VAC Podcast
Ray and Luz Discuss Tax Savings and Veteran Aid
What if you could navigate property tax exemptions like a pro and discover the little-known financial perks that could change your life? Join us on the latest VAC Podcast episode as we welcome VSO Ray Richmond and Luz Ortiz-Rivera. Luz shares a humorous twist with her impressively lengthy name and minuscule handwriting, making for some light-hearted banter. Ray and I reflect on our jam-packed month, juggling a multitude of responsibilities while celebrating the positive impact of our recent hires, including Luz and our new admin assistant, Myra. Together, we highlight Ray's exceptional outreach skills and our collective commitment to serving our veteran community more effectively.
Ever wondered how changes in tax laws could directly benefit you? We dive into the significant updates in property tax exemption rules for veterans, with a keen focus on Illinois' recent changes for those with service-connected disabilities. We draw comparisons with Massachusetts’ system and discuss the substantial financial benefits of living in Illinois. Amidst these informative insights, we share personal anecdotes about our favorite local foods, adding a relatable, human touch to our conversation.
But that's not all. We shine a spotlight on the importance of inter-agency communication and share success stories about helping homeless veterans regain stability. From workplace dynamics and the nuances of transitioning into new roles, to the groundbreaking creation of a national service officer position and our ambitious plans for a new office space—this episode is packed with engaging discussions. Tune in for a spirited debate on county government, reflections on career aspirations, and some heartfelt personal stories about parenting and job relocation. Don’t miss this insightful journey dedicated to improving veteran support and outreach!
What if you could navigate property tax exemptions like a pro and discover the little-known financial perks that could change your life? Join us on the latest VAC Podcast episode as we welcome VSO Ray Richmond and Luz Ortiz-Rivera. Luz shares a humorous twist with her impressively lengthy name and minuscule handwriting, making for some light-hearted banter. Ray and I reflect on our jam-packed month, juggling a multitude of responsibilities while celebrating the positive impact of our recent hires, including Luz and our new admin assistant, Myra. Together, we highlight Ray's exceptional outreach skills and our collective commitment to serving our veteran community more effectively.
Ever wondered how changes in tax laws could directly benefit you? We dive into the significant updates in property tax exemption rules for veterans, with a keen focus on Illinois' recent changes for those with service-connected disabilities. We draw comparisons with Massachusetts’ system and discuss the substantial financial benefits of living in Illinois. Amidst these informative insights, we share personal anecdotes about our favorite local foods, adding a relatable, human touch to our conversation.
But that's not all. We shine a spotlight on the importance of inter-agency communication and share success stories about helping homeless veterans regain stability. From workplace dynamics and the nuances of transitioning into new roles, to the groundbreaking creation of a national service officer position and our ambitious plans for a new office space—this episode is packed with engaging discussions. Tune in for a spirited debate on county government, reflections on career aspirations, and some heartfelt personal stories about parenting and job relocation. Don’t miss this insightful journey dedicated to improving veteran support and outreach!
Welcome to the VAC podcast.
Speaker 2:Today I am joined with VSO Ray Richmond and we have Luz Ortiz-Rivera the woman the new lady with many names right, right, right, hyphens, and you know that doesn't fit on anything right.
Speaker 1:There's no, no plaques yeah it's tough.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we don't have a nameplate long enough for you, ma'am, I'm sorry, okay just make my writing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's that's why you do write so lord.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you didn't say that when she was coming in that her handwriting was so small.
Speaker 1:You totally didn't warn us on that one so for those of you out there lose has like the smallest, uh, like script script ever on the planet.
Speaker 2:Sanskrit is 6, point, it's .6. That's what it is. I'm pretty sure she could put like two sentences inside of like a regular line that anyone would just write their regular letters Probably could. Absolutely, we have to increase the font size somehow.
Speaker 1:I don't know how we're going to do that Well, you just got to invest on. We have these like 10-time magnifying readers.
Speaker 2:Don't tell me I got to give to grandpa readers this is 3.25 magnification. Put this on. No way, I am not doing it. Okay, how do I?
Speaker 1:It's hilarious because once you put it on and then look at something, nothing's in focus until you put your face right on paper.
Speaker 2:How are my eyes? Right now oh you have to hold this way up to your face, Okay got it. That looks really clear now.
Speaker 1:So Julie gave us that the other VSL that we have in the office and she's like, hey, you have a hard time reading small letters.
Speaker 2:I'm like yeah, I sure do, I'm getting old oh man. It's been a while since we've been on man.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you were in my very first episode here. That was a great episode, that was fun and uh it's. We've had a couple people in since then, but it's been a wild month. It has. It's just been non-stop a lot of things going on growth.
Speaker 2:I felt like I've been juggling everything all this stuff at once and yeah and not even regular balls, but like you know, you know the yeah, you got a bowling pin, you got an axe in there.
Speaker 1:It's been tough.
Speaker 2:There's a sword that is being juggled in there too. So, yeah, you're right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so we recently had two new hires right. Luz came in. Another transplant out of Massachusetts, Yep yep, yep.
Speaker 2:If you guys start wearing green in here, I'm going to have a fit.
Speaker 1:We are a.
Speaker 2:Chicago team.
Speaker 1:We have to start representing. Well, we'll wear the red stuff from Boston.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's funny though, because the Bulls actually have a green uniform too they do.
Speaker 3:Yeah, there you go.
Speaker 2:Have you guys heard the joke about the Chicago River? No, okay. So every St Patrick's Day we not we, but the city dyes the river green, but after the parade it just kind of stays green all year round. That's the joke, because it's super nasty green water that's there, but they really do dye it like a bright neon green.
Speaker 1:And then after a while it just fades to dark money green. Wouldn't it turn like the banks green as well, Like?
Speaker 3:the actual earth.
Speaker 1:How do you get rid of that?
Speaker 3:I don't know, I don't know, but that's what it is. Maybe not die the river green. Yeah, I know right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that can't be great right. Like what does a fish think? Well, it's Chicago River. There's much worse in there than to die, probably some bodies right, I'm sure, I'm sure it's probably somebody much, much worse our connecticut river was the same way no big deal, I get it, but yeah, louis came down, uh up or across the country to work at the vac.
Speaker 1:And then, uh, we just had another uh admin assistant who started myra, yep, yep so I was super excited when it all happened because, like now, we're yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:I feel like we're in fight mode. We're ready to go, we're armed, we are getting armed up, we are gathering the troops, we're circling the wagons and we are ready to serve some veterans.
