Weekly Report 🗞️
Meeting Minutes | Veteran Legislation Update
COMMANDER’S COALITION MEETING
July 3, 2024, 10 A.M.
American Legion Post 13
Minutes/Notes
Attendees: Ed Hood, John Folsom, Cartney Thomas, Ben Bradwell, Nell Hewitt, Chuck Howell, Dennis Hall, Eric Smith, Dan Hendrickson, Susan Caplowe, Frank Roycraft, Gail Ernst, Alex (Butch) Topicz, Earnest (Ernie) Reed, M.H. Allen, Paula Hubert, Karen Bauer, Sharon Brooks, Dove McClain, Valencia Scott, Dan Paasch, Anna Oden, Cindy Laskowski, Marc Dickieson, Roxann Dressel, Mary LaBatt, Danielle Murray, Tony Minichello, Rick Stanford, Kaitlyn Grimes, Eugenia Simmons, Valencia Scott, Grant Kimball, Rodney Keener, Jevelle Robinson, Gordon Lightfoot, Brooklyn Enders, Tom Carney, Keisha Washington, Liz Crawford, Maya Sargent, Michael Mann, and Marianne Trussell.
Ed Hood, Adjutant, American Legion Post 13 led attendees in a salute to the American Flag and the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag to open the meeting and a salute to the Flag to close the meeting. He asked Earnest Reed to deliver a prayer. Ed welcomed everyone, reminded everyone to speak up, identify themselves and their organization, and invited Cartney Thomas to begin. See comments below.
Cartney Thomas, Office of Mayor John Dailey, Tallahassee. The Mayor could not make it and sends his apologies. Have a great 4th of July. No report.
Ben Bradwell, Director, Leon County Office of Veteran Services. No report.
Paula Hubert, Vice President, Women Veterans Unite. No report.
Karen Bauer, Women Veterans Unite. No report.
Sharon Brooks, Women Veterans Unite. No report.
Dove McClain, Women Veterans Unite. No report. She is new to Tallahassee and specializes in marketing.
Frank Roycraft, Commander, VFW Post 3308. The Post is doing well. Post 3308 stepped up to the plate for the month of July and supplied Vet Village with food and $1,500 with more to come. Funding kudos to Top Tier K9 and Sport Clips for their contributions. Dwayne Pickle (member) passed away recently. A celebration of life is expected to be held, but it is up the family.
Earnest Reed, Fleet Reserve Association, Branch 34. Reported on the passing of Chief Butler.
Alex (Butch) Topicz, FRA Branch 34, CVMA 20-12. No report.
Danielle Murray, CVMA 20-12. No report.
Eric Smith, Big Bend Honor Guard, Chaplain American Legion Post 13. No report.
Dan Paasch, Capital Regional Director, Marco Rubio’s Office. No report.
Anna Oden, Intern at Congressman Neal Dunn’s Office. No report.
Dennis Hall, Army National Guard, Big Bend Honor Guard. There is a luncheon at 1225 Easterwood Drive every second Tuesday at 11:30; the next luncheon will be July 9. Lunch begins at noon and ends about 1:00. All are welcome. A small donation is requested, but even if you can’t donate you can still join in the luncheon.
Chuck Howell, Big Bend Honor Guard. The Big Bend Honor Guard (BBHG) performed 12 interments during the month of June which included Final Salute on June 26, that honored 15 veterans who had been previously interred during the second quarter without honors. During the month of June BBHG members logged 275 volunteer hours.
Gail Ernst, American Legion Auxiliary Unit 13, Air Force Association, MOAA. The next meeting of MOAA is be on September 16 at the Tallahassee Elks Lodge with the social beginning at 6 pm and the meeting at 7 pm.
Tom Carney, Air & Space Forces Association. The next meeting will be held on July 9 at 6 pm at Chow Time on Capital Circle NE; the business meeting is to begin at 7 pm. On July 20 the Annual State Convention will be held in Melbourne, Florida.
Rick Stanford, Order of the Purple Heart. If anyone knows of Purple Heart recipients, please talk to them as membership is struggling. Fundraising is also struggling, so they are raffling a 9 mm pistol. See him for details.
