Veterans of Foreign Wars
Department of Texas
VFW Fact Sheet
VFW Media Fact Sheet
(updated July 2006)
VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES
- Organized in 1899
- Oldest major U.S. Veterans' organization
- Received Congressional Charter in 1936
- Posts - Over 9,000 worldwide.
- Membership - 1.8 million
- Headquarters - VFW Building, 406 West 34th Street,
Kansas City, Missouri 64111
- World Wide Web site address: http://www.vfw.org/
- Washington Office - VFW Memorial Building, 200 Maryland Avenue NE, Washington, D.C. 20002
Elected leaders for 2006-2007:
- Gary L. Kurius-- Commander-in-Chief
- George Lisicki -- Sr. Vice Commander-in-Chief
- Glen M. Gardner, Jr -- Jr. Vice Commander-in-Chief
Top National Officers:
- Allen "Gunner" Kent -- Adjutant General
- Larry Maher -- Quartermaster General
Key accomplishments - Veterans of Foreign Wars
Directly instrumental in establishment of:
- VA
- GI Bill
- Veterans entitlements
- VA cabinet
- Veteran status
- Inspection of VA health care facilities
DEPARTMENT OF TEXAS, VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS
- Started in June of 1921
- Twenty-five (25) Districts - 417 Posts
- Membership - 94,620 members - Largest veterans' organization in Texas.
- Headquarters - VFW Building, 8503 North IH-35,
Austin, Texas 78753
- World Wide Web site address: http://www.texasvfw.org/
- Email address: firstname@texasvfw.org - example: roy@texasvfw.org
Texas State Adjutant-Quartermaster Roy J. Grona
Elected leaders for 2006-2007:
- A.R. "Russ" Richards -- Austin, Texas -- State Commander
- E. "Al" Cantu, Jr.-- Corpus Christi, Texas -- State Senior Vice Commander
- Jerry Murphree -- Dallas, Texas -- State Junior Vice
Commander
- Roy J. Grona Austin, Texas -- State Adjutant-Quartermaster (Secretary-Treasurer)
Some key accomplishments - Department of Texas:
- Responsible for elimination of ad valorem tax on Post
homes
- Responsible for maintaining adequate budget for Texas
Veterans Commission
- Responsible for changes in entitlements to Texas
veterans (housing, home improvement, land program)
- Donate over $3-million annually within the State of
Texas for Community Service projects
- Give out scholarships totalling over $150,000.00 annually to Voice of Democracy winners in Texas