There is a long history of women serving our country. American women have served their country going back to the Revolutionary war where women like Deborah Simpson disguised themselves as men and engaged in combat.  Other women have supported war efforts through nursing and other essential services which have carried on until this day. The ban on women in combat roles was lifted in 2013 which is a testament to the valor and competence of women who have been serving under fire since America’s earliest conflicts.

The Master of Ceremonies was Virginia Blumenthal and her Co-MC was the Honorable Mark Johnson.

Virginia is a strong supporter of Veterans and an advocate for women.  She is also one of the top 100 trial attorneys in the United States. Virginia serves on a number of prestigious boards in Riverside County yet she made time to honor these amazing women.    

Honorable Mark Johnson is a highly decorated Colonel of the United States Army who retired after 28 years of military service. He became a Superior Court Judge and presided over the Riverside County Veterans Court which he helped develop.  He is now the author of the newly released book, “Scars and Strife”. Virginia said, “I made Mark give me a pre-release copy of the book and I can tell you it is good!”

The opening remarks of the ceremony by Virginia was, “… we are here today honoring the military women and civilian supporters whose invaluable contributions have shaped our nation’s military history and today, it is an amazing list of women being honored. “

Reverend Jannet Guzman from the Loma Linda Veteran Affairs opened the event with an invocation followed by the Patriot Guards riding in on their motorcycles presented the colors.   Linda Greilich of Golden Era Productions sang the National Anthem. Together they created a reaction a rousing applause from the audience.

The first honoree was Theresa Seaton.  Theresa served in the Army Air Corps was 1949 to 1954. She is a member of the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians and has been a cast member of the Ramona Pageant since 1940.   She has just celebrated her 94^th birthday.

The second honoree was Barbara Barron.   Barbara a retired Army Veteran of 26 years.  She was the President of the Federal Employee Women Adelphi Chapter in Maryland.

Dr. Stephanie Bruce was the third honoree.  She served in the Army for over 7 years which included Operation Desert Storm and Operation Desert Shield. She went on to create a non-profit, Black Voices of the Valley of which she is the Executive Director.

Martha Sylvia Zaragoza the fourth honoree gives more than 70 hours a week to service veterans. She is a daughter of a WWII Veteran, a member of the American Legion Auxiliary and the Patriot Guards.  She along with the Patriot Guards attend funeral services every Wednesday morning at the Riverside National Cemetery for our military heroes who have no families.

The fifth honoree was Ramonita Cruz who was a Marine deployed 3 times to Iraq and Afghanistan.  Since 2018 she has worked for the Riverside County Veterans Services to assist Veterans and their families.

Jackie Wayman the sixth honoree served in the U.S Army in Vietnam. While she may not have served in combat, she was posted as the Colonels driver and bodyguard. The Colonel is quoted as saying, “You don’t need to be afraid of me, you need to be afraid of her.” She is now the President of OC Cultural Pride and an advocate for Military women in pursuit of holistic healing.

The last but not least honoree was Arlene Jackson. She is the founder and the CEO of Restoring Hope Community Services in Perris and for more than 16 years has been caring for Veterans.  She created a 14 bed shelter for homeless Veterans on her own and if you ask anyone who knows her will tell you she is unstoppable.  

The honorees were personally handed certificates and acknowledged by:  Hemet City Councilwoman, Linda Krupa; State Senator Roth’s office Representative, Altie Holcomb; State Senator Ochoa Bogh’s Office Representative, William Boyd; Delida Jaafar, the President of Hemet Rotary and Michael McGuinness of Veterans Circle of Friends.

In addition certificates were sent in and presented from U.S. Senator Alex Padilla, Congressman Raul Ruiz, Congressman Mark Takano, County Supervisor Yxtian Gutierrez and the City of San Jacinto.

Jackie Wayman said, “I am so happy I am going to tell my family all about this because no one has ever done this before. I have never been acknowledged before.”

Theresa Seaton had tears in her eyes and said, “I had such a wonderful time and I hope I can sleep after this.”

Ramonita Cruz’ daughter was in the audience beaming with pride when her mother was honored.  

At the end of the ceremony Martha Sylvia Zaragoza went around to each honoree giving them a special beaded keep sake to personally thank them.

Overall, the reaction from the audience (which included men and women veterans) was a stirring of pride as all these Veterans felt truly acknowledged for having served to keep our country free.

