Date: August 27, 2020
Time:  4:00 EDT

Roll Call:
Alison Glass, Panelist
Dr. Paulette Hubbert, Panelist
Donald Overton, BVA Execute Director
Thomas Zampieri, BVA National President
Monaca Gilmore, BVA WVG Chairman
Elizabeth Homes, BVA WVG Committee
Michaun Harrison, BVA WVG Committee
Marlene Davis Lilly, BVA WVG Committee
Jeanie Murphy, BVA WVG Committee
8-Additional BVA Women Veterans (Total 13 BVA Women Veteran Participants)

Please utilize information below to obtain recording of conference.
Conference Call Playback Number:  720-740-9893
Access Code:  5313007
Recording Number: 1.

September 2020 Conference Meeting Notes
Attendees:
Jeanie Murphy, WVG Committee Member
Marlene Davis Lilly, WVG Committee Member
Michaud Harrison, WVG Committee Member
Elizabeth Holmes, WVG Committee Member
Monaca Gilmore, WVG Committee Chairman
5-other WVG Members
Total of 10 CC Participants

Update of BVA WVG Monthly Meetings (10 min)
WVG Chairman reminded WVG that its monthly meetings are the 4th Thursday of every month at 4PM EDT with the same conference call number until further notified. WVG informed WVG that meeting minutes can be found on WVG portion of BVA website and they can obtain a copy from their RG President, DD, or any committee member if they are not able to access it from website. WVG Chairman also acknowledged to WVG that the committee has decided to include one guest speaker for the WVG monthly meetings starting in October on topics of concern from our women veterans.

Update on WVG Member of the Month (3 min)
WVG Chairman confirmed with WVG that the selection for the WVG September 2020 Member of the Month have been posted to WVG portion of website. WVG Chairman encouraged WVG to forward nominations to their RG President to be properly submitted to WVG Committee for possible selection.

Update of WVG Fundraiser & Financials (2 min)
WVG Committee Member, Jeanie reminded WVG that the Scentsy Fundraiser is still going on. WVG Committee Member, Elizabeth gave summary of WVG financials. WVG Chairman informed WVG that funds from fundraiser will assist with expense for WVG events and to sponsor first-time women veterans to the national convention.

Update on Women Veterans Group Retreat (15 min)
WVG Chairman shared with WVG the two possible locations for the WVG Retreat. WVG Committee Members and other members gave their interested input mostly of location in Birmingham, AL. WVG Chairman was asked the number of days the retreat will be and WVG Committee suggested no more than three days (Thursday-Sunday or Friday-Sunday). WVG Chairman suggested to WVG that the retreat should have virtual accessibility such as ZOOM for those who may not be able to attend but who also pay a Registration Fee. WVG Chairman was asked if a Registration Fee has been established and she took suggestions from both WVG Committee and other member from $200-$250. WVG Chairman suggested that the registration should not be more than the BVA National Convention’s and that the WVG Committee would make the final decision. WVG members suggested a gift pack with resources and tokens of appreciation for registered participants.
Compliments or Concerns: WVG members appreciate the information getting distributed about the upcoming meetings.
Meeting Concluded.

We are excited to have our Women’s Veteran Group Conference Meeting on Thursday, October 29, 2020 at 4:00PM EDT. This special meeting will include the following guest speaker:
Christi S. Ulmer, PhD
Clinical Health Psychologist
Durham VA Medical Center

We look forward to your participation!
Dial in Number: 602-580-9829
Access Code: 5313007

Respectfully,
Monaca Gilmore
Blinded Veterans Association
District Director 3
Women’s Veteran Group Chairman
Website: https://bva.org/womens-veteran-group/

BVA WVG
November 2020 Conference Meeting Notes

Date: November 19, 2020

Time: 4:00 EDT

Attendees:
Marlene Davis-Lilly, WVG Committee Member
Michaun Harrison, WVG Committee Member
Elizabeth Holmes, WVG Committee Member
Monaca Gilmore, WVG Committee Chairman
4-other WVG Members
Total of 8CC Participants

Guest Speaker: Dr. Paulette Hubbert
Ph.D. LCSW, MSW, CHt, USMC (Ret.)
Inspired Wholeness LLC

Recording of meeting can be found at the following:
Playback Number: 720-740-9893
Reference Number: 3

Agenda

Guest Speaker (30 min)

The guest speaker had the opportunity to distribute information regarding her military experience, career background, and elaborate on the topic of the month, Mindfulness. Veterans experienced a mindfulness session by Dr. Hubbert as a coping mechanism to handle stress and implement refocusing on a daily basis in their lives.

Update of BVA WVG Monthly Meetings (5 min)

WVG Chairman reminded WVG that the WVG December monthly meeting will be Thursday, December 17, 2020 at 4:00PM EDT due to regular meeting date and time occurring during Christmas week.
Update of WVG Fundraiser & Financials (2 min)

WVG Chairman reminded WVG of fundraiser with Scentsy, its December 2020 end date, and obtained the names of WVG members who needed the fundraiser link texted to them. Elizabeth Holmes, WVG Committee Member acknowledged that the financial report will be updated in the next meeting since the month of November has not ended to retrieve its final month financials.

Update on Other Veteran Events: (3 min)

WVG Chairman shared information with WVG of other several ski events Steamboat Stars have developed in the coming months for veterans. WVG Chairman obtained the names of WVG members who are interested in possibly attending events to pass their information on to OPS Committee Member Lonnie Bedwell.

