BLINDED VETERANS
ASSOCIATION
Chartered by the
United States Congress
FLORIDA REGIONAL
GROUP
3801 Coco Grove
Avenue
Miami, Florida
33133
(305) 446-8008
email gstocking@bellsouth.net
FRG Web Site: www.bvafrg.org
2012
FRG State Convention Issue
FRG
President's Message: Hello
members, family and friends of the Florida Blinded Veterans Association. Time is moving along and before you know it The state convention will be upon us. The city of Daytona Beach is waiting for the
blinded veterans to invade the local shops and the beech area.
The pizza party and the horse shoe
pitching contest are sure to be a whole lot of fun.
I am hoping to have a guide dog, white cane blind awareness walk. this may put a spot light on our being in Daytona Beach for
the FRG BVA State Convention. The dinner
dance is on Friday night
We will also have some prosthetic venders with the latest gadgets
to explore. they will be on hand to give you a hands on
experience with the device. The speakers
will have an extensive wealth of information
concerning your benefits, and other topics of interest. We are hoping for a strong showing of our VIST
and BROS, because they are so important to our lives
as Blinded Veterans. The
annual business meeting, the main reason for the convention, to elect officers
and to select and instruct the delegates to the National Convention. If it is at all possible for you to attend I
strongly encourage you not to miss this opportunity to spend time with
your fellow Blinded Veterans. Darryl Goldsmith, FRG President (850) 554-7819
email goldsmith1961@gmail.com
FRG Auxiliary President's Message: February is National Heart Month. It is a month to think about love, but also
one to think about self-care. Although
heart disease is sometimes thought of as a "man's disease," it affects many women,
too. It is the leading cause of death among women aged 65
years and older, the third leading cause of death among women aged 25-44 years, and the second leading cause of
death among women aged 45-64 years. So,
ladies, take some time for
yourselves and your health.
At the Florida Regional Group state convention, we spouses plan to do just that. Besides the annual business meeting that takes
place on Saturday
morning, we have had a coffee hour on Friday morning while the
men folk are pitching horseshoes. This year, the officers are thinking about having a
time for crafts instead of just coffee and
conversation. We can meet in the hospitality room
or perhaps in the porch area outside the restaurant, or by the pool. Is
this something that you would be interested in? Please call or email me any
comments or suggestions. Fran Thomas,
FRG Auxiliary President 239-283-1708 email PghFran9@aol.com
FRG State Convention: The Florida Regional Group State Convention
will be held at the Plaza Ocean Club Hotel , 640 North
Atlantic Avenue, Daytona Beach, Florida
32118, May 3-6. The Plaza Ocean
Club is a 190 room hotel directly on the Atlantic Ocean. Your Convention Committee secured the low
rates of only $80 per day, for 1 to 4 persons per room. All rooms have refrigerators and micro
waves. In addition all rooms have ocean
view balconies. These low convention rates will be in effect,
on a space available basis,3 days before and/or 3 days after the
Convention. So, you may come early or
stay late for an extended vacation. The
low Convention rates are guaranteed for reservations made on or before April 13th. Reservations made after April 13th, will be
at the low Convention rate but only on a space available basis. There will be another group at the hotel that
weekend, so rooms will be at a premium. We
urge you to make your reservations soon to insure your accommodations. You may cancel your reservation and receive a full
refund of your deposit, if you cancel 24 hours before noon on the day you were
scheduled to arrive. You will find a
Hotel Reservation Slip at the end of this Newsletter. Please clip it off and send it to the Hotel along
with your check for one night's room rate and tax (the Tourist Development Tax
is presently 12.5%) or you may use your credit card number to guarantee your
reservation. Other than your deposit, the hotel will not
accept checks for your remaining charges.
You must have a credit card or cash.
The Hotel toll free reservation number is (800) 874-7420. There are 22 Hotels using that reservation
number, so be
sure to specify the Plaza Ocean Club Hotel.
In addition, refer to the Blinded Veterans Association-Florida Regional
Group as the group which arranged the above indicated rates.
Convention Registration Fee: The Convention
Registration Fee will be $35 per person (for each BV, family member, or friend
attending). However, an early registration
fee of only $30 per person will be in effect for registration received on or
before April 13th. The registration fee
will cover general Convention activities, including the dinner-dance on Friday
night, the Hospitality Room, and Banquet on Saturday night. Please make your check payable to the BVA and
send it to: 3801 Coco Grove Avenue,
Miami, FL 33133. Please include the
first and last name of each person registering, so that we will be able to make
name tags prior to the start of the Convention.
It will be helpful if you will send your registration fee in advance. This will greatly speed up the late
registration at the Convention. Remember
to send your hotel reservation slip and deposit to the Plaza Ocean Club in
Daytona Beach and your Convention Registration Fee to the BVA in Miami.
Convention Schedule: The
Convention Late Registration Desk will open at 1 PM on Friday, April 30. If you have not pre-registered, you may pay
your late Registration at that time. If
you have pre-registered, stop by the Registration table in the Hotel Lobby and
pick up your name tags and Convention Program.
The Convention will begin at 3 PM on Friday, April 30 with an Informational
Seminar for Blinded Veterans and their families. At 7 PM on Friday evening, a Dinner-Dance
will be held in the Ballroom. This will
be an evening for good
food, good times, good fun, and good music.
The Annual Florida Regional Group Business
Meeting will be held at 9 AM on Saturday, May 1, in the Ballroom. At that meeting, reports regarding FRG
activities for the past year will be made.
A legislative up-date will be presented.
