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BVA Delivers Priorities to House and Senate VA Committees
BVA National President Norman Jones, Jr. expressed appreciation to Congress for passage of the Dr. James Allen Disabled Veterans Equity Act (Paired Organ Bill) and for the enactment of the Military Eye Trauma Center of Excellence and Registry legislation last December.
National Commander of the Jewish War Veterans Lawrence Schulman, left, and Norman Jones exchange ideas about their presentations prior to the annual hearing. |
The comments highlighted Norman’s remarks on March 6 before a joint session of the House and Senate Committees on Veterans Affairs and their staffs on Capital Hill. Referring specifically to the Eye Trauma Registry legislation, Norman Jones thanked Members of the Committees for acting on BVA’s recommendation a year ago that the combat eye-injured and the TBI-wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan be referred to VA Blind Rehabilitation Service (BRS) from the Department of Defense in a more timely manner.
“Service members with severe eye injuries will need VA specialized blind rehabilitation services for decades but DoD, sadly, is a stumbling block in critical early delivery of these services,” he said. “We believe that the new legislation signed into law by the President as part of the National Defense Authorization Act is a major step forward.”
Consistent with testimony presented in 2007, Norman also elaborated on BVA’s concerns with respect to Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) as a result of Improvised Explosive Device blasts. He also referred to Post-Traumatic Vision Syndrome, which involves temporary or permanent loss of vision associated with TBI.
“The VA Polytrauma Center in Palo Alto has reported that 80 percent of all TBI patients in its facility have complained of visual symptoms as a result of their exposure to TBI,” said Norman. “Continued support for vital TBI research is a must, as is the enforcement of mandatory tracking of all service members who have sustained a mild to moderate TBI diagnosis.”
Also included in the BVA oral presentation and written document, submitted for the Congressional Record, were general concerns about the electronic exchange of health records between DoD and VA, two additional pending bills affecting blinded veterans, the high VA claims backlog, and the urgency for VA mandatory funding. The written document concluded with a list of 15 specific recommendations to which Norman made specific reference during his oral remarks.
The testimony provided BVA’s views on the state of various VA Blind Rehabilitation Services, including residential Blind Rehabilitation Centers (BRCs), Visual Impairment Services Teams (VISTs), Blind Rehabilitation Outpatient Specialists (BROS), Visual Impairment Service Outpatient Rehabilitation (VISOR), and Visual Impairment Centers to Optimize Remaining Sight (VICTORS).
The 14-page written document also offered perspectives on VA low-vision and eye-injury research. It included a brief plea for Congressional oversight of TBI cases that involve combat eye trauma and requested intense oversight, at least initially, of the future DoD/VA Military Eye Trauma Center of Excellence and Eye Trauma Registry.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs Daniel Akaka (D-HI), left, welcomed Hawaii native and BVA National Treasurer Roy Kekahuna to his Capitol Hill office for March 6 meeting to discuss legislative issues of critical concern to BVA. |
Norman was joined at the witness table by National Commander of the American Ex-Prisoners of War Warren King; National President of the Paralyzed Veterans of America Randy Pleva; National Commander of the Jewish War Veterans Lawrence Schulman; Vietnam Veterans of America National President John Rowan; National President of the Non Commissioned Officers Association Gene Overstreet; and Chief Executive Officer of the Air Force Sergeants Association Richard Dean.
Also present for the testimony proceedings were members of the BVA National Board of Directors, all of whom traveled to the Nation’s Capital for the mid-winter Board meetings March 6-8 in conjunction with the testimony. Board meetings included a review of BVA’s financial status and reports from the Field Service Representatives and National Headquarters staff.
For members of the BVA Legislative Committee, meetings began March 3 with appointments with Members of Congress, their staffs, and leadership at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Click here for the full text of BVA’s written testimony submission, posted on the House Committee on Veterans Affairs website.
BVA Leadership Responds to Flawed, Unfair Reports
Dear BVA Supporters and Friends Nationwide:
On behalf of the National Board of Directors and staff of the Blinded Veterans Association, we wish to express our genuine gratitude and appreciation for your generosity toward America’s blinded veterans. Without you, life would not provide the type of fulfillment and opportunities that mean so much to all of us and our families.
BVA believes now, and has throughout its 62-year history, that use of the funds contributed by generous Americans and the organizations to which they belong should be governed by the strictest of ethical standards, stewardship, and scrutiny. For that reason, the organization’s governing body feels that recent national media reports contain unfair, unfounded, incomplete, and misleading information about BVA’s fundraising efforts.
