BLINDED VETERANS ASSOCIATION
Chartered by the United States Congress
FLORIDA REGIONAL GROUP
3801 Coco Grove Avenue
Miami, Florida 33133
BVA-FRG Web
site: www.bvafrg.org
NEWSLETTER - November 2011
FRG
Meeting Notice: The next meeting of
the Florida Regional Group will be held on Saturday, December 3rd, at the Lake
Seminole Square 8333 Seminole Blvd. in Seminole. The meeting will begin with a period of
socializing at 11:30 AM, followed by lunch at noon. For lunch, you may have Grilled Breast of Chicken
Picatta or Sliced Tenderloin of beef with Natural Mushroom Aus Jus each and Romaine
Goat Cheese Mandarin OrangeSections, Almonds, Salad with Honey Dijon Dressing
and Garlic Parmesan Potatoes, Glazed Carrots, Rolls
& Butter, Iced Tea or Coffee and French Silk Chocolate Pie. A complementary glass of wine is available
upon request. The registration for the luncheon will be $5
per person. The Informational meeting will
follow lunch. Representatives from the Department of Veterans Affairs will be on hand to
provide information about services and benefits of interest to BV's and their
families. A National Legislative Up-Date
will be presented. Future FRG activities
will be discussed. Information about the
FRG Auxiliary will be presented.
The restaurant has asked us to notify them as to
the number who will be attending and the type of luncheon desired before November
30. Please make your reservations prior
to that date by writing to Vice President Gigi Mathis at: 2852 Chapsworth Lane, Lakeland,
FL 33813 or call Gigi at (863) 255-9275, email gigig285@aol.com
or in Bradenton call Central
District Director Aaron Cornelius at (912) 695-3171. In St. Petersburg, You may call the new Bay
Pines VIST Coordinator Shawn Britt at (727) 398-6661 ex 4516 or in Largo, call
Ben Wells at: (727)536-1762. In Tampa, call VIST Coordinator Jessica Buccolo at
(813) 972-2000 ex 2225. The restaurant needs the reservation information
in order to prepare properly for our meeting.
To get to Lake Seminole Square in Pinellas County, take US Highway 19 Alternate
north or South until it becomes Seminole Blvd. Lake Seminole Square will be on the east side
of the street. There are 4 American
Flags in front of the building. From the
Tampa area, take I 75 north or south to I 275 south.
Go across the Gandy bridge to exit 28 Which is State Road
694, which becomes Park Blvd. Continue
west to Seminole BLVD with is US Highway 19 Alternate. Turn right and Lake Seminole Square will be
on your right less than 1 mile. Go west
to Seminole Blvd. Go north on Seminole
Blvd. less than a mile to Lake Seminole Square on your right. From the east (Orlando, etc.) take I 4 west to I 275 then continue as above. If you need directions, call Lake Seminole
Square at (727) 392-3932. Do not call Lake
Seminole Square for reservations but one of those listed above. Free Parking is available .
Check with your
fellow Blinded Veterans, family members, and friends and make plans to join us
on Saturday, December 3rd in Seminole. We look forward to meeting you there.
National Legislative Up-Date:
At the writing of this Newsletter, Congress is struggling with the
appropriations for Fiscal Year 2012. To
keep from having the government close down on October 1st, the
beginning of FY 2012, Congress passed a Continuing Resolution to fund the
government through November. The FY 2012
appropriation for the Department of Veterans Affairs was passed as a result of legislation
sponsored by the Veterans Service
Organizations. This legislation was passed
in 2009 which requires Congress to pass Advanced Funding for the Veterans
Health Administration a year in advance.
As a result, the VHA has its FY 2012 appropriation. There may be a need to adjust that
appropriation slightly later in the year, but the VHA has additional funding
over the FY 2011 FY appropriation. In
this climate, it is difficult to get anything through Congress to increase
services for Blinded Veterans. Tom Zampieri,
BVA Director of Governmental Affairs, is working with Senator Jon Tester, from Montana,
to introduce a change in Beneficiary Travel for BV's attending a VA Blind
Rehabilitation Center. Presently, BV's
above the income threshold are required to pay their own transportation to a
BRC. If passed, this legislation would
permit the VA to provide travel for these BV's to a BRC. Several years ago, the BVA secured the
establishment of an Eye Trauma and Research Center of Excellence in the
Department of Defense. It took several
years to secure the funding for the Center after it was established. Now, the House of Representative is
recommending a cut from $5 Million to $3 million (a 40% reduction) for FY 2012
in research funding. This research has
already made improvements in the treatment of battlefield eye trauma injuries
to stabilize the eye until reaching a military hospital in Germany or the
US. Since Bill Young, Chairman of the
House Appropriation Committee, says this is only a realignment of resources it
is still a reduction in eye trauma research.
