As MN DAV Chapter 39 voted not to have a June or July meeting, our next meeting will be held on August 12, 2021 at 6:30 PM at the VFW, 1919 Coon Rapids Blvd., Coon Rapids, MN 55433.
On Member Monday we highlight our members involved in their communities. Today we highlight Loyd Brandvold, a lifetime and active member of Minnesota Disabled American Veterans Chapter 39. Brandvold, a Minnesotan, is a proud U.S. Army veteran and successful Twin-Cities businessman. His passions include spending time with his family and supporting area veterans and their families. He has served multiple terms as an elected officer with MN DAV Chapter 39 and helped grow the organization to more than 1,200 members in Anoka and surrounding counties. Brandvold has volunteered at most of the Chapter’s fund-raising events to include clothing drives, bagging groceries, Forget-Me-Not campaigns, and the annual Golf Tournament https://anoka39davmn.com/leo-luskey-annual-dav-golf-tournament/
Today, at the 5th Annual Leo Luskey DAV Golf Tournament, 34 teams will compete for prizes and awards, at the Refuge Golf Club in Oak Grove, Minnesota. We’ll have our eyes out for a possible winner of a new 2021 Jeep Gladiator High Altitude 4×4, (donated from Coon Rapids Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram) by sinking a hole in one on hole 14. More about the tournament at LEO LUSKEY ANNUAL DAV GOLF TOURNAMENT | MN DAV Anoka Chapter 39 (anoka39davmn.com)
On Member Monday we highlight our members involved in their communities. Today we highlight Leo Luskey, an active member of Minnesota Disabled American Veterans Chapter 39. Luskey, who grew up on a farm in the township of Tyrone, Minnesota, enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and served in the Vietnam war. Since 1983, he founded Tyrone Transportation, Inc., and recently retired. Six years ago, Luskey, a lifetime DAV member, conceived and chaired the first MN DAV Chapter 39’s Golf Tournament. The event would become one of the Chapter’s largest fundraisers, supporting veterans in Anoka and surrounding counties. This year the Chapter honored the Marine Corps veteran, by naming the event after him, https://anoka39davmn.com/leo-luskey-annual-dav-golf…/ His selfless service to veterans and his community continues today, as he was recently recognized in a feature story on June 25, 2021 on WCCO-TV. Officer Reggie Larson, Blaine Police Department, was interviewed with Leo Luskey, who donated the funding to purchase and train Blaine’s new K9, Tyrone. Watch the story at https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/video/5722533-friendship-brings-newest-k-9-officer-to-blaine-police/?fbclid=IwAR0RTao0xtRSfjI6-q8hfbCodN1g6TsNBezJgyXNKM9YtRTeCrYW5134aCM
On Member Monday we highlight our members involved in their communities. Today we highlight Lisa Miller, an active member of Minnesota Disabled American Veterans Anoka Chapter 39. Miller enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in June 1989. As a supply technician she advanced to the rank of senior airman, serving at McChord Air Force Base, Washington, Osan Air Base, South. Korea, and Bentwaters Air Base, England. She not only embraced the corps values of military service to include duty, honor and country, but at each base she was stationed, found herself actively involved in church support groups, volunteering her off-duty time assisting families facing hardships.
The senior airman was discharged from the Air Force in November 1992, returning state-side to care for a family member faced with a life-threatening medical condition. Lisa married and became the mother of two children, moving from base to base with her husband, still serving in the Air Force until his retirement in February 2006. She home-schooled her two sons from pre-kindergarten through the 12th grade and became actively involved in homeschool support groups, church support groups, and youth sports programs, along with assisting families facing hardships.
A resident of Ramsey, Minnesota, Miller is passionate about providing recognition to those that have served their country. For the DAV she has served on a variety of Chapter committees and Chapter judge advocate, along with actively volunteering for numerous fundraising events, including the Annual MN Chapter 39 DAV Golf tournament, supporting area Veterans.
For the past two years, she headed up a campaign to present personalized screen-printed and embroidered blankets to Veterans now living in nursing homes within her DAV Chapter’s five-plus county area. Many of those Veterans served during WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. Even though the COVID-19 Pandemic, she worked with each facility’s director and recruited the help of fellow DAV members to safely and personally present the blankets to Veterans now residing in 25 congregate living facilities. Today her passion has grown not only to include honoring each Veteran she meets but their spouses and children as well. She has teamed up with a non-profit company to expand honoring Veterans and their family members with a personalized screen-printed blanket for years to come.
Safe boating is no accident. Learn more about a FREE vessel safety check with the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary and why you need one. Schedule your safety check here: http://ow.ly/xTwM50FgKdi
Six years ago Leo Luskey, a lifetime DAV member, conceived and chaired the first MN DAV Chapter 39’s Golf Tournament. The event would become one of Chapter’s largest fundraisers, supporting veterans in Anoka and surrounding counties. This year the Chapter honored the Marine Corps veteran, by naming the event after him, https://anoka39davmn.com/leo-luskey-annual-dav-golf-tournament/ . His selfless service to veterans and his community was further recognized on a feature story today, June 25 on WCCO-TV https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/video/5722533-friendship-brings-newest-k-9-officer-to-blaine-police/ . Officer Reggie Larson, Blaine Police Department, was interviewed with Leo Luskey, who donated funding to help purchase Blaine’s new K9, Tyrone. Tyrone will begin training in August.
On Member Monday we highlight our members involved in their communities. Today we highlight Geoffrey Forbes, an active member of MN DAV Chapter 39, an Army veteran, and an active volunteer in his local community to include his church, the Boy Scouts of America, the Lions Club, and the American Legion. His national and international memberships include Alpha Phi Omega National Service Fraternity, Delta Phi Alpha German National Honor Society, Slavic National Honor Society, and the National Eagle Scout Association. His avocations include broadcasting as a licensed radio amateur and world travel, having visited 35 countries to date.
He entered the Army in 1987 and is a graduate of the Russian program at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA. As a military intelligence non-commissioned officer, he was stationed in Augsburg, Germany, and multiple duty locations stateside. Forbes was honorably discharged in 1991 as a sergeant, with numerous military awards and decorations including 3 medals won at the European Theater Language Olympics. His education includes a BA from the University of Minnesota and an MS from Purdue University. A Minnesotan, he worked in international sales for twenty years. He was cited as a subject matter expert on Cold War military mapping in Wired magazine. Now he is a VA Accredited Claims Agent, helping his fellow veterans obtain the benefits they qualify for.
For the DAV’s Centennial event in November 2020, Forbes participated in the Walk, Roll, Run, and Ride 5K during the pandemic, honoring his “battle-buddy,” and supporting the fundraising event, running from his home in Rogers to the Rogers Veterans Memorial. Over the past two years, he recruited five new MN DAV Chapter 39 members. If you know of a Veteran that is seeking more information about VA compensation, you may contact him by calling or texting (612)251-9681 or email [email protected]. You can also find out more about Forbes on TrustVets at https://www.trustvets.com/…/legal-services/geoffrey-forbes.
