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It's time to honor our disabled veterans · The Financial Exchange Show

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  Speaker 1: I'm joined by both Dan Stacks, CEO of the DAV
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  Speaker 1: of Massachusetts, as well as Mark Varner, the president's CEO
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  Speaker 1: of Developed Veterans Development Corporation. Gentlemen, thanks for coming on again.
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  Speaker 1: I appreciate it.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you, appreciate YOUO.
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  Speaker 1: So I wanted to start off. I know Mark you
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  Speaker 1: you've talked a bit about your firms partnership with the DAV.
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  Speaker 1: But for those that haven't heard, talk to us a
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  Speaker 1: bit about that partnership and just how long and how
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  Speaker 1: you got involved with the disabled American veterans.
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  Speaker 3: Okay, well, I met Dan through my brother Tim, who
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  Speaker 3: was working for Dan as a National Service officer. I
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  Speaker 3: don't know how many years now, nineteen ninety seve. I
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  Speaker 3: got involved after that as a sponsor for one of
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  Speaker 3: the golf tournaments and from there we just grew and
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  Speaker 3: grew and grew.
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  Speaker 1: And for those listening, I mean, it's writ in the name,
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  Speaker 1: but talk to us about what Veterans Development Corporation actually
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  Speaker 1: does and beyond the partnership with the DAV, just your
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  Speaker 1: involvement with veterans today.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah.
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  Speaker 3: Absolutely. We do a lot of construction work for the
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  Speaker 3: VA Healthcare System throughout New England, yep, Florida in Washington,
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  Speaker 3: d C. So we're doing a lot of renovation work
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  Speaker 3: for the hospitals.
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  Speaker 1: So one of the things that really stuck with me
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  Speaker 1: that the dav does and of Massachusetts and what makes
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  Speaker 1: it truly unique is some of the housing initiatives that
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  Speaker 1: you guys have taken on over the course of the
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  Speaker 1: last several years. I know that you are the only
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  Speaker 1: Disabled American Veterans Department in the country to provide housing
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  Speaker 1: solutions for veterans. And from what I understand, you guys
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  Speaker 1: have a new project going on and so you know,
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  Speaker 1: whoever it can take this one, but talk to us
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  Speaker 1: about that new project, that new initiative that you guys
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  Speaker 1: are doing, and I'm excited to learn about it, and
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  Speaker 1: you can just pull that right towards you there you go.
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  Speaker 2: Well, what we wanted to be able to do is
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  Speaker 2: take one of the buildings that we have, or we
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  Speaker 2: wanted to be able to take one of the buildings
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  Speaker 2: that we had at basically up in Gardner, Massachuset uses
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  Speaker 2: and we have a need for basically studio apartments for
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  Speaker 2: single veterans on the campus up there. We have twenty
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  Speaker 2: two bedroom condominiums that we give out to families, but
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  Speaker 2: we have the great need for basically single veterans to
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  Speaker 2: be housed, but permanent housing, so we were looking for
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  Speaker 2: studio apartments that could be built naturally. The first guy
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  Speaker 2: I called and turned to was Mark Bonner, said, Mark,
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  Speaker 2: how do we go about this? He's helped put together
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  Speaker 2: an entire team from architectural to everything that we need
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  Speaker 2: engineers in order to try to get this project off
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  Speaker 2: the ground. And we are working with Mark and the
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  Speaker 2: state in order to try to come up with all
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  Speaker 2: the funding that we need for this. But it's going
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  Speaker 2: to be state of the art. It's going to be
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  Speaker 2: every one of these studio apartments. The veteran will have
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  Speaker 2: their own kitchen, their own bathroom, their own basically their
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  Speaker 2: living space so that they too can utilize all of
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  Speaker 2: our services. We'll try to work with them so that
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  Speaker 2: they can become not only independent living there, but if
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  Speaker 2: they wanted to be independent living elsewhere after they've worked
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  Speaker 2: with us.
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  Speaker 1: Dana Maar, I mean talk to us again. For folks
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  Speaker 1: that are listening now and they're getting their first ever
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  Speaker 1: introduction to the Disabled American Veterans Department of Massachusetts, what
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  Speaker 1: are the biggest needs of our veterans in the state
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  Speaker 1: that you guys are trying to serve. I know there's
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  Speaker 1: a lot of different initiatives you have, from transportation to
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  Speaker 1: other types of assistance, and clearly the housing thing is
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  Speaker 1: a growing demand piece, especially in today's housing market. But
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  Speaker 1: talk to us about just the work that the DAV
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  Speaker 1: does on a day to day basis, because there's a
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  Speaker 1: lot of folks that I'm sure aren't familiar.
