GENERAL ORDERS

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1. At the 79th Annual State Convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Department of Virginia, held in Richmond, Virginia, June 21-24, 2001, I, James E. Tucker, being duly elected and installed as State Commander in Accordance with Article V, Section 517 of the National By-Laws, do hereby assume Commander.

2. All previous appointments are hereby declared vacant as of June 24, 2001, except those set forth in the By-Laws.

3. COMMITTEE CHAIRMEN:

4. COMMITTEE MEMBERS:

5. VAMC HOSPITAL REPRESENTATIVES:

6. LADIES AUXILIARY:

Membership Transmittals must be received at State Headquarters no later than July 30, 2001 to be counted for the month of July. PLEASE NOTE: ANY information to be published in the General Orders must be in by the 25^th of each month. Changes of address or phone numbers within the Department must be in writing or via e-mail.

8. IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

The Department of Virginia, VFW now has a Homepage. Your General Orders can be found on the Homepage at http: //www.vfw-virginia.com. It is now possible for individual Posts, with their own Website, to become linked to our Homepage. Posts already with Website's can incorporate a Department of Virginia, VFW link on their Website. Please contact Robert Klausing at State Headquarters: 1-800-888-3521. Also, the State Headquarters E-Mail address is KLAUSING@AOL.COM. The Adjutant/Quartermaster has a pager and the number is 1-800-680-7682. The State Headquarters also has voice mail, where you can call and leave messages before or after business hours. The State Headquarters also has a mail box located right outside the front door, where you can drop things off before and after business hours.

9. DISTRICT MEETINGS:

FIRST -
SECOND - 08-04-01, VIRGINIA BEACH POST 392, Lunch 11:00 a.m., Meeting 12:00 p.m.
THIRD - 09-08-01, THIRD DISTRICT HEADQUARTERS, Meeting 2:00 p.m.
FOURTH - 08-12-01, SOUTH HILL, POST 7166, Meeting 1:00 p.m.
FIFTH -
SIXTH - 08-15-01, Meeting 2:00 p.m.
SEVENTH -
EIGHTH - 09-16-01, CULPEPER, POST 2524, Meeting 1:00 p.m.
NINTH -
TENTH -
ELEVENTH - 09-09-01, STAUNTON POST 2216, Meeting 11:30 a.m.
TWELFTH - 09-09-01, CLINTWOOD POST 8979, Lunch 12 :00 p.m., Meeting 1:00 p.m.
THIRTEENTH - 09-16-01, LOUISA Post 8947, Meeting 1:00 p.m

10. STATE COMMANDERS MESSAGE:

Thank you for your vote of confidence in electing me for the year 2001-2002. It is indeed an honor to be selected by you to lead the Department of Virginia. The Line Officers have been instructed to assist you in any problems that you might encounter during the year. The slogan for this year is "To Achieve Is To Believe". We ask that you consider this slogan as your motto. Community Service work has already began. We should be well on our way because of Memorial Day and other historical events that have occurred. I encourage all Commanders and Quartermasters to start working on membership. Please turn these reports into your Chairman, Pete Snelling. Please don't hesitate to call State Headquarters, if there is a need for support for your Department. Again, let me reiterate the fact that your Department Officers work for you. I look forward to seeing all of you at our School of Instruction in Lynchburg. Please consider the 4th of July as our day of celebration.

Sincerely,
James E. Tucker
State Commander

11. REPORTS AND FORMS:

PLEASE NOTE THE INDIVIDUAL RECRUITING AWARD FORM, THE DECEASED COMRADE FORM, THE COMMUNITY ACTIVITY REPORT, HOMELESS VETERANS REPORT, HOSPITAL REPORT AND EVALUATION GUIDE CAN BE FOUND ON THE WEBSITE AND ALSO IN THIS GENERAL ORDERS. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE E-MAIL PLEASE LET US KNOW AND WE WILL SEND THE FORMS TO YOU. PLEASE SEND FORMS TO THE CURRENT COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN, CHAPLAIN OR STATE HEADQUARTERS.

ALSO, STARTING SEPTEMBER 2000 THE AUDIT REPORTS NEED TO BE SIGNED BY AT LEAST TWO TRUSTEES BEFORE SUBMITTING TO STATE HEADQUARTERS OR THEY WILL BE RETURNED.