Tom Zampieri has succeeded in getting articles exposing this reduction
in the Army Times, Navy Times, and Air Force Times. A similar article deploring this reduction is
scheduled to be published in USA Today.
The BVA will continue to work with Congress to improve services for
Blinded Veterans, even in these difficult times of tight budgets.
FRG Auxiliary President's Message: The
website of the Department of Veteran’s Affairs includes a history of Veteran's
Day. Here are some excerpts. World War I – known at the time as “The Great
War” - officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28,
1919. however,
fighting ceased seven months earlier when an armistice, or temporary cessation
of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the
eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. For that reason, November 11, 1918, is
generally regarded as the end of “the war to end all wars.” In November 1919, President Wilson proclaimed
November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day. The original concept for the celebration was for a day observed
with parades and public meetings and a brief suspension of business beginning
at 11 am. The Uniform Holiday Bill
(Public Law 90-363, was signed on June
28, 1968, and was intended to ensure three-day weekends for Federal employees
by celebrating four national holidays on Mondays: Washington's Birthday,
Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and Columbus Day.
The first Veterans Day under the new law was observed with much confusion
on October 25, 1971. It was quite
apparent that the commemoration of this day was a matter of historic and
patriotic significance to a great number
of our citizens, and so on September 20th, 1975, President Gerald R.
Ford signed Public Law 94-97 , which
returned the annual observance of Veterans Day to its original date of November
11, beginning in 1978. This
action
supported the desires of the overwhelming majority
of state legislatures, all major
veterans service organizations and the American
people. Veterans Day continues to
be observed on November 11, regardless of what day of the week on which it
falls. The restoration of the observance
of Veterans Day
to November 11 not only preserves the historical significance of the date, but helps focus attention on the important
purpose of Veterans Day: A celebration to honor America's veterans for
their patriotism, love of country, and
willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good.
Fran Thomas FRG Auxiliary President 239-283-1708 email:PghFran9@aol.com
Blinded Veterans Interested in Teaching Computers to Other BV's Update: During the last FRG State Convention in Daytona Beach, I had indicated that I was going to be looking into a means of our blinded veterans that are fairly good on either Zoom Text or Screen readers like JAWS or Window Eyes that they could be earning some of the moneys that the VA is currently paying out to our local community REHAB facilities. This notice is just to see if there is any interest by blinded veterans in becoming an instructor to teach our veterans on his or her computer. There is a school on line that teaches one how to teach others, and also goes over all of the various key strokes, and many other items are also covered. The school is recognized both by the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Division of Blind services. There are 11 separate courses for a total cost of $11,000 if you were to take all of the courses. The courses are expensive, but the cost can be born by the VA in some cases under the VA Vocational Rehabilitation program, or by the Division of Blind Services, if you are a non service connected veteran. The school I am referring to is the Access Technology Institute. The classes are conducted on a special web site, and are interactive. Another words it’s just like sitting in a class room. Here are a few items that you would have to establish: 1. incorporate under self-employment in the state of Florida; 2. Register with dun and Bradstreet; 3. you need a credit card terminal; 4. Follow all of the tax laws and the self employment rules; 5. Establish you’re self as a vender with the VA; 6. Have all of the necessary programs that you may need in order to train others; 7. Have a means of transportation available, for going to the homes of the veterans that you would be instructing. There are of course more issues to be covered, but I have listed the ones that are some what involved. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at 941 505 7747, or email me your phone number, if you do not have unlimited long distance phone . Tnking18@earthlink.net . Here is an opportunity for some of our blinded veterans to supplement their fixed incomes, and most importantly give our fellow veterans professional training and by the same token the VA shall be getting their moneys worth. Because our veterans would be certified by a recognized school, with the appropriate certificates. Terry King 941 5505-7747 email Tnking18@earthlink.net
New Bay Pines VIST Coordinator:
In recent years, Jodi Teper has served as VIST Coordinator at the Bay
Pines VAMC. Recently, she was promoted
to a supervisory position in the Social Work Service. We wish her good luck in her new
position. Most fortunately for Blinded
Veterans, she worked with the management at the Bay Pines VAMC to fill her VIST
position. Jodi transferred to her new
position on September 26 and Shawn Britt was transferred to the VIST position
on the Same day.
