March 2026 Meeting Minutes 📝

COMMANDER’S COALITION MEETING

March 4, 2026, 10 A.M.
229 Lake Ella Dr. Tallahassee FL 32303
Minutes/Notes

Attendees: Dennis Hall, John Folsom, Gordon Lightfoot, Ritaann Schultz, Melissa Sheridan, Andrew (Andy) Santa-Pinter, Chuck Howell, Eric Smith, Courtney Thomas, Marc Dickieson, Tony Minichiello, Dan Hendrickson, Amy Yarusso, Amanda Daugherty, Tom Napier, Richard Duley, Liz Crawford, Frank Roycraft, Beverly Shirley, Valencia Scott, Kenny Nwoko, Brooklyn Enders, L J Stuckey, Fred Ingley, Gail Ernst, Craig Benner, Tom Carney, Alex “Butch” Topicz, Earnest Reed, Johnnie Roberts, Michael Terhune, Tina Caldwell, Sharon Weeden, Donna Washington, Berline Belizaire, Mary LaBatt, Michael Mann, Eric Evans, and Marianne Trussell.

Dennis Hall led attendees in a salute to the American Flag and the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag to open the meeting and led a salute to the Flag to close the meeting. Dennis asked Ernie Reed to deliver an opening prayer. He welcomed everyone, reminded everyone to speak up, identify themselves and their organization, to keep it brief and to keep it veteran business only, no personal business, politics, or personal attacks. He then handed the microphone to Marc Dickieson to begin.

Marc Dickieson, Commandant, Marine Corps League Chapter 472. TheMarine Corps League meets on the third Thursday of the month at the Elks Lodge at 6:00 pm. A monthly fundraiser on the first Saturday of the month (this Saturday) is held at the Ace Hardware in Killearn where Krispy Kreme donuts aresold. Stop by and please buy donuts.

Melissa Sheridan, Administrative Officer, Tallahassee National Cemetery. Next Final Salute is March 25, 2026 at 3 pm. Thank you for your support of the Tallahassee National Cemetery. She introduced Mr. Santa-Pinter by name only.

Andrew (Andy) R. Santa-Pinter, Director, Tallahassee National Cemetery. Introduced himself and his last position. He goes by Andy.

Kenny Nwoko, Disabled Veterans Outreach Program Specialist, Career Source Capital Region. No report.

Brooklyn Enders, Disabled Veterans Outreach Program Specialist, Career Source Capital Region. Works with employees. Flyers were made available for Find a Job Friday last month and for Ready, Set, Work.

L. J. Stuckey, Adjutant, American Legion Post 502 in Bainbridge, Retired Veteran. Here to take advantage of good information. There will be a meet and greet this Thursday from 4:30-8:30. The City of Bainbridge will present River Day on March 14. Call her for more information 505-651-6334.

Earnest Reed, Fleet Reserve Association (FRA), Branch 34. FRA represents the Marines, Navy, and Coast Guard. We all want to thank Gordon Lightfoot for his tireless efforts.

Alex (Butch) Topicz, Fleet Reserve Association (FRA) Branch 34, CVMA 20-12. Echoes Ernie’s comments – thank you Gordon.

Johnnie Roberts. No report.

Michael Terhune, Team Guardian, Inc. Free transport – it’s a Big Mission. He and Team Guardian work a lot with the Tallahassee National Cemetery and local funeral homes. This will be 25 years since 9.11 happened. The 9.11 Memorial is at the American Red Cross at 1115 Easterwood Drive; it consists of, among other things, a steel beam from the tower and the name of every person lost. He brought a very large rolled up “thing” with lots of photographs on it showing the memorial. Butch Topicz held it up and showed it to everyone. (Gordon Lightfoot interjected that the Beam Memorial has been added to the list of stops for school kids.) Flyers were provided.

Mary LaBatt, DAR, Caroline Brevard Chapter. No report.

Tina Caldwell, Right at Home. Veteran preferred provider that most veterans do not know about. Get the word out about VA benefits. Two hours to 24 hourservices. Easy form to fill out to qualify.

Sharon Weeden, Owner, Right at Home. VA preferred provider for in home care. No co-pay. Veterans have no idea of VA benefits available.

Donna Washington, Tallahassee VA Clinic. No report.

Courney Thomas, Office of the Mayor, Tallahassee. No report.

Chuck Howell, Big Bend Honor Guard. The Big Bend Honor Guard (BBHG) in February performed 20 interments at the Tallahassee National Cemetery. During the month of February approximately 425 volunteer hours were reported to the Veterans Administration. The BBHG has performed 1,520 interments thru the end of February 2026 since the cemetery opened in 2015.

Eric Smith, Big Bend Honor Guard. No report.

Richard Duley, Disabled American Veterans. No report.

Tony Minichiello, American Legion Post 49, Monticello. No report. Wife, Linda, attended also.

Gordon Lightfoot, Commander, AmVets Post 1776, American Legion Post 13, Fleet Reserve Association. AmVets will be having its 16^th Annual Golf Tournament (Ray House) on April 27. There were 100 players last year; so sign up early. It’s a great fundraiser. Brochures were made available. He is working on the Fleet Reserve Monument to be built at the Tallahassee National Cemetery (TNC). It’s a beautiful monument.

