Page 4 - Desert Oracle October 2019

President’s Corner

Happy October to all my Arizona Chapter Paralyzed Veterans of
America Brothers and Sisters! As you all know, the weathers starting to
cool down and that is a good sign that we all made it through the summer
unharmed. As the weather cools down, there will be opportunities for many
more outdoor events. As of today, the Arizona Chapter has nothing
scheduled however, our Sports Director, Diego Suazo is working on that. If
there are any outdoor activities or indoor activities that you would like to
participate in, I would encourage you to call Diego Suazo and let him know.
Since adding several new members to our Board of Directors in June,
we continue to move through the year with vacancies on the board that will
need to be filled. We would like to get our newly appointed BOD acclimated
to their new positions as soon as possible. The two positions that still need
to be filled are Secretary and Treasurer. Please contact me, Leonard Smith
or Peter Quinn, Executive Director if you’re interested in one of those
positions.
Our Arizona Chapter PVA sets up an information table and
participates in several events every year from Community Expos to The
Suicide Walk. Many times we are unable to participate in events because
we don’t have members to staff the tables, causing us to turn down
invitations. These events would provide us with exposure and allow
individuals, organizations, and agencies to know who we are and what we
do for Veterans as well as others in the community. Our office staff can
man the tables however it is not the same as Chapter Members meeting
and engaging peers that may have specific questions. We all have expert
knowledge of spinal cord injury that is truly invaluable. If this is something
that you are interested in doing please let myself or Peter Quinn know and
we will let you know what events are coming up in the future.
All members are invited to our chapter board meetings. Our next
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board meeting will be held Saturday, October 19 at 10:30 AM. Please
call the office to let us know you will be attending, so we may plan on
refreshments accordingly.
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On September 28 , 2019, we said our goodbyes to Ed “Hutch”
Hutchison in Tucson, Arizona. Being a long time Paralyzed Veterans of
America member and a good friend to us all, he will be greatly missed. As
our membership grows older, I find we are saying goodbye too often and
too soon. Hutch was an Army Veteran who was greatly loved and
respected and very active with our Chapter and the Tucson VA. I ask you
to keep the Hutchison family in your prayers.

Leonard Smith, President