Plans for FRG activities for the coming year will be discussed. Any proposed amendments to the FRG
By-Laws, will be considered. The elections
for FRG Officers and
District Directors for the coming year will be held. The election and instruction of a Delegate
and Alternate Delegates to the BVA National Convention in Galveston, Texas , will also be held.
Proposed resolutions for presentation to the BVA National Convention
will be considered. All Members (M) and
Associate Members (AM) in Florida are encouraged to attend this Business
Meeting and assist in planning the direction the FRG will take in the coming
year. At times, in the past, BV's who were not active Members or Associate Members have attended
and voted at the FRG Convention Business Meeting. This is contrary to the BVA and FRG
By-Laws. Consequently, we are requesting
that all BV's who think that they might attend the FRG Business Meeting contact
the BVA-FRG in Miami 10 days in advance of the Convention, so that their active
M and AM status can be verified. BV's
who are Life (LM) or Associate Life Members (ALM) or who are annual Members or
Associate Members for
2012 and have their BVA membership cards with them will be able to vote.
The FRG Auxiliary will hold its annual meeting in the Osprey Room at 9
AM on Saturday. FRG members, and friends
of the BVA
should plan to attend this FRG Auxiliary meeting. At that time, the Auxiliary will plan their
activities and elect Officers for the coming year.
At 2 PM on Saturday, a second Informational Seminar will be held. The Convention will close with the
Installation Banquet on Saturday evening.
There will be a period of socializing in the Hospitality Room before and
after the Banquet.
US Legislative Up-Date: Tom
Zampieri, BVA Director of Government Affairs, has secured the introduction of S
1751 and HR 3687 an amendment to the Beneficiary
Travel section of VA Regulations. If
passed, it would provide travel costs for Blinded Veterans, whose income is
above the income limitation, to inpatient rehabilitation training at a Blind
Rehabilitation Center (BRC). The cost of
this change would probably not exceed $250,000 annually. The cost of the BV's home expenses continue while he/she is
receiving rehabilitation training at a BRC.
This can be a deterrent to participation in a program of rehabilitation
training. The increased independence
such training would provide probably result in improved medical awareness by
the Blinded Veteran and thus result in a reduction of medical costs to the VA
for that BV's care, equal to the cost of the travel. It appears that a majority of the Senate
Veterans Affairs Committee are supportive of S 1751. However the same is not the case in the House
of Representatives. Tom Z. is requesting
that all BV's contact their US Representatives and urge them to join as
co-signers for HR 3687.
____________________________________________________________________________________
(Clip
off the Hotel Reservation Slip on the reverse of this page)
FRG District Meeting: Prior to the FRG State Convention, a FRG Southeast
District meeting will be held at the Tropical Acres Steakhouse 2500 Griffin
road in Ft. Lauderdale, on Saturday, March 31.
The meeting will begin at 11:30 AM with a period of Socializing followed
by lunch at noon. For lunch you may have
either Sliced Sirloin of Beef or Breast of Chicken and
salad, potatoes, vegetable, rolls and butter, iced tea or coffee and
dessert. The price of the lunch will be
$5 per person, including tax and tip. There
will be an Informational Meeting following lunch. Come join us. For information or to make reservations, write to George
Stocking, 3801 Coco Grove Avenue, Miami, FL 33133 or call (305) 446-8008. In addition, you may call: Roberta Goldstein, Miami VAMC VIST
Coordinator, at (305) 575-7000 ex 3607, April Barnes ,
Broward VA Outpatient Clinic VIST Coordinator, at: (954) 625-8730, or Jackie Yoshimura West Palm
Beach VAMC VIST Coordinator, at: (561)
422-5260. Please be sure to make your
reservations before March 28th, as the restaurant needs this information in
order to plan properly for our meeting.
Jackie Yoshimura and Roberta Goldstein are attempting to arrange
transportation to the meeting from Palm Beach and Miami-Dade Counties,
respectively. This transportation will
leave from the West Palm Beach and Miami VAMC.
If you need such transportation, contact Jackie or Roberta at the
numbers listed above.
Total Homestead Tax Exemption:
In the January FRG Newsletter, the Total Homestead Tax Exemption available
under FS 196.081 and 196.101 were described.
FS 196.081 provides Total Homestead Tax Exemption to 100% service
connected disabled veterans and has no income limitation. FS 196.101 provides Total Homestead Tax
Exemption to individuals who are restricted to a wheelchair or who are legally
blind. This statute has a total
household income limitation for eligibility.
For 2012, that income limitation has been increased to $26,350. If you qualify, take the necessary
documentation to verify your eligibility to your County Tax Appraiser's office
before March 1st
BVA-FRG Meeting
Schedule
March 31 FRG
Meeting Tropical Acres Steakhouse in Ft. Lauderdale
May 3-6 FRG State Convention Plaza
Ocean Club Hotel Daytona
August 20-24 BVA National Convention in
Galveston, Texas
. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Hotel
Reservation Slip
Blinded Veterans Association Plaza Ocean Club
Hotel
Florida Regional Group 640
North Atlantic Avenue
State Convention Daytona Beach,
Florida 32118
Name____________________________________
Telephone no. ___________________________
Street Date of Date of
Address__________________________________________Arrival_______ depart__________
City______________________________________________
State______Zip__________
Complete this Reservation Slip and send
it with your check in the amount of $80 plus 12.5% tax or your credit card
number to the Plaza Ocean Club Hotel before April 13th to guarantee your
reservation. Or call, Toll Free (800) 874-7420.
Be sure to notify the hotel you will
attend the BVA FRG Convention at the Plaza Ocean Club Hotel, to insure the low
Convention rates. We look forward to
meeting you at the FRG State Convention in May for an informative and enjoyable
weekend.