USS Cole Memorial Ceremony at Fort Sam Houston Cemetery
Has been CANCELLED
All:
We are experiencing delays in the production of Buddy® Poppies. COVID-19 has had a severe impact on the assembly facilities, resulting in a low supply of fully assembled poppies. Please continue to submit your orders while we actively work toward fulfilling your requests. All orders will be processed in the order in which they are received, but fulfillment may be significantly delayed.
This is a difficult time for everyone and we're working hard to adapt to this new reality. Please watch for further updates, and feel free to send inquiries to our program administrators at buddypoppy@vfw.org. We appreciate your patience and will do our best to ship your orders as quickly as possible.
Respectfully,
Kevin Jones
Adjutant General
VFW National Headquarters
New deadline dates for VOD/PP & Teacher are as follows;
From student/teacher to Post is Nov 15, 2020
Post winners to District is Dec 1, 2020
District winners to Department is Dec 15, 2020.
Commanders and Comrades,
State Commander Shawver and I participated in a meeting facilitated by State Senator Donna Campbell yesterday with TABC Director Retired Brigadier General Bentley Nettles. He is a VFW and American Legion member.
Essentially he is saying their hands (TABC) are tied when it comes to recognizing that the philanthropic work that the VFW does is suspended due to the Post having a TABC licenses and unless directed by the Governor has nothing for us except one of the four options below.
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Wait it out – they are thinking it might be 1 to 2 years before COVID-19 restrictions are lifted or eased they are hoping for sooner.
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Become a restaurant – Some Posts have this already, some might be able to, most will not have the option to pursue this. Here is the link to information on how to do this on the TABC website https://www.tabc.state.tx.us/coronavirus/files/qualifying-as-a-restaurant-under-ga-28.pdf
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Re-diagram the licensed portion of the bar within the Post. Some Posts can do this while others would not be able to. Here is the link to the form on the TABC website. https://www.tabc.state.tx.us/forms/licensing.asp
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Voluntary Surrender of License with no refund of fees already paid – This option it would allow the Post to reopen to the current social distancing guidelines depending on location. This would allow the Post to open up and conduct fundraising with no alcohol being served yet would allow them to go to a BYOB if they so choose to do so. This right now seems to be our best option for being able to reopen as many Posts as we can, as you know it will be up to each Post to decide. If your permit is still current/active you may submit it for voluntary cancel. In order to process your request an officer of the permitted entity must sign the face of the actual permit and write “voluntary cancel” on the face of the permit. Mail the permit back to us at TABC PO Box 13127 Austin TX 78711-3127 or email it as PDF attachment to this email address. The permit will be cancelled upon receipt. If you no longer have access to the permit, you may submit an affidavit signed by an officer listed in the ownership of the permit. There will be no refunds. If your Post chooses to surrender its license please let us know so we can adjust the insurance requirements on the Status sheets to reflect that Liquor Liability is no longer required.
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Here is a link to the TABC Administrative Rules for those who want more in depth reading. https://www.tabc.state.tx.us/laws/other/TABCRules.pdf
Many have asked the question about becoming a BYOB location if they no longer have a TABC license and according to the TABC “There are no statewide bring-your-own-beverage (BYOB) laws in Texas.” Meaning it is an option that any establishment can pursue, there are rules to follow though. https://www.tabc.state.tx.us/faq/general.asp#:~:text=There%20are%20no%20statewide%20bring,(BYOB)%20laws%20in%20Texas.&text=Some%20establishments%20that%20sell%20only,Club%20or%20Mixed%20Beverage%20Permit.
There may be local ordinances as well as insurance requirements that a Post might have to meet in order to do so. Here are some links that will help with understanding BYOB in Texas
https://www.tabconthefly.com/blog/4-best-practices-for-a-byob-restaurant/
https://labarbapermitservice.com/best-practices-for-a-byob-restaurant-in-dallas-tx/
https://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/byob/
https://www.webstaurantstore.com/blog/2734/what-is-byob.html
With the Governors Executive Order closing all bars down and the unintended consequences that has had to our VFW Posts which prevents us from evening coming onto our own property to continue our philanthropic mission of taking care of veterans each Post will need to decide what is best for them. With the possibility of the COVID-19 restrictions not being over anytime soon it might be time to reconsider the Canteen as a primary fundraiser for the Post and go to another method of fundraising without a TABC license until COVID-19 Restrictions are lifted.
Dan West
State Adjutant/Quartermaster
National Council Member 2018-2022
All-American Triple Crown Past State Commander 2015-2016
Veterans of Foreign Wars, Department of Texas
Commanders,
I was given a new direction that Posts may remain open to do VFW business like VPRs, meetings etc.
But the sale of alcohol or the bar/canteen is prohibited. All bars closed.
So continue your schedule for VPRs, meetings and hall usage, but abide by the CDC directions of wearing masks and social distancing.
District Commander
Armando P. Gonzales (Mando)
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