by Dan West, State Adjutant/Quartermaster
Adapt, overcome and improvise…again and again. After the COVID-19 pandemic forced the Texas VFW out of its usual Mid-Winter Convention location in Austin, Texas — and with only two month’s notice to find another location — they were fortunate enough to have obtained a booking at the Omni Corpus Christi for the Mid-Winter Convention as well as aboard the USS Lexington for its Awards Banquet which recognizes Teachers, Patriot’s Pen Winner and Voice of Democracy Scholarship Winners from across the state. In attendance were National Commander-in-Chief Hal Roesch and National Auxiliary President Sandra Onstwedder who provided inspiring speeches about the importance of what the VFW and Auxiliary does every day to help support veterans in communities across America and overseas. In addition to the National VFW guests of honor, there were also five out of state guests in attendance who were given a little taste of what Texas VFW hospitality is all about. Unfortunately, two days before the start of the event the government commandeered 135 of the rooms for first responders fighting on the front lines against COVID-19. Whereas this was recognized as an understandable necessity, many of its members had long-standing reservations for those rooms and it created quite the chaos in trying to secure overflow locations and last-minute shuttle transportation. When asked about the hotel room situation State Adjutant/Quartermaster Dan West said “Blame cannot be pinned on any one person for what happened, but I will take sole responsibility for ensuring it doesn’t ever happen again. My sincere apologies to those who were displaced or misled about their room availability.” With over 700 people in attendance, Nueces County and the City of Corpus Christi required the Texas
VFW to implement COVID-19 Health Safety Protocols requiring every person attending to wear a mask, social distance and wash hands frequently while inside the Omni Hotel and also while aboard the USS Lexington. 99.9% of all attendees complied with the health safety protocols and everyone enjoyed themselves even after they were reminded (ad nauseam) to wear their masks while seated. “Adapt, overcome and improvise” as the Marines say, is what the organization and members were forced to practice in order to be able to conduct business and to keep the Texas VFW moving forward. Members of both the VFW and Auxiliary did a great job at adhering to the guidelines. The Awards Banquet was thrown a last-minute curve ball because of COVID restrictions that forced the seating for over 500 guests to be spread out from one hanger bay into two hanger bays leaving a large group sitting in the “back 40.” They also had to change the usual “plated and served” dinner to a “cafeteria-stylecome-get-your-plate-one-table-at-a-time” presented on the very best Chinet plates ever made. Additionally, Texas VFW staff was presented with trying to connect several Voice of Democracy students via Zoom on unfamiliar equipment while encountering a few technical difficulties. Definitely not what the group or attendees are used to for a state banquet — but in the end, everyone survived, got to eat a great meal and were able to still recognize amazing teachers and students. Everyone had good things to say about being aboard the USS Lexington and what a truly special evening it was. Texas VFW would like to thank the tireless efforts of the USS Lexington staff as well as the Omni staff for helping make this an event to remember. H
Carlos Sustaita (center) officially retired from the Texas VFW after 15 years of service as the State Assistant Quartermaster. He served on the front lines in Vietnam as a Mine Sweeper with the 82nd Airborne Division. A special sword was presented to Carlos.
W i n t e r 2 0 2 1 Te x a s V F W M a g a z i n e
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