Commanders/Officers/Auxiliary/Members,

The time has come to convene our District 20 Convention for the conduct of VFW Business.

The date, time and place is now May 30, 2020 at 10 A.M. location VFW Post 9186. This change was due to the current Pandemic virus and the now slow easing of the gathering restrictions to 25% of building capacity.

In that regard, we will not have a Joint Session with our Auxiliary in order to make sure that we do not exceed the 25% requirement. The Auxiliary will need to have a separate convening area. Remember that there is a need of social distancing of 6 feet between people and the use of a mask is advice.

We will not supply masks so bring your own. Please be advice that WE the VFW have the greatest number of vulnerable people (65 and over) so respect and taking care of each other by wearing your mask when possible is highly recommended.

The dress uniform is Dress Blues/Suit and Tie with Gray Pants for all District 20 Officers and those that are running for Office. All the rest can wear the Black VFW Polo Shirt or a VFW Post Issue Polo Shirt. No Shorts please, this is not a picnic.

Commanders, please try to reduce the number of members that can show up from your Post. We recommend that the Commander plus 2 be the limit to keep numbers down and comply with the 25%. Please understand that these are trying times, but we must work thru them. Thanks.

Rolando S. Webber

TX VFW District 20

Commander

___________________________________________________

Commanders,

The new Governors Directives state that as of 1 May 2020, all VFW Posts can reopen, except for those Posts that operate Canteens. Those Canteens can not open yet. Bingo Commission stated that Bingo halls can also reopen Friday, May 1, 2020, however Posts and Bingo Halls must abide by the 25% Capacity Rule,(i.e.), if your Post Hall only has a max capacity of 100, only 25 people can be present at one time. I'm going to insist that we follow the Governor's New Directives plus continue to follow the social space distancing and proper wearing of face mask procedures until we hear otherwise from our Bexar County and City of San Antonio Leadership.

Having said that, Post Commanders must make sure to hold their Monthly Meetings and Agendas along with Voting the new Officers done. Send the Election Reports with the Delegate List by name and Money Due to Department after each Post holds their elections.

All Auxiliaries meeting rooms or areas must meet the 25% capacity requirements and be conducive to the social space distancing criteria.

Thanks.

Rolando S. Webber, Commander

TX VFW

District 20

__________________________________________________________________________

Commanders and Comrades,

VFW Posts are safe places for members and guests to congregate at for a multitude of reasons and trying to put a VFW Post into one category can not be done.

As we all know, VFW Posts are unique in that we provide the services of a retail store without selling merchandise, the functions of a church without providing weekly sermons, the operations of a restaurant without a daily special, the relaxation of a cold beer or drink without a party atmosphere, and the entertainment of a movie theater without showing a matinee. VFW Posts are gathering places where members, guests and the public gather for a multitude of reasons, be it bingo, pot lucks, entertainment, relaxation with a cold drink, informative sessions, etc.

As Texas starts to reopen amid the continued threat of the COVID-19 pandemic VFW members and Posts are asked to adhere to safe standards should they decide to open the doors of their respective Posts. State Commander King is asking that each Post adhere to the requirements as listed in the "Open Texas Report" from Governor Greg Abbott, specifically, those recommendations found on page 20 of the attached for all individuals and on pages 21-45 for all VFW Posts.

Currently Governor Abbott has excluded all bars from reopening at this time. Over the last several days I have received many requests and statements from Post officers that tried to claim their canteen was not a bar, that we are a private club and can do what we want, etc.

Here it is in a nutshell, the Texas Alcohol and Beverage Commission (TABC) has issued you a license for the sale of alcohol (Beer, Wine, Liquor) for the purpose of on premises consumption. That license, whether it is a private club license or not, means you are a bar. Please do not try and convince me that a "Canteen, Cantina, Club, Private Club, etc" is not a bar. The license issued by TABC along with the 51% sign clearly means you are a bar.

If your Post has a Retail Food Establishment Permit along with a TABC license then you are considered a restaurant as long as less than 51% of your income is derived from the sale of food, I do not know of any Texas VFW Post that currently has a Retail Food Establishment Permit.

As mentioned earlier VFW Posts are unique in all the things we do for our members and the community we serve. If you have a TABC license of any type, before reopening and stating that you are not going to sell any alcohol, please check with your local TABC office and verify that you can do so. I do believe we can learn from other examples and while this was not in Texas I have heard about at least one VFW Post in another state that had reopened and allowed people to sit in the room where the alcohol is normally served drinking soda and water and the police raided them and arrested people. Again, if you have a TABC license of any type, please check with you local TABC office.

I have also received several requests about reopening V-sweeps. For the time being it has been decided that we need to wait until the guidelines on the reopening of bars is announced before we proceed. Hopefully, this will only be another week or two.

VFW Posts and Districts are authorized to conduct Post and District meetings as long as the members physically present do not exceed the 25% or 50% rule (depending on your location) of the buildings total allowed occupancy and the guidelines as established in the attachment are followed. This means frequent cleaning, use of hand sanitizers, and face masks as well as the other recommendations listed in the Re-Open Texas report that is attached to this email.

