January / February 2008

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2008: Jan/Feb | mar/apr
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PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE REPORT
What’s Goin’ On

BY KEITH KING, CHAIR
A few weeks ago a Regional Director sent an email to VVA’s officers, Board members, and committee chairs asking them what the priority goals and objectives of VVA were, or what it was that tells everyone where we are going.

What follows is a list of my goals and objectives as Public Affairs Chair:

1. Create an electronic version of The VVA Veteran on www.vva.org and make it a revenue generator. We have reviewed several software programs, and, of course, there are costs, and this is not an easy thing to do. But the technology is great and what a fun way to read The Veteran.
   
   
2. Create an electronic newsletter that will have input and feedback from all levels of VVA. It, too, needs to pay for itself.
   We already have sent emails to State Council and chapter newsletter editors and members of the VVA National Public Affairs Committee asking for input. It seems like everyone likes this idea, and we are moving forward to make it a reality.
   
   
3. Expand the email database to all VVA members who have email and improve our communications on all levels. If you have an email address and want to get emails from us, go to www.vva.org and sign up. The e-newsletter is an example of the type of information you will receive from us, along with information about upcoming 30th Anniversary of VVA events.
   
   
4. Create PSAs for our Service Officers program, membership, and our health concerns and drive traffic to www.vva.org Did you see the Rocky Bleier PSAs we did for the Parade? We still need to work some things out, but we are working on them.
   
   
5. Change how we communicate with advertisers and sponsors and create a pro-active fundraising Communications Department. We have made great strides in working with our advertisers and the sponsors that helped us put on the 25th Anniversary Parade and print The Wall magazine. We are working on increasing our interaction with them and strengthining our long-term relationships. See the logo below for Commerce Bank. They stepped up to support us on several projects, and we are working to expand our relationship with them. Their logo appears in this column as an example of a new way of thinking and working with those who help us. I’m proud to suggest that this column is the first “sponsored” committee report because Commerce Bank requested that they be included in the Public Affairs Column.
   
   
6. Improve the look, content, and profitability of The VVA Veteran on a continuing basis. Your input is welcome.
   
   
7. Improve the look, content, and profitablitiy of www.vva.org on a continuing basis. Have you seen the new photos in the header of the Parade? You should go to www.vva.org once a week. We are adding new things all the time. Did you hear that the CD we featured on our website became the highest-selling CD on www.cdbaby.com? This shows you the power of the web and VVA’s reach.
   
   
8. Come up with fun, exciting, and profitable ideas for events and ongoing programs to create more participation in VVA. Have you heard that we are working on combining the Leadership Conference in July with VVA’s 30th Anniversary? We are looking at making this a fun-filled event where we honor the thirty most influential Vietnam veterans, the first thirty of everything VVA, and maybe have a concert and awards show. We are looking at publishing a new book on the history of VVA.
   
   
9. Improve the look of all VVA material used to represent VVA to the general public. We continue to upgrade and redesign the brochures and pamphlets that we use. If you were at the 25th Anniversary Parade membership tent or Agent Orange tent, you saw several new pieces. The feedback we’ve gotten is very positive.
   
   
10. Review and implement the 2007 Resolutions. You send your delegates to the National Convention to pass resolutions, which are our marching orders for the next two years. All committees are supposed to report to the membership what we have done to implement their resolutions. You will have my update later this year.