Speaker 1:The way I see this is like Ray is like the outreach guru of the planet.
Speaker 2:I just talk a lot, but he knows everybody. That's a good thing Everywhere, and I'm really bad at that he does talk a lot, but he knows everybody.
Speaker 1:That's a good thing. It's not a good thing Everywhere. And I'm really bad at that, because I got this resting bitch face. People look at me and I'm like they don't want to talk to me. But during the parade you're like, oh, here's Representative, so-and-so.
Speaker 3:And I'm like hey, how you doing. And then he brings another representative and I'm like how you doing.
Speaker 1:I get, I got it, I got it, and he's outgoing and talks to people. Yeah, but it's like for a while there I was like man. We need to like take care of in-house stuff first, for sure. We were getting slammed.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I didn't realize that I recognize, like you know, crawling before you, running you know, and we went from. I was intending to crawl and then run and not even learn how to walk, and that's what we're doing right now. You know, we're learning how to walk, we're getting things together and we're ready to run now, so I totally get where you're coming from.
Speaker 1:I was a little bit too fast, a little long a little while ago yeah, but I mean I think hopefully now you can see how the right people in place yeah, just makes the teamwork so much better, for sure, and admittedly like it's like my dream come true yeah, yeah, I bet legit come to a place where I have enough funding.
Speaker 1:Yeah, there was just nothing ever established. No, right, right. So like listening to you guys like ray had a lot to say, he had great input about a lot of things that was going on here I don't know the space true, do yeah and I was, you know, sort of taking in the information that you were giving me, look andifying right.
Speaker 2:Trust to verify yeah.
Speaker 1:And it was just so dead on the stuff that you were saying I'm like, oh man.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So then you know you get into managerial mode Like, okay, how do we get there Right? And these last two hires, I think, filled that cap.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm excited how it's going to look like six months. You know Well, I didn't look like when I got here in November oh dude, good point, cause I I wouldn't be able to say we'll have a podcast last year, like there'll be no, no way would I say that Right.
Speaker 1:Right and here we are, or the team that we have right now.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and where are we at in numbers now for as a monies that we've brought back into the community?
Speaker 1:Well, I mean, I give out my monthly superintendent report and so this is what we've averaged, right? We've averaged interacting with 200 veterans a month, right?
Speaker 2:Specific individual veterans are different Now, maybe multiple times right, yeah, that's the point right there, multiple times yeah yeah, and some are easier than others, but we have somewhere around 500 phone calls a month.
Speaker 1:We give out anywhere from $20,000 to $30,000 a month in financial assistance, got it, but we have recouped through VA claims three quarters of a million dollars already. That's the business, right there, right there. So when someone looks at me and goes, you know your budget used to be $800,000. You're asking for $1.6 million. Why is it worth it?
Speaker 2:Right?
Speaker 1:Well, we just brought back this much to your community their councilman yeah, and that's recurring funds yeah, every year, every year, every year.
Speaker 2:And people don't understand that, and that's one of the biggest points about like this VAC right now, like as you came in, our major focus point, which did not exist before, was the fact of removing people from county tax dollars that are on financial assistance and getting them on federal dollars, in which it substitutes it. It takes away the stress on our county homeowners and now we are getting people the benefits that they are entitled to, that they did not know about.
Speaker 1:Right, and the thing is that people don't understand the compounding factor. Just on the dollar side, like you said, we'll take someone and now they're getting federal dollars, right, which substitute county dollars that was being used for their income, right? Not only that, but now they're eligible for VA health care oh, yeah, big one. So now they're not a huge burden to your health care system because they have the ability to go to federal health care All because of lack of knowledge. That's it, yeah, that's all, yep. So let's talk about the value of that.
Speaker 2:That's huge and you know right into it. That's right with the, let's say, housing. You know our benefit for housing exemption and tax exemption. That plays right into our discussion here about how you know asking the right questions, getting the VAC out there, letting people know the resources that are there for them. Here's one that's huge, which is that tax exemption that everyone loves.
Speaker 1:Right. So not too long ago we had Mr Thomas here. He's a supervisor of assessments and just recently there was a change in the tax exemption code. So when he came on he talked about how, if you're 70% or better service-connected in the state, you get a tax exemption on your property. Now, what I did not know is that there was a $250,000 limit.
Speaker 2:Absolutely.
Speaker 1:That was the big one In the sense that you said, if it was over that, then you couldn't get the exemption at all. You lost the exemption.
Speaker 2:Illinois is different. That was weird. Yeah, if you're balling, you had to pay your taxes on it. That's basically how the rule was written. If your home was over $250,000, then you lost the exemption. You did not get the tax exemption. Wow, now it's capped at 250k. So if your home is 300k, then you only have or we're talking about the assessed value, right, but uh, if the assessed value is 300k, then you would only have to pay the taxes on the 50k that's left behind. That's pretty huge.
Speaker 1:I like that. That is huge and then having limits like that set. But I mean, in my world right, I don't have a house that's assessed over $250,000. Because it's the equalized assessed value here. So there's a component there that factors the average across everyone. So it even reduces it more. So if you have a house that's assessed over $250,000, that's probably a mansion Congrats, right, you've made it in life.
Speaker 2:You made it in life, you won. So wait, how was it in? Uh mass, is that what you guys call it?
Speaker 1:you remember what it was in mass um so zero to ninety percent was a four hundred dollar exemption. I'm sorry, say that one more time. From zero percent to ninety percent, uh-huh, you received four hundred dollars off your taxes.
Speaker 2:Oh, wow, okay, All at once, huh.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and they needed to be verified every year. Wow, oh, no, no, no, it didn't need to be verified every year, just you needed to apply for it. You had to fill out the paperwork every year, but $400 off. Now they just passed the HERO Act in.
Speaker 3:Massachusetts, and there's been.
Speaker 1:They upped it. Now what happened is they allowed municipalities to individually come up with their own plan, if they wanted to. So if your municipality wanted to go up to like $1,000, they can do that, but it was a local option. They needed to get in for that. So in Massachusetts, the only people that receive a full tax abatement on their property are Gold Star families.
Speaker 2:Oh, that's it Wait a minute. What about the 100? The 100 guys.
Speaker 1:Still, you get $1,000 or $2,000 off your taxes, or $1,500 off your taxes depending and then if you die from a service-connected injury, then you get the full tax abatement for the surviving spouse.
