod - State Senate District 32 (Democratic)

GarbervillePost 11John Haynes Memorial Building483 Conger StreetGarberville, CA 95542Humboldt County(707)-923-2638www.humboldt.net/~veterans/Post11

Assembly Member Wesley ‘Wes’ Chesbro - State AssemblyDistrict 1 (Democratic)

Senator Patricia A. ‘Pat’ Wiggins - State Senate District 2 (Democratic)

GardenaPost 30 1958 Marina AvenueGardena, CA 90249Los Angeles County(310)-327-2146

Assembly Member Steven C. Brad-ford - State AssemblyDistrict 51 (Democratic)Senator Roderick ‘Rod’ Wright - State Senate District 25 (Democratic)

HeberPost 941070 Mary AvenueHeber, CA 92249Imperial County(760)[email protected]

Assembly Member Manuel Perez - State Assembly District 80 (Democratic)

Senator Denise Moreno Ducheny - State Senate District 40 (Democratic)

HesperiaPost 200715075 Hesperia RoadVictoria, CA 92392San Bernardino County(760)-947-4802

Assembly Member Bill Berryhill - State Assembly District 26 (Republican)

Senator David ‘Dave’ Cogdill - State Senate District 14 (Republican)

IrwindalePost 11314910 East Los Angeles StreetIrwindale, CA 91706Los Angeles County(909)-861-0408

Assembly Member Edward P. ‘Ed’ Hernandez - State AssemblyDistrict 57 (Democratic)

Senator Gloria Romero - State Senate District 24 (Democratic)

La MesaPost 17757298 University AvenueLa Mesa, CA 91941San Diego County(619)- [email protected]



LakesidePost 36712650 Lindo LaneLakeside, CA 92040San Diego County(619)-443-0556



LivermorePost 1989Veterans Memorial Building522 South L Street Livermore, CA 94550Alameda County(209)-545-8538

Assembly Member Joan Buchanan - State Assembly District 15 (Democratic)

Senator Loni Hancock - State SenateDistrict 9 (Democratic)

Long BeachPost 48VFW #17461032 South StreetLong Beach, CA 90805Los Angeles County(562)-422-4381

Assembly Member Warren Furutani - State Assembly District 55 (Democratic)

Senator Roderick ‘Rod’ Wright - State Senate District 25 (Democratic)

Los AngelesPost 11611303 Wilshire Boule-vard, Building #116Los Angeles, CA 90073Los Angeles County(310)-254-3382

Assembly Member Karen Bass - State Assembly District 47 (Democratic)

Senator Fran J. Pavley - State Senate District 23 (Democratic)

Post 1944American Legion Post 206227 North Avenue 55

Los Angeles, CA 90042Los Angeles County(323)-254-3382

Assembly Member Kevin de Leon - State Assembly District 45 (Democratic)

Senator Gilbert A. ‘Gil’ Cedillo - State Senate District 22 (Democratic)

OakhurstPost 1997P.O. Box 178Oakhurst, CA 93644Madera County(559)-683-5196

Assembly Member Thomas C. ‘Tom’ Berryhill - State AssemblyDistrict 25 (Republican)


Orange CountyPost 18Box 15923Santa, Ana, CA 92735-0923Orange County(714)[email protected]

Assembly Member Jose Solorio - State Assembly District 69 (Democratic)

Senator Lou ‘Lois’ Correa - State Senate District 34 (Democratic)

Palm SpringsPost 66400 Belardo Rd.Palm Springs, CA 92262Riverside County

Assembly Member Manuel Perez - State Assembly District 80 (Democratic)

Rancho MiragePost 193960 Peterson Road 100Rancho Mirage, CA 92270Riverside County(760)[email protected]

Assembly Member Brian Nestande - State Assembly District 64 (Republican)

ReddingPost 1996Veterans Memorial Building 1650 Yuba StreetRedding, CA 96001Shasta County(530)-357-3380





















http://www.amvets1240.us




http://www.humboldt.net/~veterans/Post11






































Assembly Member Jim Nielsen - State Assembly District 2 (Republican)


Redwood CityPost 53Veterans Memorial Building 1455 Madison AvenueRedwood City, CA 94064San Mateo County(510)[email protected]

Assembly Member Ira Ruskin - State Assembly District 21 (Democratic)

Senator Saren J. ‘Joe’ Simitian - State Senate District 11 (Democratic)

SacramentoPost 17215 Lindale DriveSacramento, CA 95828Sacramento County(916)-392-3123

Assembly Member Dave Jones - State Assembly District 9 (Democratic)

Senator Darrell S. Steinberg - State Senate District 6 (Democratic)

San FranciscoPost 34Veterans Memorial Build-ing Room 215401 Van Ness AvenueSan Francisco, CA 94102San Francisco County(415)-664-6597

Assembly Member Tom Ammiano - State Assembly District 13 (Democratic)

Senator Mark R. Leno - State Sen-ate District 3 (Democratic)

San JosePost 6American Legion Hall1405 Minnesota AvenueSan Jose, CA 95125Santa Clara County(408)-866-6681

Assembly Member James T. ‘Jim’ Beall - State AssemblyDistrict 24 (Democratic)

Assembly Member Joe Coto - State Assembly District 23 (Democratic)

Senator Elaine White K. Alquist - State Senate District 13 (Democratic)

Senator Saren J. ‘Joe’ Simitian - State Senate District 11 (Democratic)

SangerPost 98812 K StreetSanger, CA 93657Fresno County

Assembly Member Juan Arambula - State Assembly District 31 (Independent)

Assembly Member Michael N. ‘Mike’ Villines - State AssemblyDistrict 29 (Republican)


Senator Dean R. Florez - State Senate District 16 (Democratic)

Santa BarbaraPost 3Memorial Building 112 West Cabrillo StreetSanta Barbara, CA 93101Santa Barbara County(805)-684-3745

Assembly Member Pedro Nava - State Assembly District 35 (Democratic)

Senator Anthony ‘Tony’ Strickland - State Senate District 19 (Republican)

SpringvillePost 542Contact Commander Coffey(559)-542-1708

Assembly Member Connie Conway - State Assembly District 34 (Republican)


StocktonPost 199011 N. Center StreetStockton, CA 95210San Joaquin County(209)-533-3071

Assembly Member Cathleen Gal-giani - State AssemblyDistrict 17 (Democratic)

Senator Lois Wolk - State SenateDistrict 5 (Democratic)

TemeuclaPost 7093Contact: D. Hogan(209)-533-3071Assembly Member Kevin Jeffries - State Assembly District 66 (Republican)


TularePost 56240 East King AveTulare, CA 93274Tulare County(559)-686-2747



Post 65Tulare Veterans Memorial Building1771 East Tulare AvenueTulare, CA 93274Tulare County(209)-686-4903



VacavillePost 1776Veterans Memorial Building549 Merchant StreetVacaville, CA 95688Solano County(707)-451-2631

Assembly Member Mariko Yamada - State Assembly District 8 (Democratic)


Van NuysPost 17714335 Sherman Way Van Nuys, CA 91405Los Angeles County(818)-781-1062

Assembly Member Bob Blumenfield - State Assembly District 40 (Democratic)

