2009 SVA National Conference Photos

Post 9/11 GI Bill Presentation Slides

Please see attached Powerpoint from the panel on the GI Bill during the 2009 National Conference ch33_svapresentation_4-18-09

San Francisco Giants vs. Arizona Diamondbacks

Closing Remarks- John Powers

John wants to thank everyone for attending and he looks forward to seeing us at the ball game.

Election Results

President- Derek Blumke

Vice President- Rodrigo Garcia was elected but declined due to an over representation from the Midwest.  Michael Dakduk, the runner-up has accepted the position.

Secretary- Russell Silver

Northeast Regional Director- Shawn O’Keefe

Southeast Regional Director- Thomas Ross

Southcentral Regional Director- Jeremy Williams

Western Regional Director- Jesse Tseng

Midwest Regional Director- Gereald Kapinos

By-Law Amendments

Luke Stalcup is discussing by-law amendments with the attendees.  Issue: State Directors should be included as an actual position.  Answer:  This may happen in the future but right now SVA needs flexibility.  The Regional Directors can appoint anyone they want including State and Metro Directors.  Issue: Open board meetings are requested.  Answer: More transparency is needed and will be addressed.  Board statements will be published and the minutes may be published in the future but more discussion is needed with other Board members.  Issue: Open nominations to the Board to the Chapters and create a removal process.  Answer: Those are great ideas and will be heavily considered.  The by-laws will also be published on the website.  Issue: An amendment has been proposed to include posted minutes from every meeting as well as audio available from every meeting.  Answer: The Board is open to posting minutes however it will be very difficult to get things done if all the meetings are public.  The Board has requested feedback.  The response from the attendees is mixed, some believe everything should be available and some believe the minutes are sufficient to allow the chapters to follow what the Board is doing.  One attendee stated that all the non-profits he has been a member of have an open Board.  The Board feels like more discussion is needed and we cannot vote on any amendments.  This issue is highly contested by the attendees.  Also an issue, the by-laws were not as available as they should have been to the chapters.  An attendee has proposed that if the Board is voting or making a major change that those meeting should be available.  Another person stated that there is too much testosterone in the room and on the Board.  An attendee wants the audio from every Board meeting to be available to only the members of SVA.  He also feels that if the by-laws change behind closed doors it will alienate members.  Another attendee feels that minutes are sufficient and closed meeting should be allowed.  An attendee wants every chapter to have an equal say and a vote in the by-laws.  He also wants the agenda for every meeting to be made public.  The Board wants more time to decide these issues.  It believes they cannot be solved immediately and need to be discussed.  An attendee wants a chapter member on the Board as a Chapter Advocate.  The session is ended.

National Officer Candidate Remarks

President

Jeremy Williams- Sophomore San Diego State University, Jeremy had a difficult time readjusting to civilian life and becoming a successful student.  He wants to focus on increasing Veterans Resource Centers and ensure adequate mental health facilities are available.  Jeremy also believes that veterans need to educate their respective campuses.

Derek Blumke- University of Michigan, Derek wants to continue the service and sacrifice veterans gave to the country and reinvest in their universities. He believes student veterans can educate the country on what it means to be a veteran.

Quincy Yamada- Quincy believes we need to open communications between universities and student veterans and to initiate an online newsletter to connect student vets with one another.  He also wants to create an academic honors society and to focus on community service.

Vice President

Michael Dakduk- University of Nevada Las Vegas, Michael believes that a face to face meeting will show how well he is prepared for the job of Vice President.  He looks forward to meeting all of the chapters.

Marello Harris- Marello believes there are no bad choices in this election and wants to take the great ideas from the conference back to his chapter.

Rodrgio Garcia- Rodrigo believes that his actions have demonstrated his abilities but also believes that all the candidates are well qualified and will serve SVA well.

Secretary

Russell Silver- Russell has poured his energy and dedication into SVA and only wants to serve its members.  He believes that the member chapters should drive the organization.

Matt Randle- Matt wants to responsibly grow this organization and believes that SVA needs to have unsurpassed transparency.  He wants to focus on the service of female veterans and encourage their participation in SVA.  He will only run for this office one time and believes this is a cyclical organization.

Bryan Adams- Rutgers University,  Bryan was an Army sniper and was awarded a purple heart.  At his university there were no veterans services.  The student veterans group he joined allowed him to readjust and to serve his university.

Sunday 4/19

Banquet: Crystal Ballroom and Awards

Guest Speaker: Major General Michael R. Lehnert

Student Veteran Group of the Year:  San Diego State

Student Veteran of the Year:  Rodrigo Garcia

Regional Breakout Sessions

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