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HomeMy WebLinkAboutM052008Jefferson County Service Officers Association MEETING MINUTES May 20, 2008 Service Officers present: Delmer Sayer, VFW 7498; Dick Wiltse, VFW 7014; Bill Wheeler, VFW 3213; and Ken Gaul, VFW 10706; Sol Wiener, American Legion 26 Others Present: Bob Alexander; VFW 3213; John Braasch, Voices for Veterans Chair Delmer Sayer called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m. Approval of Minutes: The minutes of August 16, 2007 were approved by unanimous vote. Possible Service Officer Status: John Braasch, Voices for Veterans: Delmer explained that John is interested in joining the Service Officers Association. It was noted that the bylaws state that he must be a duly appointed Service Ojfcer from a nationally chartered veterans' organization in Jefferson County. John is the President of Voices for Veterans and a member of the DAV. His options to join the Association under the current bylaws are to join VFW 3213 and become an Assistant Service Officer or to request that the DAV appoint him as a Service Officer. Revising the bylaws was also discussed. After continued discussion, Bill moved to revise the bylaws to include one (1) Veteran -at -large who has attended the Veterans' Service Officers Course. Dick seconded the motion which carried by a unanimous vote. The Veteran -at -large position will be appointed by the Service Officers Association and serve a one (1) year term. It was agreed that this option needs to be reviewed by Jefferson County's Civil Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for compliance with the law. Officers for 2007-2008: The following slate of Executive Board Officers was approved for 2008-2009: Chair: Delmer Sayer Vice -Chair: Dick Wiltse Secretary/Treasurer: Ken Gaul Jefferson County Stand Down 2008 — July 28: John reported that the first Veterans' Stand Down in Jefferson County is scheduled for July 28 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Currently the Elks Club is listed as the location, but this has not been finalized. They have received donations from local citizens of clothing and outdoor equipment. A hot breakfast will be provided and 15 service providers will have booths set up. The Veterans will need to talk to representatives at 3 or 4 booths before they will be able to take supplies. They will not turn away non -veterans. Seventy Veterans participated at the last Stand Down in Forks which included 18 Veterans that came out of the woods to attend. They are also working on free transportation for the Veterans in south County. Press Release re: Veterans' Assistance Fund: A draft press release/advertisement was reviewed and approved. It was agreed that display ads should run in both The Leader and the Peninsula Daily News. Veterans' Service Center at Port Hadlock VFW: Delmer announced that the Service Center is up and running. Hours are Monday and Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. He is doing a flyer to be distributed in several locations and there will be an article in the newspaper. The option of having the Service Officers Association meet clients at the VFW hall was discussed but it was agreed that it is better to keep the two functions in separate locations to avoid any confusion. Transitional Housing for Veterans on the West End: Delmer reported that he is working with several service organizations in the West End to establish transitional housing in the Forks area for Veterans. The group is currently filing for non profit status. They are purchasing a building with 3 apartments on the top floor and one large room on the bottom floor. The original idea of limiting the residents to West End Veterans has changed slightly because they are applying for public and private grants and private grant funding may require opening up the transitional housing to non -veterans also. They have also talked about using the large room as dormitory style housing. Delmer stated that he is not in favor of this because he doesn't think solitary Veterans will come out of the woods to live in a room with ten other people. Additional Business: New Poverty Guidelines: Bill presented the latest guidelines. Lew for 2009 Budget: Bill stated that the County Commissioners chose not to levy for the Veterans' Assistance Fund in the 2008 budget. He noted that this year to date there are more applications than in previous years and it will be important to request that the Board reinstate the levy in 2009. MEETINGALVOURNED.• The meeting was adjourned at 11:40 a.m.