Advisory Military and Veterans Liaison Committee

MEETING MINUTES ADVISORY MILITARY and VETERANS LIAISON COMMITTEE MONDAY, MARCH 14, 2022 – 6:00 P.M. ONLINE – ZOOM WEB CONFERENCING NORWALK, CT 06851 1. CALL TO ORDER, PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: the meeting was called to order at 6:05 p.m. and the Pledge of Allegiance was led by Jeff DeWitt. 2. PUBLIC FORUM: a. None. 3. ROLL CALL: a. Present (8): Jeff DeWitt, Chair; Irene Dixon, Mayor Rilling’s Staff; Fred Wilms, Financial Services Chair; Leon Breault, Veteran At-large; Paulo Barros, Norwalk Chamber of Commerce; Matt Seebeck, Veteran At-large; Orlando Aquino, Community Health Center. b. Absent or excused (2): Howard Dixon, Veteran At-large; Bryan Rooney, Veteran At-large; Deanna D’Amore – Health Department; c. A reminder, the Vice Chairman position is open. In addition, there are vacancies for two At-Large veterans who are interested in getting involved. 4. COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN COMMENTS: Looking forward to continued success in 2022. 5. OLD BUSINESS: a. VETERANS RESOURCE DIRECTORY: (REPEAT) The directory was mailed to the 1,400+ homes in Norwalk receiving an assessment reduction on their home or car. There has been some good feedback about the content. The committee was informed by the Tax Assessor’s office that they would like to edit their portion of the directory in the future. The goal for the committee is to mail this one time per year in January and include a calendar of veteran related events for the year. 21 envelopes were returned as undeliverable for various reasons. The Tax Assessor’s Office was e-mailed the list. (CLOSED) b. MILITARY AND VETERAN REGISTRY: (REPEAT) Creation of a veteran registry in Norwalk has been requested to the IT Department in City Hall. A link was sent again to the City of Norwalk IT Department on January 11, 2022 and they have been asked about the feasibility of duplicating what the State of Pennsylvania has already done. Recommendations to their form were made in the e-mail to make it more Norwalk-centric. (OPEN) https://www.dmva.pa.gov/veteransaffairs/pages/outreach-and- reintegration/pennsylvaniaveteransregistry.aspx c. PARTNERSHIP WITH THE NORWALK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: A database of veteran owned businesses in Norwalk has been started. This would give those business owners a chance to get together to share best practices and ways to market themselves in the city, as well as to participate in larger Chamber events throughout the year. See attachment 1 to these minutes for the list as of 9/16/2021. The goal is not to start a Veterans Chamber of Commerce, as that would appear to be competition with the chamber, but to form a sub group to leverage relationships with each other and the rest of the chamber. At-Large member Paulo Barros has agreed to take that on. (OPEN) d. VETERANS MEMORIAL SUB-COMMITTEE: The Veterans Memorial Committee is in the planning stages for events in May. They are cemetery visits May 15, 10:00 a.m. (meet at City Hall), the Veterans Memorial Ceremony May 15, 12:30 p.m. (Shea-Magrath Memorial @ Calf Pasture Beach), and the Memorial Day Parade on May 30th. The Grand Marshal for this year’s parade will be Dan Caporale, longtime contributor to veteran organizations in Norwalk. They are also planning a ceremony on D-Day, June 6th, 7:00 p.m., American Legion. (OPEN) e. PURPLE HEART MONUMENT: The process to add a Purple Heart Monument to honor Norwalk’s combat wounded in Veterans Park is complete. A vendor was chosen and Recreation & Parks will work with them on placement. They are Hughes & Chapman Monument Company, 96 Main Street, Route 25, Monroe CT 06468. June 2022 is now the target timeframe. (OPEN) f. VIETNAM PLAQUE AT THE SHEA-MAGRATH MEMORIAL: The addendum to the Vietnam War plaque at the Shea – Magrath memorial has been installed. Coordination with surviving family members will be needed to have an event where the plaque is unveiled. Major Larry Thorne has no living relatives in the United States. Captain Joseph Brown has two daughters in California and a sister in Connecticut. The plaque will be tied in with the Veterans Memorial Ceremony on May 15th. (OPEN) g. FUTURE MONUMENTS IN VETERANS PARK: A concept of building out the brick sidewalk that leads into Veterans Park from Seaview Avenue has been informally discussed. The concept would involve placing a monument for all wars Norwalk residents have served in. The idea is to start with the Revolutionary War and add 1 or 2 per year until it’s completed. This could take 5-10 years. Funding will be a priority. Bricks could be sold through a website such as fundraisingbrick.com, with a portion of the proceeds going to pay for new monuments. Public- Private Partnership could also be a method to build out this “Monument Walk” or “Veterans Walk.” Norwalk has 4 monuments: Battle of the Rocks (France St & Adams Ave), Flax Hill “Cannonball” (Hillside & Elmwood Avenue), Liberty Tree (Sunset Hill/East Ave), WWI (Town Green).  