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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-06-2019 VAB MinutesVETERANS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES MONDAY, MAY 6, 2019 CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS 1225 MAIN STREET, SEBASTIAN, FL 1. Chairman John Kinlen called the Veterans Advisory Committee meeting to order at 3:10 p.m. 2. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all. 3. ROLL CALL Present: John Kinlen, Chairman and 1 st Vice Chairman, American Legion Post 189. John Haskins, Commander of the VFW Char Kinlen, President of the American Legion Auxiliary Kim Paskiewicz, VFW Alternate Member — Late Arrival Not Present: Russ Pacowski, Commander of the American Legion -- Excused Neil Baumgartner, Member of the VFW — Excused Barney Giordan, Member of the American Legion — Excused John Whitford, Alternate Member of the American Legion — Excused Also Present: Randy Moyer, Procurement Manager Brian Benton, Leisure Services Director Janet Graham, Technical Writer 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES — March 25, 2019 MOTION was made by Mr. Haskins and SECONDED by Ms. Kinlen to approve the March 25, 2019 Minutes. Motion carried by unanimous vote. 5. OLD BUSINESS a. Memorial Day Remembrance at the Veterans Memorial in Sebastian's Riverview Park VFW will lead on this joint effort with the American Legion Mr. Kinlen spoke regarding the Memorial Day event. He stated that the VFW will take the lead in organizing the event. VETERANS ADVISORY COMMITTEE PAGE 2 Meeting of May 6, 2019 i. Coordinate with the City Parks Department Mr. Kinlen reiterated that Mr. Benton and the people in the Parks Department need to be included in the plans for this event. Mr. Haskins will work on getting a keynote speaker. ii. 11:00 a.m. Start. Mr. Moyer asked if the ceremony could start at 11:00 a.m. Mr. Kinlen stated yes, it will begin at 11:00. Mr. Moyer stated he would confirm this with the Honor Guard. Mr. Kinlen stated that following the ceremony there will be open houses at both the VFW and the American Legion, and it will be announced at the Park. iii. Backup Plan for Weather. Mr. Kinlen said that, if it is raining, the ceremony will be held at the American Legion. Mr. Haskins and Ms. Kinlen will put a brochure together. Ms. Kinlen Will coordinate with Mr. Moyer regarding having the brochure printed and distributed. Mr. Haskins will meet with the Police Chief regarding the event. Ms. Kinlen will contact the school band director regarding the parade. b. July 4, 2019 Preliminary Parade Planning. Mr. Kinlen stated the order of the units in the parade will be the same as last year. Mr. Kinlen reiterated that, since Mr. Moyer is no longer a City employee, once the election is held, Mr. Moyer be appointed to the Veterans Advisory Board. Mr. Moyer introduced Brian Benton, the Leisure Services Director. Mr. Benton stated he does not yet have the information regarding the event. Mr. Moyer reviewed the starting time, the Police Department involvement, and the fact that the VFW oversees the parade this year. Mr. Benton stated he will call a meeting with the Police Department and the VFW regarding the setup. VETERANS ADVISORY COMMITTEE PAGE 3 Meeting of May 6, 2019 7. NEW BUSINESS: Discussion on New City Veterans Representative Mr. Moyer suggested having a member of the community who volunteers a lot of time and is very active with helping with the various projects march directly behind the veterans in the parade in recognition of that person's work. The Board members were in favor of that. Mr. Moyer will contact representatives of both the VFW and the American Legion to come up with suggestions as to who this person might be. 8. MEMBERS' ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION FOR NEXT MEETING Mr. Kinlen mentioned the "Remember our Heroes!' grave -marker program. The Sons of the American Legion many years ago began this program, the purpose of which is to place a marker on every veteran's grave in Indian River County. The grave markers are permanent, and twice a year new flags are placed. On Saturday, the 18th, there will be fresh flags placed. Volunteers will meet at the American Legion at 9:00 a.m. Anyone who wishes to help is welcome. They will be doing Winter Beach. Peter Puzzo, who started the program with the Sons of the American Legion, has been marking off the number of veterans' graves in the Sebastian cemetery. Mr. Puzzo met with the caretaker of the Sebastian cemetery and explained to the caretaker what the program is and that the markers are permanent. If the caretaker sees a flag that needs to be replaced after being damaged, torn, etc., he can pull the flag, but the veterans make every effort to insure that the flags are in good condition. When Sebastian cemetery is done, then all the cemeteries in Indian River County will have had their veterans' graves marked. There is right now a shortage of funds. There was a fund raiser held which was successful, and they have a couple more fund raisers coming up, so they should be in good shape financially after that. Mr. Kinlen stated that the Boy Scouts place small flags on the graves of veterans for Memorial Day, but those small flags are not permanent. He also mentioned that there is someone who is going to do Felismere cemetery. Mr. Haskins inquired about the program, "Wreaths Across America." Mr. Kinlen stated that is a national program whose goal is to get and place during the Christmas/Holiday season a wreath for every veteran's grave. He stated that a gentleman from Post 39 came to Post 189 and asked if the Sebastian veterans would participate. It was done in Vero Beach last year. The cost for each of those wreaths is approximately $10.00. The gentleman from Post 39 stated they are going to have a fund raiser, and he hopes to be able to do the Sebastian cemetery this year. Mr. Kinlen stated Peter Puzzo has the information on this program, and Mr. Kinlen via Char Kinlen will see that Mr. Haskins gets the information. VETERANS ADVISORY COMMITTEE PAGE 4 Meeting of May 6, 2019 Mr. Kinlen stated there will be another meeting on June 3, 2019, when the items that were discussed at this meeting will be firmed up for the Fourth of July event. Mr. Kinlen said that after the June 3, 2019 meeting the VFW will become the Chair. Mr. Moyer stated that there were minimal issues at the Memorial Parade last year, and the VFW and American Legion worked very well together. Mr. Haskins stated the lineup last year worked very well, and the plan is to go with the same lineup this year. Ms. Kinlen announced that May 241h is Poppy Day, and poppies will be distributed from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. at different locations in Sebastian. All the money that was raised last year was used for the various veterans' causes that were encountered during the year, and the money has to be spent on a veterans' project. Mr. Moyer asked if Ms. Kinlen's group would like to add Poppy Day to the program that will be aired on Channel 25 regarding Memorial Day. She said that would be great. Mr. Moyer will follow up on that. Mr. Kinlen pointed out that Poppy Day is a national event. Mr. Haskins stated that the VFW does their Poppy Day a week before Veterans Day. He also stated that the communication between the groups could be better, and everyone will work on that. 8. ADJOURN There being no further business, MOTION to adjourn the meeting was made by Ms. Kinlen and SECONDED by Mr. Haskins. Motion passed unanimously by voice vote. By: Date 3� Chairman John Kinlen A 1P