Allow me to introduce myself. My name is JR Garza. I have been a life member of DAV since 2001.  I am a US Army Vietnam Veteran and was with the 173rd Assault Helicopter Co. in Dong - Ha on the DMZ - RVN.

On May 15, 2010, I was Elected and installed as your new commander for 2010-2011 fiscal year.

It is my sincere objective to lead your chapter and to maintain its reputation of a productive, successful and professional organization.

I will be asking for your assistance in providing me with suggestions, ideas, recommendations and or advice. A commander is only as good as the people in the organization that he commands. With each members help and based on prior history, it should not be very difficult to continue this legacy.

We have great comrades that so generously volunteer their time, energy, resources and monetary contributions.

We must all be mindful of every one of our veterans and their families that have sacrificed for our nation's defense. Our new generation of veterans are technologically advanced more so than any time in history. Our DAV must transform itself to meet those challenges. We must also recognize the contributions that our female veterans have given in honorably serving our great nation.

We also must never forget the tremendous cost that all of our prior military veterans have so freely given of themselves with their honorable service and sacrifices to this great country.

Our Auxiliary Unit 5 also welcomes you and your dependents to join. The auxiliary is comprised of the spouses, dependents, grand children and even the veteran themselves are all eligible for membership.

My challenge to each of you is to get involved in something bigger that yourself. I welcome you to join and help serve others that are less fortunate. Our mission is to serve our nations disabled veterans, their spouses, children and orphans. Come on out and become active and get involved, it's very rewarding.