Speaker 2:That is interesting. I like Illinois More better. Yeah, yeah yeah, yeah, I like Illinois and you know what. That's so funny. People talk about Illinois in many different ways, but we have amazing benefits for veterans. It is outstanding. I mean to be able to. If you're at 70, you receive a full exemption up to 250 000 of the equal assessed value. That is huge and I gotta be honest with you. That is the only reason I can afford the house that I stay in right now. Because of that benefit.
Speaker 1:Well, I know, lose hasn't bought anything yet not yet, and you're not gonna get any benefit, but uh, but it was my defining factor as to why I came to illinois yeah, yeah so for the listeners out there lose, and I worked together before in massachusetts sweet um, and I had to look her in the face and say I'm out. I don't think I was crying or anything, right, I don't think I'm that sentimental yeah, that's what it was.
Speaker 2:It was the pizza. The pizza sold. That's what got him.
Speaker 3:He tasted some pizza here. I'm surprised it wasn't tacos.
Speaker 2:That's true. Oh yeah, I'm the taco guy. We got some tacos here too.
Speaker 3:They got tacos left and right.
Speaker 2:And that was a big land. My my call sign is taco 21. Got it. Copy that. So that's my call sign, roger, that um, have you had a super taco yet? No, from like chicago, no, okay, so super taco. I know we're getting off topic here, but it's my favorite. I'm all americano taco, you know. So mine has a lot of sour cream cheese and all the fun stuff on it, yeah yeah, but a super taco is like with pita bread. What, yeah, pita bread and like American cheese.
Speaker 2:I'm sorry if I'm offending anyone, but like that's how I was raised on tacos back in the day, primarily from the west side of Chicago. That's how we did it and right now, if you go to like some of those holding the wall restaurants you know that's open at 3 in the morning yeah, you get a bag of cheese fries and some ketchup and a super taco and that is my deal right there, still till this day. So if you guys are getting tacos from me, that's how they're gonna taste, and so just letting you know.
Speaker 2:Well, you know I'm not against food in any manner no discrimination I know right, but that's cool, though I you know, I just feel that the um that's one of the biggest benefits and, like you, it was one of the deciding factors in like weighing out, and I think we need to get that out there even more man.
Speaker 1:Oh, it's huge, Because I mean all right. I came from a city that's similar in socioeconomic makeup as Rockford right. But my money went a much longer way out here. You know my house back back home, which was built in like 1902. Oh, got it right central air hell, no radiators. Yes, wow, radiators. If you wanted air, you needed to uh, put a thing in the window or buy mini splits and then.
Speaker 1:But then you needed multiple mini splits because all those rooms are really compartmentalized. Nothing is open floor plan. No, these are old Victorians. I got you Slate roof that needs to get fixed. You know, we had to pay. It was like $18,000 to get the driveway done and then another $4,000 to get valleys fixed on the roof. Oh man, well, that house is like $350,000. And it's an old house, it's a two-family but it's nothing great and it's on like no land and $400 off the taxes, huh, yeah, I'd say $400. My taxes were creeping up there. They were almost like $4,800, $4,900 a year. What Right? And it's the same. And, honestly, your garbage pickup out here is amazing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah, oh yeah. Oh man, the size of that can. Yeah, you can put a few bottles. No, I'm just joking. Literally it's like I'll miss a week and I'm okay still if I do it Because. I totally missed it today. Today's Monday, right? Yeah, yeah, I was going to put trash out. It's not out right now but when I? Came out here, though I was looking at houses and I was showing, I was showing lose. I'm like oh, look at this, yeah, man, yeah, it was like 220,000 dollars.
Speaker 2:Winnebago County has. Uh, we're in a very unique spot of like getting a home at a low value and watching it grow.
Speaker 1:I'm I love where I'm at. Yeah, house is 220. I don't pay taxes on it. Uh, three bedrooms, three bath, three car garage.
Speaker 2:Yeah, like I get it, I get it I can't get that for less than half a million dollars back home and you know what like our drawback is like we really have very few active duty military bases in this area, you know, in this area, I think there's one in there's sc Base down by St Louis, and then we have Great Lakes, or, as the Navy people call it, great Mistakes. It's kind of funny, but it's huge though.
Speaker 1:It's amazing Having military bases really ups the economy huge.
Speaker 2:So yeah, we don't have any of that there, so maybe that is a play into why it is the way it is. I don't know.
Speaker 1:Possibly, it's big so like when you look at the brack and when they start looking at, uh, realigning bases and stuff like that, you really want to fight to keep bases and armories and stuff open in your area because it is really. It has an impact on your economy. No man, it does I get it now.
Speaker 2:I get it. Yeah, so you know, with, uh, with the, with this tax exemption in housing markets, like, how do you see us moving forward with teaming with other housing agencies like HUD, vash?
Speaker 1:Oh, excuse me, hchv, hey listen, those are just the two people up top. Ok, the people underneath them who are issuing HUD VASH vouchers they're called HUD VASH.
Speaker 2:I'm not saying that I got in, saying that I'm not doing it, I got in trouble, I'm not doing it.
Speaker 1:yeah, yeah, I just I just want to let you know okay, I saw that conversation and I'm like listen, man, I got it hchv does a great job of doing intakes we're actually taking information and passing it off to okay, you know, checking eligibility for va health care and then giving it to their hudvash team. Okay, I think we need to be talking to the hudvash team more often. Copy instead of hchv.
Speaker 1:Okay, who maybe gets upset because you call them by the wrong acronym right, but the idea is like the case manager on our end, which are vso's, needs to be talking to case managers on their end, who are usually your hudvash folks to make sure that people are getting vouchered. And when they get vouchered, we know that they're vouchered. And then we make sure that they're looking for apartments, because it has a direct impact on us, right? Because if they had a voucher for three weeks and we're sitting here paying for them to be in a hotel room and they haven't looked for an apartment, that's three weeks wasted. That's gone, right?
Speaker 2:so that's all I feel that, and you know, since you've been here, we've been able to kind of, you know, have this synergistic uh mentality of other agencies and working with hud or huth or hchv hud dash um. Cwt is another one that we've been working with um really closely. That's been really attacking our indigent community Sure, and it's huge man.
Speaker 1:Those are all resources that are available to all veterans, yep, and sometimes we don't know about them just because we're not communicating with other agencies. So if you're siloed too much, you're screwed. Yeah, you're right. Like I'm all about, like you guys go talk to whoever you want Get out there. You have more capacity than I do. Yeah, get out there and my resting bitch face doesn't have to go anywhere.
