JCVA is looking for 4 members to participate as a foursome in the golf tournament below. If you are interested please contact: support@jcvets.org

Please support the 7th annual Saint Benedict Charity Golf Tournament which will be held at Bears Best Golf Club on Monday, October 24, 2016.  Proceeds from this year’s tournament will be used to support deserving Veteran related charities including:

• Johns Creek Veterans Association (JCVA)
• Military order of the Purple Heart (MOPH) Chapter 576 in Alpharetta
• Atlanta Vietnam Veterans Business Association (AVVBA)
• Wounded Warrior Family Support

Last October we hosted our sixth annual tournament and it was a major success.  Thanks to our golfers and sponsors, we raised over $17,000 for local charities.
This year, we expect to sell out our tournament and hope that you will support this prestigious event as a golf participant, sponsor or through a charitable donation. 
Sponsors and Donors will receive exposure to our field of over 125 golfers as well as the 3,500 plus families who are members of the St. Benedict Parish and the members of the above four (4) Veterans Group.  Please consider supporting this great event.  For additional information please contact

July Membership Update

The JCVA membership continues to grow at a record pace. As of the July meeting, we have 79 members in good standing, which is nearly 100% of our goal for membership increase set in January. You guys, and gals, are too good! So, we are encouraging each of you to bring in an additional member and raise our membership numbers to over 120 by year end. This should not be difficult as we already have 9 new memberships in a pending status.

Among our new members in July are: Tony “Zip” Petrillo, a World War Two combat veteran; Dave Hofstetter, a retired Army officer; John Jupin, a former naval intelligence officer; Pat Woodard, a former Navy submariner warmly welcomed by our own “Submarine Mike;” John Bradberry, a Marine veteran and friend of Grant Hickey; and, Jim Harriman, an USAF veteran invited by Mike Mizell. We also had two guests who expressed interest in joining. Bill and Joanne, we hope to see you in August as new members. The Association warmly received Cadet 3/C Jack Bui, United States Military Academy at West Point and son of JCVA supporters, Man and Quinn Bui, as an Honorary Member.

Longtime member Bob Lehr, a Vietnam combat Marine, received an overdue presentation of his Vietnam Service Medal correcting a nearly five decade-long oversight. The award was presented at St. Brigid’s Knights of Columbus dinner on July 14 in recognition and honor of all Vietnam and Era veterans in the parish. Congratulations. Bob, BZ! We also gave a shout out to Dick Holcomb and other JCVA members who, as 4th Degree Knights of Columbus at St. Brigid, organized that great event. Our Color Guard (Mike Roman, Victor Ackerman, Jack Carter, and Jerry Tiarsmith) was privileged to Present the Colors opening the ceremony.

Please help solve a mystery. One of our members paid dues on behalf of a Mr. William Taylor at the June meeting. We have no paperwork for Mr. Taylor in our files. If that member would step forward and assist in solving this mystery, both Gunner and I would be most grateful. Please contact us at johnscreekvets@gmail.com, thanks!

Last, but not least, I wish to thank Peter Manfre and John Meurer for their able assistance in getting members to both sign the roll and complete membership applications, new and updates, as we work through this top to bottom membership audit. I deeply appreciate the membership response in providing DD-214s or Notice of Separation for those discharged prior to 01/01/1950

For those still wondering why we are asking for copies of these records, the answer is simple. We recently filed with the IRS to grant us a tax exempt status as a 501(C)(19) Veterans Organization similar to that of the VFW and American Legion. As a prerequisite, we must comply with certain regulations, including filing reports on the number of veterans in our organization who served on active duty during times of conflict, regardless of where they served. This information must be kept on file and is subject to examination audits. Once granted the exempt status by the IRS a number of things are expected to change. First and foremost, the Association will be able to directly accept tax deductible donations, something that we cannot yet do. We will be able to offer a range of member benefits not currently available to us. I hope that this explanation helps.

Officer elections are coming in October. The current slate of officers (Mike Mizell, Grant Hickey, Mike Nall, and Barry “Gunner” Stinson) have all agreed to serve an optional second term. Members are still free to nominate other candidates to run for any of these positions. Nominees must be submitted in writing prior to the start of the October meeting. If you wish to run for office or submit names in nomination, please contact either Mike Roman or Jerry Tiarsmith at johnscreekvets@gmail.com.

I would ask all of our members to invite veterans to attend our meetings, visit the Memorial Walk, or simply to get involved.

Johns Creek Police, Fire Departments Cook-off

It's a food fight between Johns Creek police officers and Johns Creek firefighters as they square off with spatulas, tongs, cutting boards and other tools of the culinary arts on Aug. 13 in the first-ever Big Green Egg Battle.

The two teams will compete to create the most delicious appetizers and entrees using a Big Green Egg at A&S Culinary Concepts, 9945 Jones Bridge Rd. Cooks won’t know what they’ll be cooking until the competition commences. Judges will consist of chefs provided by the culinary school and the public. The winner earns bragging rights and a trophy. For more information please click on the link below.
Battle of the Cooks

Paying your dues has now become easier!

Good news! JCVA will now accept credit cards when processing dues payments. Our new device processes both Chip and Magstrip credit cards. Note: there will be a handling and processing fee of $1.50 for processing dues payments by credit card. We still accept cash and check payment.

History Project Update

The History Project is beginning to wake from its summer slumber and the Storyline Group (the team recording our veterans’ histories) will begin again in September. Phil Bellury’s team is busy working on a promo trailer for JCVA Fund Raising efforts but will be doing some recording of the JCVA BOD and our Color Guard as they continue to sharpen their skills on the practice field.

Speaking of the Color Guard, two different Color Guard teams will be involved in 911 remembrances. One will be at the Johns Creek Amphitheater and the other will be at the Gwinnett Energy Center both events are, of course on September 11 and at approximately the same time. Thanks are given to our Color Guard teams: Victor Ackerman (Color Guard Captain), Jack Carter, Jerry Tiarsmith, David Vargas, Bob Hinkle, Keith Bogle, and Mike Roman. When you see any of these veterans thank them for spending their free time practicing, washing and ironing (or dry cleaning) their uniforms, polishing their brass and boots, and driving to venues on their own dime.

One more thing, please be sure to thank the JCVA Officers, Mike Mizell, Grant Hickey, Barry Stinson, Mike Nall, Jerry Tiarsmith, and Mike Roman for the countless hours they dedicate to the JCVA. We should also thank the veterans who work special projects. David Vargas, is our Website Manager, and sends our communications. Jack Carter, Barry Stinson, Gil Bartman do volunteer work at assisted living facilities. Last, but certainly not least, our Grill Masters extraordinaire team of Bob Hinkle and Doug Ballin.