BVA Board of Directors
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National President Roy Kekahuna, Silver State Regional Group, was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. He is a combat-disabled Vietnam veteran of the U.S. Army, having enlisted in June 1957 as a Private E-1 and retiring as an officer 14 years later.
Roy worked for five years as a sales trainer for Sun Life of Canada and for 15 years as a Director of 11 divisions in the Morale Welfare & Recreation Directorate for different military installations of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and NATO. He later owned and presided over RWKK & Associates, a San Diego-based manufacturing representative specializing in government sales and contracting.
Roy has earned two bachelor’s degrees, two master’s degrees, and a Ph.D. in sports psychology. In addition to BVA, he is a life member of five other veterans service organizations and the Elks. He has served as a District Director since 2004 and is a former San Diego Regional Group Secretary and Treasurer. He has been an active VA Medical Center volunteer and a coach/advisor in youth sports and recreation programs.
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National Vice President Sam Huhn, Pennsylvania Regional Group, is a native of the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area and current resides in nearby Elkins Park. Sam served in the Marine Corps beginning in 1961 and was honorably discharged in 1967 as a Sergeant E-5. His principal work was in the area of Naval Aviation Supply.
Sam worked for the General Electric Company’s Aerospace Group in one capacity or another from 1957 until 1990. His various positions included Quality Property Control Inspector, Production Control Specialist, Management Specialist, Engineering Specialist, and Project Manager. He received his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration in 1973.
Sam was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa in the early 1960s but did not become legally blind until several years later. He has dedicated much of his time since the early 1990s to serving disabled veterans, acting as a volunteer National Service Officer, President of the BVA Pennsylvania Regional Group, and a BVA District Director. He is a life member of the Marine Corps League, Disabled American Veterans, and AMVETS. He has also served on the Board of Directors of the Montgomery County Association for the Blind and has been active in the Delaware Valley Council of the Blind.
Sam is active in several sports and fitness service organizations and has received awards for his work with the Middle Atlantic Blind Golf Association and his participation in the annual National Blinded Veterans TEE Tournament.
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National Secretary Mark Cornell, South Texas Regional Group, was born in Buffalo New York, and served for 18 years in the United States Air Force. He is a recipient of the Bronze Star and Air Medal, performing during his service such duties as Air Force Security Police Specialist, Audio-Visual Production Specialist, Combat Aerial Photographer.
While still on active duty and attending Syracuse University to pursue a career in electronic journalism, Mark lost his much of sight as a result of a rare reaction to Lyme’s Disease caused by a tick bite that went unnoticed.
Mark has logged thousands of hours in the BVA volunteer office at the Audie L. Murphy VA Medical Center, where he also represents BVA on both the Volunteer Services Committee and on the VA Hospital Directors Service Program. He is active in the local Low Vision Club. Mark was first elected as a District Director in 1999 and has also served as both President and Secretary of his regional group.
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Treasurer Steven Beres, Michigan Regional Group, served in the U.S. Army as a Special Operations Officer, including numerous tours in the Middle East. He also worked as a Police Sergeant with City of Milwaukee until becoming totally blind due to a traumatic impact injury to his face in 2002. He was retired from both careers due to the nature of the injuries but remained dedicated to pursing personal excellence and ensuring excellence in others. He believes strongly in the concept of bringing a human perspective to leadership.
Prior to losing his sight, Steve earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice Administration. He later obtained a Master’s Degree in Education and a Doctorate in Occupational Therapy. He presently works for the Department of Veterans Affairs at the Visual Impairment Services Outpatient Clinic in Battle Creek, Michigan, and most recently voluntarily coordinated an action-packed week of recreational activities for recently blinded service members at the BVA 64th National Convention in Portland, Oregon as part of the Association’s Operation Peer Support program.
Motivated and inquisitive, Steve joined BVA following his service and injury in the Middle East. As a member, he believes he has found a mission he could believe in, that of assisting his fellow blinded veterans to the greatest extent and by any means possible.
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Director of District 1 David VanLoan, Connecticut Regional Group, is a Vietnam era veteran of the U.S. Army, having enlisted in December 1966 and undergoing basic training at Fort Gordon, Georgia. He was honorably discharged from duty in December of the following year because of a rapidly progressing case of Retinitis Pigmentosa.
David worked as a maintenance mechanic at Delta Rubber Company from June 1969 through September 1973. He held similar responsibilities at Helikon, Inc. of Traftville, Connecticut, and Griswold Rubber Company of Moosup, Connecticut, until 1988, when loss of vision forced him into retirement.
