Sarasota Veterans Commission

Just returned from the 109th National Convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Orlando. Although Tropical Storm Fay did her best "to rain on our parade", we had a very successful convention. It is clear that the VFW remains a "player" on the national political scene. For five out of eight years, President George W. Bush spoke to us and clearly continues to receive strong support from the VFW for his role as a wartime Commander in Chief. President Bush's remarks were something of a farewell address to America's veterans. At the conclusion of his speech he said: "This is the last time ... Read Full Story

In a recent column we asked when was the last time the liberal Sarasota Herald-Tribune editorial board addressed veterans issues. Well today they have an editorial titled, " One Pearl's wisdom ". It is the great story about an English woman Pearl Cornioley who died last month and was, "a member of the select Special Operations Executive, which the British government formed to coordinate the resistance in occupied countries of Europe. Cornioley's initial assignment as a secret agent was to pose as a cosmetic-carrying saleswoman. However, she was courier of vital information shared between French and English resistance units. She quickly went on to ... Read Full Story

This is a letter from guest columnist Lee Kichen sent to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Lee is a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel, legislative Chair for the Veterans of Foreign Wars and Past President of the Sarasota County Veterans Commission. For nearly ten years a major legislative priority of the National Organization of the Veterans of Foreign Wars has been a “GI Bill for the 21st Century”. We are extremely gratified that this Congress is now recognizing the importance of reforming veterans’ educational benefits. Last September and this past March, the VFW and the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America joined efforts and met with Members ... Read Full Story

SARASOTA PUBLIC ARTS COMMITTEE VOTES “NO” ON THE SAILOR STATUE, VETERANS COMMISSION SPEAKS OUT AND http://www.savethesailor.com/ SUBMITS ITS ONLINE PETITION TO THE CITY OF SARASOTA. SaveTheSailor.com will submit its online petition to the City Commission in response to the vote of the Public Arts Committee. Sarasota County Veterans Commission speaks out on Public Art Committee vote. It’s a sculpture of the famous photograph of a sailor kissing a nurse on V-J Day in New York City, 1945. The artist is J. Seward Johnson. This thing is huge! Parents were sitting children on the nurse’s feet to take photos. August 12th, 2009 – Sarasota, Florida. ... Read Full Story

BYLAWS OF THE SARASOTA COUNTY VETERANS COMMISSION SARASOTA COUNTY, FLORIDA ARTICLE I: ESTABLISHMENT The Sarasota County Veterans Commission, Inc., (SCVC) was originally organized under the laws of the State of Florida on January 25, 1982 and is a not for profit corporation governed under Chapter 617, Laws of the State Florida. ARTICLE II: PURPOSES The purposes of the SCVC are to: Section 1: represent the Sarasota County veterans organizations, military and patriotic associations and their auxiliaries providing solidarity in communicating the veterans view points and as a means of disseminating information on issues before local, state, and national legislative bodies which affect veterans, active ... Read Full Story