Friday, March 12th, 2010

We were delighted to learn that President Obama is giving $250,000 of his Nobel Peace Prize award to Fisher House. As part of his pledge to donate all of the $1.4 million award, it’s also noteworthy that Fisher House received the largest donation among a group of leading charitable organizations, which included the Clinton-Bush Haiti Relief Fund. This further demonstrates that Fisher House is among the best in American philanthropy.

We are proud of Fisher House, and have been longtime supporters of them as well. Their public/private partnerships are making a significant impact on the lives of the critically wounded and their families.

“The program is now becoming part of the American consciousness,” Chief Executive Ken Fisher told Veterans Advantage in an exclusive interview, our current VetFamily honoree. “It’s slowly but surely starting to gain a lot of momentum.”

Just two days before the announcement, I visited Ken’s offices to present our VetFamily Award to him. I was joined by Roy Asfar, our Vice President of Marketing, and producer of Ken’s VetFamily award designation, as well as Veterans Advantage board members Peter Eldredge and Gerry Byrne. Gerry is also on the Board of Fisher House.

(l. to r. ) Peter Eldredge, Ken Fisher, Scott Higgins, Gerry Byrne

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Thursday, December 24th, 2009

As Veterans Advantage enters its 10th year, we’re looking to 2010 with continued commitment to our mission. All of our members have served and sacrificed to achieve their Veteran status, and we are proud to honor that service with our program. “Giving Back To All Who Serve” is what Veterans Advantage is all about.

We are grateful for your membership, which helps support the charitable activities of Veterans Advantage. This holiday season, we deployed another 65,000 complimentary Veterans Advantage membership cards to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan through our partners, Operation Gratitude and Operation Care & Comfort. To date, we have deployed 365,000 complimentary memberships. These sponsored memberships represent an important part of our charitable activities, as we honor and acknowledge the service of these brave men and women.

We also are working hard to add new and substantial benefits to the program. We ask companies to partner with us and offer preferred pricing on their goods and services as a thank you for service to the country. As we enter 2010, we are encouraged by the strong response we continue to receive. Our hope is that the companies we approach will want to participate, since Veterans Advantage provides them with a successful program to administer their benefit and an opportunity “To Give Back To All Who Serve.”

Finally, and importantly, Lin and I and the whole team at Veterans Advantage wish you and yours the most special of holiday seasons. We are honored to count you among our members, and wish you peace, hope and prosperity in 2010.

Please remember our brave men and women who serve today in your prayers.

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Tuesday, November 10th, 2009

We are pleased and honored to participate in the New York City-area Veterans Day activities for our 10th straight year, this Wednesday, November 11. We are particularly excited this year, because we have our very own Veterans Advantage float in the parade up the City’s historic Fifth Avenue. If you’re in the area, please stop by and meet Lin, me and our staff.

We actually have five openings on the float, so we’ll take Veterans Advantage members on a first come/first served basis. But, even if you can’t be on the float, you can walk the parade along with us, with pride.

Just stop by our staging area at 11 AM, on 29th Street, between Broadway and Fifth Avenue. The parade begins at 11:30, so don’t miss out!

Please accept our best wishes and gratitude for your service this Veterans Day!

Lin & Scott Higgins, Founders of Veterans Advantage
and the Veterans Advantage team

Tags: 2009 veterans day
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Friday, May 15th, 2009

On May 14th, Veterans Advantage attended the Wounded Warrior Project’s (WWP’s) annual Courage Awards & Benefits Dinner, and hosted a table with guests to include a wounded warrior Peter Sunderland and his wife, Melissa. The black tie event was held at Cipriani in New York and over 700 people attended–a sold out Event and a dramatic backdrop adjacent to New York’s Grand Central Station, truly a successful event for WWP, a strategic partner of Veterans Advantage.

The evening was quite emotional and moving as WWP Founder John Melia spoke of his dream to create an organization that cared for our military who have paid a heavy price with physical, emotional and stress related injuries in defense of our Nation. Mr. Melia, a wounded warrior, thanked all of the sponsors and those who have donated to help the Warriors with the proceeds going to assist many service men and women from the battlefield to bedside and beyond.

Guest Speaker was Police Commissioner, NYPD, Raymond W. Kelly. Commissioner Kelly is a Vietnam Veteran and retired after 30 of service with the Marines. He spoke with gratitude and admiration for our young warriors and their ongoing dedication to our Country. Awards were given to Johnny Damon of the New York Yankees, who is part of a military family, for his dedication to veterans and his work as WWP’s National Spokesman.

The Tony Snow Award was presented to Michael J. Ward, CEO, of CSX Transportation. A board member of WWP, Mr. Ward donated generously to WWP and was instrumental in funding TRACK, an organization that offers education courses to assist warriors’ transition from their injuries to a successful civilian life.