Speaker 2:They be like look at that guy, he hasn't had tacos today. Yeah, and I do.
Speaker 1:I get cranky when I don't eat and stuff. So I don't always make the best first impressions.
Speaker 2:I get that.
Speaker 1:I think over time I do pretty good.
Speaker 2:It. I think over time I do pretty good. It's all good man In the Midwest. It's going to take that. You know you're coming from the East Coast big cities. I understand You're not supposed to say hi out there, you're not even supposed to look at each other's eyes.
Speaker 1:I get it. I was in New.
Speaker 2:York one time I felt it Midwest is a little different.
Speaker 1:People kind of say hi a lot when you used to. I think so it's been something else. I think my old boss, who was in the Midwest for a while, was in Wisconsin. He goes hey, listen, when you go out and start doing your stuff out there. You can't do it at the pace that you do stuff here, because they're going to hate you and I'm like I only got one speed.
Speaker 2:I know man no. Bro, you can use that speed on I-90.
Speaker 1:That's what I guess you can use it at. But in our defense, in less than one year we went from unbenefited employees to full-time benefited employees staff of nine retirement accounts, all this other stuff, yeah.
Speaker 2:HSA.
Speaker 1:FSA accounts. Yeah, and now we're looking for a location to house the VAC. That's more you know. Yeah, People are. We're looking for a location to house the VAC. That's more.
Speaker 2:You know, yeah, people are talking about the VAC, especially Winnebago County right now. I mean, we went from zero to 100 real quick. We just had a situation with two homeless veterans came in the other day and since I've been here we haven't had this scenario happen, just like this. We had two veterans. They were homeless. They come in bags packed, sitting in our reception area, and it was a Monday, so our HUD-VASH caseworker was here. We communicated with CWT. Not only did we get them off the street into a rapid housing with a hotel through emergency assistance, but now we got them in with the Hard Rock casino. Those two guys got jobs and they got jobs
Speaker 2:they got jobs. They are off the street. They're not homeless. I just started their uh, five, two, six. So we got an incident to file going in right now and their lives are completely different than when they walked in here on monday. Right, they had no idea what was going on.
Speaker 1:They didn't know where they was gonna go and you know, quite frankly, it's like it's just that guidance that some people need and it's, you know, obviously some of us who are more apt to I don't know, live our own lives right, and you know we have the ability to sort of navigate life. Yeah, there really are people out there who don't know, don't figure it out right, yeah they're like look man, my exposure has been this.
Speaker 1:basically, this is all I know and you know I gotta do sometimes is just give them the the ability like, hey, here's an opportunity to get housed, but part of that is you got to get your butt to work, yeah. So here's this person who's going to talk to you about work, absolutely, and the fact that they actually went out, did their their part, not only interviewed, but also got accepted, accepted the job and then took the job. They were like bro in a matter of no time.
Speaker 1:Meanwhile, we got people using our financial assistance program who are like why do you want to kick me off? I've only been here for three years, Right?
Speaker 2:What do you mean? And their job search history was the job search history Garbage, exactly. Search history was the job search history garbage, exactly, yeah. So now that you know you've you've employed us and given us some tools to better assist our community out here, not only are we assisting them, but we're putting them in better positions. Oh god, yeah. How many other agencies can say that? You know that we're? We're showcasing how it should be. We are at a smaller um demographic, so we get to actually put in some, some major work and showcases.
Speaker 1:So and so how's your time been here lose? I know you've only been here. What two weeks now two weeks.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's been very interesting getting to learn the office and how everything functions here okay, he didn't tell you.
Speaker 2:I took my shoes off every day. I'm sorry. Okay, I take my shoes off at my desk or that he drinks um coffee with his cream?
Speaker 1:how?
Speaker 2:much cream I put in my coffee is my own damn business. Okay, thank you very much. It just looks like brown milk. Okay, it's light and sweet. Okay, that's, that's how I learned how to drink coffee.
Speaker 1:Well, the irony is that our old co-worker does the same thing with his shoes. He comes into work and he takes off his shoes and he puts on slippers. That's my boy, that's my boy. And one day, you know, I get really, you know how I get right, I get all frustrated and like yo, what are you doing?
Speaker 1:And he's like man, I'm here 35 hours a week, I don't take a break, I work a lot, I want to be comfortable and I was like let them toes out, man, you know what, out of all the things I could be upset about, I'll give you that one. I got you like you got it means.
Speaker 2:It means that much to you yeah, I need my bunions out lou, so I'm sorry. Okay, so two weeks interesting what?
Speaker 1:what jumps to mind as far as uh uh differences? Well, I mean one I. I have to say that I was absolutely amazed that you were willing to make this switch, to come all the way out here. Yeah, crazy.
Speaker 3:Well, I'm not going to lie to you, you should.
Speaker 2:I'm just kidding.
Speaker 3:After you had left and I took over the position of director in the office, I went from doing a job of one singular person to a job of like three Understood of one singular person to a job of like three, Understood and I saw from what would have been your perspective and what it takes to be running an office and communicating with not only your employees but government officials and all the connections that you have to be making in order to keep the office running and then taking charge of chapter 115 the final financial assistance program that we ran there and then doing claims on top of that.
Speaker 3:It was a lot of work all at once, but it did give me a whole new perspective on where my experiences and where my expertise was kind of lacking and where I could improve.
Speaker 2:Oh, I like that.
Speaker 3:And also coming here. I've been putting a lot of that into play and I learned so much already in the individuals that come in through our door and their specific needs and wants and the fact alone that they don't know of all the other things that they could be eligible for, and it they just come in here and say, hey well, I just I don't have health insurance, so what? What can we do from there?
Speaker 3:yeah and then starting to talk to them about you know, their experience in the military and health issues and we're just like, yeah, you know you could be, you could have a lot more.
Speaker 2:You know, absolutely care, right, you know and I would tell you, lose, don't, don't be afraid to make suggestions. Okay, because, like Jesus came in and one of the things that he noticed that was a major difference in the state of Illinois is the fact that you guys had like a sense of like depress, like you had a repository to pull 214s from right. And when he told me about that capability, I'm like what you can do what you know, like what you can do what you know, like ours was terrible, like we had to do a SF-180, if you guys don't know, out there it's a form to OPM for personnel records and that's like everyone uses that. I mean like anyone can go online and pull that. So that takes time, it takes like six months almost sometimes to get a 214 back.
