CVO meeting minutes for June 18, 2025 on ZOOM from 7 PM to 9 PM.
June 18, 2025 Minutes
Present: Larry Nazimek (Chair), Constance Edwards (Recording Secretary), Derrick Winding (Outreach chair), Francine O’Connor (Veterans for Unification), Steve McVeigh (Member) Joe Kewer (Webmaster)
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 1904 hours by Chairman Larry Nazimek
Approval of the Agenda: Motion to approval by Nazimek), Second by Edwards
Financial Report: the financial report as submitted by the treasurer was read by the Chair. Winding moved and Edwards seconded the motion to accept the financial report as presented by the chair. A discussion proceeded regarding fund raising. A major source the of CVO finances had been from dues, $50 per Member Organization with 1 voting member included and $10 for all other individual members. A point was made that more Member organizations and more Individual members are need. A focus on fundraising needs to be preceded by what activities will be important and the influence of those activities and goals on fundraising as well as increasing CVO membership at least to the previous level of members who take full responsibility for collaborating on the agreed goals and leadership succession of the coalition.
Membership and Focus: Most of the discussion included the necessity of the CVO board members to revisit statements about the focus of CVO and how to persuasively present that focus to member organizations in a way that each organization understands the strength in numbers when a concern is for every veteran in the country even if that organization is already dealing with that issue.
It is not the purpose of CVO to take over activities of other organizations’ activities but to collectively identify and to support in areas where US Congressional action is required to eliminate those needs among veterans across the country. CVO is also not for other organizations to occasionally attend CVO meetings to only use the coalition and members for financial support of their organization but decline to be an active paid Member Organization and to attend all general meetings for coalescing on common veterans issues collaboratively to gain Congressional support for legislation on issues for all veterans.
CVO is not a service organization in its own structure, but members may also provide services as they feel appropriate. Since its inception in 2006 CVO has limited its focus on health care issues and not the complete spectrum of Veterans VA benefits.
While CVO is a 501 (c3) nonprofit organization it does not participate in political activities but does understand that eradication of the commonly identified veterans’ issues where solutions require Congressional activity that must go through the political process before being legislated to be included in veterans’ health care. As a nonprofit CVO can advocate for veterans concerns and educate politicians on those concerns. Together discussions with individuals and veterans organizations that hopefully speak on behalf of the organizations’ membership to gain clear enough understanding of the issues and the need for inclusion in VA health care and the coalition has the necessary data to show the need and to develop the talking points for influencing Congressional resolution. There may also be a need to educate veterans on the issues as well. The goal is to get resolutions that truly meets documentable needs that should be met through the VA Health care system that exists to provide the services to veterans who have earned the right to VA health care through military service. CVO members share responsibility to advocate and educate appropriate entities on the problems. If legislation is required, CVO members may need to identify and make contacts to gain support at local, state, and/or national legislative level to move the concern to resolution. The goal is for Congressional support, Sponsorship, and affirmative votes, with eventual legislation that will translate into inclusive laws and enforcement for veterans health care benefits. The focus for this level of CVO involvement is on benefits to veterans in general rather than limited to these local organizations.
It was also noted that the current CVO members look at the brochure that CVO previously printed that identified the focus of CVO. Some of the listed purposes have been met, at least partially, such as health services specifically for unique health care needs of women veterans and presumptive benefits that are now standards at the national level.
Though not spoken of recently, one of those resolved CVO goals was for Philippine veterans to receive or be reinstate VA benefits for their service in the US military during WWII. We do need to recognize those as accomplishments of CVO since the printing of that brochure even if other groups in the United States also contributed before Congress finally legislated provisions, such as Women Health and presumptive benefits. Sometime in the 1900s CVO members met at Jesse Brown VAH before daylight and took a full day turnaround bus trip to and from Washington, DC without a sleepover to present those concerns to individual Congressmen in the congressmen’s offices.
There is a need to continue to have member organizations engaged in similar discussions about still unmet veterans needs and to listen out for new ones. Various organizations may learn of veterans’ new concerns at different paces but may not have sufficient numbers alone to influence legislative action. An example would be that at the start of the CVO, medical services for veterans was primarily male focused. Health Services for women increased, however, Military Sexual Trauma (MST) later became a big focus of Women Health. Later information learned and presented by various organizations determined that MST was gender neutral and care has followed. Homelessness and services to eliminate homelessness were service activities of some organizations but not of others but require support and advocacy by more organizations. At that time data showed that 25 percent of the homeless persons on the streets of Chicago were documented to be military veterans. That statistic was found to be about the same in a sufficient number of other states and Congress published a goal to eliminate homelessness among veterans by 2015. That is still an unmet goal and further Congressional action is needed.