Gordon Lightfoot, Commander, AmVets Post 1776. AmVets just received a letter to proceed from DC regarding the VFW monument to be erected at the Tallahassee National Cemetery. AmVets also submitted several applications for National Awards and won 5 of 6 awards. AmVets was awarded AmVet Post of the year, as were Ray Bogan, Tony Minichiello, and Paul Rogerson. Most notably Eric Smith was named the AmVet of the Year. There are approximately 18,000 AmVet members at last count. Thank you to all and have a happy 4th of July.
Dan Hendrickson, President, Tallahassee Veterans Legal Collaboration. There will be no clinic on July 4. Help is still needed. Legal Clinics are held on Thursday at America Legion Post l3 from 3-5. Set up begins at 2 pm. Everyone is welcome. Veteran Treatment Court had three recent graduates. They were given medallions and all charges against them were dropped. The next Veterans Court will be July 12 at 3pm. Only about 1/3 of veterans with criminal problems appear with a mentor. You do not need to be a lawyer to become a mentor.
Susan Caplowe, Tallahassee Veterans Legal Collaboration. Dan said it all. Legal collaborative meets Thursdays from 3-5 pm at Post 13. Become a mentor.
M.H. Allen, K9s for Warriors. There will be a fundraising event, K9s for Warriors, on October 9 from 5-7 pm at the Moon, 1105 E. Lafayette St, Tallahassee. All proceeds from this event will be donated to K9s to help save more veterans and first responders and to provide to them former rescue dogs by turning them into well trained service dogs. Everyone is invited. No tickets are needed. Donations are accepted. There will be free food. Flyers were made available.
Tony Minichiello, American Legion Post 49, Monticello. No report.
Kaitlyn Grimes, Mission BBQ. Mission BBQ served free sandwiches to all veterans during Armed Forces Week starting Monday, May 13. They distributed 499 sandwiches that week. The Korean War Armistice Day is July 27. If anyone knows of a deployed overseas veteran, she has a care package to send to him/her. Please contact or see her if you know of someone.
Cindy Laskowski, Incoming Commander, American Legion Post l3. No report. She is looking forward to working with everyone.
Mary LaBatt, DAR, Caroline Brevard Chapter. No report.
Roxann Dressel, Commander, American Legion Post 114, Crawfordville. No report.
Nell Hewitt, President, American Legion Auxiliary Unit 13. The electronic gates (vehicle and people) are in the 10-year budget to be installed at Vet Village but she is getting nowhere on the matter. She has given up on the matter and is removing that item from her list of projects. She then bragged on the girls from Unit 13 sent to Girls State. All girls received individual applause for their accomplishments. Auxiliary members will be present at the Stand Down.
Jevelle Robinson, Event Coordinator for Stand Down, Tallahassee Veteran Outreach. The Stand Down this year for homeless and at-risk veterans will be next Friday, July 12 and Saturday, July 13 at the FAMU Lawson Center. It is all free. On Saturday, July 13 spouses and caregivers can participate for free. There will be free hot meals, goody bags, dental care, housing assistance, Star Metro rides to and from Stand Down, etc. Volunteer online registration will be shut down on Saturday, July 6.
Keisha Washington, Veteran Resource Specialist, 211 Big Bend. No report.
Valencia Scott, Akin Akinyemi, Leon County Property Appraiser’s Office. Akin Akinyemi is handling other business and apologizes for his absence. They will be at Stand Down and on July 4 the office will be at Tom Brown to assist with veteran and other issues. Leon County asked her to apologizes for not being able to be present. Flyers were made available.
Rodney Keener, American Legion Post 13. He is the lead on the “Be the One” campaign. On the tables are stickers regarding securing your weapons, please attach them to your vehicles. Have a safe and happy 4th of July.
Eugenia Simmons, Director, Tallahassee National Cemetery. She has not received the letter mentioned by Gordon regarding the VFW monument but it seems there will be a dedication at the Tallahassee National Cemetery (TNC) soon. David Wilson is also working on getting approval for a POW/MIA monument to be erected at the TNC. She has a wonderful staff at the TNC who is ready to answer questions and help in any manner. The TNC can also offer community service to veteran court attendees; see her for more information.
