DAV Magazine — September/October 2016
Family first
I want to thank everyone who supported me over the years as I weaved my way in and out of the DAV Auxiliary’s leadership ranks.
I’ve had numerous friends, mentors and trusted advisors along the way, and I hope to repay your kindness by charting a course this year that we can all be proud of.
I want to talk to you about something I call “family first.”
The veteran family is very important to me. My connection to DAV is first and foremost through the long tradition of service to our nation within my own family. My husband, a two-time Purple Heart recipient who served as an Army tunnel rat in Vietnam, is a DAV Life Member and Past Department Commander for our home state of Massachusetts. My father is a DAV Life Member who is a veteran of World War II. Both of our sons are veterans, the oldest of the Persian Gulf War and the youngest—also a Life Member of DAV—is an Iraq War and Afghanistan War veteran.
It’s imperative that our Auxiliary remains active within our communities. I encourage all of us to seek out veterans and their families who may not know about DAV or the Auxiliary. Tell them about what we do for the veteran community, how they can get involved and why they should join our cause.
Tell them how we put family first.
The story history tells us very clear: If we don’t have members speaking to elected leaders with a unified voice concerning veteran-related issues, we simply will not be able to influence lawmakers to keep veterans and their families in mind.
We must keep our membership ranks vibrant and growing if we’re to influence leaders at the local and national levels to put veterans and their families first.
This is why we exist and is something I know we can get behind.
For those of you I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting, rest assured that we likely will. You will often hear me say I’m a “grassroots-type person,” and I sincerely mean that. I believe we can transform the lives of veterans’ families and our communities by coming together at the local level. This begins by meeting one another and ensuring we are speaking with the same voice on behalf of veterans’ families.
It’s my honor to represent you on my journey this year as your Auxiliary Commander, and it’s my hope to connect with all of you. I’ll see you out there.
Let’s get to work! We need the passion in our hearts to move our hands forward to get the job done.
I’ve had numerous friends, mentors and trusted advisors along the way, and I hope to repay your kindness by charting a course this year that we can all be proud of.
I want to talk to you about something I call “family first.”
The veteran family is very important to me. My connection to DAV is first and foremost through the long tradition of service to our nation within my own family. My husband, a two-time Purple Heart recipient who served as an Army tunnel rat in Vietnam, is a DAV Life Member and Past Department Commander for our home state of Massachusetts. My father is a DAV Life Member who is a veteran of World War II. Both of our sons are veterans, the oldest of the Persian Gulf War and the youngest—also a Life Member of DAV—is an Iraq War and Afghanistan War veteran.
It’s imperative that our Auxiliary remains active within our communities. I encourage all of us to seek out veterans and their families who may not know about DAV or the Auxiliary. Tell them about what we do for the veteran community, how they can get involved and why they should join our cause.
Tell them how we put family first.
The story history tells us very clear: If we don’t have members speaking to elected leaders with a unified voice concerning veteran-related issues, we simply will not be able to influence lawmakers to keep veterans and their families in mind.
We must keep our membership ranks vibrant and growing if we’re to influence leaders at the local and national levels to put veterans and their families first.
This is why we exist and is something I know we can get behind.
For those of you I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting, rest assured that we likely will. You will often hear me say I’m a “grassroots-type person,” and I sincerely mean that. I believe we can transform the lives of veterans’ families and our communities by coming together at the local level. This begins by meeting one another and ensuring we are speaking with the same voice on behalf of veterans’ families.
It’s my honor to represent you on my journey this year as your Auxiliary Commander, and it’s my hope to connect with all of you. I’ll see you out there.
Let’s get to work! We need the passion in our hearts to move our hands forward to get the job done.
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