We thank Jodi for such a smooth transition. Shawn Britt was born at the Westover Air
Force base in Massachusetts where her father was stationed. She calls herself an Air Force brat traveling
with her family around the world while her father served 26 years in the
AF. She spent 2 years in high school in
England and graduated from high school in Rantoul, Illinois where her father
was stationed at Scott AFB. Following
high school she was married to a Vietnam veteran. During the next 16 years they had 3
children. Following a divorce, she
entered Cleveland State University where she earned a bachelor's degree in
Social Work. Following graduation, she
entered graduate school at Florida State University. As part of the Master's Degree in Social Work, she
interned at a VAMC in Tennessee. Upon
earning her MSW, she was employed at the VAMC in Coatesville, Pennsylvania
where she worked 12 years in various Social Work positions. In 2003, she moved
to the St. Petersburg area to take care of her ailing mother. At that time, she transferred to a Social
Work position at the Bay Pines VAMC.
She continues to live in the St. Petersburg area. Her son has recently been discharged from the
Marine Corps after serving a tour of duty in Afghanistan. He is attending college where he is majoring
in Substance Abuse Counseling. He lives
in an apartment behind his mother's home.
Shawn is an avid gardener and raises her own vegetables. She is also an enthusiastic crocheter. On behalf of Blinded Veterans in Florida,
particularly those in the Bay Pines VAMC catchment area, we welcome her to her new
VIST Coordinator position. We look
forward to meeting her at the FRG meeting in Seminole on December 3rd
and to working cooperatively with her in the coming years.
Dues Reminder: At the BVA
National Convention in August, the membership voted to increase dues in the BVA
for the first time in over 30 years. The
increase will take effect January 1, 2012.
Those joining by December 31 will pay the present rates. Even with the increase, the BVA will still
have the lowest dues of the Veterans Service Organizations. It is only by joining together that we
can make our voices heard by the Nation and Congress. The strength of your voice is needed by The
BVA to make Congress and VA listen to the special needs of Blinded
Veterans. We need your membership to
stay strong. By joining your voice with
the BVA, you increase your chance of being heard on the national, state, and
local levels of government. The BVA is
for any veteran whose vision meets the legal description of blindness brought
on by military service, aging, injury, or illness. You become a part of a very
special brotherhood to support you in your time of need with advocacy,advice, encouragement, and information. Together we can make a grateful country
listen. If the code next to your name on
the address label is M or AM, you are an annual member and your dues will
expire on December 31. If the code is FM
or FAM you have previously been a member but not presently. If the code is NM or NAM, you have never been
a member of the BVA. If the code is LM or ALM, you are a life member for ever
and never need to pay dues again. If the
code is PLM or PALM, you are paying toward a life membership. If you complete payment, you will be a member
for ever. If the code on the envelope is
M, AM, FM, FAM, NM, or NAM, you will find an application and return
envelope enclosed in the print copy of this Newsletter. Please use it to JOIN THE BVA
TODAY. At present annual dues are only $8. If you
pay annual dues before December 31 your dues will be $8. After that annual dues will be $15. Better yet, consider becoming a Life Member (LM)
or Associate Life Member (ALM), then, you won't have to pay dues ever
again. Your life dues go into the Life
Membership Fund, t he principal of which is never touched. The dividends and interest from that fund are
apportioned to the Regional Groups according to the number of LM and ALM in the
Group. LM and ALM dues are staggered
according to your age. The enclosed
application form indicates that LM and
ALM dues run from $80 for BV's age 44 and under, $70 for BV's 45 to 54, $60 -
55 to 60, $50 - 61-65, and $40 age 66 and over.
Through December 31, You may start a LM or ALM
with a down payment of $10 with the balance payable over the next 2 years. By joining now, you will lock in the present
dues rate. After January 1st,
life dues will be $100 for BV's age 44 and under; $88 age 45-54; $75 age 55-60;
$63 age 61-65; and $50 age 66 and over.
The down payment for starting a life membership will be $25 after
January 1st. You will still
have 2 years to complete payment on your life dues. Please use the APPLICATION AND JOIN THE BVA TODAY!
FRG Meeting Schedule
December 3 FRG
Meeting at Lake Seminole square in Seminole
January 7 FRG
meeting Ocala Hilton Hotel
February 4 FRG
meeting Landers Steakhouse in Tampa
March ? Proposed
FRG meeting in the Ft. Lauderdale area
May 3-6 FRG
State Convention Plaza Ocean Club Hotel Daytona
August 21-26 BVA
National Convention in Galveston, Texas