A “Chat with Shad” August 15th

Our Strategic Summit in March was so successful in terms of participation and outcome that we created a follow-up event, a “Chat with Shad,” to coincide with an August Board meeting at our offices in Los Angeles. Several board members flew in for the meeting which rolled into a reception for Board, Staff and Stakeholders, most of whom had been a part of our Summit.

Just over thirty of us gathered over libations to meet and enjoy the fabulous hors d’oeuvres provided by new Silver Sponsor Janet Hamilton. You know how when you entertain at home everyone ends up in the kitchen? That’s what our conference room and kitchen were like: packed with people engaged in conversation with each other. There was a whole crowd of film people in the kitchen.

About an hour into the event, we gathered in the large open space for a presentation by our Founder, Shad Meshad and Board Chairman John Ruffin. Shad talked about the NVF’s accomplishments over the past 34 years, and John introduced our Aspirations for the next five years, many of which had been brainstormed at our March Summit. The most pressing item? To have our Lifeline for Vets crisis and information hotline up and running 24/7.

John opened the session to all to come up with ways we could turn those Aspirations into Accomplishments and the ideas flew. New York-based documentary filmmaker Bobby Sheehan, who’s working on a film about Shad’s career, called the next morning and said, “The energy in that room was nuclear.” And it was. Margaret Mead wrote, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world: indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” We got to see that in action. Our Campaign for Sustainability has been officially launched. If you’ve thought about helping us achieve our goals, this is the time to be generous! https://nvf.org/veterans-donations/