83 RD GRAND CHAPTER MEETING: A SALUTE TO THE MILITARY
From left to right: Major General Leslie C. Smith, Major General Craig C. Crenshaw, General Dennis L. Via (ret.), Major General Hawthorne Proctor (ret.), Grand Polemarch Thomas L. Battles, Jr., Brigadier General Kevin Vereen, Lieutenant General Aundre F. Piggee, Rear Admiral John W. Smith, Major General Cedric T. Wins and Brigadier General Charles R. Hamilton. U nder the Leadership of the Grand Polemarch Thomas L. Battles, Jr. the Military and Veterans Affairs Com-
strategic plan that focused on the fol- lowing objectives: • To support and recognize military members and veterans for their military and public service by selecting a Military Representa- tive from each Service as well as a representative from each of the 12 Provinces. Additional members of the Commission were added to assist in the execution of the above mission. • To support and establish outreach programs to inform Veterans about benefits as well as support youth and military mentoring programs • To support and provide assistance to family members, dependents and survivors • To support a premier Commission on Military and Veterans Affairs that leaves no Service Member, Veteran, Cadet, nor Family Mem- ber behind. While support to fulfill these objec- tives was ongoing, in January 2016, Grand Polemarch Battles asked if the Commission could assist in expanding the roles of our military, veteran and
cadet members during the 83rd Grand Chapter Meeting in Orlando, Florida. At previous Conclaves, ad hoc com- mittees of military and veteran Kappas organized receptions that served primarily as social gatherings for active serving military and veterans. The MVAC built upon these previous experiences and vastly expanded the scope of military and veteran-centered activities at the 2017 Conclave. “Over an 18-month timespan, the members of the Kappa Military and Veterans Affairs Commission volun- teered many hours to create impactful events for the Orlando Conclave,” said Proctor. “Everyone worked together as brothers—equals—to accomplish our ambitious agenda.” The Commission invited organizations to participate by operating booths, sponsoring tables at the Military and Veterans Awards Banquet and con- ducted professional development and information seminars for our serving military, cadets and veterans. Much preparation went into this year’s Conclave and we were simply amazed by the level of participation
mission (MVAC) was organized in the fall of 2015 and was fully established in January 2016 to continuously sup- port the initiatives of the 33rd Admin- istration of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. “Military brothers and their families have been a key component of Kappa Alpha Psi’s membership since the early 1900s,” said retired Maj. Gen. Hawthorne “Peet” Proctor. “We estab- lished the MVAC to support Grand Polemarch Battle’s Six Point Plan.” The mission of this body is to recog- nize military members and veterans for their military and public service; estab- lish outreach programs to inform Vet- erans about benefits; support youth, and military mentoring programs and provide assistance and support to fam- ily members. One of the Commission’s co-chairs, Brother Andre Douglas, an Air Force veteran, developed the
126 | FALL 2017 THE JOURNAL
Publishing achievement for more than 100 years
Made with FlippingBook Online newsletter