Diane J. Franz, Auxiliary National Commander

A new year, but the mission remains the same

Another year has come to pass—although a difficult and strange one—and now, 2020 is in our rearview. We can all hopefully begin to move past the struggles that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought as well as a tumultuous election cycle.

We cannot allow the election results, whether we personally support or oppose them, to affect the mission and continued legislative successes we have made as an organization. The way we continue these efforts is, once again, by coming together to help one another.

As we begin 2021, we must make strides toward continued growth in membership as well as with our volunteers. As the pandemic has changed our everyday lives, it has also changed many of our dedicated volunteers’ ability to devote as much time as they would like. Because of this, we must continue to grow as an organization, both through membership and volunteer recruitment.

I am so proud of what DAV and the Auxiliary have been able to accomplish in this trying time. We have persevered through adversity in the 100 years since the organization began, and this past year certainly had its setbacks.

Now, we must begin to build back our membership through new avenues. Whether they be technology or safe, socially distant gatherings, we must be strong in both our presence and our resolve. We cannot begin to become divided as an organization. Division is the easy path—what is difficult is reaching out to someone different than yourself and working together to achieve our common goal and mission, which is to keep the promises made to our American veterans, their families and survivors.

Without unity, there is chaos. How we continue to strive for unity and work together should be an example for the rest of the world.

I ask going forward that all of us make the extra effort to reach out to neighbors looking to fill their time; have them volunteer that time through DAV. Or if you know of veteran neighbors who need help this coming winter because they cannot leave their home or maybe they just want to simply talk to someone, offer them that support.

We cannot begin to truly move forward as an organization or even as a society without first working within our communities to make them stronger. No matter the results or the differences, we are all striving toward the same goal.