The Blinded Veterans Association (BVA) has released a statement lauding the U.S. AbilityOne Commission’s final rule issued last week that prohibits payment of subminimum wages on contracts within the AbilityOne Program. Under the rule, individuals who are blind or have significant disabilities and who work on AbilityOne contracts will earn at least the federal minimum wage, the applicable local or state minimum wage, or the applicable prevailing wage – whichever is highest. “This final rule […]

The National Board of Directors of the Blinded Veterans Association (BVA) has scheduled a final virtual townhall to review refinements to the revised national bylaws based on member input during the three sessions held last week. Please plan to attend the August 4 meeting via Zoom at 2:00pm Eastern Time. The townhall will be limited to a single meeting to include blinded veterans from all four districts nationally. “We are pleased to report that our […]

Blinded veterans, their families, and other friends of the Blinded Veterans Association (BVA) who are interested in attending the organization’s 77th National Convention August 22-26 (Monday-Friday) have just a few more days to register and make reservations at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill. Prospective attendees may complete their convention registration online here (CLICK here) or by calling Meredith at BVA National Headquarters at 202-371-8880, Ext. 304. Hotel reservations can be secured by using […]

Blinded Veterans Association (BVA) National Vice President Paul Mimms presented a Bronze Braille U.S. Flag at the opening of a new Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Community Based Outpatient Clinic in Kansas City, Kansas, on July 8. Paul resides in the Kansas City area but a short drive from the new Clinic, which will offer primary care, labs, pharmacies, and both telehealth and behavioral health services. Present at the ribbon-cutting event was Senate Committee on […]

Members of the Blinded Veterans Association (BVA) are invited and encouraged to attend one of three scheduled townhall meetings next week to learn more about and discuss a proposed comprehensive revision of the national bylaws. The need for such a revision originates from observations of BVA’s national and regional group leadership that the document contains many inconsistencies and structural variances scattered throughout. Unlike the isolated amendments that have traditionally been considered, voted on, and adopted […]

Extreme sports athlete, 2015 National Geographic Adventurer of the Year, and BVA member Lonnie Bedwell recently completed his long-planned ascent of Denali, the highest and most remote mountain peak in North America with a summit elevation of 20,310 feet above sea level. The team of five sighted guides and Lonnie reached the peak’s apex and made it safely down on June 22, a relatively fast trek of 14 days for Denali. The group had originally […]

The Independence Day holiday is one that I greatly look forward to every year. I love the outdoor summer reunions with family and friends, the parades, the barbecues, and the many other traditions in which I’ve enjoyed being a participant over the years. Like many of our veterans who have served overseas in defense of what this wonderful holiday means to us as Americans, I have sorely missed the Fourth of July when I have […]