DAVID FARRELL

Department Commander

Dear Comrades,

July has really gone by fast. Adjutant Frank Williams, Senior Vice Commander Dave May and myself just recently attended Commander and Adjutant training in Kentucky. The training was very insightful, which included a tour of National Headquarters. That was very impressive. The Organization has come a long way over the past couple of years. It was also really nice to meet the other Department Commander’s and bounce ideas off each other on ways to increase our numbers.

We will be holding District Commanders training on 1 August, to welcome and train our new District Commanders. This will be done in conjunction with the Auxiliary training their new District Commander as well. We will be having a joint lunch with the Auxiliary. This will allow the District Commanders from each Organization to get to know each other and talk about joint District Meeting where possible. We need to ensure we have a good working relationship with our Auxiliary as well as open communications. This is vital to both Organizations so we can continue to help in support of each other.

August is also the month for the 2009 National Convention to be held in Denver Colorado. There will be very informative seminars. Also Senior Vice Commander Bobby Barrera should be elected as our New National Commander. It was a great honor to have him at our convention. It was also a special honor having him install our new Department Officers at our convention last month. Gary Sinese and the Lt Dan Band will be providing the entertainment this year, they are very good. I hope you will be able to attend, it should be very informative and exciting as always.

May God Bless you all, Our troops serving in the World’s Greatest Military. God Bless the DAV and God Bless America.

David K Farrell

State Commander

IMPORTANT NUMBERS

Nat’l. Hdqrs., DAV (877) 426-2838

NSO Office, Cleveland (216) 522-3507

NSO Office, Cincinnati (513) 684-2676

Washington Office, DAV (202) 554-3501

Cincinnati HSC,

Sheila Clements (513) 475-6443

Jeffrey Riley (513) 475-6443

Dayton HSC, (937) 268-6511

Gene McCorkle Ext. 2962

Wade Park HSC, (216) 791-3800

Walter Dryja Ext. 3395

Chillicothe HSC (740) 773-1141

Larry Queen Ext. 7916

Columbus Clinic, (614) 257-5487

Michael Hackworth

Brecksville HSC, (440) 526-3030

Don Branford Ext. 7353

Warren Clinic (330) 392-0311

Youngstown Clinic (330) 70-9200

Ext. 105

Veterans Administration 1-800-827-1000

DATES TO REMEMBER

August 1, 2009 Brecksville VA Hospital Annual Summer Picnic, Brooklyn-Parma Chapter #116, Main Dining Hall between 12 noon and 2:30 p.m., Brecksville

August 1, 2009 Forget-Me-Not, John W. Covert Chapter #47, East Liverpool, Ohio

August 1, 2009 Forget-Me-Not, Northern Hills Chapter #115, 5375 North Bend Road, Cincinnati, Ohio.

August 1, 2009 Forget-Me-Not, Thorold Heinlen Chapter #100, Galion, Ohio.

August 6-7-8, 2009 Forget-Me-Not, Madison County Chapter #93, London, Ohio.

August 7-8, 2009 Forget-Me-Not, Darke County Chapter #57, Greenville, Ohio.

August 7-8-9, 2009 Forget-Me-Not, Salem Chapter #122, Salem City area, Salem, Ohio.

August 8, 2009 Forget-Me-Not, Northern Hills Chapter #115, 5375 North Bend Road, Cincinnati, Ohio.

August 13-14, 2009 Forget-Me-Not, Madison County Chapter #93, Truck Stop.

August 15, 2009 Forget-Me-Not, Thorold Heinlen Chapter #100, Crestline, Ohio.

August 20-21, 2009 Forget-Me-Not, Madison County Chapter #93, West Jefferson and Mt. Sterling, Ohio.

August 22-25, 2009 DAV National Convention, Sheraton Hotel Denver, Denver, Colorado

August 29, 2009 Forget-Me-Not, Auglaize County Chapter #73, VFW #8445 Parking Lot, Wapakoneta, Ohio.

Sept. 17-20, 2009 Forget-Me-Not, Adams County Chapter #71, Peebles Old Timers Day, Peebles, Ohio

Sept. 24 – 26, 2009 DAV Auxiliary Fall Conference, Drawbridge Inn, Fort Mitchell, Kentucky.

September 27, 2009 6^th District Meeting, Brooklyn-Parma Chapter #116, at 2 p.m., Parma, Ohio

September 27, 2009 5^th District Meeting, American Legion Post 41, meeting at 12 noon with lunch to follow, Norwalk, Ohio

October 9-11, 2009 DAV Department Fall Conference, The Crowne Plaza, Dublin, Ohio.

October 18, 2009 7^th District Meting, Alliance Chapter #50 at 2 p.m., Alliance, Ohio.

November 11, 2009 Forget-Me-Not, Lloyd C. Ludwick Chapter #123, Various locations in Highland County.

November 21, 2009 Forget-Me-Not, Wayne County Chapter #44, Buelers Milltown, Wooster, Ohio.