Senator Alex Padilla - State SenateDistrict 20 (Democratic)

VisaliaPost 22Visalia Memorial Building609 West CenterVisalia, CA 93277Tulare County(559)-733-5994



West Sacramento Post 9126905 Drever StW. Sacramento, CA 95605Yolo [email protected]

Assembly Member Mariko Yamada - State Assembly District 8 (Democratic)


WilmingtonPost 33121 West E StreetWilmington, CA 90744Los Angeles County(310)-540-2976Assembly Member Warren Furutani - State Assembly District 55 (Democratic)

Senator Jenny Oropeza - State Senate District 28 (Democratic)

YountvillePost 101Lee LoungeP.O. Box 545Yountville, CA 94599Napa County(707)-945-0924

260 California Dr.Section FYountville, CA 94599Napa County(707)-945-1099

Assembly Member Noreen Evans - State Assembly District 7 (Democratic)

Senator Patricia A. ‘Pat’ Wiggins - State Senate District 2 (Democratic)

Set aside June 23rd for the 3rd Annual Veterans Recognition Luncheon in Sacramento, California at the Sacramento Convention Center. • The luncheon will be held at the Sacramento Convention Center from 12:30 to 2:30. • We will also have a guest speaker at lunch. • Meal choices will be similar to last year and will need to be in by a yet to be determined date.• Sponsorships opportunities are available for this event and we will be sending out the information for this very soon. We encourage

you to participate.• This year we are hoping to have a change in the presentation format. Presentations will tentatively be made in the Assembly chambers from

approximately 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.Please contact Mary Grundman at 916-747-5994 or Dana Nichol at 916-492-0550 if you have any questions.















































AMVETS Riders

AMVETS RIDERS

RIDERS

MEMbERShIp ApplIcAtIon

RIDING FOR THOSE WHO SERVE

AMVETS RIDERS

A leader since 1944 in preserving the freedoms secured by America’s armed forces, AMVETS provides support for veterans and the active military in pro-curing their earned entitlements, as well as community service and legisla-tive reform that enhances the qual-ity of life for this nation’s citizens and veterans alike.

AMVETS is one of the largest congressionally-chartered veterans’ service organizations in the United States, and includes members from each branch of the military, including the National Guard and Reserves. For more information, visit

www.AMvEtS.oRg.

AMVETS RIDERS

RIDE FOR YOUR FELLOW VETERANS... BECOME ONE OF US TODAY

RIDER MEMbERShIp

• Membership in the National AMVETS Riders shall be limited to members in good standing of AMVETS, AMVETS Ladies Auxiliary, and Sons of AMVETS.

• Members must be the legally registered owner of a motorcycle or be the spouse of the legally registered owner within the state of registration. • Members must show for membership application a VALID State Drivers License with a Motorcycle endorsement, A VALID State Motorcycle Registration, and PROOF of insurance meeting State and Federal Regulations to the Chapter President and one other elected officer. • There will be no HONORARY memberships in National, Departments or Chapters of the AMVETS Riders.

Rider Membership• Membership in the National AMVETS Riders shall be limited to mem-

bers in good standing of AMVETS, AMVETS Ladies Auxiliary, and Sons of AMVETS.

• Members must be the legally registered owner of a motorcycle or be the spouse of the legally registered owner within the state of registration.

• Members must show for membership application a VALID State Drivers License with a Motorcycle endorsement, A VALID State Motorcycle Registra-tion, and PROOF of insurance meeting State and Federal Regulations to the Chapter President and one other elected officer.

• There will be no HONORARY memberships inNational, Departments or Chapters of the AMVETS Riders.

RIDING FOR THOSE WHO SERVE

A leader since 1944 in preserving the freedoms secured by America’s armed forces, AMVETS provides support for veterans and the ac-tive military in procuring their earned entitlements, as well as com-munity service and legislative reform that enhances the quality of life for this nation’s citizens and veterans alike.

AMVETS is one of the largest congressionally-chartered veterans’service organizations in the United States, and includes members fromeach branch of the military, including the National Guard and Reserves. For more information, visit www.amvets.org.

AMVETS Riders: or anyone interested in joining.Please take the time to visit www.avradio.org, we are using this

Radio Station for a Membership Drive and to promote our project Camp Hope. Please share this site with all your posts.

Roger Bull Durham 1ST. V. Pres.Nat. AMVETS Riders 574-583-9410

AMVETS Legal Clinic

In January 2009, Chapman University School of Law launched the AMVETS Legal Clinic, a pro-bono legal clinic for military service personnel unlike any other on the West Coast. The new program provides invaluable experience to students and free legal representation to veterans, service members and their families.

Part of Chapman Law's new Military Personnel Law Center, the AMVETS Legal Clinic is housed in the first floor of the law school building. As the name implies, the AMVETS Legal Clinic is a cooperative effort with AMVETS Department of California,a non-profit organization that is committed to veterans and community service. Another key supporting partner is Brandman University, whose campuses provide satellite office space for clinic participants in the Western United States. Some campuses are on military bases, and many others are near to the law school. Eventually, the arrangement will allow the Chapman clinic to serve all of California and its 200,000 military families spread over 27 bases.

Second- and third-year students at Chapman handle all facets of cases, under the supervision of faculty members and private attorneys. “This is a great opportunity for Chapman students to practice a specialized kind of law as the clinic also meets a vital community need,” said Kyndra K. Rotunda, Director of the Military Personnel Law Center and Visiting Assistant Professor of Law at Chapman. The Family Violence Clinic, the Alona Cortese Elder Law Center and the Tax Law Clinic are among the other opportunities for students to learn by doing while also serving those in need.

The AMVETS Legal Clinic augments representation provided by the Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps, which doesn’t get involved in private disputes. A typical clinic case might involve a reservist whose landlord won't let him or her out of a leaseduring active duty, or perhaps a wounded service member who was denied disability benefits. "There are many pending cases with special circumstances related to multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan," noted Professor Rotunda. In many instances, cases are going unlitigated because service members can’t afford private representation. “There’s a big hole in the net that needs to be filled,” she said.

Some cases involve video teleconferencing, which allows a Chapman Law student in Orange to perform an intake interview with a service member on a sister campus in another part of the state. The clinic's reach is enhanced by joint efforts with other universities, such as the recent collaboration with University of California at Berkeley (Boalt Hall) known as the Chapman/Berkeley Soldiers Project. A reserve JAG officer herself, Professor Rotunda has served three tours in the war on terror. Previously, she directed a similar law clinic in the Washington, D.C. area. “We are all excited about this unique opportunity,” she said. “We hope the clinic will become a model for other schools to follow.”

AMVETS Legal Clinic

In January 2009, Chapman University School of Law launched the AMVETS Legal Clinic, a pro-bono legal clinic

for military service personnel unlike any other on the West Coast. The new program provides invaluable experience to students and free legal representation to veterans, service members and their families.