Speaker 2:It takes like six months almost sometimes to get a 214 back. So when he was talking about us being able to, or you guys being able to, access younger troops that have been in since like the nineties or 2000 or so that you can get access to their 214s immediately, that was huge for us. So that idea that you guys are doing on the East coast, we're trying to fight for that ability to do here in Illinois, we don't do it, we don't, we don't do it, we don't have it. Our IDVA kind of holds that for some reasons, but we'll see how it goes and seeing if our VACs can be able to do that same thing. So if you have any ideas like that from the East Coast that we could use over here, man, please let us know because it might change the world of how we operate.
Speaker 2:Yeah, definitely man, please let us know, because it might change the world of how we operate. Yeah, definitely, because now, dude, if this works and we'll be able to pull 214s uh from from idva or from our uh state repository of records, it'll quicken things wholeheartedly well, the the other thing, too, as a tool that you have now.
Speaker 1:I mean, I remember, I remember when I came here there was like this I'm a person who I want everyone to know everything. Right, I don't have. I don't feel like I need to be smarter than anyone because I'm not, or more equipped than anyone else because I'm special, because I'm not. I want everyone to have PIV cards. I want everyone to have access to all the tools that they need. And when you got your piv card, yeah, that changed the way you saw va claims. Oh, dude, like you wouldn't believe.
Speaker 2:I felt like jasmine on the magic carpet in aladdin, right and and jesus was like look, and I was like a whole new world like it was seriously, like it was, was literally that I couldn't believe how to be a VSO with a PIV card, Like I had to deal with it without it, and that is hard. You're always waiting for someone else to answer your questions. You're just blind and you're asking please.
Speaker 1:But in another aspect, because we do have IDVA, who allows us to send them requests for DD-214s. But if we happen to be talking to someone and we have their power of attorney and they've had a claim or something started at some point in life, we can log into VBMS and pull their 214 from there. So we have more options now than what we did in November. So that's good. And you make the third person here with a PIV card. So there's three of us, wow, and we're waiting for the last two. Yeah, are already been fingerprinted and everything.
Speaker 2:So you're telling me we went from zero in the office right to one person in the office at one point in time and now we're about to have five. Yep, that is something that's crazy for this office at winnebago county. We're talking about being able to. Let's say, for instance, you went to go get your oil change right at like walmart or something. They had like 10 bays but you only had one guy there that was doing the oil change right and you had a line of 100 people, right?
Speaker 2:that's how it was. Now all the bays are open and now we can service everyone.
Speaker 1:I mean, you know, the hard part of a job is to do the things that no one wants to do, right which is like remove employees or restructure, and, unfortunately, like we looked at what was going on and it's like the one person with a PIF card at the time was a part time employee. Yeah Well, that's harsh. That's difficult for the rest of the team if they lean on you for that access Right, and you know. Now we're into the situation where everyone comes up to each other hey, what's going on with this client?
Speaker 1:Can you look at this Yep, you know, and we can log in look at stuff.
Speaker 2:Ooh man yeah.
Speaker 1:That comp and pen exam didn't go so good Dude.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and what's cool about that now is that you get a heads up on it. Yeah, you know, like I had my dad ask me a question and I'm like Pop, I'm off work. First off it's Sunday. I had to go get my laptop and then try to help him out. But you know, we get to be able to see things before the letters are sent out. You know the notifications letters and sometimes people get a notification letter. Then they'll call you and you got 10 veterans calling you because they got letters in the mail. But now with the PIV you can get ahead of the game. You already see what's about to happen. You see how the comp and pen exam went and you know how to prepare for the next.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we're doing big things and things are changing, and I'm glad that you had the opportunity to play boss for a while. You were the director in hoyo oh, how was that?
Speaker 2:did you have any issues not fun?
Speaker 1:okay, so tell me what's not fun yeah, no.
Speaker 3:So what's not fun is trying to get government officials that do not understand about veteran issues, trying to get them on the same level as you oh man, that is not an easy task. I will tell you that right now.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's true, you, I keep forgetting that, like, the veteran population of america is probably like 10, right? Is that? That's about a good estimate, I don't know.
Speaker 1:We could probably look it up.
Speaker 2:We have the fact check, but I, I when you, when you take the amount of veterans compared to like everyone that's-. It's not a big number, it's not at all so they don't understand the world, they don't understand the benefits, they don't understand entitlements.
Speaker 1:None of that, I think the biggest thing, too, is especially like our last department was. I don't think they understood how well of a department we were. Yeah, got it Like we were trend setting over there. We were yeah, got it Like we were trend setting over there we hired our first in the state actual national service officer position. Oh, like a position specifically for what you do. Got it, you're a VSO. You're a CVSO Right, that's the title of the job. Got it, you're required to have accreditation. None of the VSOs across the state, well, up to now, were not mandated to have that accreditation. So I eliminated the position, created this national service officer position and mandated the accreditation PIF Carpet Access. They didn't know how far ahead of the game we were at all.
Speaker 2:They had no clue. That is wild, that's revolutionary to the industry, industry, to be honest with you.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and it's. It was hard to, you know, sell a mare on the idea of how valuable we are when you know we're dealing with shootouts and we're dealing with this and that in schools and underperforming schools, like you know, we're just this one blip. That's not a problem for him, right? He's like that's working. Let's not leave me Something else.
Speaker 2:OK, so let me ask you now. So, since you know we're starting to get expanded on our benefits here we're getting qualifications, piv cards. We're doing a lot more as individuals within the office what is Jesus's plan now for what he wants to tackle, now that you know he's a little more cleared up now to tackle? Now that you know he's a little more cleared up now you have a little more spare time right now.
Speaker 2:you can read some other emails that you haven't been able to read now, right, so what's on the plan now that you're thinking?
Speaker 1:so, and if I have to break this up in short term and like short term, the next six months, and then anything after that, the next six months I would like to be in a new location, got it. So there's some navigating to do. There has to be some buy-in from our commission. We have to make sure that we dodge whatever you know issues we may have with the county, got it. But getting us there, which I think then finalizes us as far as stabilizing our team and giving us the space that we need, right. But then it's expansion of programs, right. I believe that we can for sure get many of our veterans in a much better place than what they are now. Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1:Because, you guys are learning so much more about what's out there and available for them, right, that I would like to see our financial assistance requirements go down Right, our federal assistance applications go up, and then collaboration and education with other agencies to come in. You brought up a gentleman with a funny uh, financial assistance, I'm sorry, um fiscal oh right, yeah, yeah, yeah, um, you're talking about our financial literacy course.