As an example, in preparation for the State Convention, we are looking at having plenty of hand sanitizer and face masks available to all participants. The hotel is gearing up to have frequent cleaning of chairs and surfaces. We are even looking at having temperature checks of each participant as well.

We all want to get back to normal as soon as we can, and until such time as that can happen it is imperative that we adhere to keeping each other safe as best we can under the circumstances we find ourselves faced with.

District Commanders please share this email with the Posts and officers in your respective Districts.

Should you have questions please ask.

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

It is with a heavy heart that we are informing you of the passing of our

Comrade Nick Herrera, a Past District 20 Commander 1992-1993 from VFW Post 8936 7 May 2020.

Our deepest condolences and prayers go to his Family in this darkest of times. There is definitely no words that can relieve the pain and sorrow this causes but we do ask the family that District 20 is here to help in any way we can.

No information is currently available, but as soon as more information is available, we will do what the family requests.

With our deepest sympathy.

Rolando S. Webber, Commander

TX VFW District 20

It is with a heavy heart that we are informing you of another passing of a Comrade,

Clarence Soignet, a Past District 20 Commander from VFW Post 6970 passed away last friday April 3 2020.

No information is currently available, but as soon as more information is available, we will do what the family requests. With our deepest sympathy.

Rolando S. Webber, Commander

TX VFW District 20

It is with a heavy heart that we pass this information to all of our Comrades and Auxiliary that Past District 20 and VFW Post 7108 Commander, Joe Rivera, has passed away last night.

No information is currently available. Our deepest condolences and prayers go to his wife Velma and Family in this darkest of times.

There are definitely no words that can relieve the pain and sorrow of this but we do ask the family that we are here to help in any way we can. As soon as more information is available, we will do what the family requests. Our prayers are with you and your family.

Sincerely.

Rolando S. Webber, Commander
Texas VFW District 20

San Antonio and Kerrville VA Announces Additional Safeguards to Protect Veterans, Visitors and Employees

No Visitor Policy at San Antonio VA Campus

San Antonio, Texas (March 16, 2020) - The South Texas Veterans Health Care System is taking extra precautions aimed at limiting exposure risk to Veterans, volunteers, employees, and visitors.

Veterans who are concerned they may have symptoms of COVID-19, flu, or cold should call 877-537-7348 before coming to the VA. Clinical staff are available to provide 24/7 virtual care and support, including nurse advice and triage. This service is available at no cost to Veterans enrolled for VA health care.

The South Texas Veterans Health Care System includes the Audie L. Murphy VA Medical Center in San Antonio; the Kerrville VA Medical Center and the following outpatient and contract clinics:

Frank M. Tejeda Outpatient Clinic
North Central Federal Clinic
Balcones Heights Outpatient Clinic
Shavano Park Outpatient Clinic
South Bexar Outpatient Clinic
Victoria Outpatient Clinic
Data Point Outpatient Clinic
Northeast 410
Northwest 410
Pecan Valley
New Braunfels
Southwest Military
Seguin
Beeville

To minimize risk for employees and Veterans, everyone who enters the South Texas Veterans Health Care System campuses will be pre-screened. This may lengthen entry times, so patients are advised to allow for that when arriving for their appointments.

The screening consists of three questions:

1. Do you have a fever or worsening cough or shortness of breath or flu-like symptoms?

2. Have you or a close contact traveled to an area with widespread or sustained community transmission of COVID-19 within 14 days of symptom onset?

3. Have you been in close contact with someone, including health care workers, confirmed to have COVID-19?

Visitor policies are as follows:

A temporary “no visitor” policy has been adopted at the Audie L. Murphy Memorial Veterans Hospital in San Antonio.

Access to the Kerrville and San Antonio Community Living Centers (VA nursing homes), Spinal Cord Injury Unit, Bone Marrow Transplant Unit, Domiciliary, Polytrauma Transitional Rehabilitation Program and visitation to the inpatient units is no longer permitted. These units are being strictly monitored to protect patients deemed more vulnerable and at higher risk. This means no outside visitors will be permitted to see residents in these units and inpatient areas. The only exceptions will be in compassionate cases, when Veterans are in their last stages of life on hospice units. Learn more about VA’s announcement here.

For outpatient clinic appointments in the San Antonio and Kerrville area, we strongly encourage Veterans to limit family members to one while accompanying them to their appointment or immediate caregivers only and no children under 18 years of age.

Lastly, South Texas Veterans Health Care System will post cancelled special events and/or activities on the following sites : www.southtexas.va.gov, www.facebook.com/SanAntonioVAMC, www.twitter.com/SanAntonioVAMC .

South Texas is temporarily ceasing all participation in public outreach events until April 30, 2020.

The South Texas Veterans Health Care System understands these actions may be inconvenient to some; however, these measures will help protect those who trust VA for their care and the employees who provide that care.

More information for Veterans is here: https://www.va.gov/coronavirus

For more information about COVID-19, visit the CDC Coronavirus Disease 2019 website.

# # #

Nenette C. Madla

Public Affairs Officer

VFW Mission Statement

Department of Texas VFW District 20 is dedicated to our motto

– We honor the dead by helping the living –