Franklin, Tennessee, Chapter 1140 sponsored “The Concert for Hope,” a free event, in January at a local church. The music—provided by pianist and composer Eric Genuis, violinist Shreya Sacdev, cellist Nathaniel Hoyt, and vocalist Janet Todd—was designed to help veterans and other community members through stressful times. More than 50 people attended. “That was a heck of a way to start the new year,” said chapter President Rich Krejsa, who organized the event.

Elmira, New York, Chapter 803 joined with the Chemung County Honor Guard in January to donate $1,500 to the Children’s Miracle Network to support the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Arnot Ogden Medical Center in Elmira. “We try to annually give donations to the community, and this is one of our favorites, the NICU unit at Arnot Ogden,” said Chapter President Larry Sherman. “We’ve had friends and brother veterans who have had babies born here in bad shape when they were born, but came out better, so miracles do happen at Arnot Ogden Hospital.”

Torrance, California, South Bay Chapter 53 holds a monthly Beach, Bikes & Breakfast event that brings members together for a bicycle ride on a trail along the Torrance Beach shoreline. Riders can opt for a trek of between eight and sixteen miles. The event ends with a veterans’ discounted breakfast at the Good Stuff restaurant on The Strand in Hermosa Beach.

The members of Rutland, Vermont, Chapter One voted unanimously at their December 2024 membership meeting to approve a $2,500 donation to one of the chapter’s favorite charities, Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports, a nonprofit that provides recreational opportunities such as rock climbing and mountain biking to veterans and other Vermonters with disabilities. The members also voted at the meeting to donate $500 to the local Civil Air Patrol chapter, whose members took part in the chapters’ Veterans Day event last year at the Rutland County Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

Photo Courtesy Chapter 1052

At LaFollette, Tennessee, Chapter 1148’s February membership meeting, chapter member Gray Smith won the annual World’s Best Chili Cookoff competition. And following chapter tradition, Smith donated the cash award back to the chapter to help fund its scholarship program. The meeting also included a Valentines theme with chapter members receiving boxes of chocolates and Ronnie White and Rosemary Marlowe being crowned chapter male and female Valentine’s sweethearts.

Leominster, Massachusetts, Chapter 116 member Darrel Hopkins, a former chapter secretary and president, was named the 2024 Leominster Veteran of the Year on January 6. Hopkins was elected chapter president in 2019, following the death of then-President Richard Early. “With a legacy of stellar accomplishments by VVA 116, Darrel had big shoes to fill,” said chapter member John Tata. “He has done this admirably, continuing all the programs of the past and enhancing most of them.” That includes coordinating the ceremonies at last summer’s visit of The Wall That Heals in Devens, Mass.; restructuring the chapter’s perpetual scholarship program; and increasing chapter membership numbers.

Members of Reno, Nevada, Sierra Nevada Chapter 989, joined with other community and veterans groups in January to a deep clean and repair the house of a Vietnam War veteran in Panther Valley, Nevada. The effort was coordinated by Adult Protective Services staffers Liz Estes and Virginia Green in Reno, after they learned that the veteran’s caregivers trashed his mobile home and stole some of his furniture. “This has turned into a community project,” Green said. “You can tell that veterans take care of one another.”

In the months following Hurricane Helene, New Bern, North Carolina, Chapter 886 donated $1,000 to VVA chapters in Western North Carolina to help veterans affected by the storm. Delaware, Ohio, Chapter 1095 “sent us $500 thinking we were also part of the devastation,” said Chapter 886 Membership Chair Joe Shulties. “With their permission, we added that donation to ours. The chapters in need, Clyde Chapter 980 and Asheville Chapter 124, responded with heartfelt gratitude from the recipients of the funds—veterans who had lost everything. During our February meeting, we voted to send an additional $1,000 to the chapters to help other Western North Carolina veterans still in need.”

Niagara County, New York, Chapter 268’s “Our Photo Album” exhibit project, which was created in 1990, has just been digitized and is now housed on the Niagara County Veterans Services website at at https://www/niagaracountry.gov/departments/s-z/veterans_service_agency/vva_268.php. The exhibit includes more than 500 in-country photographs that chapter members took their tours of duty. “Our exhibit traveled throughout New York state and Southern Ontario and was featured on CBS Morning News,” said chapter member Walt Moxham. “But with our members now in their seventies and eighties, we became concerned about how to preserve this important legacy. [First], we decided to digitize the exhibit and distribute copies to our members to be passed along to family. Then, the county clerk suggested we make it permanently available to the public through the Veterans Services website, and we were very excited to do so.”

The County Clerk, Joseph A. Jastrzemski, said his office was “honored to create a permanent digital home for ‘Our Photo Album; that will ensure the real-life experiences of our local in Vietnam [veterans] are preserved so future generations can understand and appreciate their courage and sacrifice.”

Detroit Chapter 9 became the newest member of The National Veteran Business Development Council’s Military and Veteran Organization Task Force in January. “As one of the founding members of Chapter 9, I’ve seen the incredible impact it has had on the lives of Vietnam veterans and the broader Detroit community,” said NVBDC founder and CEO Keith King, a longtime VVA member. “This partnership builds on a legacy of service, advocacy, and empowerment.”

As a member of the Task Force, Chapter 9 will expand its work on behalf of Vietnam War veterans in the Detroit business community. “Chapter 9’s dedication to supporting veterans in Detroit aligns perfectly with NVBDC’s mission,” said Paul Edelstein, Director of Media Relations. “This collaboration strengthens our shared commitment to creating meaningful opportunities for veterans.”

2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010