h. THE WALL THAT HEALS: The Wall That Heals (TWTH), a ¾ scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC, has approved Norwalk for the 2022 tour. Norwalk is scheduled for June 2-5, 2022. The trailer will arrive in town on either May 31 at approximately 3:00 p.m. American Legion Post 12 is the “named host” of the event. The next meeting will be an informal in-person meeting on March 23, 6:00 p.m. at Veterans Park. (OPEN) 5. NEW BUSINESS: a. Committee member Fred Wilms spoke about the unkempt condition of the Soldiers & Sailors Monument at Martin Luther King Drive and Washington Street. He is going to find out who maintains the monument. (OPEN) 6. GOOD OF THE ORDER: a. A good discussion was held regarding communication to veterans and veteran-friendly residents. The goal for our committee is to reach as many homes in Norwalk as possible to increase awareness of events and programs. Ideas that came up: 1) e-mail blast to the Republican Town Committee (Fred Wilms), 2) e-mail blast to the Democratic Town Committee (Eloise Melendez), 3) e-mail blast to Chamber of Commerce, 4) e-mail blast to JoAnne Romano and Toni Boucher who know many people in Norwalk, 5) write articles for The Hour and News 12 in the form of a press release, 6) fraternal organizations: Lions Club, Exchange Club, Rotary Club, Kiwanis, Knights of Columbus and the Masonic Lodge, 7) Nancy On Norwalk. 7. ADJOURNMENT: the meeting was adjourned at 7:01 p.m. 8. NEXT MEETINGS: April 11, 2022, 6:00 p.m., possibly via Zoom, or this will be the first meeting in-person in two years. The rest are May 9, June 13, September 12, and December 12. Attachment 1 Veteran owned businesses that have replied to the Chamber of Commerce questionnaire DVB Commercial Realty, LLC Law Office of Miklos P. Koleszar THF Tax Solutions, LLC Integrate4IT Jack T Wolf LLC RON AARONS PRIiME, LLC Chamber Seaport Electric Ray Rumer, Realtor, Berkshire Hathaway Home Services New England Omni Natural LLC Web Realty Company As of 8/21/2021 Attachment 2 MARCH Friday, March 25, 2022: Medal of Honor Day Tuesday, March 29, 2022: National Vietnam War Veterans Day APRIL Sunday, April 3, 2022: Flag Ceremony, 11:00, American Legion MAY Sunday, May 1, 2022: Flag Ceremony, 11:00, American Legion May 13-15, Fallen Heroes Memorial honoring Global War on Terrorism veterans, American Legion Post 16, Shelton Saturday, May 14, 2022: Knights of Columbus Veterans Dinner, St. Ann’s, 16 Hendricks Avenue, Norwalk, 5:00-9:00 p.m.; veterans are free. Tickets are at https://knights-of-columbus-assembly-100.square.site/ Sunday, May 15, 2022: Cemetery visits, starts at 10:00, City Hall parking lot Sunday, May 15, 2022: Veterans Memorial Ceremony, Calf Pasture Beach, 12:30 p.m. Monday, May 30, 2022: Memorial Day Parade Tuesday, May 31, 2022: The Wall That Heals arrives in Norwalk at approximately 3:00 p.m. JUNE RECURRING MEETINGS Wednesday, June 1, 2022: BMHS JROTC awards, American Legion, 5:30 p.m. Thursday, June 2 through June 5, 2022: The Wall That Heals, Veterans Park 2nd Tuesday, Legion Auxiliary, 7:00 Monday, June 6, 2022: D-Day Commemoration, 7:00, American Legion Sunday, June 12, 2022 (2nd Sunday): Flag Ceremony, 11:00, American Legion 2nd Thursday, VFW Post 603, 7:30 Tuesday, June 14, 2022: Flag Day and Army Birthday 3rd Tuesday, Legion Post (vets), 7:00 Sunday, June 26, 2022: PTSD March, time and details TBD Monday, June 27, 2022: PTSD Awareness Day 3rd Thursday, Sons of the Legion, 7:00 JULY For Marine Corps League meetings and Monday, July 4, 2022: Independence Day information, call 203-866-9302 Sunday, July 10, 2022: Flag Ceremony, 11:00, American Legion Wednesday, July 27, 2022: National Korean War Armistice Day AUGUST Sunday, August 7, 2022: National Purple Heart Medal Day, 12:00, Veterans Park, wreath laying Sunday, August 7, 2022: Flag Ceremony, 11:00, American Legion SEPTEMBER Sunday, September 4, 2022: Flag Ceremony, 11:00, American Legion Sunday, September 11, 2022: Patriot Day Friday, September 16, 2022: POW/MIA Recognition Day Commemoration, 6:00, American Legion Sunday, September 18, 2022: Air Force birthday OCTOBER Sunday, October 2, 2022: Flag Ceremony, 11:00, American Legion Sunday, October 8, 2022: VFW team in Alzheimer’s Walk, Calf Pasture Thursday, October 13, 2022: Navy birthday NOVEMBER Sunday, November 6, 2022: Flag Ceremony, 11:00, American Legion Thursday, November 10, 2022: Marine Corps birthday Friday, November 11, 2022: Veterans Day Sunday, November 27, 2022: Christmas Tree Lighting, 5:00, American Legion DECEMBER Sunday, December 4, 2022: Flag Ceremony, 11:00, American Legion Tuesday, December 5, 2022: Veterans Memorial Committee meeting, 7:00, American Legion Wednesday, December 7, 2022: Pearl Harbor Day Commemoration; 9:00, City Hall Saturday, December 10, 2022: Army – Navy game