Part of Chapman Law's new Military Personnel Law Center, the AMVETS Le-gal Clinic is housed in the first floor of the law school building. As the name implies, the AMVETS Legal Clinic is a cooperative effort with AMVETS Department of Cali-

fornia, a non-profit organization that is committed to veterans and community service. Another key supporting partner is Brandman University, whose cam-puses provide satellite office space for clinic participants in the Western United States. Some campuses are on military bases, and many others are near to the law school. Eventually, the arrangement will allow the Chapman clinic to serve all of California and its 200,000 military families spread over 27 bases.

Second- and third-year students at Chapman handle all facets of cases, under the supervision of faculty members and private attorneys. “This is a great op-portunity for Chapman students to practice a specialized kind of law as the clinic also meets a vital community need,” said Kyndra K. Rotunda, Director of the Military Personnel Law Center and Visiting Assistant Professor of Law at Chap-man. The Family Violence Clinic, the Alona Cortese Elder Law Center and the Tax Law Clinic are among the other opportunities for students to learn by doing while also serving those in need.

The AMVETS Legal Clinic augments representation provided by the Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps, which doesn’t get involved in private disputes. A typical clinic case might involve a reservist whose landlord won't let him or her out of a lease during active duty, or perhaps a wounded service member who was denied disability benefits. "There are many pending cases with special circumstances related to multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan," noted Professor Rotunda. In many instances, cases are going unlitigated because ser-vice members can’t afford private representation. “There’s a big hole in the net that needs to be filled,” she said.

Some cases involve video teleconferencing, which allows a Chapman Law student in Orange to perform an intake interview with a service member on a sister campus in another part of the state. The clinic's reach is enhanced by joint efforts with other universities, such as the recent collaboration with Uni-versity of California at Berkeley (Boalt Hall) known as the Chapman/Berkeley Soldiers Project. A reserve JAG officer herself, Professor Rotunda has served three tours in the war on terror. Previously, she directed a similar law clinic in the Washington, D.C. area. “We are all excited about this unique opportu-nity,” she said. “We hope the clinic will become a model for other schools to follow.”

america’s Heroes at WorkThe following information is to help our returning veterans suffering

from PTSD/TBI to secure employment.The DOL has undertaken a project that focuses on the employ-

ment challenges of service members returning to the United States withTraumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and/or Post-Traumatic Stress

Disorder(PTSD). The goal of the project is to educate employers and the workforce development system on TBI and PTSD as well as on accommo-dations they can make for these individuals. This website is designed to be a link to information and tools that will help service members, primarily returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, affected by TBI and/or PTSD succeed in the workplace. Some of the resources include: job sharing, coaching and mentoring programs, fact sheets, training tools and success stories. For all these resources please visit: www.AmericasHeroesAtWork.gov

http://www.avradio.org/


AMVETS Department of California; Notice to the Membership

Resolution portions of each proposed amendment provided, as per the Bylaws Committee, subject

to change by the Department’s legal counsel.

Legal counsel has advised that the following changes are necessary, but not available at this time. Changes address (1) gender neutral issues, (2) adjustments to article 24 "resolutions", (3) foundation change of IRS status to (c 3). Finalized version will be available 45 days prior to convention on the web site and by notification to each post.

---PROPOSED BYLAWS AMENDMENTS FOR 2010---

PROPOSED DEPARTMENT BYLAWS AMENDMENT 1-2010: TITLE: “DEPARTMENT BYLAWS AMEND-

MENT PROCEDURE”BE IT RESOLVED, Article XXV of the 2009 Bylaws, Sections

1, 1A, and 1B be amended to read: “Section 1. These Bylaws shall be amended by first discussing new changes at the Spring Conference during the Bylaws Committee meeting and on the Conference floor, and for one month thereafter, by electronic means with the Bylaws Committee and the Department’s Execu-tive Committee. All proposed changes shall then be reviewed by legal counsel. Finalized resolution language shall be provided by the Executive Director to the voting membership forty-five days prior to Convention by being delivered to all active Posts either electronically or in written form, and members using com-binations of bulk mailing and/or electronic means, and/or posting on the Department’s website, and/or publishing in the Depart-ment’s newspaper.”

PROPOSED DEPARTMENT BYLAWS AMENDMENT 2-2010: TITLE: “NEWLY ELECTION OFICERS TERM OF OFFICE”

BE IT RESOLVED, Article VIII, Section 13 of the 2009 By-laws shall be amended to read: “All Officers shall serve their term, unless they are removed according to disciplinary actions as set forth in National’s Constitution and Bylaws. Officers shall be installed at the end of Convention, and assume their duties as of 1 July. Outgoing Officers shall take such steps necessary to transition their duties to the incoming officers. All outgoing Of-ficers shall be responsible for the period they held Office.”

PROPOSED DEPARTMENT BYLAWS AMENDMENT 3-2010:TITLE: “REQUIREMENTS FOR DEPARTMET OFFICERS”

BE IT RESOLVED, Article VIII, Section 9C is amended as: “A member shall have attended three (3) Department meetings during the previous twenty-four (24) months immediately preced-ing the election at Convention. The requisite meetings are (a) Department Conferences, (b) Department Conventions, and (c) National Conventions.

Validation of said attendance shall be by having the member sign in at the meeting registration desk for Conferences, Con-ventions and the National Conventions. Copies of the registra-tion documents shall be kept by the Department’s Executive Director for three

(3) years prior to the election. A member who is absent from any Department Conference or Convention and said absence is excused by the Department Commander, for purposes of this Article only, shall be deemed to have attended said meeting.”

PROPOSED DEPARTMENT BYLAWS AMENDMENT 4-2010:TITLE: “POLICIES AND PROCEDURES MANUAL”BE IT RESOLVED, a new Article shall be created and en-

titled “Policies and Procedures Manual”. The article shall state: “Section 1. The Department creates a Policies and Procedures Manual which is for the most part, drafted, adopted, maintained, and amended by the Department Executive Committee. This document shall serve as an administrative guide and an opera-tions handbook. Section 2. An Employee Handbook shall be included in the Policies and Procedures Manual, but shall be drafted, adopted, maintained, and amended by the Department Executive Board”.

PROPOSED DEPARTMENT BYLAWS AMENDMENT 5-2010:TITLE: “VAVS COORDINATOR”

BE IT RESOLVED, Article XI on page 12 of the 2009 Depart-ment Bylaws be amended as follows: Section 1. Subsection “I” be created and stated as: “Section 1(I). VAVS Coordinator”. Also, Section 10 be created and state: “The Department is re-quired to submit the names and contact information of a duly appointed VAVS Department Coordinator, who will provide lead-ership and support for all Certified Representatives and Deputies within the Department, and that the contact information for the VAVS Coordinator should be forwarded to the National Head-quarters as soon as possible after Department elections, not later than 14 days after said event”, and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, a Policy and Procedures doc-ument bee created by the Executive Committee that defines the duties and responsibilities of the VAVS Coordinator, as specified by AMVETS National in the attachment provided.

PROPOSED DEPARTMENT BYLAWS AMENDMENT 6-2010:TITLE: “COMMANDER MAY CALL FOR

A DEPARTMENT AUDIT”BE IT RESOLVED, Section 1 of Article XII shall have an addi-

tional sentence added that reads: “The Department Commander may call for a financial and procedural audit of the Department”.

