Lee Washington Elected President of the County Veterans Services Officer Association of Florida, Inc.
MANATEE COUNTY, FL (May 12, 2021) - Lee Washington, Manatee County Veterans Services Officer, was elected last week as President of the County Veterans Services Officer Association of Florida (CVSOAF), a two-year position. Most recently he held the position of Senior Vice-President from May 2018 to May 2021.
Representing all 67 of Florida’s county Veterans Services offices, the President advocates for Veterans and their families, coordinates with the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs (FDVA), Disabled American Veterans (DAV), American Legion & Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) on new requirements of accreditation for its members and oversees the semi-annual training and annual recertification courses held in May and October.
The President and other officers travel to those counties that have minimal local support to discuss the importance of having county-specific Veterans Services offices, and they lobby Tallahassee for direct intervention, should those counties be threatened with replacement or reduced funding.
In addition to Washington’s election, three Manatee County Veterans Services’ counselors were elected to fill roles.
Jack Ruark was reelected to the Central West Area Vice President position, which is responsible for communicating information to Veterans offices in Manatee, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Desoto, Polk and Pasco counties. Stephane Forget was appointed Sergeant-at-Arms, which is responsible for the orderly conduct of meetings and supervisor of all elections, and Renée Medina was appointed Site Selection Coordinator, where she will identify locations for upcoming training sessions.
The positions will be up for reelection in May 2023.
For more information about the CVSOAFL, go to cvsoafl.org. To contact the Neighborhood Services’ Veterans Services office, please call (941) 745-3795.