Forms

12. QUARTERLY AUDIT REPORTS:

Attention is directed to Section 218, Manual of Procedure Duty of Trustees, Form P-113. Trustees Report of Audit, must be prepared in detail at the close of each quarter, one of which ended June 30th which is NOW DUE at State Headquarters.

13. MEMBERSHIP CAMPAIGN:

Enclosed in this General Orders is the 2001-2002 Membership Campaign. Also, enclosed is the Individual Recruiting Awards Form for new/reinstated members. All individual recruiting awards must be certified to State Headquarters by the Post Quartermasters no later than May 31, 2002. The names of the individuals recruited, Post Number and the name of the recruiter must be received before any award is given.

14. IMPORTANT 2001-2005 DATES:

August 18-24, 2001 National VFW Convention, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
September 6-9, 2001 Commander-in-Chief's Homecoming, Boyne Highlands Resort, Petosky, Michigan.
October 28, 2001 Statue of Liberty Birthday Celebration, Liberty Island, New York
November 15-18, 2001 Southern States Conference, Savannah, Georgia.
February 24-28, 2002 VFW National Legislative Conference, Washington, DC, Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill.
April 4-7, 2002 National VFW and Ladies Auxiliary Community Service Conference, Washington, DC, Hyatt Regency Crystal City.
August 23-30, 2002 National VFW Convention, Nashville, Tennessee.
September 12-15, 2002 Commander-in-Chief's Homecoming, Ontario, California.
August 23-29, 2003 National VFW Convention, San Antonio, Texas.
August 14-20, 2004 National VFW Convention, Cincinnati, Ohio
August 20-26, 2005 National VFW Convention, Salt Lake City, Utah

15. VIDEO CONFERENCE:

The Veterans of Foreign Wars will conduct a four (4) hour satellite training program to originate from Louisville, Kentucky on Saturday, July 28, 2001 with the following room rental/broadcast times in all time zones. The Room Reservation time will be 11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. and the Satellite Time will be 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. The training will consist of with times approximate: Commander-in-Chief-15 minutes; Membership-35 minutes; VFW Programs-40 minutes; Duties and Responsibilities of Post and District Commanders-30 minutes; Parliamentary Procedure-45 minutes; Question and answer session-45 minutes and breaks-30 minutes. There will be an 800 number for each site for call-in interaction with the presenters.

The training program will be held at Virginia Tech Donaldson Brown Hotel & Conference Center, 201 Otey Street (60 miles south of Roanoke), Blacksburg, Virginia.

16. NATIONAL CONVENTION MEETING:

August 18 -24 2001 Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Enclosed is a list of events.

National Convention Registration-Section 222 -Constitution and By-Laws require each Post to register, in advance, at least one delegate to the National Convention by the payment of a fee in the amount of $10.00. Posts failing to comply with the provision shall be considered delinquent and in arrears (Section 213). All advance registration fees should be mailed to the Quartermaster General, VFW Building, 406 West 34th Street, Suite 316, Kansas City, MO 64111.

The Distinguished Guest Banquet will be held Monday evening, 7:00 p.m., August 20, 2001, at the Midwest Express Convention Center. A form is on the last page of the General Orders if you would like to attend.

National Convention Schedule

17. SCHOOL OF INSTRUCTION:

2001 July 14-15 Holiday Inn Select, 601 Main Street, Lynchburg, Virginia 24504; Rates are $62.00; phone 804-528-2500

2002 July 11-13 Holiday Inn Select, 601 Main Street, Lynchburg, Virginia 24504; Rates are $65.00; phone 804-528-2500

2003 July 10-12 Holiday Inn Select, 601 Main Street, Lynchburg, Virginia 24504; Rates are $69.00; phone 804-528-2500

18. FALL COUNCIL MEETINGS:

2001 September 21-23 Holiday Inn Select, 601 Main Street, Lynchburg, Virginia 24504; Rate $65.00; phone 804-528-2500

2002 September 12-14 Holiday Inn Select, 601 Main Street, Lynchburg, Virginia 24504; Rates are $65.00; phone 804-528-2500

2003 September 11-13 Holiday Inn Select, 601 Main Street, Lynchburg, Virginia 24504; Rates are $69.00; phone 804-528-2500

