A publication of Vietnam Veterans of America, Inc. ®
An organization chartered by the U.S. Congress
August 2001/September 2001
Public Affairs Committee Report
The Guidebook Has Arrived
By Jim Doyle
At the National Convention in Greensboro, the Education Subcommittee presented the newly printed VVA Education Guidebook to the Conference of State Council Presidents. The presidents were given one copy of the guidebook for each chapter in their states.
The VVA Education Guidebook is the result of years of commitment and is intended to provide a framework for local educational outreach projects by VVA members. The guide makes no attempt to tell members what to say; Each member has his or her own personal military journey.
Nothing like this happens without the hard work and support of a lot of people. Jack Thomas, Tom Hall, Mary Miller, Dennis Koehler, Zack Earp, and Xande Anderer have devoted nearly a decade to this project. The product is a tribute to their stamina and persistence. Each of them has contributed to the final product, and this guide will serve our members well.
The Public Affairs Committee had budgeted for this project, but without the financial commitment made by the Florida and Pennsylvania State Councils, the guidebook would have been less comprehensive. We are grateful to them for their support.
Florida Recon Report editor Ray Truelove printed, bound--and along with Tom Hall--transported 800 copies of the guide to Greensboro. In Greensboro Ray joked, "If I had known I was going to have to print and bind almost 67,000 pages, I might have had second thoughts." Two hundred copies of the guidebook are in the VVA office. They will be distributed to new chapters.
Mokie Pratt Porter and Michael Keating spent many hours editing. We deeply appreciate their contribution.
Coincidentally, this is the time of the year that chapters around the country begin their education outreach. Chapters have had great success working with schools at all levels, and we hope the guidebook is useful to them.
E-mail us at TheVeteran@vva.org