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Our main charge as regional group leaders should be to seek out and find new BVA members and potential volunteers,” said Leonard Greenblatt, President of the Massachusetts Regional Group. “This conference has been instrumental in giving us the new ideas and tools to do just that.”
Leonard’s assertion came as 13 BVA members from District 1, three individuals from the national staff, three spouses, and District Director General Weeks wrapped up the Spring 2006 Leadership Training Conference.
Leonard Greenblatt, Massachusetts Regional Group President (left), and David VanLoan, Connecticut Regional Group Secretary, get acquainted at recent District 1 Leadership Training Conference in West Haven, Connecticut.
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The meetings were held April 28-29 in the shadows of the Eastern Blind Rehabilitation Center (EBRC) in West Haven, Connecticut. Such two-day gatherings have been semi-annual or annual events for most of the past 12 years. They bring together leaders and prospective leaders from all of the regional groups of a given district. The conferences have traditionally rotated through each of the districts in ascending order.
“This conference is the 20th one I’ve chaired since 1995,” said General, who originally conceived of the idea of leadership training conferences while working as a BVA volunteer in the Boston office prior to his election to the BVA Board of Directors. At the time, blinded veteran Larry Grant, who was also in attendance at the conference, worked in the same office as a full-time BVA Field Service Representative and provided General with input as to how the training could best be conducted. Together, they hosted the first ever leadership conference on a trial basis in 1993 for blinded veterans in the Boston area.
“These past two days have been invaluable to me,” said Joe Cioppa of the Buffalo Chapter of the New York Regional Group. “Being relatively new to BVA, I wouldn’t trade for anything the instruction we’ve received, and I could probably spend two more days with all of you and still learn much more.”
Components of the conference included an historical overview of BVA, duties and responsibilities of Field Service Representatives and their relationship to regional groups, BVA communications, pending legislation affecting blinded veterans, the VA VIST and BROS programs, recruiting new members, bylaws, BVA volunteer programs, fund raising, and the function of regional groups and their elected officers.
Attendees received a special welcome to West Haven from Dr. Norm Gehrlein, EBRC Associate Director. Also joining the group on the first day of training was EBRC Chief Penny Schuckers, VIST Coordinator Judy Tencza, and BROS Bill Toomey, all of whom made brief remarks.
Region I Field Service Representative Robie MacLaughlin came to the conference in dual capacities, both as a trainee as well as a BVA staff member. Director of Government Relations Tom Zampieri and Communications Coordinator Stuart Nelson also participated.
Other trainees were Lew Andrews, David Carlson, and David VanLoan of the Connecticut Regional Group; George Bianculli, Leonard Greenblatt, and Leonard Nunley of the Massachusetts Regional Group; Washington Bennett and Enrique Sanchez of the New York Regional Group; the aforementioned Larry Grant of the Rhode Island/Southeast Massachusetts Regional Group; Howard Wayne of the Maine group; and Richard Bugbee of Vermont (no regional group affiliation).
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