19. WINTER COUNCIL MEETINGS:

2002 January 17-20 Ramada Inn & Conference Center, 500 Merrimac Trail, Williamsburg, Virginia 23185; phone 1-800-666-8888; Rates Single/Double $45.00

20. STATE CONVENTIONS:

2002 June 5-10 Sheraton, 6624 West Broad Street, Richmond, VA 23230; Single/Double $81, Triple/Quadruple $96 plus tax; Phone: 1-804-285-1234; Fax: 1-804-288-3961

2003 Sheraton, 6624 West Broad Street, Richmond, VA 23230; Phone: 1-804-285-1234; Fax: 1-804-288-3961

21. VOICE OF DEMOCRACY AND YOUTH ESSAY:

2001-2002 VOICE OF DEMOCRACY THEME: "Reaching out to America's Future"
2001-2002 VOICE OF DEMOCRACY DEADLINES: Student Entry Deadline - November 1, 2001
2001-2002 YOUTH ESSAY THEME: "Is Freedom Really Real?"
2001-2002 YOUTH ESSAY DEADLINES: Student Entry Deadline - December 1, 2001

22. SPECIAL ORDER NO. 280:

His eligibility to membership having been questioned under the provisions of Section 108 of the National By-Laws and the veteran having failed to submit proof of campaign medal service which would qualify for membership, it is hereby ordered that the name of Allan L. Beamer, Life Membership No. 1435827, be removed from the rolls of the Nathaniel Gordon Post No. 7638, Gordonsville, Virginia, and his membership in the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the united States terminated by reason of ineligibility.

By order of
John F. Gwizdak
Commander-in-Chief

23. BUDGET AND FINANCE:

When a STANDING or SPECIAL committee has been appointed, the Chairperson will prepare a budget showing the anticipated expenses of the committee for the ensuing year. The budget must be prepared and submitted to the Chairman of the Budget and Finance Committee within a period of thirty (30) days after the committee appointment. If this committee is promotional in nature, the chairman will also prepare a tentative schedule of the committee's activities and forward the schedule and a copy of the budget to the Department Commander. It is imperative that each Committee Chairperson submit these anticipated expenses of the committee. Some Examples would be telephone, fax, travel, awards, copying, photo and advertisement.

Submit your anticipated budget for your committee to Paul T. Moore, Budget and Finance Chairman, Route 3 Box 2006, New Castle, VA 24127, with information copy to the Department Quartermaster.

Paul T. Moore
Budget and Finance Chairman

24. AMERICANISM REPORT 2000-2001:

The Department of Virginia finished the year with 86% of the Posts reporting Americanism. The following Districts reported 100% in Americanism.

District - One, District - Two, District - Three, District - Six.

These are figures reported from State Headquarters on June 22, 2001. There were more than 1,000 Americanism Projects reported this past year. My sincere thanks to all Posts who reported Americanism Projects. If it were not for Veterans Organizations promoting Americanism - our nation would soon forget that we live in the greatest country the world has ever see. Again, thank you for your cooperation.

Marshall Guy
Americanism Chairman

25. LEGISLATIVE:

VFW Year 2001 - 2002 which begins on 1 July 2001, will present formidable legislative challenges to the VFW community, both at the Nation and the Commonwealth level. The timely involvement of the membership at the Post, District and Department level will be essential to the success of our legislative agenda. In this regard, active Legislative Chairmen at the Post and District level are key. These individuals must have the willingness and the means to rapidly disseminate information throughout their respective organizations. I will do my best to assist in establishing a viable legislative network throughout the Commonwealth. Often, on specific legislative issues, we are given little time to let our opinions be known to our duly elected representatives in Congress or in the General Assembly. Response time is often an important factor in achieving success. An invaluable tool in improving our legislative effectiveness at the National level is the VFW Action Corps. Its mission is to inform and educate members and supporters on initiatives and policies that affect Veterans; to communicate and promote the VFW viewpoint before Congress, and to encourage greater grass roots participation in the democratic process through increased communication with congressional officials. If you want to make yourself count, I urge you to join the VFW Action Corps. The address is: P O Box 2151, Washington, D.C. 20013. A copy of the membership application is also included in the July 2001 edition of the General Orders. Please join!

Forms

John P. McAnaw
Legislative Chairman

26. DISTINGUISHED BANQUETS TICKETS: