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FROM THE DESK OF COMMANDER DAVID FARRELL

Well, we have our meeting with our Congressman and Senator set for the upcoming Mid Winter Conference in Washington, DC. Now it is time to go deliver our message to them. We will stay true to our mission. We will ensure Washington gets it and understands it as well. I hope we will be able to return and deliver good news as we did last year. If not it will not be from lack of communication, and due diligence. It is going to be nice, to have a National Officer attending our meetings. We will have a National Officer representing us for quite some time, as our very own PDC Joe Johnston, now National 4^TH Junior Vice Commander. As he moves up and lord willing becoming our National Commander.

But we still need those who are unable to attend to communicate through your computers or hand written letters. We need to stay in touch with them and let them know we are diligent in our message.

I am sure our National Commander Bobby Barrera speech, will be inspirational, as well as moving and to the point. He is very passionate about the DAV Mission and ensuring Washington delivers veterans benefits they have earned.

I can’t stress enough the importance of Dr. Chard cutting edge work, with her PTSD Program. We are very fortunate to have a doctor of her caliber. It is very reassuring to know she is serving our veterans here in Ohio. She really is one of the best in her field.

May God Bless you always. May God Bless Our Troops serving in the World’s Greatest Military. May God Bless the DAV. Most of all may God Bless the United States of America.

David K Farrell

State Commander

IMPORTANT NUMBERS

Nat’l. Hdqrs., DAV (877) 426-2838

NSO Office, Cleveland (216) 522-3507

NSO Office, Cincinnati (513) 684-2676

Washington Office, DAV (202) 554-3501

Cincinnati HSC,

Charles Russell (513) 475-6443

Dayton HSC, (937) 268-6511

Gene McCorkle Ext. 2962

Wade Park HSC, (216) 791-3800

Walter Dryja Ext. 3395

Chillicothe HSC (740) 773-1141

Larry Queen Ext. 7916

Columbus Clinic, (614) 257-5487

Henry Snodgrass

Brecksville HSC, (440) 526-3030

Don Branford Ext. 7353

Warren Clinic (330) 392-0311

Youngstown Clinic (330) 70-9200

Ext. 105

Veterans Administration 1-800-827-1000

DATES TO REMEMBER

March 21, 2010 4^th District Meeting, Ottawa American Legion Post #63, Main Street, Ottawa, Ohio

March 21, 2010 3^rd District Meeting, at 2 p.m., VFW, 1115 W. Logan St., Celina, Ohio

March 27, 2010 2^nd District Meeting, Lunch at 12 noon, meeting to begin at 1 p.m., Dayton VAMC, 4100 W. Third St., multi-purpose room, Dayton, Ohio.

April 10, 2010 9^th District Meeting, Meigs Chapter #53, Cheshire, Ohio. Lunch at noon and meeting at 1 p.m.

April 11, 2010 8^th District Meeting, Clint Kramer Chapter #12, lunch at 1 p.m., meeting to follow, Zanesville, Ohio

April 11, 2010 2^nd District Meeting, Alliance Chapter #50 at 2 p.m., Alliance, Ohio.

April 17, 2010 Commander David Farrell’s Testimonial Dinner, Coshocton Village Inn & Suites, 115 N. Water St., Coshocton, Ohio.

April 18, 2010 5^th District Meeting, Huron County Chapter #62 at 1 p.m., Norwalk, Ohio.

April 24, 2010 1^st District Meeting, Lunch at 12 noon, meeting to begin at 1 p.m., St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church, 8101 Beechmont Ave., Cincinnati, Ohio

April 25, 2010 6^th District Meeting, Trumbull County Chapter #11, Lunch at 2 p.m., Meeting to begin at 3 p.m., Warren, Ohio.

April 25, 2010 10^th District Meeting, at 1 p.m., 4616 W. Broad., Columbus, Ohio.

May 1, 2010 Auxiliary State Commander Jeanette Scott, Testimonial Dinner, at 7 p.m., Meadowbrook Country Club, 6001 Salem Ave., Clayton, Ohio.

May 21-22, 2010 Forget-Me-Not Drive, Youngstown Chapter #2, Walmart, Austintown, Ohio.

May 28, 2010 DAV Day at the Ballpark, Cincinnati Reds, Cincinnati

June 24-27, 2010 DAV Department Convention,

The Crowne Plaza, Dublin, Ohio.

June 25-26, 2010 Mobile Service Van,

Dept of Ohio, DAV Convention, The Crowne Plaza, Dublin, Ohio.

July 31 – Aug. 3, 2010 DAV National Convention, Hyatt Regency Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia

October 8-10, 2010 DAV Department Fall Conference, The Crowne Plaza, Dublin, Ohio.

AUXILIARY COMMANDER JEANETTE SCOTT’S TESTIMONIAL DINNER

Auxiliary Commander Jeanette Scott’s Testimonial Dinner will be held May 1, 2010 at 7 p.m., at the Meadowbrook Country Club, 6001 Salem Ave., Clayton, Ohio. The dinner will be buffet style at $35.00 per person.

Hotel reservations can be made at the Holiday Inn, (937) 832-1234 located at I-70 and State Route 48 Englewood at a room rate of $70.00. Cut off for hotel room reservations is April 1, 2010. A shuttle bus will be offered from the hotel to the Country Club at $5.00 per head per way.

Reservation deadline for the dinner is April 15, 2010. Please make checks payable to DAVA Unit #9 and sent to: Carol Duley, 1233 Creighton Ave., Dayton, Ohio 45420.

NOTES FROM DISTRICT COMMANDER PHILLIP ALEXANDER

Hamilton-Fairfield Chapter #15 Commander Martha Tepker will be taking care of her sister and grand niece in Georgia. Both are ill, let us keep them in our prayers. We wish them well.

Honorarium Chaplain Daniel Smiley and wife, Annie celebrated their 65^th wedding anniversary on February 18, 2010. Congratulations!!!

FROM THE DESK OF STATE ADJUTANT FRANK WILLIAMS

Thought for February: “When you break your word, you break the one thing that cannot be mended.”

I truly hope everyone survived the heavy snow and bitter cold we have been experiencing during the past couple of weeks. I had a total accumulation of over 36 inches at my home, even getting stuck in my 400 foot long driveway in my 4-wheel drive Dodge Ram. I am seriously considering real estate down south ---of course some of our southern states got hit pretty bad also. I’m getting too old for this extreme weather!!!

Confucius says: “Man who drive car like hell, bound to get there”.

VA delays Medication Co-Payment increase. A scheduled $1 increase in copayments for outpatient medications for veterans who do not qualify for free prescriptions is being delayed for 6 months while the VA reviews its options. The current charge of $8 was supposed to got to $9 on Jan 1^st under regulations that call for prescription drug charges to keep pace with prices in the private sector. But, on Dec. 31, VA officials announced in the Federal Register they were delaying the increase until July 1 so they could reconsider how increases are calculated.

HONOR FLIGHT NETWORK: Honor Flight Network (HFN) recognizes American Veterans for their sacrifices & achievements by flying them at no cost to Washington, DC to see memorials built in their honor. Many of these veterans have no other way to see “their” memorial and time is of the essence as more than 1,000 WWII veterans die each day. Vets are flown on a “first-come first served basis. Top priority is given to WWII vets and terminally ill vets from all wars. 2^nd priority is to Korean War vets and 3^rd to Vietnam War vets. In order for HFN to achieve this goal, guardians fly with the vets on every flight to provide assistance and help vets have a safe, memorable experience. Vets need only bring money if they plan to buy souvenirs. The guardians do pay a fee depending on transportation costs from their location. A normal ratio is 8 veterans to 3 guardians. The program is equipped to handle veterans in wheelchairs and/or on Oxygen. If you know of a WWII vet, or a veteran with terminal illness, fill out an application available at www.honorflight.org/apply/Veteran-Application-08-20.pdf and sent it in. Guardian & volunteer applications are available at www.honorflight.org/docs/Guardian%20Applications20Aug09.pdf and www.honorflight.org/docs/VolunteerApplicati0n-11282008.pdf.

In an effort to make it easier for Veterans and their families to access the information they need to secure benefits and programs available, here is a brief list of federal, state and county Resources available:

*Health Care & Prescriptions – 1-877-222-8387

*Disability Benefits – 1-800-827-1000 (Or contact DAV, Dept of Ohio at 1-614-221-3582)

*Dependents & Survivor Benefits – 1-800-827-1000

*Home Loans – 1-877-827-3702

Ohio Veterans have access to health care at 44 facilities around the state. To find the Medical Center or Outpatient Clinic near you, call the Ohio Department of Veterans Services (ODVS) at 1-877-644-6838 or visit www.dvs.ohio.gov

Don’t forget to sign up new DAV members! Take advantage of the reduced down payment of only $20 as this program will expire on June 30, 2010.

As always, keep our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan in your thoughts and prayers as they fight, like we have fought, to keep America, the land of the free, because of the brave. Never shall we forget that Freedom is not Free!!

Before I close, I would be remiss if I did not mention an important bit of news. Martha Tepker, who has served DAV Department of Ohio as a member of our Executive Committee and, most recently, as 2^nd Jr. Vice Commander since June, 2009, received some bad news regarding the health of her older sister and had to travel to Georgia to take care of her. This, plus other issues that required Martha’s personal attention, affected her ability to meet her own expectations of what is required of an Officer with the DAV, Department of Ohio. For these reasons, Martha resigned her position as 2^nd Jr. Vice Commander.

Information Bulletin

IMPORTANT NUMBERS