The American Institute of Philanthropy (AIP), one of numerous watchdog organizations, “grades” charities using its own set of criteria and standards. These standards neglect to account for the unique aspects of a Veterans Service Organization compared to other nonprofit entities.
BVA is a worthy and ethical nonprofit charity that helps thousands of blinded veterans, young and old alike, each and every year. As BVA’s audited and open books validate, the organization maintains immaculate records and the highest standards of accountability in its use of funds. BVA complies with generally accepted accounting principles and has been working with the Better Business Bureau toward implementation of their best standards. Our financial statements are audited annually with the results sent to Congress for review.
BVA’s Board of Directors, all blinded veterans elected by the membership, serves on a voluntary basis. As BVA’s IRS Form 990 indicates, the staff receives modest salaries. Indeed, there have been many years in which staff members received no salary increases. Our administrative costs are extremely low for an organization whose headquarters is based in the Nation’s Capital. BVA engages no costly professional fundraisers but relies on in-house employees to conduct the majority of its fundraising activities, outsourcing some aspects where economically feasible.
BVA is not a wealthy organization. Like many medium-sized nonprofits, it depends heavily on direct mail to fund its programs and services to blinded veterans. The AIP report penalizes organizations that conduct direct mail campaigns. Direct mail is admittedly expensive because of the rising cost of postage and fuel over which BVA has no control. Nevertheless, direct mail provides almost all the funds necessary to run the organization. Without direct mail, the organization would not exist and services to blinded veterans would come to a halt.
The aforementioned AIP report is also critical of organizations for having an emergency reserve fund. The organization currently has a modest fund, having discovered through difficult times that preparation for national crises and economic slowdowns is always prudent for any public service organization or business. We believe strongly that America’s blinded veterans and their families depend on us to fulfill our responsibilities unconditionally.
BVA was founded in 1945 and chartered by the Congress of the United States in 1958. The Association has been instrumental in encouraging and helping the Department of Veterans Affairs to develop rehabilitation centers throughout the country. The Field Service Program is manned by blinded veterans themselves who seek out and assist blinded veterans throughout the country, many of whom are older and becoming blind due to the aging process or accidents.
The recently organized Operation Peer Support initiative serves men and women wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan by helping them make lasting personal connections that will prove invaluable as their families and they begin working to overcome the obstacles associated with blindness.
BVA has never financed vacations to resorts or built houses for blinded veterans. That is not the organization’s present mission nor the vision set forth by its founders, all of whom were blinded in combat during World War II. Instead, BVA helps blinded veterans rebuild their lives so they can build their own homes, enjoy their lives with their families in whatever venture they choose, and find fulfillment in daily life.
We invite both our supporters as well as our critics to visit our website or our office. Anyone is welcome to see BVA’s historical files, read the testimonies of blinded veterans we have served through the years, and peruse decades of our newsletter, the BVA Bulletin. We encourage you to take a close look at our IRS Form 990 and its accompanying narrative, found at www.bva.org/form990.pdf or in your mailbox if requested by phone, fax, or email. Our books and doors are always open.
Sincerely,
Dr. Norman Jones, Jr.
National President
Thomas H. Miller
Executive Director
Gruber Scholarships to
Again Assist Students
BVA will award six Kathern F. Gruber scholarships for the 2008-09 academic year, according to Brigitte Jones, Administrative Director at the Association’s National Headquarters.The six scholarships are valued at $2,000 each.
The BVA Scholarship Committee will also select three alternates in case any of the awards cannot be subsequently accepted.
Gruber scholarships are limited to spouses and dependent children of blinded veterans, but the blinded veteran in question does not have to be a BVA member. Scholarships are awarded on the basis of merit by the Committee.
The awards are for a single academic year of study but recipients can re-apply to receive them a second, third, or fourth time.
Additional information and applications are available by clicking on the attachments below or by contacting Keleeba Scott at BVA National Headquarters, 477 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20001, kscott@bva.org.
Completed applications must arrive at BVA National Headquarters no later than Monday, April 14, 2008.
Press Release
BVA Scholarship Instructions
BVA Scholarship Application
Heroes Remembered
John and Marshell Crabtree, rear, and Dale and Cora Stamper await the 21-gun salute accompanying the Veterans Day arrival of Vice President Cheney at Arlington National Cemetery's Tomb of the Unknowns. |
Depending on where they live, their health, and their personal commitments, BVA members and their families undoubtedly spent Veterans Day 2007, this year a Sunday, in a myriad of diverse activities and ceremonies of remembrance in venues throughout the country.