The post Honoring Veteran Women and Women Championing Veterans  appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

Collected letters, diaries, photographs ,and video and audio recordings of personal histories and testimonials of women Veterans will be used to create a collection of the original recordings.

To commemorate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women Veterans a virtual celebration will be held 6 p.m. ET,  March 8 on Facebook.

Panelists will engage in conversation sharing their experience participating in the collaboration between the I Am Not Invisible campaign and Veterans History Project — and how everyone can contribute to being better advocates for women Veterans.

“What better day to honor these brave women through sharing their experiences and advice?” said VA Center for Women Veterans Deputy Director and co-creator of the I Am Not Invisible Project Elizabeth Estabrooks. “Women are the fastest growing group in the Veteran population. VA understands women Veterans have a place in history and that’s why ‘The I Am Not Invisible Campaign 3.0’ focuses on giving women Veterans a safe platform to share their memories, reflections and thoughts.” 

Congress created the Veterans History Project in 2000 to collect, preserve and make accessible the firsthand remembrances of United States war Veterans from World War I through the more recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan so that future generations may hear directly from Veterans and better understand the realities of military service.

By 2040, women will be 18% of the Veteran population, yet collections only consist of 6% of stories of service from women Veterans. That’s  one of the reasons why the “I Am Not Invisible” campaign was created. Veterans can start preserving their story in history by contacting the Center for Women Veterans at 00W@VA.Gov,  Veterans History Project or by calling 888-371-5848.

Find your latest news here at the Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle

The post Women Veterans have opportunity to share legacy during International Women’s Day appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

The recipients received a total of $30,000 from participating in the Oct. 4 Women Veteran GovCon Bootcamp Accelerator Pitch Competition. 

The pitch competition was the conclusion of a series of business-development trainings co-hosted by the VA Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization and the PenFed Foundation. Judges considered several criteria, including the value proposition of the pitch, if it offered a better solution than what is currently available on the market and how the grant might help winners scale and grow their businesses.

When asked about the program, recipients shared that they felt empowered, engaged and better prepared for the future of their business.

“This program was amazing because it taught me a lot about federal contracting,” said first place winner, Army Veteran and president of Abrado Analytics Lisa Van Wormer. “I thought I knew a lot about federal contracting because of my military service. However, this program taught me things I needed to know as a business owner. The program really helped me focus on the path I had to take to grow my company.”

Second place winner Veronica Lane, Navy Veteran and president of WJM Professional Services, has been in federal contracting for more than 27 years and recommends this program to any women Veteran-owned small business looking to expand their knowledge base. “Knowledge is power, knowledge is key,” she said. “You’re going to learn that the government contract landscape changes on a daily basis. You get a different experience through every program that you go through. Learn as much as you can and pursue your dreams.”

Finishing third was Liseth Velez, National Guard Veteran and president of LJV Development. She shared, “I had some experience with federal contracting, but this program went right to the nitty-gritty. I knew I was going to learn something that I could apply right away. The program provided me new information when compared to other federal contracting programs that I attended previously.” 

The goal of the GovCon Bootcamp Accelerator program is to empower women Veteran entrepreneurs and improve women Veteran business owners’ well-being by getting them access to nationwide resources.

Learn more about PenFed Foundation’s Veteran Entrepreneur Investment Program. The Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization has information about VA’s program to help women Veteran entrepreneurs achieve success and economic opportunities.

Find your latest news here at the Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle

The post VA helps women Veteran entrepreneurs power up appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

MVP is currently researching genetic and clinical markers to predict breast cancer risk in women Veterans.

“While there are roughly 2 million living women Veterans, only 75,000 are currently enrolled in MVP representing only 9% of the MVP cohort,” said VA Assistant Secretary Public and Intergovernmental Affairs Kayla Williams, who is also an MVP participant. “If more women Veterans consider joining, VA researchers would have a larger gene pool to be able to study women’s health in greater detail and offer women the specialized care they need and deserve.”

With increased participation, research could focus on investigating treatments and preventions of diseases that affect women Veterans including depression, hypertension, heart disease, osteoarthritis and others. 

Since 2011 more than 830,000 Veterans have joined MVP, allowing researchers to learn how differences in genes, lifestyle and military experiences affect Veterans’ health and illnesses.

Participation in MVP is entirely voluntary and Veterans go through an informed consent process to ensure MVP is right for them.

Find your latest news here at the Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle

The post VA to increase participation of women Veterans in genetic research to aid in improving women’s health appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.