Update on WVG December Topic: (3 min)

WVG Chairman asked the WVG for topic ideas for the December 2020 WVG Conference Call. Michaun Harrison, WVG Committee Member suggested that we follow-up on establishing a session on the topic of “Claims” with our claim’s representative from BVA due to the many question’s veterans have regarding claims that continue to be unanswered from that department. WVG Chairman explained to WVG that the claims representatives have been significantly occupied with the reorganization and update of several data systems contributing to accountability of claims for the BVA. WVG Chairman informed WVG that she will get an update on when the BVA’s claim representative can be available to answer questions. Yoneka Trent suggested the topic “Adaptive Sports” for December conference call. WVG Chairman confirmed no additional ideas and final approval from WVG Committee to use the topic of Adaptive Sports for December conference call. WVG Chairman informed WVG that she will obtain several guest speakers from outside organizations and VA representatives to discuss their adaptive sports programs.

Update on Women Veterans Group Retreat (2 min)

WVG Chairman shared with WVG that she is still waiting for a response from the contact person from the possible Birmingham, AL retreat location.

Compliments or Concerns: WVG members appreciate the topics and information getting distributed on the WVG Conference Calls.

Meeting Concluded.

BVA WVG

December 2020 Conference Meeting Notes

Date: December 17, 2020
Time: 4:00 EDT
Attendees:
Marlene Davis-Lilly, WVG Committee Member
Jeanie Murphy, WVG Committee Member
Michaun Harrison, WVG Committee Member
Elizabeth Holmes, WVG Committee Member
Monaca Gilmore, WVG Committee Chairman
4-other WVG Members
Total of 9CC Participants
Guest Speaker:
Representatives from Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center

Richmond, VA

Sharron Hicks, Recreation Therapy Supervisor, BS, CTRS, CDP
Nicole Shuman
Krystal Pinckney
Topic: “ADAPTIVE SPORTS”
Recording of meeting can be found at the following:
Playback Number: 720-740-9893
Reference Number: 4

Agenda

Guest Speaker (20 min)
The guest speakers had the opportunity to distribute information regarding
Recreational Therapy and the Adaptive Sports Program offered by the VA.

WVG December 2020 CC Minutes
Update of BVA WVG Monthly Meetings (5 min)
WVG Chairman reminded WVG that the WVG monthly meetings are the
fourth Thursday of every month at 4:00pm EDT except when there is a holiday
interfering with meeting date and they will be notified of new meeting date.
Update of WVG Fundraiser & Financials (5 min)
WVG Chairman reminded WVG of Scentsy fundraiser end date of
December 31, 2020 and WVG Committee Member, Jeanie Murphy, gave
November 2020 total raised funds from Scentsy Fundraiser. Elizabeth Holmes,
WVG Committee Member, gave the financial report of WVG.
Update on Women Veterans Group Retreat (15 min)
WVG Chairman shared update of WVG 2021 Retreat Plan to include the
following: type of retreat along with activities, registration fee, and gift bags. In
addition, WVG Chairman took a vote for the Retreat date which resulted in having
the retreat March 4-5, 2021. The retreat will be virtually with day and evening
activities.
Compliments or Concerns: WVG members appreciate the topics and
information getting distributed on the WVG Conference Calls.

Meeting Concluded.

WVG February 24, 2021
Committee Meeting Notes

Date: February 24, 2021
Time: 6:00PM EDT

Attendees:
Marlene Davis-Lilly, WVG Committee Member
Michaun Harrison, WVG Committee Member
Elizabeth Holmes, WVG Committee Member
Monaca Gilmore, WVG Committee Chairman

Agenda

Update on designated representative for processing WVG claims (5 min)
The WVG Chairman introduced Loreal Hamilton who will be working with
WVG Committee member Marlene Davis Lilly with processing claims for our women veteran members. Loreal works in our Veterans Resource Center and is also a VSO with a level of certification required by the BVA as an employee and certified VSO. Marlene who is also a VSO is currently in the Veteran Resource Center Ambassador Program. Marlene will act as a liaison and conduct the initial processing of the claims in which she will forward to Loreal for review and final processing. The WVG Committee appreciates the Executive Director and WVG Chairman making this decision to better serve our women veterans.

Update on BVA WVG February 2021 Member of the Month (5 min)
The WVG Chairman informed committee that she has decided to save the WVG Member of the Month nominations for next month, March, due to more important information that needs to be distributed to the membership and other situations that has affected many such as the following: upcoming advocacy on Capitol Hill, WVG 2021 Virtual Retreat, and the challenging weather in many areas.

Update on BVA WVG 2021 Retreat (10 min)
The WVG Chairman confirmed the following updates regarding the WVG retreat: all presenters of sessions have accepted their invites, the mindfulness session has been changed to a women’s empowerment session, all items for gift bags have been ordered and purchased, and due to COVID 19 along with newly weather challenges there is still an expectancy for registrations and gift bags that are mailed to be delayed. WVG Chairman requested WVG Committee member
Elizabeth Holmes to maintain and report final update of registrations and finances of retreat by Friday, February 26, 2021 via email.

Update on WVG Legislative Statements (5 min)
The WVG Chairman confirmed with committee members if they have received a copy of the statements sent on behalf of WVG Group to Executive Board and Executive Director. WVG informed committee that our speakers for the advocacy event have not received the exact date to present information and our headquarters communication team will be sending that information to distribute amongst the membership.

Update on WVG Convention Educational Session (5 min)
The WVG Chairman gave an overview of the format for the educational sessions that will be held during the National BVA Convention. The WVG Chairman requested each committee member to develop one topic they would like to present within 30 minutes to members regarding the resources that the WVG provide.

Meeting Concluded