PROPOSED DEPARTMENT BYLAWS AMENDMENT 7-2010:TITLE: “DEPARTMENT CONTRACTS”

BE IT RESOLVED, a new Article shall be created to outline such a process for the development of contracts by the Depart-ment. That Article shall state: “Section 1. The Department cre-ates a process for the development of contracts. The process shall include, but not be limited to, the procedures for negotia-tions, legal review, benefit and risk determinations, financial con-siderations, retention and destruction, and disclosure.

Details shall be found in the Department’s Policies and Pro-cedures Manual. Section 2.

The Department Judge Advocate has the duty to review or cause to be reviewed, all contracts. At the discretion of the Judge Advocate, contracts from third parties that involve less than $1500 and/or remain in force for less than six (6) months, may be exempted from outside review. Contracts presented by the Department must be drafted by legal counsel. Section 3. The Department upon entering into any contract, shall inform the Department Executive Committee at the next scheduled Confer-ence or Convention.”

PROPOSED DEPARTMENT BYLAWS AMENDMENT 8-2010:TITLE: “DEPARTMENT DISTRICT BOUNDARIES”

BE IT RESOLVED, Article XVII, Section 1A shall be amend-ed by replacing the current language by: “Southern Area, all that portion of the state lying south of the northern boundary of the Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties, as well as the southeastern section of Kern County between the northern Los Angeles County line, the western San Bernardino Country line, and a southerly line formed from Highway 395/14 at the Kern/

Inyo County line to Ricardo, then southwesterly to the Los Ange-les County line near Neenach.”, and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, Section 1B shall be amended by replacing the current language by: “Central Area, that portion of the state lying south of the northern boundaries of San Luis Obispo, Fresno, Madera, and Inyo Counties, and northerly of the Boundaries defined by the Southern Area.”

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the language used in Section 3F in the clause: “…west of the western city limits of Techacha-pi City that extends into the San Joaquin Valley”, and also the clause in Section 3Q that says: “…west from the city limits of Techachapi east.”, with “…excluding the southeastern section of Kern County between the northern Los Angeles County line, the western San Bernardino Country line, and a southerly line formed from Highway 395/14 at the Kern/Inyo County line to Ri-cardo, then southwesterly to the Los Angeles County line near Neenach.”

PROPOSED DEPARTMENT BYLAWS AMENDMENT 9-2010:

TITLE: “FREE LIFE MEMBERSHIP TO VETERANS 80 YEARS AND OLDER”

BE IT RESOLVED, that Section 7 of Article XV be amended by adding: “AMVETS shall provide Free Life Memberships to our Veterans aged 80 years and over…”, and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the words: “…and funding shall be provided from funds set aside for membership outreach programs.”, be added to the above statement.

PROPOSED DEPARTMENT BYLAWS AMENDMENT 10-2010:TITLE: “DUES”

BE IT RESOLVED, that Article XV, Section 7 be rewritten as: “The dues for Life Memberships and Annual Memberships shall be calculated by the Department Executive Director. That calculation shall add the value assessed by National, the value for the Department determined by the DEC by majority vote at Convention, and the value assessed by the Post as determined by the needs of the Post to arrive at the current dues require-ment. The majority vote by the DEC can increase or decrease the life membership assessment of the Department. Such non-refundable dues are payable to a Post, a portion of which, in an amount determined by National, shall be forwarded to National and the remainder shall be forwarded to the Department. The Department or the Post may fix the amount of such dues and may retain such amounts in excess of the minimum dues re-quirement. Monies sent to the Department shall be held in a special fund and only the interest income derived from said fund shall be transferred to the general fund for budget use. Members who pay annual dues and then convert to life memberships with-in one (1) membership year can only deduct the current annual National and Department fees if the member has paid the annual dues between 1 Sep and 3 Dec and during that same time period converted to Life Membership.”

PROPOSED DEPARTMENT BYLAWS AMENDMENT 11-2010:TITLE: “RULES FOR FORMING A POST”

BE IT RESOLVED, Article XV, Section 2, “Posts may be or-ganized as provided herein for by ten (10) or more new mem-bers.” shall be rewritten as “Posts may be organized as provided herein for by ten (10) eligible members, and those members can be a combination of new and/or transferring members. The in-tended adjutant of the new post shall sign the transfer papers, and all new member applications and transfer documents shall be forwarded to National along with the application for the post charter. All intended Officers of the new post shall assume their roles in the new post as though the post were chartered to get things going.”


amVeTs are onLIne

Check out the websites of some of our

posts to see what they are up to. If you find a site you like contact the post to learn how you can set up your own.

Post 2amvetspost2.com

Post 85montereybayamvets.com

Post 940amvetspost940.org

Post 1240amvets1240.us

Post 1775vfwlamesa.org

Post 1996rhmercer.org/amvets

http://www.amvetspost2.com/

http://www.montereybayamvets.com/

http://www.amvetspost940.org

http://WWW.AMVETS1240.US

http://rhmercer.org/amvets.HTML


Santa maria DEC

Right: Commander Byrum with National Sons of AMVETS Commander and his Provost Marshall.


amVeTsLadies

auxiliary

Project Gold Star

Pete Molina receives a native blessing Johnny Coronado and family traditional dancers.

AMVETS, Gold Star Families, Senator David Cogdill (Fresno), Assemblymember Tom Berryhill (Modesto), and Assembly member Paul Cook (Riverside County) and AmVet Legislative Advocate Pete Conaty.

Senator Cogdill and Senator Denham was passed in September 2008. Before the Gold Star License Plate can be made available to Gold Star Families $300,000 must be raised privately and they are only 1/3 of the way there.

More on Project Gold Star can be found in the Post 99 report on page 22.


Friends of amVeTsA New Me

Aend Industries Inc.

Alexander's Moving & Storage

Bacome Insurance Agency

Command One Security

Compass Spine LLC

Corporate Fulfillment Services

Derose & Son Trucking

Direct Construction

Epicurean Group Inc.

Innfinity Software LLC

Institute of Technology

Martinez Used Cars

Olive Springs Quarry Inc.

Randy W. Hoover

Rankin & Associates

RMS Distributors LLC

Roy's Tires

Sam Joaquin Prime Care

SBE Quality Acoustics

Si Manufacturing

Stahl Companies Inc.

Stock & Option Solutions Inc.

T & S Hoist & Rigging Inc.

Technical Fabrication

Valley Mobile Service

World Wide Parts and Accessories

PLATINUM

ASI

GOLD

Nemesis Arms Inc.

Prolog Enterprises Inc.

SILVER

Glen Story Construction

Harbor Dental Bleaching Group

Heckman & Pull Inc.

Sportrx Inc.

Issue Deadline Convention Book April 1 Vol. 14, No. 2 June 1 Vol. 14, No. 3 September 1 Vol. 14, No. 4 December 1 Vol. 15, No. 1 March 1

Deadlines for Quarterly Submissions by Issue


Post 2

Post 6

POST Reports

In November two BBQs were held for the veterans in the West LA VA. About 200 vets were served at each of the meals. On December 5, we posted colors at the Medal of Honor

wall in L.A., Dec. 6th passed out Pearl Harbor pins at the West LA VA VHS program and spent time with Rudy Hernan-dez Medal of Honor awardee. On the third Thursday we held bingo at the VA and gave out $675 in prizes along with four different kinds of fruits. On Christmas day with the help of my niece, who is a nurse at the VA (in picture) I gave out $200 in canteen books, the money for them came from the post’s recycling program and some from my neighbor.