Ritaann Schultz, Women Veterans Unite, American Legion Post 340. She is the National Chair Person for Traumatic Brain Injury. Floridians are lucky as there is a brain injury center in Tampa which is 1 of only 5 in the nation. There will be “doings” going on all month in March 2026. She thanked Ed Hood for sending out to Coalition members a write up about her efforts. She will be doing a cycling ride on March 24 and raising pledges for her ride for brain injury. She has been assured that all pledges she raises will benefit Florida veterans.

Craig Benner, Veteran Advocate, Florida Dept. of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Save the Date - June 12 - for Veteran Recognition. Speaker is the lined up and tables will be available for veterans/VSOs.

Tom Napier, Vice President, Honor Flight. The next Honor Flight will be on April 18. Only 14 or 15 veteran seats are left. Come on veterans and apply. Go to the web page to apply: honorflighttallahassee.org There was a nice turnout for the Chili Cookoff and over $4,000 was raised for Honor Flight.

Dan Hendrickson, President, Tallahassee Veterans Legal Collaborative. Juan Gonzalez is in another meeting and will stop by with the Commanders Coalition t-shirts. The veterans’ graduation consisted of 6 veterans. Veterans still need legal and other assistance. Different agencies show up each week to offer assistance. Mentors are badly needed. The TVLC will be here at Post 13 tomorrow (every Thursday) from 3-5 pm. Walk ins are welcome. 15-20 bills are pending; about 12 are ready to pass. A plot has been donated to the TVLC worth $2000 in the Memory Gardens, Garden of Valor. If interested, see Dan. The plot is next to a WWII veteran. Susie Caplowe is no here because she is signing up voters. She was recently named as one of the “25 Women You Need To Know.” See the full article in the online version of today’s Tallahassee Democrat. Juan showed up toward the end of the meeting with the t-shirts.

Valencia Scott, Leon County Property Appraiser’s Office. Akin Akinyemi sends his regrets; he thanks all of you. They are always available to help with Property Tax exemptions and other veteran issues. Not only were they at the Chili Cookoff on February 21. But they won First Place. The chili was made by the wife of a Marine.

Berline Belizaire, VA Suicide Prevention Coordinator. No report.

Amber Yarusso, Field Representative, Congressman Neal Dunn’s Office. No report.

Amanda Daughtry, Congressman Neal Dunn’s Office. Call if you need help. The office is open to all Monday thru Thursday; on Fridays they are out in the district. They are here until the end of the year.

Liz Crawford, Owner, Team Leader, Sport Clips, Tallahassee. Dream Flights is free and will take place this year probably in April. There are 7 spots left; talk to your friends about Dream lights. Brochures were provided that contained a QR ”Scan Here” logo and a website to donate.

Fred Ingley, MOAA. No report.

Gail Ernst, MOAA, American Legion. No report.

Beverly Shirley, Community Representative, Mission BBQ. Flyers were made available for “FREE CHOW FOR VIETNAM VETS” on National Vietnam War Veterans Day, March 29. Free Sandwich for Vietnam Veterans and Vietnam Era Veterans. Reach out to her if you need help.

Frank Roycraft, Commander, VFW Post 3308. He is still Commander for another year. First Responder Awards will be at the Moose Lodge. Veterans are still looking for a loop hole to a gaming bill.

Michael Mann, Commander, Sons of the Legion. Next meeting is in April 30; the fifth Thursday of the month. Recruiting is always ongoing.

Tom Carney, Bud West Chapter, Air & Space Force Association. The next meeting of the Association will be on Thursday, April 30 from 11:30 am – 1:00 pm at the Moose Lodge.

Eric Evans, Florida Cares. Things are going along well building ramps and half steps in Wakulla, Leon, and Gadsden counties. Veterans and others are eligible.

John Folsom, American Lesion Post 13. Thanks to all of you. The America Legion Memorial Day Ceremony is Monday at 11 am.

Dennis Hall, Commander American Legion Sauls-Bridges Post 13, Army National Guard, Big Bend Honor Guard. There is a luncheon at the National Guard Armory at 1225 Easterwood Drive every second Tuesday at 11:30. Lunch begins at noon and ends about 1:00. Next Tuesday, March 10, 2026, the menu will consist of chicken and rice, green beans, salad, and Peach Betty. A donation is accepted. Dennisalso mentioned that Roxann Dressel (American Legion District 2 Commander) asked him to remind members to check their membership and to timely renew. He also mentioned that the 4^th Thursday of every month is the AL Post 13 social andthat Ritaann would be riding alone and not with a group of bicyclists. He gave details of the Memorial Day Ceremony, which is Monday, May 25 at 11 am at Oakland Cemetery, 838 N Bronough St. Dan Hendrickson was voted Volunteer of the Year. Congratulations! Liz Crawford will host in April and the FRA will host in May.

Marianne Trussell, Chair, Support Committee for the Tallahassee National Cemetery, Inc. The next Quarterly Support Committee meeting will be on Tuesday, April 21, 2026 at 5 pm at the Administration Building Conference Room at the Tallahassee National Cemetery. She profusely thanked Melissa Sheridan for all of her hard work and dedication to the Tallahassee National Cemetery and announcing the date of Final Salute, March 25 at 3 pm. Please attend - all of you who can. She also hopes Andy stays a long time.

Dennis Hall asked John Folsom to end the meeting with a prayer and Dennis led a salute to the American Flag.

The next Commander’s Coalition Meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 1,2026, at 10 am, 229 Lake Ella Dr. Tallahassee FL 32303 beside Lake Ella.