Brooklyn Enders, Disabled Veterans Outreach Program Specialist, Career Source Capital Region. Valor Hours has been established from 9 am till noon on Tuesdays. Valor Hours will meet with veterans and eligible dependents to connect them with resources needed to succeed in the civilian workforce.
Grant Kimball, DAV, Culley’s MeadowWood Funeral Home. Veteran. No Report.
Marc Dickieson, Commandant, Marine Corps League Chapter 472. Krispy Kreme donuts will be sold at the Ace Hardware in Killearn this Saturday.
Liz Crawford, Sport Clips. Gave a report on behalf of John L. Haynes, Jr. She also said Henry Lowery had contacted her as he had a conflict with an appointment at the VA Clinic and had no report. She also indicated that if you bring food when you come for a haircut you will receive a discount. Please see her about a special Dream Flight coming to the State Capitol.
Michael Mann, Commander, Sons of the Legion, American Legion Post 13. The next meeting will be August 29 at 6:30 pm, at Post l3.
Maya Sargent, WTXL TV. No report.
John Folsom, American Legion Post 13, Chaplain for AL District 2. Make sure you signed in. Introduced Maya from WTXL who is filming the meeting. He also mentioned celebrating the 103rd birthday of World War 2 Veteran and American Legion Member Robert Caldwell.
Ed Hood, Adjutant, American Legion Post 13. Please take copies of all handouts, brochures, pamphlets, put on that tables. Ed mentioned the selection of Trooper John Peters as the American Legion National Law Enforcement Officer of the Year for the Department of Florida and he was selected from Post 13. New officer installation will be at the next Post 13 meeting. Send all info to him that you want to get out to all.
Marianne Trussell, Chair, Support Committee for the Tallahassee National Cemetery, Inc. The next meeting of the Support Committee will be held on Tuesday, July 16, 2024, at 5 pm. Although she announced that the meeting would be held at the Administration Building of the Tallahassee National Cemetery (TNC), she learned after the meeting that the meeting will be held in the Maintenance Building due to a lack of air conditioning in the Administration Building. Meeting will last no more than one hour. Everyone is welcome whether a member or not. There are no dues.
The next Commander’s Coalition Meeting will be held on Wednesday, August 7, 2024, at 10 am at the American Legion Post 13 at Lake Ella.
END OF MEETING MINUTES
FLORIDA LEGISLATION HELPING VETERANS
• Governor Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 725 and House Bill 1329 to support Florida’s veterans and their families through services for veterans shifting to civilian life, ensuring spouses can enjoy long-term care together, and expanding benefits available for veterans.
• House Bill 1329 focuses programs and expands benefits for veterans here in the state of Florida. More specifically, this bill:
• Designates that Florida is for Veterans, Inc. (Veterans Florida), a non-profit created within the FDVA to help military veterans transition to civilian life, serves as the state’s initial point of contact for military transition assistance for veterans and their spouses reaching the end of their service career.
• Increases Veterans Florida’s board of directors from nine to eleven members, with a new appointee allocated to both the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives.
• Revises the Veterans Employment and Training Services Program to:
o Match veterans and spouses with businesses within their preferred market and industry.
o Encourage entrepreneurship and growing veteran-owned small businesses.
o Prioritize grant funds for training, certification, and licenses.
o Provide that businesses participating in the Veterans Employment and Training Services Program may also receive a grant under any other state-run program; and
o Authorize Veterans Florida to assist state agencies in recruiting veteran talent into their workforce and maximize veteran access to benefits, services, training, and education.
• Creates a fee exemption on hunting and fishing licenses for honorably discharged veterans with a qualifying service-connected disability.
• Requires public school instruction on the history and importance of Veterans Day and Memorial Day.
• Creates and funds the Major John Leroy Haynes Florida Veterans’ History Program to record the stories of Florida’s veterans and preserve them for future generations. **
Good Job of recapping our recent Commanders coalition meeting!