Later that day I transported two vets who were in need of rides from the VA to their homes.

Post 2 super bowl party Feb. 7, 2010 50 to 60 veterans attended the party (right).From the Post 2 newsletter: Honor Guard: Provides military honors without charge at veter-

ans’ burials. Two recent funerals that we provided honors for were for: Steven Osbring and John Car-margo. A dedication was held in downtown LA for the Obregon Memorial that will be construct-ed at a site near the LA train station. The 11th Airborne Association posted the colors, Post 2s Honor Guard provided the rifle salute. Our honor guard received many compliments for a job well done.

Feb. 4, 2010 Open House for the new permanent USO Facilities at the new airport terminal of the San Jose Airport.

Shown in the group picture are 4 members of Post 6 San Jose: Tony Ferraro, Senior Aerospace Science Instructor, Oak Grove High School, San Jose CA, Col, USAF (Retired) Jim Reese, Commander, Post 6, San Jose, Chuck Reed, Mayor San Jose, CA Gene Fanucchi, Adjutant, Post 6, San Jose.

Photos of the marksmanship training Mt. Pleasant High School’s Marine Corps JROTC program put on for 18 members of the Sacramento Young Marines, 15 February. The instruction included firearm safety, basic marksmanship, and the prone, sitting, kneeling, and offhand shooting positions. This was requested and coordinated with the Marine Corps League detachment in Sacramento. The Senior Marine Instructor (member of AMVETS Post 6 and American Legion Post 791) and 6 members of Mt. Pleasant’s cadet shooting team (pictured right in the group photo) acted as assistant instructors and range coaches. The Sacramento Young Marines are starting a youth shooting team but have no equipment yet, so all equipment (rifles, scopes, ammu-

nition, backstops, etc.) for this event was brought to Sacramento by Mt. Pleasant. On Saturday 27 February, 33 JROTC shooters competed in the AMVETS spon-sored 4 position Belleau Wood Air Rifle Match at Mt. Pleasant High School. Mt. Pleasant’s team took first place despite 2 other teams being there that beat them just last December in the American Legion Shooting Match. Further, Mt. Pleas-ant’s “B” team (thinly disguised as the SCVRC team) took second place. The first and second place individual medals went to Mt. Pleasant shooters. Placing fourth overall was another Mt. Pleasant shooter. Department of California AMVETS paid

the costs of the match which included the trophies, medals, match banner, and lunch, and 5 members of San Jose AM-VETS Post 6 were on hand as volunteers. They are :Den-nis Fogey, 1st Vice Commander (Asst. Range Officer); Jim Reese, Commander (coffee detail); Mike Clough, Member (Match Director); Gene Fanucchi, Adjutant (coffee de-tail); Denny Weisgerber, Member (Asst. Range Officer).

Report by James Johnstone


Members of Post 22 started off 2010 by attending the DEC in Santa Maria the end of January. We feel that it is important for

members to participate and learn from attending these conferences. While in Santa Maria, post members were able to help the Central Area Committee, show off a banner that was created and designed that will be displayed at functions and events that they attend to promote AMVETS.

A building dedication in Sanger in February saw several members in attendance. Post 98 showed off their new building with a fine reception with several noted key speakers.

Members of the post continue to participate in the monthly meetings under the leadership of Frank Guerra, Commander Central Area. The monthly meetings are held the 1st Sunday of each month at 10 am and have been held at the Visalia Memorial Building, Sanger’s new Post building and is looking at traveling to the Shafter Post in the near future.

Visalia was given the honor of hosting the 2nd stop for the Nationwide rollout of “Keeping the Spir-it of ’45” alive. We, in Visalia with Post 22 thought it was an honor, not only to meet and host Edith Shain, the Nurse from the Times Square “KISS”, who is the Spirit of ’45 Project Ambassador. This whole event actually revolved around post members attending and setting up a booth at the local convention center for the yearly Home Show. This is an annual event that is put on for local community members to attend and see what is happening and how they can take ad-vantage of purchasing items for home improvement and such. Veteran’s members were again given the opportunity to set up a booth and hand out literature, applications for membership to join or even discuss transfers to a post in their hometown.

With this whole thing going on, the Home Show and the Spirit of ’45, post 22 members were able to also set up a reception for Edith at the Memorial Building. With Edith attending the Home Show in the Veterans Booth (which was supported by AM-VETS Post 22 members, Visalia Veterans Committee and the Central Valley Vietnam Veterans), she con-

ducted a television interview with local station Chan-nel 30, went and did a radio spot with local station KJUG and then found time to pose for pictures and give autographs for the many members of the local community who attended this function for that spe-cific purpose. Several articles were written in the lo-cal papers announcing this function. Following her appearance at the Home Show, Edith was given a po-lice escort to the Memorial building for a reception that was put on by members of the various Veterans groups: Visalia Veterans Committee, AMVETS Post 22, American Legion 785 and VFW Post 1864. Both Edith as well as Project person Warren Hegg were introduced after speeches by the Visalia Mayor Bob Link, as well as John Byrum, State Commander AM-VETS Department of California and Jim Pidgeon, President of the Service Foundation.

We, members of Post 22, thought it was an honor, not only to meet and host Edith and Warren, but to be a part of the nationwide rollout that will culminate with the flagship event being held at New York Times Square.

During the three-day Home Show event, Post 22 members handed out close to 40 applications for new membership, receiving 18 new annual memberships back, 1 new life member and 1 new transfer. So, there is still a possibility of 22 new members out there as well as 4 more new transfers. I would say that was a very well received function. All of this was done under the new banner that was displayed for the 1st time (see Central Area Committee article for a picture). We feel that it is very important to be active in our community and speak with the community about what Vet-erans do in this area.

Visalia AMVETS attended a mixer that was put on by the local baseball team Raw-hide at their Hall of Fame Club. The Raw-hide depends on our veterans to help them during their games in the following months by doing volunteer work. A very nice re-

lationship that benefits both the veteran’s community as well as members of the baseball team.

Post 22 along with other Veterans Service Orga-nizations in this area: AMVETS Post 56 – Tulare, American Legion Post 785, Central Valley Vietnam Veterans, members of the Executive Board, COS Veterans Group and VFW Post 1864 all attend meet-ings that are held at the Visalia Armory. We, collec-tively, are helping them (National Guard) on improv-ing what the armory has to offer.

As you can see, AMVETS Post 22 continues to do just exactly what is expected – Support our Com-munity and help other veterans.

See you at our next meeting, held the 3rd Thursday of each month at the Visalia Memorial Building, your comments are very valuable to us and well received.

Post 18

Post 22

During this reporting period, the Legion of Honor (Honor Guard) participated in seven funeral services, including two at

Riverside National Cemetery. Sadly, two of them were members of Post 18.

Floyd Pederson was one of the original mem-bers of the Post’s Legion of Honor. He was laid to rest at Riverside.