David learned about BVA in the spring of 2003. Shortly thereafter, he completed the VA residential rehabilitation course and Computer Access Training at the Eastern Blind Rehabilitation Center (EBRC) at West Haven. Since then, he has served stints as both Secretary/Treasurer and President of the Connecticut Regional Group. In July 2007 he was elected Vice President of the East Blind Rehabilitation Center Alumni Association.
In addition to his duties with BVA, David has worked as a volunteer on political campaigns, as a member of the Noise Ordinance Committee for the Town of Plainfield, as a cub scout and boy scout leader, as a little league sports coach, and most recently as a volunteer for the Visual Impairment Services Team at the West Haven VA Medical Center.
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Director of District 2 Robert Campbell, Missouri Regional Group, is a veteran of the Marine Corps, having served as an enlisted radio operator in Vietnam. He completed officer candidate school in Quantico, Virginia and served as platoon commander and company commander in reconnaissance battalions. He received a Silver Star, the Navy Achievement Medal, and a Purple Heart.
Bob earned a bachelor’s degree from Chaminade University of Hawaii, a master’s degree in psychology and organizational behavior from the University of Kansas, and an MBA from the University of Chicago. He was a loan officer in two major commercial banks, a senior vice president and group head at an international commercial finance company, and vice president and president of two livestock and commodity companies. He currently teaches at Baker University’s School of Professional and Graduate Studies in the Kansas City area.
Bob became legally blind in 2002 as a result of Chronic Myeloid Leukemia dating back to 1996. Having benefited from rehabilitation programs developed as a result of BVA efforts, Bob has turned his focus to helping fellow blinded veterans, having served as the secretary/treasurer of the Missouri Regional Group and a volunteer at the Kansas City VA Medical Center. In addition to BVA, he is a member of five additional veterans service organizations.
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Director of District 3 Cornelius J. “Neil” Appleby, Pennsylvania Regional Group, was born and raised in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. He entered the United States Navy immediately out of high school and retired 20 years later as a Senior Chief Petty Officer. His military service took him to locations throughout the world.
Following his military retirement, Neil obtained an Associate’s Degree in Business Automation Management from Peirce College in Philadelphia in 1974. He worked as a telecommunications and computer specialist for private industry, state government, and the federal government, retiring from federal service in 1989.
Neil prefers to call his second retirement a third career, where he has worked as a volunteer veterans advocate and an accredited National Service Officer. His efforts to serve his fellow blinded veterans have resulted in numerous awards, a variety of veterans organization affiliations, and a host of important leadership positions.
Neil is the recipient of BVA’s Irving Diener Award (1994) and was the Disabled American Veterans Pennsylvania Disabled Veteran of the Year (1990). He is a member of AMVETS, American Legion, Fleet Reserve Association, Marine Corps League, and Veterans of Foreign Wars.
In addition to holding every national officer position at BVA, Neil has served on the Pennsylvania War Veterans Council Legislative Committee, the Advisory Council of the Holidaysburg State Veterans Home, and as Chairman of the Indiantown Gap National Cemetery Memorial Council. Neil served for 15 years as the BVA of Pennsylvania’s designee on the Pennsylvania State Veterans Commission and was elected in October 2006 as the Commission’s Vice Chairman.
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Director of District 4 The Reverend Robert “Dale” Stamper was part of a unit assigned in early 1968 to replace a bridge that had been destroyed by the North Vietnamese. As he scouted the area, he tripped a landmine. The explosion knocked out Dale’s right eye immediately. A small piece of shrapnel severely infected his left eye, which later had to be removed. Although the MASH unit to which he was transported saved his life, he also suffered multiple broken bones and required several surgeries.
A native of Turlock, California, Dale enlisted in the Army immediately after high school at age 18 and underwent basic training at Ford Ord in Monterey. He also completed three months of advanced training in engineering at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. Dale had already received orders to report to Stuttgart, Germany, in the spring of 1967 when he was told that his plans had been changed. He would now be going to Vietnam instead.
Dale’s military honors include the Purple Heart, the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with Device 1960, and Marksman (Rifle M-14). Following his recovery, he completed VA Vocational Rehabilitation and one year at San Jose State University. He transferred to Fresno State University, where he began a degree in psychology, and then to the Evangelical Christian College in Fresno, where he earned a B.A. in theology with an emphasis on counseling.