Just five miles from BVA National Headquarters, National President Jones, Director of District 4 Dale Stamper, and blinded Navy Chief Petty Officer John Crabtree placed a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns with Marshell Crabtree, Dianne Jones, Executive Director Miller, Convention Coordinator Christina Hitchcock, and Communications Coordinator Stuart Nelson looking on.
The wreath laying followed the traditional national ceremony in Arlington National Cemetery’s Memorial Amphitheater featuring music by the U.S. Army Band, introduction of guests by Brigadier General Pete Dawkins (Ret.), and welcoming remarks by National Commandant of the Marine Corps League John V. Ryan and Acting VA Secretary Gordon H. Mansfield. Vice President Dick Cheney, who also presented a wreath at the Tomb prior to the ceremony, delivered the main address, extolling past and present members of the Armed Forces and their families for their sacrifices.
“Gathered as we are today in time of war, we’re only more sharply aware of the nation’s debt to them,” he said.
“They are constantly in our thoughts. Our gratitude extends to their loved ones, because military service is often a family commitment, and they, too, are giving up much for the good of our whole nation.”
Present for the ceremony was 106-year-old Frank W. Buckles, one of three known surviving U.S. World War I veterans. Earlier in the day, Buckles was presented the Patrick Henry Medallion during an annual ceremony organized by the Military Order of the World Wars to remember World War I General John J. Pershing at the latter’s gravesite. Buckles enlisted in the Army on August 14, 1917 at age 16 after falsely claiming that the state of Missouri did not print birth certificates when he was born.
Following the ceremony and wreath laying, BVA’s eight-member contingency attended a Marine Corps League-hosted reception for VSOs at the Marriott Crystal Gateway Hotel in Arlington.
A Day of Memory
By Paul Cook
Softly and gently the dawn comes
Pushing aside the darkness of night
Announcing the coming of the new day.
The first light of the rising sun
Reflects its rays of golden light
On a field of white crosses, where beneath them lay
The perished hopes and dreams
Of dedicated men and women who died
To keep alive man’s struggle to be free.
Now in this setting, peaceful and serene,
Come those who shared these dreams, some cry
As a grateful nation sets aside this day in their memory.
The morning sky, now a familiar blue
Dotted here and there with white clouds that hang high
Above this field as the warm sun shines.
Here where wild daisies and goldenrods grew
Now grow white crosses one-foot high
That stand side-by-side in countless lines.
The tears that fall nurture the ground
Making the grass a perennial green
Going unnoticed by those who see
Only white crosses, as the bugles sound,
Putting to rest the hopes and dreams
That seem to come alive on this day of memory.
Student Production Addresses
BVA History, Vital Issues
Leander Schaerlaeckens, a graduate student studying broadcast journalism at The American University in Washington, DC, has produced a documentary that highlights BVA's mission and the organization's past and recent successes. The video focuses on the means by which BVA has helped blinded veterans overcome their challenges and lead productive, successful lives.
The eight-minute, 30-second segment features interviews with BVA Executive Director Tom Miller and World War II blinded veteran Dr. Louis J. Blumen at BVA National Headquarters. Schaerlaeckens also interviewed OIF serviceman Jeffery Mittman at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
Click here to view the documentary.
BVA Charts Course
at 62nd Convention
"Tonight we look ahead at what we, together, can do to keep the great work of this marvelous organization rolling forward," said newly elected BVA National President Dr. Norman Jones, Jr.
Speaking at the conclusion of the BVA 62nd National Convention shortly after being sworn in to his new position of responsibility, Norman reitererated the importance of each individual effort.
"Think what would happen for BVA if each of our 10,700-plus members could find just one individual to whom he/she could introduce the organization this year," he said.
Highlights of the convention include the passage of 56 new resolutions, election of other national officers, a filled-to-capacity exhibit hall, skydiving exercises by participants of Operation Peer Support, presentations on new advances in science and technology, day trips to points of cultural and historic interest, and the Friday address by Bob Woodruff.
BVA Communications Coordinator Stuart Nelson will report on additional events and details shortly. An in-depth recap of the gathering will also be provided in the Summer 2007 BVA Bulletin, scheduled for mailing on approximately September 20.
BC reporter and Nightline Host Bob Woodruff, featured speaker at the Father Carroll Luncheon, cheerfully autographs luncheon programs and a host of other items for admirers and well-wishers attending the event. Woodruff's address recounted his injuries in Iraq, his long road to recovery, and ways in which his life had changed. He also spoke of newly launched efforts to personally help service personnel with Traumatic Brain Injury suffered in the Global War on Terror.