Jerry Duran was laid to rest at the Holy Sepla-cur Cemetery in Orange. In addition to having a full military ceremony, there was a “missing man” roll call and a helicopter fly over, provided by the Los Angeles Police Department.

The Legion of Honor was also invited to pro-vide the Color Guard and lead the Pledge of Alle-giance for the official opening of the Orange Coun-ty 2010 Census Office in Santa Ana. They were

also invited to provide the Honor Guard and lead the pledge of Allegiance at the installation dinner of the Orange County Funeral Directors Associa-tion. Hal Camp also gave the invocation and the benediction.

The Ladies Auxiliary, under the leadership of Ida Camp were busy throughout the period at the Long Beach Veterans Hospital. The la-dies conducted the monthly Bingo Parties, as-sisted by Junior ROTC Cadets, under the leader-ship of Post Adjutant Pat Herbert. In December, they put up and decorated the Annual Christmas Tree and provided large gift bags for the spi-nal care unit. On Valentines Day, they provided a special dinner, assisted by a Brownie Troop.

Submitted by Ivan Ashbaugh

Submitted by Jerry Guevara, Post Adjutant


Visit our website www.amvets-ca.org

Post 34Post 34 had a table at the Welcome Home Iraqi & Afghanistan Veterans event at the Presidio. Colleen & Rodney McClain, Mack Pong, the late Woody Chan, Marie Gray (in back), Quin Jung, and Helen Wong attended. Entertainer John Mayer was a featured guest. San Francisco Veterans Day Parade Post 34 members Mack Pong, Quin Jung, Glenn (Raz) Raswyck, rode in a motorized street car.

To the right is photo taken at the Spirit of 45 event at the Lodge at Paulin Creek on Saturday, 30 January. Left to right: Hattie Stone, WW II Wave; Bud Simmons, Dist 8 Comdr & Adjutant - Michael Ottolini AMVETS Post 40; Dave Richey,

Northern California AMVET Coordinator for Spirit of 45, Finance Officer of Michael Ottolini AMVETS Post 40, Morella Staggs, WW II Coast Guard.

Hattie and Morella are also members of Michael Ottolini AMVETS Post 40.Four WWII women who were there.

They are l-r: Marian Martin (USN), Morella Staggs (US Coast Guard), Hattie Stone (USN) and Betty Crandall (USN).

Bud Simmons (Air Force, Korea), his wife Elaine, Marian, Mo-rella, Hattie, Betty and Dave Richey (Navy, Vietnam

On Saturday, January 31, 2010, The Lodge at Paulin Creek, a subsidiary of Brook-dale Senior Living, hosted an event of epic proportions bringing together veterans of the WWII era and local high school students, with the goal of preserving the legacy of the “Greatest Generation” by having the students interview these veterans and re-

Post 40 Submitted by Dave Richey


POST Reports

Here are some great ideas your post can do to help veterans and your community!

Post 40, cont.cord their stories on disc and video. The event was one of many planned during this year by a national program called Keep the Spirit of ‘45 Alive. Part of the information gathered by the stu-dents is the reminiscence of what and where these veterans were when WWII ended on August 14, 1945. The program, nationally supervised by Warren Hegg, son of a veteran of WWII, is specifi-cally designed to culminate in a national day of remembrance on August 14, 2010, the 65th anniversary of the end of the war. Peg Miskin, Director of Sales and Marketing at The Lodge at Pau-lin Creek, and her staff outdid themselves in providing a beautiful venue for the event, and treating the attendees to a tasty array of hors d’oeuvres. There are a number of veterans in residence at the Lodge. The reception hall was full to overflowing with veterans, their families, members of several VSOs (AMVETS, American Legion, VFW, Pearl Harbor Survivors, Marine Corps League, to name a few), students, Civil Air Patrol Cadets, Brookdale Senior Living staff and national Spirit of ‘45 staff including Warren Hegg. Two busloads of veterans who are residents at the VA Veterans Home in Yountville made the trip from Napa County. After the CAP Cadets presented the colors, along with the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem, Warren spent a few moments relating the experience of his mother near the end of the war. A Civil Air Patrol Cadet presented a flag to the senior officer in attendance, a Navy Captain. Ernesto Olivares of the Santa Rosa City Council presented a resolution declaring August 14 a permanent day of remembrance in the City. During and after the festivities, students and veterans were matched in an adjoining hallway for interviews. This event was the first of several planned in Northern California dur-ing the next few months. Michael Ottolini AMVETS Post 40 along with Yountville Post 101 is proud to be partners in this great program. On Monday, February 8, the musical revue In The Mood will perform songs and dance of the 1940’s at the Wells Fargo Center for the Arts. In April an event celebrating Hugh O’Brian’s 85th birthday will be held at the Yountville Veterans Home. Hugh is remembered best as Wyatt Earp on TV. He is also touted by the Marine Corps as the youngest Drill Instructor ever. Events are also scheduled in San Jose and other venues

Michael Ottolini AMVETS Post 40 of Sonoma County is helping to Keep the Spirit of ’45 Alive! On February 8, the musical revue “In The Mood” played jazz, swing and dance music from the 1940’s, wowing the audience with great dance and song routines. Post 40 had purchased a block of ten tickets and were able to escort 7 veterans and three of their spouses to the show. Five of the veterans were from the WWII era and of those five, four were women!

The revue included music from Benny Goodman, The Andrews Sisters, Count Basie and many other “Big Band” era musicians and artists. Everyone of the group thoroughly enjoyed the presentation.

“In The Mood” is touring the country offering their support for the Keep the Spirit of ’45 Alive campaign. AMVETS nation-ally, departmentally and locally is a partner in this program which brings WWII veterans together with students to record their mem-ories of service and of August 14, 1945. Our own Post 40 also took this opportunity to set up a recruiting table in the lobby of the Wells Fargo Center for the Arts here in Santa Rosa (the “In The Mood” venue). We have three potential new members as a result.

Get your AMVETS gear here!www.amvetsquartermaster.com/

www.amvetsquartermaster.com/


POST Reports


Post 56

Post 66

Post 56 has had a busy start to the year. In December we held our annual Christmas dinner for members and their families. We

donated more than 50 stuffed bears to our local police officers to hand out to children when they need comforting. We started the new year out with a dinner dance on New Years eve. Feb. was our busiest month of all: it started with members going to the Fresno Airport to welcome home soldiers (see picture) later in the month members handed out membership forms at our food booth, one of our post’s yearly fundraising/ membership activities, at World Ag Expo (the largest farm show in the world held every Feb. in Tulare), and ended with members attending the reenlistment into the Navy of Daniel Sauermilch, Jr. AM 1 (AW)

PosT 66 HeLPs keeP VeTerans Warm

For the 2nd year AMVETS Post 66 joined with community member Betty Hodges in Providing Coats for Veterans at the Loma Linda VA Medical Center in California. The results, over 5000 coats and warm clothes

were collected and distributed to homeless and less fortunate Veterans. Post 66 manages the free transportation van from Palm Spring area to the VA, their volunteer drivers added the coat delivers to their daily trips. (Pictured left to right: Post 66 Commander David Diehl, volunteer Edwin Miller and VA Staff Richard Burke receive one of many of the deliveries.)

