Employment

Forward Observer — Something Smart from the PA Dept. of Labor and Industry That Might Help Veterans

LVMAC Poster Art 2005When it comes to helping veterans find employment — having done away with its Governor’s Veterans Outreach and Assistance Centers (and using them properly before that) and having had problems with the staffing of JobGateway 2013its Veterans Employment Representative program — the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) has not exactly been a frontrunner among state labor departments. But its JobGatewaySM  is a web product which comes as close to providing a one-stop employment shopping environment online as you can get, and has the potential to actually help our veterans community because it also tries to engage prospective employers providing good, wage paying jobs, registering those who pass muster.  (more…)

By LVMAC, ago

LVMAC Tidbit — Last Call for 2013 Student Vets Conference

Less than two weeks are left until the March 2nd through 3rd Student Veterans Education & Employment Conference at the William Pitt Student Union on the University of Pittsburgh campus, Pittsburgh, PA. Register today to meet the Student Veterans of America Staff and National Leadership Council Members who know first-hand effective strategies for supporting student veterans.  And even fewer days are left to register.  The deadline for registration is Friday, February 22nd. (more…)

By LVMAC, ago

LVMAC News — Babb-ling on About Military History

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In This Issue

  • Mr. Babb Talks About the Veterans History Project Roundtable
  • Veterans Affairs Committee Develops Its Operating Budget
  • Looking Forward on the Homelessness Front
  • 2013 Scholarship Season Opening
  • Re-looking Our Employment Programs
  • Health Care Initiative Progressing
  • Project Healing Waters Events Set for 2013
  • Focus on Colleges Begins
  • Report on the War Veterans Council
  • DoD/VA News

MR. BABB TALKS ABOUT THE VETERANS HISTORY PROJECT ROUNDTABLE

David Babb, a historian and interviewer for the Lehigh Valley Veterans History Project Roundtable, a member organization, spoke to the Council at its business meeting on 17 January 2013.

His organization was formed in 2007 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization two capture the stories of all wartime veterans and also those who served on the home front. It collects documents and preserves their personal experiences and then shares those stories with both the public and the Library of Congress.  To date about 200 interviews have been done. (more…)

By LVMAC, ago

LVMAC News — McKenrick Talks About a New VA Regional Office

Newspaper Logo 70%In This Issue:

  • The New Director of the Philadelphia VA Regional Office Introduces Himself to the Council
  • Community Educational Outreach’s Journey of Discovery Reaches Its End
  • Changing Our Stripes in Employment
  • Health Care in Our Community is at a Critical Stage in Its Development
  • Adam Keys Smart Home Build May or May Not Continue
  • A New Program Director Has Been Found for the Visitation Program
  • LVMAC is on a Mission to Recruit All the Area’s Universities and Colleges
  • Finally, Something Significant Out of State Government

The New Director of the Philadelphia VA Regional Office Introduces Himself to the Council

Robert McKenrick, the relatively new Director of the newly reorganized Philadelphia VA Regional Office of the Veterans Benefits Administration, spoke to the Council at its business meeting on 21 November. He brought along Eileen Kostic, Manager of the Veterans Service Center, and Leroy Saunders, a Military Services Coordinator.  Mr. McKenrick is a current war veteran from the Army Reserve.

Recently what was known as the VA Regional Office and Insurance Center (VARIOC) split (more…)

By LVMAC, ago

Forward Observer — ‘Honoring America’s Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012’ Enacted!

NEW VETERANS OMINBUS BILL SIGNED INTO LAW ON 6 AUGUST

LVMAC Poster Art 2005Surprisingly, nothing has been mentioned in the local media on the recent passage of H.R. 1627 (now known as Public Law 112-154), Honoring America’s Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012, despite its importance to the veterans community. It is an omnibus bill affecting many; and it finally brings some, though not total, resolution to the Camp Lejeune water contamination situation which has been previously written about.

Several veterans organizations withheld their support because the Lejeune provision set a dangerous precedent in their opinion. In their minds, the bill unfairly levies requirements on the VA to take care of an essentially Department of Defense (DoD) or TRICARE problem.  While we might agree with them from one perspective, the larger issue is the government taking responsibility to care for those in need of it, no matter whence it comes. We are more concerned about the fact that no one currently knows when the VA will implement the Lejeune actions required, since no deadline has been set. (more…)

By LVMAC, ago

LVMAC News — LVMAC Awards Its Scholarships

NINE RECIPIENTS ARE RECOGNIZED

The 2012 award recipients of the Lehigh Valley Military Affairs Council’s Scholarship Program were honored at the Council’s business meeting on 15 August 2012. Phil Hublitz of the Scholarship Subcommittee, presented the awards, assisted by Dave Binder, Board Member.  The awardees had been vetted by a team consisting of Phil Hublitz and Bob Rothenberger as Co-Chairs, Lois Binder, JoAnn Van Billiard, and Tom Shaunessey

Most of the awardees are high school seniors and the most are enrolling in ROTC in college with plans to serve in the military – several plan twenty year careers in the service. The majority are enrolled in local colleges. Two who are a veteran’s child plan on military service. One homeless veteran is returning to college. Applications from returning veterans continue to be problematic probably due to the generous Post 9/11 GI Bill. Local colleges have a large veteran enrollment, the college financial aid staffs have been contacted and are well aware that scholarships are available from LVMAC. Veterans have a record of success in college. An application has never been received from a Reservist or Guardsman from a local military unit, except for their children. Those recognized, together with their families, were: (more…)

By LVMAC, ago

LVMAC News — Why War Stories Matter

 DAVE VENDITTA AND HIS WAR STORY PROJECT

Newspaper Logo 70%Dave Venditta, Content Editor for The Morning Call newspaper, spoke to the Council at its business meeting on 18 July on the subject of war stories and why they matter.

He got interested in the subject in the mid-1990’s while trying to find out how his cousin, Nicky, a twenty year old helicopter pilot, had actually died in Vietnam within eleven days of his arrival. Venditta was a 15 year old at the time of the funeral, but memories of his cousin haunted him. In the end, he discovered the official version of death by enemy action was untrue. Instead, Nicky had actually died at the hands of his own while undergoing an in-country orientation. Whether or not the sergeant pulling the pin of the grenade in a demonstration of its safe use actually new it was a live grenade or thought it was a dud or practice grenade was never determined, but three died as a result. One of them was Nicky. However, in the process of relaying the news to the family, his cousins and uncles began recounting their own war stories. (more…)

By LVMAC, ago