Finally — The George Laney Award for Courage was awarded to John Fernandes, a former employee of WWP who was key in our first partnership discussions with WWP, over a year ago. Captain Fernandes, who was seriously wounded losing both of his legs in Iraq, spoke of his life after combat and the strength of his wife and family that brought him through his ordeal. He reminded us that this kind of support and love is so very special and important in transitioning to civilian life. It was an honor working with John, and we wish him and his family the very best.

Capping the night, were a number of videos of wounded warriors, their injuries and rehabilitation, their love of our Country and their pride to have served.

Scott Higgins with Advisory Board Member Donna DeVarona and fellow sportscaster Bob Costas

WWP Honors Veterans Advantage at the Gala

Tags: wounded warrior project gala
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Monday, April 27th, 2009

Lin and I attended a fundraiser for the Wounded Warrior Project last night in our hometown of Greenwich, CT. Organized by resident Michelle Simonte, it was a wonderful and important event. Founder John Melia spoke movingly about the beginnings of WWP and their commitment to honor and assist our wounded warriors. Scott Higgins & John Melia. Here’s a picture of John and me in front of a Support the Troops Board signed by our daughter Drew, along with other students from her high school.

As you may already be aware, Veterans Advantage is proudly providing complimentary VA lifetime memberships to all WWP alumni, with a contribution of nearly $250,000 this year alone to the Project. We and WWP are grateful to our members who support Veterans Advantage and make such a gift possible. You are doing your part in giving back with your program participation.

If you check out this week’s TopVet feature story on Harry Kalas, you’ll learn that literally millions of Philadelphia Phillies baseball fans can thank the U.S. Army for one of the most legendary broadcasters of our time. Because the Army stationed him in Hawaii in 1959, Kalas started calling his first ballgames there and experienced his first successes in the profession. He later went on to 39 memorable years calling play-by-play for the Phillies. It’s only fitting that in his last season as a broadcaster in 2008, the Phillies won the World Baseball championship. So this Veteran went out on top.

Dell, one of our longest serving and loyal benefit partners has an even more special deal for you: Since 2002, the company has promised to combine generally advertised dell.com special offers with our 10% Everyday Savings. Now the company is going one better: If you find a system on the public dell.com listed at a lower price than what you see in our special Dell online store, our Dell representatives promise to not just match, but actually beat the public Dell price – just call Dell toll-free at 1-866-257-4711 and provide your Veterans Advantage identification.

Tags: WWP alumni benefits
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Friday, November 7th, 2008

As part of our annual participation at the Marine Corps Birthday Gala in New York City, we have honored Veterans Advantage board member Gerry Byrne, the co-chair and founder of the event for his extraordinary accomplishments, too numerous to list here. This month we honor his co-chair, Marine and actor Harvey Keitel. Byrne and Keitel started the event 11 years ago, and have made it a real institution among Marines and those in the NYC area. From the Mayor’s office, to the Commandant himself, everyone has something great to say about this night honoring the Corps and service to the country. Proceeds from the event this year support Fisher House, which provides free or low cost lodging to veterans and military families receiving treatment at military medical centers. With his great sense of purpose and enthusiasm, and dedication to helping others, Harvey embodies the Marine Corps motto, Semper Fidelis. Thank you, Harvey

Attending the Gala with Lin and me were Board member Peter Eldredge (a former Publisher of Newsweek) and his wife Carol, great friends Katie and Matt Gormly (Katie’s Marine father Jack Meyer was a former Publisher of Time), and Maureen Reidy, the former head of the Miss Universe organization. It was a spectacular evening

Finally, I cannot write to you this week without a note about our presidential election. While we may differ politically, all of us can take pride in our country breaking with its racial past. We are turning a new page in American history and as John McCain reminded us in his gracious concession speech, now is the time to pull together as a nation, and strengthen our resolve to address the serious and complicated issues facing our country. None of this will be easy. As we approach Veterans Day, we pray for our troops, that they may one day return safely to their families and loved ones.

Tags: Harvey Keitel, Marines
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Thursday, July 10th, 2008

The New York Times ran a piece yesterday on its front page about a serviceman returning from Iraq, struggling with alcoholism and PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), whose drunk driving took the life of a 16-year-old cheerleader. It was a heart-wrenching story that highlights the extraordinary health issues that so many of our servicemen and women face returning to the States from Iraq and Afghanistan. To raise awareness, we are expanding our own services for Veterans Advantage members with the launch of a special area devoted to returning active duty troops –as well as their families – for dealing with the health issues associated with PTSD and TBI (traumatic brain injury).

And let us not forget our colleagues who are living with experiences of WWII, Vietnam, and Korea. These conditions do not discriminate.

As we launch our PTSD Resource Center, we are featuring an article by Dr. Barbara Romberg. I hope you read it. Dr. Romberg, the founder of Give An Hour, is a leader in mental health therapy for those suffering from PTSD and TBI and their families; she’s building a remarkable organization – a nationwide network of health care providers who give one hour a week to help address these critical health issues

Tags: ptsd resource center
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