Diane J. Franz, Auxiliary National Commander

What a year!

My, oh my, what an extraordinary first year serving as your Auxiliary national commander. It truly was a rewarding and life-changing experience that I will use to my advantage in these unusual times that have led to a second year of service in this extraordinary post. As Albert Einstein once said, “the only source of knowledge is experience.”

Midway through my term as commander, the COVID-19 outbreak began to show its ugly head. Sadly, along with numerous other events, meetings and gatherings, our very own national convention was canceled. As some of you know, per our constitution and bylaws, this means I will serve a second year as commander of our Auxiliary.

This horrible pandemic has affected more lives than we know and has changed lives all throughout the world. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with those who are still being impacted today.

One of the silver linings to come out of the disastrous coronavirus was DAV and Auxiliary leaders everywhere stepping up and doing all they could to limit its impact on our mission. Every effort was made—
and continues to be made—to put our volunteers, veterans and their families first in the wake of this crisis.

It has certainly been an emotional year, but it was easy to see the traits of a great and long-lasting organization. It became clear to me why DAV is celebrating a centennial of service and our Auxiliary is not far behind. The compassion, the leadership, the will to go on, and the love for our fellow human beings was on full display.

Veterans and their families have always been guiding lights when it comes to tough times. The way they pick up the pieces and move forward with courage and conviction could be a lesson for us all. This most recent experience has been no different.

I also want to thank every member of our Auxiliary for your help in guiding our organization through a tough few months. But stay diligent, as the fight is not over.

I look forward to serving all of you for another year, as I do not take this privilege and responsibility lightly. I genuinely look forward to continuing to serve all of you and getting through this as we started it—together.