Feb. 28 – Mar. 3, 2010 DAV Mid-Winter Conference, Crystal Gateway Marriott, Arlington, VA

June 24-27, 2010 DAV Department Convention,

The Crowne Plaza, Dublin, Ohio.

July 31 – Aug. 3, 2010 DAV National Convention, Hyatt Regency Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia

October 8-10, 2010 DAV Department Fall Conference, The Crowne Plaza, Dublin, Ohio.

CORRECTION

Please note that a correction is made to the June, 2009 DAV Newsletter. We omitted David May as Chairman of the Membership Committee. Please accept our apologies.

FROM THE AUXILIARY

The DAV Auxiliary Department would like to congratulate all the new DAV Officers for the 2009-2010. We wish you a very productive year.

Jeanette Scott, Commander

Joyce Hutchinson, Adjutant

AUCTION

The Auxiliary will again be holding their annual auction at the upcoming State Fall Conference and would welcome any donations that would make our auction a success. We do appreciate any and all donations of new and handmade items.

INFO FROM NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS

National Headquarters, DAV, has implemented some new procedures to help cut the cost of postage, etc. National Headquarters will no longer be mailing Financial Report Forms and Officer Report Forms on a scheduled basis. If your chapter is in need of these two report forms, you must contact National Headquarters directly to request them. Department Headquarters will no longer have a supply to provide to each Chapter. Please contact National Headquarters at 1-877-426-2838 for any and all forms.

NOTES FROM YOUR STATE ADJUTANT
Frank Williams

Thought for August: You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich!

A couple of Bills currently under consideration by our State Legislators may be of interest to some of our Chapters: Senate Bill 120 would exempt Veteran Lounges and/or

Bingo Operations from the Smoking Ban. House Bill 155 would allow those same Bingo Operations and Bar/Lounges to have Instant Bingo Dispensers. Contact your Senators and Representatives by phone, email or phone to ask their support.

VA Hospitals lack Privacy for Women:

Veterans Hospitals and Clinics are not always making sure female veterans have privacy when they bathe and receive exams, government auditors said. No VA Hospital or Outpatient Clinic under review is complying fully with federal privacy requirements, the Government Accountability Office reported. Female veterans also cite other issues, including lack of child care at VA Hospitals and difficulty in finding diaper changing tables.

JUDGES DON’T BELONG ON THE BATTLEFIELD:

Earlier this year, a DC Federal Court extended the constitutional right to habeas corpus to 3 foreign nationals detained by US Forces in Afghanistan. Habeas corpus allows prisoners to challenge the legality of their confinement. This case has already

affected US Military operations in the region. Our forces are now limiting their

activities in the Afghan-Pakistan border region to avoid claims by enemy fighters that they were captured across the border. This “dumb” decision by a judge who has no experience or knowledge of warfare, provides a strategic sanctuary for Pakistan-based enemy operatives who are now effectively immune from us ground attacks. I guess the next step could be requiring our troops to read an enemy their rights before shooting them……isn’t that absurd???

Military Memorial & Burial Benefits:

I was recently asked by a daughter of a Veteran about helping her father properly arrange his affairs. After helping her, I realized that many relatives of Veterans have questions in

this regard and may not know where to get answers. Your first contact should always be your County Veterans Service Office. With this in mind, I am providing the following link to every County Veterans Service Office in Ohio:

http://dvs.ohio.gov/home/county_veterans_service_officers.aspx

Additionally, complete explanation of Military Funeral Honors as well as burial benefits can be found at:

http://www.military.com/benefits/burial-andmemorial/military-memorial-and-burial-benefits-explained

Senators add $9 billion in earmarks (pork) to Defense Bill:

The Senate Armed Service Committee added $9 billion in earmarks to the 2010 Defense Authorization Bill. This, plus the $2.26 billion in earmarks added by the House, brings the total “pork” additions to $11.26 billion. Senators Evan Bayh, Mitch McConnell and Edward Kennedy are among the top “Porkers”. Senator John McCain is fighting to strip $1.75 billion for 7 more F-22 Raptor fighter jets that was added to the defense bill despite objections from the Pentagon. The F-22 costs more that $50,000 an hour to keep in the air and it has never flown in either Iraq or Afghanistan. Members of the House & Senate who favor the F-22 are those whose districts benefit from the jet’s construction. And, the beat goes on!!!!!!!

I want to thank everyone who attended our June Convention. We plan to do our best to make our Fall Conference, as well as all future conventions & conferences as interesting and informative as possible. There were a lot of positive comments on recognizing deserving disabled veterans. With your assistance and input, perhaps we can continue these programs. Any comments and suggestions are welcome.

As always, keep our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan in your thoughts and prayers as they fight, like we have fought, to keep America free. Never shall we forget that Freedom is not Free!!

Information Bulletin

IMPORTANT NUMBERS

NOTES FROM YOUR STATE ADJUTANT Frank Williams

NOTES FROM YOUR STATE ADJUTANT
Frank Williams