Texas Veterans Commission Journal, Volume 23, Issue 3, May/June 2000 Page: Page2
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Adams, Barraza Named
New TVC CommissionersGovernor George W. Bush recently announced the
appointment of two new TVC Commissioners: LTC
James R. Adams (Ret) of Dallas, and Leonardo Barraza
of El Paso, replacing Herbert Odell and Patsy Palmquist,
respectively.
COL Adams, a retired Army artillery officer, currently is
the Director of the Junior ROTC Program in the Dallas
Independent School District. His military service included
many worldwide assignments, with tours in Vietnam, and
he received numerous awards and decorations, including
the Legion of Merit and Broze Star with two Oak Leaf
Clusters.
COL Adams earned his Ph.D in Adminsitrative Leadership
from North Texas State University in 1983 and is an active
community member serving in many capacities in numerous
organizations (Military Order of the World Wars, Dallas
School Administrators Association, Dallas County
Veterans Advisory Board and Dallas Northeast District ofOrdained Ministry, to name just a few.) He is married to
Althea and they have three grown children.
Leonardo Barraza, a Vietnam veteran, is employed by
the City of El Paso in the Building Services Department.
A graduate of the University of Texas at El Paso, Leo has
been extremely active inthe Veterans of Foreign Wars since
his return from Vietnam in 1970. He has held numerous
positions from Post to National level within the VFW, and
is active in his community through Saint Jude's Catholic
Church. He is also a member of the Vietnam Veterans
of America, American Legion, and the Military Order of
the Cooties. He is married to Marina Joe and they have
two grown children.
We congratulate Jim and Leo on their appointments
and look forward to working with them in securing
the furtherance of benefits for Texas veterans and their
dependents.*The Center for
Minority VeteransOn November 2, 1994, The Center
for Minority Veterans (CMV) was
established by Congress under Public
Law 103-446. The Center is directly
attached to the Office of the Secretary
of Veterans Affairs and it is located in
Washington, DC. The director of the
center is Willie Hensley, Anthony
Hawkins is the Associate Director, and
Regina Mack-Abney is the Program
Analyst.
The program was created because a
task force commissioned by Secretary
Brown found that minority veterans were
not using VA programs and benefits in
the same proportion as their Caucasian
counterparts. The purpose of the program
is to generate minority awareness of VA
benefits and services, and to evaluate
current programs and make recommen-dations on how the VA can better serve
minority veterans. The minority groups
served by the CMV are as follows:
* African Americans
* Asian Americans
* Hispanic Americans
* Native Americans (American Indians,
Alaskan Natives, and Native Hawaiians)
* Pacific Island Americans
The Center is responsible for assisting
minority veterans to access VA services
and benefits; analyzing and evaluating
issues and concerns raised by minority
veterans; and a myriad of other tasks. The
Center accomplishes its mission with the
assistance of Minority Veterans Program
Coordinators (MVPC) who are assigned
to each VAMC and regional office. The
MVPC is responsible for informingminority veterans of VA benefits, services
and programs, and assisting them with
the application process if necessary. They
are also responsible for identifying
barriers that may exist between the VA
and minority veterans. The MVPC networks
with other veterans advocates to ensure
information is properly disseminated.
It is the responsibility of all veterans'
advocates to do everything possible to
ensure that ALL veterans receive the
benefits to which they are entitled. If you
have any questions or need additional
information about The Center for Minority
Veterans, please contact your local VA
medical facility or the Regional Office that
serves your county. You may also contact
the Center directly at (202) 273-6708.*
Contributed by LaTriciaSmith, TVC StafPage 2 TVC JOURNAL - May/June 200(4 Vol. 2$ No. 3
Page 2
TVC JOURNAL - May/June 2000, Vol. 23, No. 3
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Texas Veterans Commission. Texas Veterans Commission Journal, Volume 23, Issue 3, May/June 2000, periodical, May 2000; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth838372/m1/4/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.