David L. Diehl Commander


POST Reports


Post 99

Post 116

Pedro “Pete” Molina Sworn In As Assistant Secretary for Native American Veterans Affairs

Nearly 200 people, most from various tribes throughout California, today braved the cold and wet weather to witness the swearing-in of Pedro “Pete” Molina as the first-in-the-nation Assistant

Secretary for Native American Veterans Affairs.“We are very happy that Governor Schwarzenegger has appointed

Pete as Assistant Secretary for Native American Veterans Affairs,” said Roger Brautigan, Secretary for Veterans Affairs. “His long history of working for the rights and recognition due to Native American veterans make Pete an excellent choice to assist the California Department of Veterans Affairs in its efforts to reach this important population.”

“I am honored to have been appointed to this very important posi-tion within the California Department of Veterans Affairs,” said Molina. “Native Americans make up a very large proportion of our nation’s vet-erans. Today I am honored to have present such important dignitaries such as Joey Strickland, Director for the Arizona Department of Veter-ans Affairs; David Rambo, National Council of Urban Indian Health; Don Loudner, National Commander of the National American Indian Veterans and representatives for several California-based tribes.”

Molina, of Fresno, was appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger as the first in the nation Assistant Secretary for Native American Veterans Affairs in the California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet). Molina has served the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as American Indian program manager and marketing and community relations representative since 1998 and previously held the positions of minority veterans program manager from 1995 to 1997 and Hispanic veteran program manager from 1975 to 1995. Molina is a member of the Yaqui Nation from Tucson, Arizona. He served in the U.S. Army from 1970 to 1973.

Post 116 meets every second Saturday of the month at 10:00 a.m. at a new meeting location AFGE Local 1061 Union Hall W.L.A. Medical Center. If you need help getting to the meeting, please do not hesitate to call

Commander, Cephus R. Daniels, at 310-463-6380. The Post continues to host a bingo at the WLA VAMC nursing home every second Sunday of the month at 2:00 p.m.

Post 116 gave holiday gifts to all program participates at WLA VAMC. Sponsored MLK Birthday Celebration at WLA VAMC, 200-275 Vets attended. Post sponsored a Jazz & Variety Show with dinner at the Proud Bird Restaurant.

Post 116 is proud to welcome three new life members Ms. Glenda Davidson, Mr. Willie Boyd, and Ms.Tony Walker.

Commander, Cephus R. Daniels


POST Reports


Post 922

Post 1240

When Commander Cliff Pierce Sr and the members of Post 922 walked into the Golden Oaks nursing home

to deliver gifts, the eyes of the WWII veterans came alive. Veterans Paul Canady, Jake Kliewer, Vivian Hartley. Lawrence Horn, Gilbert Brown, Ralph Housel, Robert Ball, Eugene Rembac, Robert Kolb, William Casey, Gerald Kending, Dolores Yancey, Mariano Luera and Jessie Stroud enjoy having other veterans come in and visit with them and let them know that they have not been forgotten. Jessie Stroud (picture) turned 101 years young in December, he served in the army and the marines. The post would like to thank the AMVETS Service foundation for providing the gifts which helped to make this a special Christmas for these veterans and the members of Post 922 who were lucky enough to be able to visit them.


Post 1775

Post 2002

Post 2813

Post 2007

Post 2813 had the honor of doing a flag ceremony at the Chico Country Day School where we presented flags to the students.

For those members who are not able to attend our meetings please know that you are missed. For those who live close enough to attend we hope that you will join us in our fun endeavors and our serious work of supporting all Veterans. We would like to

hear from you who are unable to attend due to health or other limitations. If we can be of service to you and/ or your family please contact us. You can call me at 530-345-7236.

If you need a ride to the meetings let us know. Our meetings are the first Thursday of each month at 554 Rio Lindo, Chico, CA. We start at 7 pm.

As we watch the terrible tragedy in Haiti it has been a grime reminder of how much we have to be thankful for. Living in this great land of ours is much to be grate-ful for. All of the men and women who have served this country to insure not only our freedom but our secu-rity come to mind first. Thank you for your service.

Commander Gene Clements

From left to right.Gary Douglas

Steve KlebsBill Bottoms

Larry ThompsonAl Watson

Page StieringerJohn Bernier

Ben Goodman And Al’s truck is loaded

with Ben’s and John’s grand kids

Picture: District 14 Cmd A.C. “Buck” Bordeau, Thad Blanchard Sr and Micheal Clay after presentation of Proclamation to name Post 2002 after Thad Blanchard.

AMVETS cooks breakfast on the third Sunday and cooks dinner on the third Friday of every month, (Sunday 10:30 – 12:30), lunch, (M – F 11:00 – 14:00 and Burgers on Saturday 10:30 – 1:00), or dinner,

every Friday 6 – 8 PM profits generated go directly into the AMVETS coffers and helps our post fund projects like Veterans Village stand-down and the fishing derby every year, come on down and help the crew cook or support us all by coming down for a meal. Check the web-site for upcoming events and fundraisers. Please remember that our monthly meeting takes place on the 4PthP Tuesday of each month, we continue to have better participation and look forward to seeing you all there next month.

Please check out our website: vfwlamesa.org.

Very Respectfully, George Little Post1775Commander

POST Reports


OUIWARD BOUND OFFERING FREE WILDERNESS EXPEDITIONS

FOR OEF/OIF VETERANS

Seeking veterans nationwide for all expenses paid expeditions

Outward Bound, a 45-year old non-profit outdoor, adventure-education organization, is looking

for OEF and OIF Veterans, interested in participating in fully-funded reintegration

wilderness expeditions. Adventures are physically, mentally and emotionally stimulating and

work to build the self-confidence, trust, and communication skills necessary to successfully

return to their families and communities following war time service.

Goals of the program are to provide a positive outdoor experience for military veterans that will

enable them to experience the healing benefits of the natural world and benefit from quality

environmental education.

Who: Available to all OEF or OIF Veterans who were deployed to Iraq and/or

Afghanistan, pending medical screening

What: A 5-7 day Wilderness Expedition: may include backpacking, rock climbing,

canoeing, dogsledding, sailing, sea kayaking and white water rafting

When: Dates available year-round

Where: Wilderness locations include: California, Colorado, Maine, Maryland,

Minnesota, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Utah, Oregon, Washington, Alabama, and

Florida

How: What sets Outward Bound apart is that the goal is personal growth. The

wilderness and the skills learned to deal with it are simply a vehicle for growth.

Cost: All expenses paid! Veterans will not be responsible for cost of expedition

including round-trip stateside transportation to course site. Funding provided by

the Military Family Outdoor Initiative Project, a joint project of the Sierra Club

and The Sierra Club Foundation.

