BVA National Headquarters was saddened to learn this week of the death of Past National President Dr. Roy W. Kekahuna. He passed away on July 1 in Las Vegas. Roy served BVA in numerous regional group capacities and national offices, culminating with his election in 2009 as National President at the 64th National Convention in Portland, Oregon. Roy and his wife, Laurel, were also the impetus behind the selection and execution of the 66th National […]

After months of open registration for the BVA 78th National Convention via BVA.org, the process will finally officially close today (July 21) at 11:59pm, according to Convention planner Meredith Buono-DaGrossa. BVA members and their families who have not completed their registrations for the August 14-18 gathering may still do so for a few more hours. The same holds true for a stay at the Marriott St. Louis Grand on and around those dates.  Regional group […]

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has recently announced that veterans will be able to manage all interactions with VA—including health care, benefits, and services—on a single place on VA.gov. The goals of the long-term project include the reduction in the number of websites, products, and interfaces veterans must use to obtain what they are searching for. They also include making veterans’ online experiences easy and intuitive and creating seamless interactions between VA.gov, the VA […]

BVA members and their families may be familiar with the new motto of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the language changed slightly but still based on Abraham Lincoln’s original admonition “to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow, and his orphan.” You may have noticed also that although VA became a cabinet-level department of the federal government 35 years ago in 1988, adopting the name “Department of Veterans […]

In this week’s BVA Happenings, BVA Deputy Director of Government Relations Alek Libbin offers a few observations on the increasingly controversial U.S. Senate Filibuster.  Those of us who have followed, even just peripherally, the doings of our United States Congress during the past 20-30 years may well have asked ourselves: Why don’t they do anything? Is it partisanship, or is it just laziness, or does it have something to do with campaign financing, or is […]

Blinded U.S. Army veterans and BVA members Teresa Galgano and Scott Quinlan have been appointed to new positions of responsibility with BVA National Headquarters, Executive Director Donald D. Overton, Jr. announced this week. Teresa will assume the role of BVA Director of Member Relations while Scott will serve with the Association’s Veterans Service Program as a National Service Officer.  A resident of Fort Myers, Florida, Teresa began working for BVA this past March as a […]

Join BVA’s VetTech Team this Wednesday, July 19, at 2:00pm Eastern Time as the Weekly Wednesday Webinar welcomes Amos Miller, co-founder of Glidance, a company committed to changing the world for the better through advanced autonomous driving and robotics technology. Amos lost his sight in his 20s and struggled with using a cane. His experience inspired him to use his tech expertise to develop something more helpful. The development of Glide has placed Glidance at […]

BVA members who have recently participated in the virtual monthly meetings of the Dog Handlers Committee have likely noted the increase in the number of attendees at the meetings during the past few months. Hoping to encourage even greater participation, Committee Chair Michaun Harrison has provided links to resource material for attendees to peruse prior to the upcoming meeting scheduled for this Tuesday, July 18, at 4:00pm Eastern Time.   Topics to be discussed during […]

BVA members and their families still contemplating attendance at the Association’s 78th National Convention should register now and make their reservations immediately with the Marriott St. Louis Grand in downtown St. Louis. The deadline for both arrangements is Friday, July 21.     Regional group officers should continue to refer to the full 2023 Official Convention Letter released and posted to the BVA website in early June. All members, especially those planning to attend the convention, […]

BVA members who have recently attended the virtual monthly meetings of the Dog Handlers Committee may have noticed the rise in the number of attendees at the meetings during the past few months. Committee Chair Michaun Harrison hopes to encourage even greater participation by providing resource material for attendees to peruse prior to the next meeting, which is scheduled for Tuesday, July 18, at 4:00pm. Topics to be discussed during the next session include: 1) […]