Weekly Report 🎖
TVLC | MOAA | Veterans, Guns, and Cigars
The Military Officers Association (MOAA) Tallahassee Chapter is excited to announce that FSU Football Head Coach, Mike Norvell, will be speaking at our upcoming April 21st dinner. We would like to share this opportunity with other veterans in the area and welcome you to join us; all are welcome.
We anticipate a full house, so seating is limited.
Tickets will be available (cash or check only) at the April Old Guard lunch as well as April Commanders Coalition meeting. The dinner will be held at the Elks Lodge on Magnolia Drive from 5-8pm.
Event tickets are $30 and includes both dinner and the speaker.
Please contact Cheryl Walters, MOAA Tallahassee Chapter President, at moaatlhprez@gmail.com or 850-212-7009, with any questions.
At yesterday’s Legal Clinic at Lk Ella, our volunteer team totaled 22 (including 7 attorneys), assisting 19 Veterans and family members in person plus 7 Veterans in phone responses! Cases again included several county and state jurisdictions outside Leon! More Vets asked for Driver’s license assistance. Our team thanked Kathy Glasson for her umpteen weeks helping at the Legal Clinic by presenting her a TVLC Commemorative Coin (photo, Kathy in the Center, being “coined” by Margaret Deciano). Kudos to the food distribution team tomorrow including Khalid Shafi, Margaret, new veteran volunteers Tomeka, Dexter, and Jevon.
The Leon Co Veterans Treatment Court is in session 3 pm Monday March 24 at the Leon County Courthouse downtown, Courtroom 2E and you are again encouraged to come observe when you can. We still need more Veteran Mentors to give one on one contact with Vets trying to recover from substances or other treatment needs.
More Vets called in again this week or responded online from around the state, and we instructed them to come to Thursday Clinics or, if outside Leon or the State, to look for local Veteran services. Thanks to Susie C., Omar and others for helping respond to this week’s phone and website calls for help/info (Veterans in prison, NW Fl, etc.). And thanks to Khalid Shafi, Kathy Glasson, and Margaret Deciano for the consistent volunteer administrative work at the computer/files table with Susie throughout our Clinic sessions.
The Florida Legislature has started holding committee hearings on Veterans legislation every day. And we were able to testify again this week, this time about the bill strengthening Veteran Treatment Courts around the state.. If you want to know more, we can help you track any of them these next two months. We’ve identified more than forty bills already (and that does not include local funding requests).
Call your friends who work for the federal VA to let them know they’re appreciated and give them your contact info in case they lose their VA cell number amidst the funding cuts, layoffs and firings that are including probationary employees, as well as former military Veterans in a variety of specialties (and the latest projections target some 83,000 VA jobs and programs to be cut!) And be sure to let us know about part-time job opportunities for Veterans on subsistence, as well as any emergency housing, shared rentals, etc. since housing is still scarce and services are delayed via waiting lists.
What else?
Thank you,
Dan Hendrickson, for the Tallahassee Veterans Legal Collaborative
This is an incredible event. I attended the first event in Perry, Florida. Clearwater is a bit of a drive but it’s absolutely worth it.
~Edward Hood
We are once again kicking off SOF Week with our second annual Veterans, Guns & Cigars on Sunday, May 4, 2025, at a new venue just 30 minutes from downtown Tampa in Clearwater. This event merges networking and marksmanship with defense leaders, SOF operators, law enforcement, government contractors, business owners, and veteran nonprofits in attendance. Winners take home the firearms and optics we shoot with, courtesy of long time supporters Ruger and Aimpoint.
Early bird tickets are available now (individual and teams of 4), with prices going up in April. We’ve already sponsored 3 active duty SOCOM teams and, with your support, we can sponsor more. Your attendance also helps sponsor individual active-duty service members and transitioning veterans to attend for free, providing valuable networking and mentorship. DoD personnel under WAG ethics can attend for free.
If you can’t attend on May 4, please consider sharing the attached flyer or sponsor an honored shooter. We are also hosting an upcoming online charity auction, so stay tuned.
If you have any questions, please email me. We welcome referrals to potential local sponsors as well as veteran groups that will be in town for SOF Week. Thank you!
Katherine Kostreva
Co-Founder & CEO | Meritorious