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BLINDED VIETNAM VET SCULPTOR
DONATES VALUED PIECE
 Michael Naranjo, world-renowned sculptor left totally blind by a grenade explosion in Vietnam nearly 40 years ago, recently donated one of his most treasured works to the Blinded Veterans Association (BVA) in support of the organization’s 62nd National Convention. The annual BVA gathering will occur August 14-18 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The donated work representing an eagle is the second in a series of ten sculptures entitled “Freedom.” The majestic bird, perched on a walnut base measuring 12.5 inches high, 11 inches wide, and seven inches in diameter, was sold to the highest bidder via eBay auction June 28-July 12. All proceeds of the sale were to be placed in the convention account.
Naranjo, himself a member of BVA, was raised in Santa Clara Pueblo in northern New Mexico and is now a resident of the city of Santa Fe. He was drafted into the Army in June 1967 and went to Vietnam shortly thereafter with the Ninth Infantry Division. He was blinded during an ambush in the Mekong Delta in January 1968.
“This is a donation with no strings attached,” said Naranjo. “I simply wish to help my fellow veterans who will attend our national convention this year by supporting this monumental occasion here in my home state.”
Naranjo received tools for carving as a trainee at Department of Veterans Affairs Blind Rehabilitation Center. Three months later he was sculpting. A long list of honors and awards for Naranjo began in 1971, when he served on the Board of the New Mexico State Arts Commission. He presented “Dance of the Eagle” to President Richard Nixon in 1973. In 1979 he received the Outstanding Vietnam Veteran Award from President Jimmy Carter. In 1996, President Bill Clinton named him to the Institute of American Indian and Alaskan Native Cultures and Art Development. Naranjo’s work has also been on display at the Vatican.
RFB&D Reaches Out to Blinded Veterans
A nonprofit organization distinguished by nearly 60 years of service to individuals with print disabilities is expanding its outreach to include a greater number BVA members and other blinded veterans.
Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic® (RFB&D®), founded in 1948 to help soldiers blinded in World War II take advantage of the GI Bill to obtain an education and rebuild their lives, has an extensive library of more than 30,000 digitally recorded textbooks.
According to Mark Zustovich, Media Relations Association for RFB&D®, the organization is a lending library that charges only an annual nonprofit membership fee to provide access to the library’s resources. In a visit with Tom Miller, Tom Zampieri, and Steve Matthews at BVA National Headquarters in late November, RFB&D® Vice President of Government Relations Julie Moeller further explained the potential benefits of the services to blinded veterans interested in furthering their education, both formally and informally.
Besides serving students with visual impairments, RFB&D® has clients with learning disabilities or physical disabilities that make reading standard textbooks difficult or impossible. Some 150,000 students from kindergarten through graduate school and beyond are the present beneficiaries. All of the accessible titles are recorded by more than 7,000 volunteers working in 29 RFB&D recording studios nationwide.
“With the ongoing situation in Iraq and in other places around the globe, we feel our services are more relevant and important than ever,” said Zustovich. “Getting the word out to veterans about our audiobooks will help them begin or continue their education and follow other life pursuits with independence, confidence, and success.”
RFB&D® was originally known as simply RFB®. It was founded by New York City philanthropist Anne McDonald in the attic of the Yorkville Branch of the New York Public Library. Several letters from veterans blinded during World War II inspired the idea as they described their frustration at not being able to pursue a college education because college texts were not readily accessible.
For more information about RFB&D® services and membership, go to www.rfbd.org, call Barbara Zustovich at 609-520-8017, or write to Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic®, 20 Rozel Road, Princeton, NJ 08540.
“Shades of Darkness” Still Available
George E. Brummell, National Director for the BVA Field Service Program for ten years and a current member of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Group, is the author of a recently released autobiography.
Shades of Darkness recounts George’s early life in a small, segregated farm community on Maryland’s eastern shore, followed by tours of duty in Korea and Vietnam. The book documents George’s quest for education, service, and athletic achievement, the latter of which included a 1,200-mile tandem bicycle ride from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City with World Team Sports in 1999. George is the 2005 recipient of BVA’s most prestigious honor, the Major General Melvin J. Maas Award for Professional Achievement.
For more information about Shades of Darkness, go to www.georgebrummell.com. The book can also be secured immediately by sending a check for $20.50, which includes shipping and handling, to Pie Publishing, 2914 Fairland Road, Silver Spring, MD 20904.
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