Speaker 2:Financial literacy, oh man, that's gonna be huge.
Speaker 1:That's gonna be huge let's take veterans to be huge. Let's take veterans, teach them these things. Let's take veterans, show them how many jobs are in the area. Let's take veterans and get them bank accounts Right. I think that we will put people in much better spaces. Collaboration and outreach is now the plan.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I got it.
Speaker 1:Okay, I got it Because now we can get out there and be like, hey, come visit us, and I feel comfortable with that influx of people.
Speaker 1:Yeah we're gonna turn into a recruiter's office here pretty soon, hey man, I think I think we can kill it I mean this morning I was in a an appointment, and I'm talking to a nurse practitioner whose husband is a marine I mean a navy veteran and who has no clue to where to start with his claim like you need to come see us. Yeah, we literally get paid to do this for you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, man it's so easy too. I mean, it's just literally a conversation.
Speaker 1:It's like did you know and then now you're changing their lives.
Speaker 2:So that is what is the. I will say, that's the, that's the field of dreams that we get to go ahead and expand into. It's like our manifest destiny of just expanding into our veteran world and letting them know that, hey, there are entitlements and benefits for you that you do not know about.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and one of the big things that I've you know, the great thing about our national association that we're a part of is like we have a lot of good collaboration. Oh yeah, we don't work in silos, right, it's great. Whatever one person does, they share with everyone, right? And I happened to go to Kankakee and saw that they had a comp and pen examiner in their office. Oh boy, here goes those ideas Doing claims Amazing ideas. See where you're going so in our new space we have functionally two extra offices right.
Speaker 1:One is about nine feet by 12 feet, the other one's 12 by 12. And I'm like one of those can serve as a VA examination room. Wouldn't that be amazing? For?
Speaker 3:us. That would be amazing.
Speaker 1:For us to like talk to a veteran. Hey, the, the, the comp and pen exams. You know we put in their five, two, six EZs Right, and then request in a 4138, please have.
Speaker 2:So have the actual comp and pen examination done where we are. Oh man, come on, how many places are doing that right now?
Speaker 1:This is the way to do it, and I think the last thing I would ever want in life is an attorney in-house. Yeah, true, I get it, because then you can have someone read legalese and go hey, they're applying this theory wrong, because I mean, we always have our opinions, right, we go and we read the CFRs and we go this is how I view it Right, but a legal mind might go no.
Speaker 2:And now we can literally walk around the corner and talk to them about these contentions or these secondaries, or even diagnosis. That can happen right on the spot, oh boy that's huge.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think you know, know, there's a lot of stuff. When I came here, there's a lot of. There was a lot of noise. I call it noise because it was just distractions, okay, you know, there was this big idea of trying to get people to create like a one-stop shop, a big veteran arena where, or building where veterans can do everything right.
Speaker 1:But what I understand in life as far as I can, you know, this is my perspective is that when you're that close to other agencies, sometimes you get that noise Right. You have the guy who's downstairs who's getting a burger Right Now coming upstairs and talking to your receptionist for a half hour just because he has nothing else better to do Good point Right, which then disrupts your day.
Speaker 1:You do, and we're a service provider with offices we're not like a hangout Right and so I haven't been able to jump on that fully. There's some of it that I want, yeah.
Speaker 2:But that's because we're in the county's building right now at the health department.
Speaker 1:There's a lot of other offices in here, so I totally get where you're coming from. So I would like to reimagine what it would look like to have a one-stop shop, what it would look like to have a full a building specifically for veterans assistance oh boy, and how that would look like like I can see a building that had kind of like this, where you have different office spaces, okay for different agencies, um, but where there's still some separation.
Speaker 2:Okay, so we're talking like across the board. We're talking VA offices, we're talking county offices.
Speaker 1:We're just talking all type of veteran support, right, I think that a combination of nonprofit federal, state and county offices, because I mean, I don't see any reason why you know, say, for instance, someone would rather use idva, right, why not just go across the hall to idva? They're right there and you know, go work on your claim, yeah. Or if you thought it was idva, but it's really us who's helping, you could just walk across the hall and get your help rather than having to go across town.
Speaker 2:Yeah I love that because it stops the whole whole competition or rivalry.
Speaker 1:That may be out there. There's more than enough work for everyone out there, definitely.
Speaker 2:When you talk about more than enough work. I was talking to a partner at IDVA and they were telling me how, for one county, it's one VSO out there there and they are still shared amongst another county. So I can I understand that the toughness of the idva counterparts and even some vacs who have maybe one person in the office the way I view.
Speaker 1:That is that, if you're okay, if I was one person covering a county, I'm not developing claims to the fullest extent.
Speaker 1:There's just no no, not at all I am taking a piece of paper impossible writing down whatever it is you're complaining about and sending it off, especially knowing that I have an appellate team, yeah, to deal with appeals. Yeah, I don't have to worry about it. Right, like that's true. That's kind of like. This sounds good. Sounds good because we had vso's in mass and so in massachusetts. The difference is that there's a VSO in almost every community, like every city and town has their own. That sounds good. There are city employees. There's a give and take. Oh, okay, because there's no mandated funding. Oh, so you have to request a budget.
Speaker 3:It's whatever the city or town approves.
Speaker 1:A lot of the smaller towns only have a part-time employee. There's a mix of good and bad. The good is that you get to know everybody okay, because they're in your city, yeah. The bad is like, if I'm a part-timer, you think I'm keeping up with 38 cfr I'm keeping up with financial training no, not at all it just doesn't happen.
Speaker 2:But you know, it's like I don't know all right, let's see how this goes, man, I mean, we, we have the ability to start something totally new and be like the pilot of this synergy of veteran services. So if you say we can fit them in it, I say let's do it, let's get them on. Whoever can fit in this building, bring them in.
Speaker 1:We'll make a campus. We need to do like a collaborative session. Yeah, I know that there was one done before my my arrival. The plan was very loose. Ok, there wasn't any functional planning.
Speaker 2:There wasn't any Sustainment till.
Speaker 1:Yeah, there was no capitalization plan. There was nothing. There was like I want everyone to be together in the same building.
Speaker 3:Let's do it, and.