Dale is presently a pastor at a large church in Rathdrum, Idaho. His duties include preaching, teaching, counseling, and making hospital visits with the assistance of a secretary. He also volunteers as a mentor to many clergy who seek him out regularly for his wisdom and ability to guide others. Although he writes his notes in Braille for his own use, Dale also spends several hours a day on a computer so that he can forward Bible study sessions, notes taken at special meetings, and Sunday sermons to the sighted members of his congregation. He is now using his third computer system, having become proficient with JAWS.
Prior to his current pastoral position, Dale served as a minister for more than 30 years in small and large churches in less populated areas. He was a missionary in the Philippines during 1994-96. Regarding his blindness, Dale expresses the following: “I forget that I am blind and then also make others forget. Then they are surprised if I have to ask for help.”
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Director of District 5 Dr. George Stocking, Florida Regional Group, is a service-connected blinded veteran of the U.S. Air Force, losing his vision as a result of burns suffered in a mid-air collision while serving as a jet-flying instructor in the 1950s. In ten years of reconstructive plastic surgery, he underwent more than 100 operations.
George has served on the BVA Board of Directors for more than 31 years, including terms as National President and National Vice President during 1977-81. He received the Melvin J. Maas Award for Professional Achievement in 1969.
Before all of his surgeries were even completed, George entered a vocational rehabilitation program, where he was assigned as a darkroom technician. He was afterward placed as a vocational counseling aide in Psychology Services at Coral Gables VA Medical Center, eventually leading to a masters degree in counseling in 1968 and a doctorate in 1970, both from the University of Miami. He has been a counseling psychologist at the Miami VA Medical Center ever since.
George is a past president of the Miami Lighthouse for the Blind and the Florida Rehabilitation Association-Dade Chapter. He has also served on the Florida Council on Independent Living, the Advisory Council of the Florida Division of Blind Services, and the Advisory Committee of the WLRN Radio Reading Service.
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Director of District 6 Roy Young, Greater Houston Regional Group, made BVA history in 2008 as the first blinded veteran ever to receive both the Major General Melvin J. Maas Award for Professional Achievement and the Irving Diener Award in the same year. The latter award is presented to the blinded veteran who has most selflessly served his BVA regional group.
A Vietnam veteran, Roy was nominated for both awards for his dedication in helping others during the past 12 years.
Enlisting in the U.S. Army at age 17, Roy was discharged four years later for diabetes due to toxic chemical exposure after having reached the rank of Sergeant E-5. Following discharge, he worked in restaurant management and soon after started his own construction company, where he remained self-employed for 17 years. During those same years, he became a successful race car driver in both Modified and Sprint cars, competing in races throughout the southeastern United States.
Complications from advanced stages of glaucoma caused Roy to lose vision in his left eye in 1994. Just one year later, his diabetes worsened to the extent that he lost sight in his right eye, motivating him to seek help through VA blind rehabilitation and membership in BVA.
Roy has attended the Southwestern Blind Rehabilitation Center in Tucson three times—once for basic training, once for computer training in Zoom text, and a third time for additional training in JAWS software. He has worked closely with fellow BVA volunteers and VIST personnel in locating previously unreachable blinded veterans.
Roy has served most recently as president of the Greater Houston Regional Group, where he spearheaded outreach programs that featured exhibits, Gumbo cook-offs, Lions Club turkey shoots, motorcycle rallies, auto races, NASCAR rides, picnics, gifts from local professional sports teams, parade participation, mammoth Christmas parties, advocacy efforts to bring a VISOR program to Houston, extensive interaction dealing with the local news media, and a special focus on service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
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Immediate Past National President Dr. Norman Jones, Jr., Georgia Regional Group, served in the Army during 1968-70 with the 82nd Airborne Division. He attended Airborne School in 1968. While enlisted, Norman suffered a service-connected injury that eventually resulted in total blindness.
Prior to his military service, Norman had earned a bachelor’s degree in art at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Following honorable discharge, he taught art at the junior high school level for three years as his sight loss worsened. He later completed a master’s degree in Educational Administration and Supervision at Southern, after which he became a teacher of the blind and a mastermind behind the creation of a Department of Education and Rehabilitation at the New Orleans Lighthouse for the Blind. He attended the Central Blind Rehabilitation at Hines, Illinois in 1983.
Norman covered the southeastern states as a BVA Field Service Representative from 1985 to 2001. He retired to study theology, receiving his Ph.D. in February 2003 from the Andersonville Baptist Theological Seminary in Camilla, Georgia. In addition to his duties as National Vice President, Norman is the Chaplain for the Georgia Regional Group and belongs to four additional veterans service organizations.
Phone: 202-371-8880 Fax: 202-371-8258 E-mail:bva@bva.org