We all in this together and CVO is not a service organization, rather an organization of organizations that can focus on working together for faster action on veteran-centered issues for all veterans in the nation, such as to include dental care as a major component of VA health care for all veterans, regardless of service connection. The remanent members of CVO may be more empowered by refocusing on its coalition and advocacy functions. It may also bring back Organizational Members to CVO while encouraging Individual member who may not be part of an organization. Another reason for Individual Member is that the By-laws limit voting privileges and dues payment for 1 member per organizational membership for the $50 Organizational membership. Other members from Member Organizations may be active and voting members in CVO as Individual members with a $10 membership fee.
It has been identified that some Congressional moves must be made to combat homelessness and other veterans’ needs. Drawing veterans’ organizations together to present stronger voices and evidence to inform Congress so the Congress persons have the information needed to enact and to pass legislation is how we advocate for every veteran in the country rather than limiting to our locale.
The Veterans Affairs Committee report was posted on the CVO website by Larry Nazimek. Those present applauded Larry’s efforts in keeping up with Veterans Administration news and legislative activities and presenting a timely report for posting to the veterans community. The webmaster regularly forwards contact concerns posted on the website for CVO consideration.
Larry mentioned that CVO members need to contact elected officials about supporting the dental bill. Discussion ensued about the number of years CVO has been trying to get sponsors for the bill. It was mentioned that we may get more movement on the Bill if we have more focused discussions on how to get other veterans organizations to discuss if that is a concern amongst their constituents. That may be a way to call member organizations to again come together as Member Organizations in CVO to collectively influence resolutions on the Dental Bill since the remaining members of CVO are envisioning it as a few remaining members trying to get to many sufficient key legislators on board to influence congressional action since that action is required. Such refocusing may help to avoid member burning out and questioning about dissolving CVO as useless. We must be able to persuasively articulate reasons for the prior member organizations to re-engage for common purpose since the organizations may not be focusing on Dental Bill since they focus on other primary concerns of their Organization but may also have creative ways of assisting in getting congressional action on Dental Care through legal VA healthcare for any veterans who needs to receive dental care as an entitled veteran benefit as a cost saving to the Veterans administration rather than as an unaffordable benefit. It must be understood that many veterans are employed and have coverage through their employment and other family Health Insurances and may never use VA health care for dental care as they favor using non-VA insurance for service. Blindy limiting care to those with service connection is unnecessary paranoia as some of the covered VA service may be the precipitating factor to occurrence of many dental problems. Additionally, preventive Dental care through the VA could lessen the initiation of occurrence of some VA covered problems. Restorative or prosthetic dental care can be addressed on an individual basis rather than simply making blind decisions to deny coverage to inclusive to total health care for all while not considering the scientific knowledge regarding various interactions within the human body. Weak provision for limiting dental care to dental extractions under pain management with no further service cannot be considered a solution either. Most humans prefer to keep their natural teeth or the replacement or bridging for missing teeth to prevent further oral erosion with occurrence of additional VA covered health problems. Many of those covered problems are the results of blind sighting levels of prevention and cost saving by providing comprehensive healthcare. This is possible if time is spent giving more than lip service to total health care while eliminating such a critical interactive component of dental care from total VA healthcare. Veterans would prefer to live a high quality of life rather than suffering the consequences of being denied dental care. VA provided dental care may also be a self-determined temporary situation for a large number of veterans. For some a temporary situation that may be the determining factor in them landing a job that would be the avenue to them providing their own dental insurance for care through means not further related to the VA. It may also be a suicidal preventive mechanism for one who made a self-sacrifice in defending the freedom of those who now deny him or her a possibly temporary safety net but is now denying a service they may only need once in a life time. A Coalition of veterans may be able to persuasively articulate the reality to Congress after including clear understanding of the community of solution, those who will provide the services and those who sacrificed in various ways that a promise is kept rather than one enied as not deserved under that promise. For some promised total VA health care for life may have been the only factor that caused them to make a sacrifice while it was clear they may also have risked their life for others in the process. This may be a moral issue rather than a cost based one.
Next CVO general meeting is July 16, 2025 via zoom 1900 t0 2100 hours.
Respectively submitted by Constance Edwards
