Minority Affairs Committee Update January/February 2018

Gumersindo Gomez, Minority Affairs Committee Chair

BY GUMERSINDO GOMEZ, CHAIR

The new year promises to be a great one for the Minority Affairs Committee.

When we asked State Council Presidents to provide a rough count of minority members, the question caused confusion. There were plenty of excuses to explain the inability to account for VVA minority membership. Yet four State Council Presidents—Dan Stenvold of North Dakota, Jorge Pedroza of Puerto Rico, Beverly Stewart of Montana, and myself for Massachusetts—promptly accounted for 444 minority members.

Confusion also results from both the Minority Affairs Committee and the Membership Affairs Committee using the MAC acronym. In the past this has not been a problem, as this committee has been dormant for some time and very little correspondence has been sent. At the next Convention we will seek to change the committee’s name to the Minority Veterans Committee (MVC).

As we resolve these issues, we are confident that the committee is being revitalized, and we are on the right track to accomplish the mission given to us in the VVA Constitution.

This year we will continue to revisit our committee’s goals and priorities, identify community resources, maintain attendance at national veterans organizations, and develop a plan for a minority veterans’ seminar at the July Leadership Conference in Palm Springs.

I would like to thank those VVA minority veterans who have contacted me with their issues and encouraged me to continue to work for them. Please send your comments to Sgtgomez@aol.com or ggomez@vva.org. We value your opinion.

Minority Affairs Committee Update January/February 2018

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Our Members

Financial Readiness

Legislative Action

Offers for Members