Veterans Blog - Scott's Corner » Photos

Meeting With Chief Of Naval Operations Roughead

vadmin — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 17:55:05 +0000

At the invitation of good friend and Army vet John Pinto (spouse of Advisory Board member Donna de Varona), I attended a luncheon yesterday at the New York Athletic Club. The featured speaker was the Chief of Naval Operations, Adm Gary Roughead. Naturally, we were surrounded by Navy men and women! The Admiral, the highest ranking officer in the U.S. Navy and a member of the Joint Chiefs delivered an upbeat talk and took questions on the current state of our Navy, including plans and challenges. Knowledgeable, experienced, committed and passionate, the Admiral was thoughtful and his talk was fascinating. What an impressive individual! We’re very fortunate to have him in our military leadership.

Before the talk, we had a chance to chat and I mentioned a recent meeting we had with the Commandant of the Marine Corps. He said he communicates all the time with General Conway. They have an ironclad rule which they established at the beginning of their relationship: “No surprises!” No matter where each of them are, if something develops that even remotely sounds like a surprise, they pick up the phone and call the other immediately. In this age of instant media, these are the kind of rules that our leaders have to adopt to avoid confusion. It works for the Chief and the Commandant.

Veterans Advantage Founder Scott Higgins Meets with the Navy's Chief of Naval Operations Roughead

Who Says Politicians Don’t Keep Their Promises?

vadmin — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 19:01:09 +0000

In late autumn last year, my son and Gettysburg College Freshman Parker Higgins spent an active and picturesque weekend afternoon with two friends on the grounds of the Gettysburg battlefield. Skateboarding to the summit of Little Round Top (the high ground of the battlefield overlooking the wheat field where Picket made his ill-fated charge), he thought he had the beautiful view all to himself, when he spotted two imposing snipers carrying long-range rifles, one to his right and the other to his left.

Yes, you read correctly. Snipers. “Yikes,” he thought and asked them what was going on. They said “nothing.” Then, he asked them if it was all right for him to be there. And they said, “yes, it was OK”. At that point, a caravan of cars and SUV’s pulled up and out of one, jumped …President Bush! He walked straight over to Parker, shook hands and asked “did you come up all the way to the top on that board?”

The former president was touring the battlefield for the first time, having flown by Marine Corps One from Camp David with friends and family. He and Parker exchanged some memorable – and fun – insights about the area, including a special salute to Veterans Advantage – “be sure to tell your parents thank you for everything they do for veterans.”

Anyway, back to the promise – the President promised to send a signed photo of Parker’s chance encounter. We wondered if it ever would arrive, especially since inauguration day had come and gone.

But true to his promise, President Bush delivered with a signed photograph. [See below].

It was nice of him to remember. Go Parker!

Visiting New York City’s Mayor

vadmin — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 06:14:52 +0000

I was honored to have received in my mailbox just last week photographs from the New York City Mayor’s office, which included several of our team members with the Mayor Michael Bloomberg, as part of a special Veterans Day breakfast he hosted last November. Veterans Advantage and the City of New York have always been in close communication for efforts to support those who served, ever since I (you’ll see me pictured first with the mayor and Veterans Advantage Chief Operating Officer Lin Higgins) co-founded the New York City Vietnam Veterans Memorial in the 1980s.

We salute the City of New York!