Speaker 1:I think it was like some rich guy is going to pay for it.
Speaker 2:And I'm like Maybe, maybe, I don't know I don't know people like that. It's not in my world where people are like I'm going to pay for your. I know, yeah, I know, I know the idea sounds great.
Speaker 1:The idea is great but I think having, like man, a housing provider, right Yep. Va housing, mental health counselors Yep Right Employment, employment.
Speaker 2:Yep, cwt, yep, cwt, yep, right, all one place they come in. Go homeless.
Speaker 1:Go get your lunch right downstairs at the oh right, right, cafeteria, yeah, okay, that's run by a non-profit yep per, like this, we can do it, but it has to be well planned out, true, and I don't think, to this date, there's been a very good plan, except that there's been a lot of scouting of spaces, like, hey, this factory over here, true, we can do that, and I'm like we need office space for, like real office work, right, so it's been. When I say, like when you were in charge in holyoke and you had to make those new relationships with city counselors and the mayor, okay, that's just one little city right right, right, and that's.
Speaker 1:It's a pain because, you have to help, you have to work on the politics, which is like keeping favor with the majority of the body so they can pass your things.
Speaker 2:There you go, yes what was the population at holyoke? 35 000 or so. Yeah, okay, that's people okay and then there wasn't counties right, or is that?
Speaker 1:no, there's no counties.
Speaker 2:Okay, wait a minute.
Speaker 1:So you didn't have county sheriffs, so the only thing still in place are county sheriffs. Which usually just run jails now, like your county jails.
Speaker 2:So they weren't giving you like a speeding ticket.
Speaker 1:They don't patrol, they don't patrol.
Speaker 2:You're telling me you couldn't get three separate speeding tickets in Massachusetts like you can get here in Illinois. No just two.
Speaker 1:Your city cop and your state police. Really, that's it.
Speaker 2:You need a third this should be a third. No, you wouldn't all right fine whatever.
Speaker 1:No, it's funny because they argue about like I know there's I'm going to hear this during this uh, uh budget cycle. It's like you know that we're a major expense to the taxpayer. I'm going to be like you, as a county government is a major expense to the tax.
Speaker 2:I'm nothing.
Speaker 1:You can't say that, oh no, I absolutely will. I absolutely will. That's just how it is. It's like no, you guys as a body are a major expense to the taxpayer. I get it.
Speaker 2:Not us. I understand where you're coming from.
Speaker 1:We can live without a county government.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:You already have a municipality.
Speaker 2:Well, you have a legislative body and executive branch in every city and town already. I get it, I get it. And townships. Why do we need a?
Speaker 1:county government.
Speaker 2:I'm not getting into the question, I'm not doing it. So guess who's never going to get elected into county politics. I hear you. This guy right here, this dude right here. That's where he's at.
Speaker 1:I'm about to sit my butt right here until I retire. I'm all good with that. I'm all good with that too. No, I'm pumped man, so I don't know. I haven't heard much from Luz.
Speaker 2:L over here yeah, man, I usually am. I I like to take everything in and, you know, make my observations okay. So what's the thing that you are going to like? What's your baby? What you're gonna, what are you gonna do? What's your thing that you like? You know what, when I get to win a bagel, I'm gonna show them this and I'm gonna change this about like, do you have something right now that you can tell the audience? They're like hey, watch out when lose gets ready to do this? It's gonna change.
Speaker 2:It's gonna be great for this county well, back in mass I was the only one that did financial assistance great, because I don't want to do it, so can you do it for me now, please?
Speaker 3:I I kept up with the laws really.
Speaker 2:Yes, I mean that, I mean that's a must.
Speaker 3:Okay, you know you have to pretty much follow the CMRs in Massachusetts.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 3:You know kind of sometimes you had to. Those are just interpretations of federal laws.
Speaker 2:So you kind of had to, you know, go down the rabbit hole of the actual root of the law and you know reference those so you like did homework when you were in school. Uh, yeah, okay, that's where I didn't do it at boss yeah, but what was your major?
Speaker 3:oh, my major was actually, uh, criminal justice, that's why she wants to do fa.
Speaker 2:I get it, we need it, yeah bring it over.
Speaker 3:My concentration was criminology. There you go.
Speaker 2:So like CSI type stuff, right. So when?
Speaker 1:I first interviewed you, for I think at the time it was called the investigator's position. Yes, it's nothing more than a financial assistance person. Okay, because you have to investigate and verify that.
Speaker 2:Oh, like an auditor.
Speaker 1:Yep Got it. So that's the basics of that position. But her mentioning her major, and then also you were working for the state at the time or for the courts or something.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I was a detention specialist for a juvenile facility, so she had some background with OnBase, knew at least what it was. So within OnBase, we had a module in it. I'm like, well, at least you know how to get to the state website. So you were way ahead of all the people that were applying. Like there were people who didn't know anything about anything. Oh great and so.
Speaker 2:How are you with like kids now? Like, can I send my kids on detention to you? Would you take care of that for me? I'm a fun parent, but I'm also a strict parent. I got you um, so my kids behave pretty well. You know mine. Oh, they run me. I have these twins. They're like no, you have good kids. No, they're adorable. No, no, you have good kids, yeah your kids are good too, yeah mine are you?
Speaker 1:yeah, but yeah, but they are on their own. But when you, when you ask them to do things, they listen. Oh, okay, oh, do they?
Speaker 2:well, it looks, it looks that way from my end, make sure they listen to this podcast but no, it's, it's.
Speaker 1:It's been crazy like I don't know it's gonna go big man things about to happen, like I was telling you the other day, like when, when you got here, I was more nervous after that than when I just moved out here by myself oh really, yeah, wait a minute.
Speaker 2:Okay, expound on that okay.
Speaker 1:So when I came out here on my own it's just me, okay, I'm making that change in life, not a big deal and I knew that we were doing good and we were like things were obviously much better than what we were when I got here in November. And then when you came on, luz, knowing that you moved your whole family out here, oh pressure, that hit me hard. I was like, oh no, ok pressure. If this all goes to hell, yeah, and I get fired.
Speaker 2:You just move her all the way over here.
Speaker 1:She don't even know where the gas station is out here and you are gone now or if the environment sucked it was just something that weighed on my mind and then it's like now this is real, now the big budget's in now the move is in like we're looking to do that. I don't know. It was like wow, so it's like failure is not an option right now.
