The VVA Veteran - Minority Affairs Committee Report

The Official Voice of Vietnam Veterans of America, Inc. ®
An organization chartered by the U.S. Congress

November/December 2005 MINORITY AFFAIRS COMMITTEE REPORT
The Goals And The Mission
BY JERRY YAMAMOTO, CHAIR

I wish to thank John Rowan and the Board of Directors for their support of the National Minority Affairs Committee. The members of the committee and
I also wish to thank them for appointing us to the committee. Committee members are Connie Steers, Jorge Pedroza, Virgie Hibbler, Tom Meinhardt, Special Adviser Francisco Ivarra, and AVVA Liaison Anne Pancrazio. We welcome others to join us on this committee. I wish to thank the committee members for volunteering to serve.

Three goals have been identified by the committee as critical to our success during the coming two years. These are: outreach to veterans, working closely with the VA Center for Minority Veterans, and the development of our political agenda.

The mission is twofold. First, it is to insure that the unique circumstances, needs, and concerns of our diverse minority veterans are valued, respected, and addressed. The second is to insure that the inclusive organizational mission respects and values the unique circumstances of our diverse veterans. Our vision as a committee and as a veterans’ organization is one that promotes and values diversity within its organizational structure. Our diverse minority veterans have served with honor, distinction, and without compromise in every military branch. When called upon, they have responded courageously with full measure and beyond the call of duty.

The committee will be working to insure that the health care needs of our minority veterans and their dependents are identified, addressed, and responsibly serviced by the VA, its staff, facilities, and programs. As a part of the national organization, we are dedicated to insuring that the VA is adequately, consistently, and sufficiently funded to meet the needs of our veterans.

Finally, we will continue to build upon the progress we have made in serving our veterans. As such, we will continue to reach out to our minority veteran population across the country to determine if they are being properly contacted by the VA in their native languages, and whether their VA facilities are open at convenient hours and in convenient locations.

The Official Voice of Vietnam Veterans of America, Inc. ® An organization chartered by the U.S. Congress

The Official Voice of Vietnam Veterans of America, Inc. ®
An organization chartered by the U.S. Congress