RANDY L. PLEVA, SR.
Randy L. Pleva, Sr., was re-elected to his
third term as national president of the
Paralyzed Veterans of America during
its 60th Annual Convention in
San Diego, California on September 1, 2006.
November 2007
Dear PVA Member,
Greetings from Washington, DC. During the 61st Annual Convention in St. Louis, our Board of Directors elected officers for fiscal year 2008. Reelected officers are National Senior Vice President Gene Crayton;
National Vice Presidents Jack Franklin, Rick Glotfelty, and Bill Lawson; National Treasurer Craig Enenbach; and National Secretary Carl Flemons. John Jackson was elected as a new national vice president. Joseph L.
Fox, Sr., will serve as immediate past national president, and I am very honored to serve a fourth term as your national president.
On Veterans Day, our nation pays tribute to the millions of men and women who have had the courage to serve—from the Great War to the Greatest Generation to the latest generation. PVA honors our generations of paralyzed veterans by working day-in and day-out to ensure they have all the rights and benefits they have so duly earned.I’m very proud to report a few of our latest accomplishments in service to you, our members. PVA will always use our successes as a launching point for more action, never resting on our laurels.
I firmly believe we have the best veterans benefits staff (VBD) of all veterans service organizations (VSO5) . They continue to perform at the highest level. For example, recently, when an obscure change in federal law affected eligibility for Specially Adapted Housing (SAH) and Special Housing Adaptations (SHA) grants, VBD quickly recognized its impact and notified our members. The change made veterans who had previously used the grant eligible to use it again up to the maximum amount. More than 3,000 PVA members and other severely disabled veterans are now entitled to the grants, worth more than $29 million.
For the second year in a row, Appellate Services exceeded the success rate of all other VSO5 and that of veterans who were represented by private attorneys. And, so far this year, we’re in first place again! This is an amazing testament to the skill and dedication of our Appellate staff, as well as that of our service officers.
Our first Vocational Rehab Center is up and running at Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center in Richmond. In just a few short months we already have been successful in helping members gain employment. We are also working with the Minneapolis VANC to open a second center soon.
continued...^ .
In the Bronx, the James J. Peters VA Medical Center now has a specially equipped bus that can transport up to 13 people in wheelchairs. The bus will help to connect New York City-based wounded veterans with both rehabilitation and specialized care. The gift was made possible by a joint effort between VBD, Development, the VA, and poker legend and U.S. Army veteran Mike Sexton.
Moving south, PVA recently hosted a reception at the inaugural North American Spinal Cord Injury Conference and Disability Expo in Orlando in August. Secretary Principi gave the keynote address. This important event brings together some of the world’s top SCI clinicians and was an opportunity for us to connect with an elite group of specialists in all areas of spinal cord injury (SCI) care. In addition, to demonstrate our support for VA SCI health—care professionals, we offered conference registration fee scholarships to VA members of the tn-associations who attended this annual conference. A total of 65 scholarships were awarded to VA SCI physicians, nurses, psychologists, and social workers.
I’m pleased to report success with our second annual “Americana Gala,” held September 13 in Washington, DC. This event honors the courage of 25 million veterans, 54 million people with disabilities, and the 11,000 new spinal cord injured individuals annually and honors the corporate and public sector friends who have supported PVA over the years. To view the list of honorees and a photo gallery of the event, please visit our website:
Sports and Recreation is busier than ever with the addition of billiards and bowling programs to our highly successful National Veterans Wheelchair Games, PVA Bass Tour, and PVA Trapshoot Circuit. Participation continues to grow across the board, and I invite you to join us at the upcoming events:
Nov. 16-18 PVA/NWPA Mid-South PVA/Jillian’s Shootout (billiards)Memphis
Nov. 29—Dec. 2 Las Vegas Invitational (bowling) Las Vegas
Feb. 7-9 Arizona PVA Trapshoot Scottsdale
Feb. 29—Mar. 2 PVA/NWPA Mid-America PVA Tournament (billiards) Tulsa,OK
Mar. 7—9 PVA/NWPA Virginia Mid—Atlantic PVA Tournament (billiards) Richmond
Mar. 20-22 Florida Gulf Coast PVA Trapshoot Odessa, FL
Mar. 28—30 Southeastern PVA Bass Tournament Augusta, GA
In closing, I am looking forward to a great year for our organization and I welcome hearing from you. This Veterans Day 2007, I want to personally thank you for your service to our country, and pledge to you that PVA will always be your advocate and partner.
Sincerely,
Randy L. Pleva, Sr.
National Pres
01/22/2008 News Release
