MILESTONES N Staff announcements ational Adjutant Marc Burgess announced in August the appointment of Randy Reese, a disabled veteran of the U.S. Army, as Washington Headquarters Executive Director. Reese will succeed Garry Augustine, who retires effective Dec 17. In his new role, Reese will lead DAV’s service and legislative programs. He will be DAV’s principal spokesperson before Congress, the White House and Department of Veterans Affairs, and will lead the organization’s advocacy efforts in Washington. Reese Reese joined DAV’s professional staff in 1995. He served in numerous locations across the nation as a national service officer before being appointed Associate National Service Director in May 1999. From there, he was named Assistant National Service Director in August 2000; Deputy National Service Director in August 2001; National Service Director in 2002; Deputy Director of Human Resources in July 2010; and National Human Resources Director in August 2013. Reese was previously appointed by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to serve on the VBA Task Force on Vocational Rehabilitation & Employment; Federal Advisory Committee on Disability Compensation; and Federal Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans. A native of Bristol, Va., Reese enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1984. He was a rifle squad leader in the 82nd Airborne Division during the Persian Gulf War. Following the war, he served as an elite “Black-Hat” instructor in the Air Movement Operations and Jump Master Courses at Fort Bragg, N.C. There, he suffered a disabling back injury while conducting a night parachute jump in an airfield seizure training operation. He earned his paralegal degree from Kaplan College for Professional Studies and he is certified by the HR Certification Institute as a Senior Professional of Human Resources (SPHR) and Senior Certified Professional (SCP) by the Society for Human Resource Management. Augustine retires after 30 years of service to the organization. He was appointed to his current post in 2013. The combat-injured U.S. Army veteran joined DAV’s professional staff in 1988 as a national service officer apprentice in Cleveland, Ohio. He went on to serve as Assistant National Service Director at DAV National Service and Legislative Headquarters in Augustine 2002 and was subsequently elevated to Deputy National Service Director in January 2004. In July 2010, he was named National Service Director. “During his time in Washington, Garry has helped shape the legislative landscape for disabled veterans and their families, successfully advocating for VA health care reform, expanded caregiver benefits, advance appropriations, appeals modernization and women veterans,” said Burgess. “While he will be missed, we are in extremely good hands with Randy leading our benefits advocacy and legislative efforts.” Following DAV’s national convention, Burgess appointed Austin Shaffner, a disabled veteran of the Air National Guard, to assistant national communications director at the national convention in Reno. He works at National Headquarters in Cold Spring, Ky. He joined DAV’s staff in 2017 when he was appointed associate national communications Shaffner director. Shaffner’s responsibilities include video production and creation of a wide variety of multimedia products to support the organization’s internal and external communications efforts. Currently a member of the Kentucky Air National Guard, Shaffner earned his Bachelor of Science degree in communications from the University of Louisville and graduated from the Defense Information School’s Basic Combat Correspondent course in 2014. Shaffner is a life member of DAV Chapter 19 in Cold Spring, Ky. ■ 34 DAV MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2018
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