To Enroll: Please call 1-866-669-2362 ext 8387 (VETS)

Website: http://www.outwardbound.org/index.cfm/do/cp.veterans

commander Byrum Helps kick off “keep the spirit of ’45 alive!” national campaign on Uss midway

On January 18, AMVETS California State Department Commander Johnny Byrum joined Hollywood legend Hugh O’Brian and Edith Shain, the “Times Square Nurse” to officially announce the “Keep the Spirit of ’45

Alive!” initiative, a national campaign to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the end of World War II on August 14 of this year. Nearly 600 people, including members of the “Greatest Generation,” elected officials, veterans organizations, educators, youth leaders and media representatives attended the event which was held on the historic USS Midway Museum, in San Diego.

Congressman Bob Filner, chairman of the House Committee on Veterans Af-fairs, has introduced Concurrent Resolution 226, which would make the second Sunday of every August a permanent National Day of Remembrance to honor the legacy of service of the WWII generation.

San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders issued an official letter of support and proc-lamation making his city the first in America to be part of a national network of more than 200 cities across the country that have been invited to participate in the Spirit of ’45 campaign by issuing local proclamations in support of the Congressional Resolution, and organizing commemorative events on August 14. New York City will be hosting a major event in Times Square. Brookdale Senior Living, the nation’s largest owner/operator of senior living communities is host-ing events at all of its 72 locations in the Western States, including more than 20 cities in California.

To build public awareness during the months leading up to August, youth are being mobilized to help men and women who remember August 14, 1945, the day WWII ended, to upload their personal reflections to the Spirit of ’45 web site. Groups that organize August 14 events in their community or contribute 45 or more memories of August 14, 1945 to the Spirit of ’45 web site will receive special commendations from the History Channel and autographed letters and photos from Hugh and Edith.

Hugh O’Brian, who joined the US Marines in 1943, and became the young-est DI in the history of the Corps, used his fame as TV’s legendary Wyatt Earp to found one of America’s premiere youth leadership programs in 1958. Hugh O’Brian Youth (www.HOBY.org) now has more than 400,000 alumni and hosts workshops for 8000 high school sophomores each year in all 50 states and sev-eral foreign countries. HOBY will be leading the effort to recruit youth to par-ticipate in the Spirit of ’45 national campaign.

HOBY will be joined by an array of other organizations, including the Ameri-can WWII War Orphans Network (www.AWON.org) whose 185,000 members are the children of the 400,000 men who lost their lives in WWII. AWON will be reaching out to veterans groups, educators, historical associations, elected of-ficials and others to help assure the success of the national campaign.

Commander Byrum is personally committed to making AMVETS California a model for other Departments that can serve as an inspiration to veterans service organizations, and spoke movingly at the Midway event, inviting all VSOs to come together in common cause to make the Spirit of ’45 campaign a success.

“The AMVETS was founded by WWII veterans,” said Byrum. “Nobody asked the guy in a fox hole or landing craft which VSO he belonged to. All vet-erans organizations should get make sure the legacy of our WWII vets is forever remembered and honored, especially by the youth.”

For more details, please visit the Spirit of ’45 web site www.Spiritof45.orgstories of service announcing Video contest as Part of california’s new “Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans day”

On Sept. 25, 2009, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed AB 717, officially declaring March 30th as “Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day” in California, which will be observed on the last Sunday in

every March. Major commemorative events are currently being planned in Sacramento, Stockton, Bakersfield, San Diego and Whittier, where the idea of having annual day devoted to honoring Vietnam veterans was first originated.

San Jose will be joining these five cities by announcing a special initiative to produce videos documenting the service of California’s Vietnam veterans.

http://www.HOBY.org

http://www.AWON.org

These “digital stories” are produced on computers and posted on a website so that they can be shared with schools, museums, libraries, memorials and the gen-eral public. The initiative is part of Stories of Service, an educational program supported by the AMVETS California Department Service and Rehabilitation Foundation.

For the past several years, Stories of Service has helped hundreds of World War II veterans document their memories so that they can be archived on the In-ternet to educate and inspire future generations. More than 500 of these stories have been archived by the National Museum of American History of the Smith-sonian Institution and featured in the national news media.

“We feel we need to begin to focus more on preserving the first hand memo-ries of those who served in the Vietnam War,” said Robert Corpus, a student at San Jose State University who has helped develop the Stories of Service pro-gram as a volunteer for the past five years. “The Vietnam War was not a popular war, and many veterans never had the sense of closure that was possible for the WWII generation. It is really important that they have an opportunity to share their stories and reflections, both for themselves and for the community that asked them to serve.”

The program will be promoted to schools and youth service clubs throughout California in partnership with the History Channel’s “Bring a Vet to School” pro-gram, National History Day, the California State Department of Veterans Affairs, and veterans organizations. A selection of the best stories submitted each year will be showcased as part of the new annual “Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day.” Students who submit stories will be eligible to travel to Washington, DC to be part of a special wreath laying ceremony at the Vietnam War Memorial and march in the National Memorial Day parade carrying enlarged photos of their veterans.

A group of Vietnamese American youth who have been active in the Stories of Service program for several years are leading the new initaitive. Cang Le, who was born in Vietnam and whose father served in the South Vietnamese Army during the war, is currently completing the story of a Navy fighter pilot. “I think in some ways we Vietnamese Americans have a special appreciation for how the Vietnam War effected so many people’s lives, and how our project can be part of a healing process that still needs to happen.”

For more information about the Vietnam War Veterans Sto-ries of Service program, visit vwvsofs.org, or call (408) 887-3311.

Commander Byrum with Edith LeShain

Join Now! • Veterans Service

• Legislative Action • State and National Publications • Local Post Activities • Community Service • Memorial Carillons • V.A.V.S. • Scholarships

EligibilityAll American Veterans who were honorably separated after September 15, 1940 or are now serving in the Armed Forces, National Guard or Reservists, are eligible for membership in AMVETS.

Application For Membership

Membership Fees: ANNUAL: $30 LIFE: $180 RENEWAL: $30

Attention Veterans!

I apply for: New Annual Renewal Life Membership & Pay $________ Post dues __________

Printed Name _________________________________________ Service# or SS# ____________________________________

Street Address___________________________________________ City __________________ State _____ Zip ___________

Sponsor __________________________ Phone _____________________ Branch of Service _________________________

Mo/Yr Entered SVC. _______/_______ Mo/Yr Discharged _______/_______ Type of Discharge _________________________

Date of Birth (DD/MM/YY) / /____ Date of Application / /____ Spouse _______________________________

Signature_________________________________ *Post dues vary.

DEPARTMENT OF CALIFORNIA HEADQUARTERS120 North “M” StreetTulare, CA 93274www.amvets-ca.org

NoN-PRofITU.S. PoSTAGE

PAIDRoYAL oAK, MI

48068PERMIT #792

AMVETS DEPARTMENT of CALIFORNIA

65th ANNUAL CONVENTION

June 11 – 13, 2010Doubletree Hotel Modesto

1150 Ninth Street, Modesto, CA 95354 ROOM RESERVATIONS 1-800-222-TREE (8733)

request the group rate for AMVETS (American Veterans).ROOM RATES $104 PLUS TAX

May 10, 2010 cut off dateOvernight parking in hotel garage $5/night

Complimentary shuttle to-from Modesto Airport

New and Renewal Dues varies between Posts.

vol. 14, no. 1

Documents

issues veterans

veterans world

good things

service foundation

service officers

issues of concern

requested money

past issues