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  Speaker 2: The biggest program that we have that we help veterans
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  Speaker 2: out with is literally navigating the VA system, whether it
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  Speaker 2: be the healthcare system or whether it be the VA
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  Speaker 2: benefit system. That is the major job that we do
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  Speaker 2: on a daily basis, and those that's where we serve
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  Speaker 2: the most veterans in the state of Massachusetts. We have
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  Speaker 2: service officers all across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. They help
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  Speaker 2: initiate the claims. Then we have our staff of paralegally
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  Speaker 2: trained representatives at the JFK Federal Billing they're known as
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  Speaker 2: National Service Officers, which give the best advice possible and
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  Speaker 2: actually take a claim before the VA to make sure
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  Speaker 2: that veteran gets the compensation that he's deserving. With we
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  Speaker 2: have all kinds of veterans volunteers that work within the
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  Speaker 2: VA medical system that helped not only take claims, but
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  Speaker 2: they also help transportation. They also help with basically our
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  Speaker 2: local Veterans Assistant program, helping veterans that may need their
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  Speaker 2: just their yard rate for crime, whatever it is. But
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  Speaker 2: you know, Mark talks about his brother Timmy, which I
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  Speaker 2: hired in ninety seven. Timmy, unfortunately was a paratroop and
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  Speaker 2: his shoe didn't open, and God bless him. He's suffering
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  Speaker 2: this day with some very severe disabilities. And that's how
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  Speaker 2: Mark and I got to know each other. But one
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  Speaker 2: of the things I want to say about basically the
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  Speaker 2: vaughn Or family is not only did he serve this
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  Speaker 2: country right from their father Victor to Timothy to Mark,
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  Speaker 2: but every day they give back to the VA, whether
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  Speaker 2: it's veterans, whether it's being trying to rebuild the VA
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  Speaker 2: medical healthcare system in the most efficient way possible, to
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  Speaker 2: what Mark does personally out of his own pocket to
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  Speaker 2: help the dav and what his company does. I'll be
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  Speaker 2: honest with you, there was a time that we didn't
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  Speaker 2: have anything. I call Mark. He covered our expenses for
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  Speaker 2: one year in order that I could keep this organization
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  Speaker 2: going and today because of what he has done, we're
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  Speaker 2: in a much better spot that we can continue on
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  Speaker 2: to help veterans.
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  Speaker 1: Mark, I'm going to turn to you on this one
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  Speaker 1: because I could speak to it, but I think you
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  Speaker 1: could do it more justice. Tomorrow is the actual five
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  Speaker 1: K in Boston. You've attended many of them. I've attended
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  Speaker 1: a few of them. I find it to be inspirational
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  Speaker 1: and just a really fun event. Can you tell everybody
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  Speaker 1: that's listening a little bit about the event tomorrow and
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  Speaker 1: what folks can expect, even if they're not running, if
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  Speaker 1: they want to show up and check out the event.
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  Speaker 1: It's always a highlight of the year for absolutely.
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  Speaker 3: It is one of the most amazing days that I
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  Speaker 3: can say. I'm part of my career as a construction contractor,
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  Speaker 3: but as a person in a veteran this is an
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  Speaker 3: amazing day where all these people come together for one
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  Speaker 3: day and we all meet and we collaborate together. Everybody
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  Speaker 3: is happy, everybody wants to be there. It's just one
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  Speaker 3: of those days that I think, if you haven't been there,
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  Speaker 3: try to make it this year, because you'll walk away
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  Speaker 3: a different person.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: I couldn't agree more it's tomorrow. Castle Island in Boston.
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  Speaker 1: Race has been sold out for months now, as it
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  Speaker 1: always does. It's a hugely popular event. Over a thousand people,
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  Speaker 1: fifteen hundred people running, food events, all sorts of really
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  Speaker 1: great stuff and just inspirational stuff too, and so it's
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  Speaker 1: a fantastic event every year. Mark Varner, CEO of Veterans
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  Speaker 1: Development Corporation, as well as Dan Stack, the CEO of
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  Speaker 1: the Disabled American Veterans Department of Massachusetts, joining us on
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  Speaker 1: the program today. Appreciate you coming in, both of you.
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  Speaker 1: Always great to see you and excited about the event tomorrow.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you. Thank you very much, Mike, and we truly
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  Speaker 2: appreciate what the Financial Exchange does in regards to keeping
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  Speaker 2: the word out there about what the DAV can do
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  Speaker 2: for veterans. Thank you so much.
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  Speaker 1: Thanks gentlemen, appreciate it and see you tomorrow.