Speaker 2:Good, I appreciate that, yeah it's going.
Speaker 1:failure is not an option right now. Yeah, good, I appreciate that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, I mean it's going to get really fun. We're in what July now, so we still got some fun months of the summer to happen. You know we can get our big booth out there, get in front of some veterans.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we're heading out to the Winnebago County Fair. That's going to be super fun on YouTube, by the way, oh you did On YouTube.
Speaker 2:YouTube had a commercial An ad that jumped in on it. There was an ad that jumped in for the county fair.
Speaker 1:Okay, so we got to put ourselves out there. Okay, I think our branding starts now. Okay, I mean, you guys already started the branding. I was so pumped I came here.
Speaker 3:Yeah, we got close.
Speaker 2:Eric, you guys figured it out.
Speaker 1:We redesigned the whole branding for the vac. The booth was on its way yeah, there you go, we'll get you some shirts? Yeah, but the website wwwvac, the vans. Wait, what is it?
Speaker 2:vacwcorg yes, yes, absolutely vacwcorg amazing website that was done out there uh by was it medicine uh, med man, med man uh, that is the name of the company. Uh, the owner is sandy khan. She did a great job of uh kind of handling, like our rebrand, our uh design. She designed our vehicles that we have now the wrapping that we got done through signs now it's super cool you can't even imagine how like all that stuff was in the works.
Speaker 1:I didn't have to do none of it. Everyone gave me the credit and I'm I legit, just walked into that.
Speaker 2:You walked into a whole uniform and like branding and everything it was like yeah, you're looking good.
Speaker 1:I walked into it, so I don't take any credit. But, it was amazing that it did.
Speaker 2:One thing's for sure you were going to come here looking good. I'm glad.
Speaker 1:I know, or clothes. I legit have a cycle right now where I have the same like four or five shirts and like two pairs of jeans. There you go. It makes me go through the week.
Speaker 2:That's how I was in the military right. Yeah, we had what?
Speaker 1:four bdus that's it, loved it. I love that life because I don't have to think about no, absolutely, and I wash the same amount of clothes every week. I have just enough underwear. It works, man, but I, you know like this is it works, man.
Speaker 2:But you know, like this is we look different, we're talking different. You know we're operating different. And the county has seen that and they feel that and it's no telling what is about to happen a year from now.
Speaker 1:Now, yeah, so I'll ask you guys right, I really like feedback. Right, I try not to be a person who makes decisions without listening to what the team has to say, because it's the team who has to operate, in that, whatever decision we make To include like when we went to go, look at the spaces that we're considering renting what would you guys like to see in the near future?
Speaker 2:Oh man, Definitely out in the community and being a focal point, Like, okay, to be honest with you, I want us to have an event, like whatever it is that the VAC is responsible for, you know. So if you know you're out there and you got an event like the stand down or something else and you don't want it or you want somebody else to do it, or maybe we can get involved with it, I would like the VAC to host something. I want a baby. I want it to be our baby. This is what we do, and we do this every year and it's huge. That's kind of like my dream, I'd say. What about you, Lucy?
Speaker 3:I like that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we need a big party Piggyback on that.
Speaker 3:Yeah, we need to go there. It's those places, I feel, that are missed in our services and we kind of want to be well-rounded. So you know get them from every corner.
Speaker 1:So I remember at one point you know, our vet center back where we were from, had a Winnebago right An.
Speaker 2:RV. Oh, an actual Winnebago. I'm sorry From Winnebago County.
Speaker 3:No, an actual RV that was wrapped in the VA stuff. Real pretty Got it.
Speaker 1:And we took it downtown to the hood, ooh Right, and we parked it at one of the bodegas.
Speaker 2:Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. I got an idea. Shouldn't Winnebago County VAC have a Winnebago? We could, we could probably figure it out. I mean, if anyone should have a Winnebago for a vehicle, make it our mobile office.
Speaker 1:It should be us to have a vehicle we can make it a mobile office.
Speaker 2:Come on, are you kidding me? We'll drive that thing, all the way all around and we'll have pop-ups.
Speaker 1:All right, so listen you listeners out there. If All right, so listen you listeners out there. If you know anybody who sells RVs and is willing to pay for a wrapping and for some cred on Facebook and whatever else we can do, it can be an old one too.
Speaker 2:It can be like a 1970 Winnebago.
Speaker 1:We can legit make a mobile office. I think that'd be cool.
Speaker 3:But, it has to be a Winnebago brand, like the ones that the vet clinic runs. Yeah, the vet center, that's what I'm talking about. Come on.
Speaker 1:So we took that thing, we placed it downtown at one of the supermarkets, right Predominantly Hispanic supermarket. That's where you get all your.
Speaker 3:Goya products.
Speaker 1:I love it. We just posted up and we stayed there and you know how many people came across and were like oh yeah, just wanted to see you.
Speaker 2:But then we met a bunch of vietnam veterans that were like poor living in the hood and it's like yeah, hey, man, they know they didn't know, yeah so maybe we can do that here that's a great idea on the winnebago you should start you should start reaching out to people we do like a go fund us, no, no, we don't even need that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think that we can make. Yeah, figure out a mobile. I'm down with a mobile office. Yeah, yeah, I'm down with a mobile office. Yeah, yeah, I'm down with a mobile office, because that is one of the things that they're talking about about this move. They're like oh, we're worried about people not being able to get to you one.
Speaker 1:They will yeah, we have we have a vehicle to get people to us all right, but in that same light, that could become our center stage when we go out to like very true, fairs, very true. Instead of bringing all this other stuff, we could bring the van out, or this thing, park it and be like let's work.
Speaker 2:Come on, man. All our laptops have 4G. We need that horn. You got the sound effects built for what? The horn?
Speaker 1:will be. Oh no, I got a bunch of stuff here, but let's not get crazy. I got all sorts of things here.
Speaker 2:That would be cool. We had that horn. You know what I mean. We can do that with our Winnebago.
Speaker 3:I would love it.
Speaker 2:Or maybe the horn would be like Reveille, it would be like a quick part of Reveille, and it would be our horn.
Speaker 1:I got an applause, you got the applause. I got an applause that we can listen to See. That was a good idea.
Speaker 2:I told you it was a good idea.
Speaker 3:Let's get the van let's get the winnebago out there, I'm telling you that's a great.
Speaker 1:Till this, to this moment, I didn't think about that?
Speaker 2:yeah, hey, you never know. We are winnebago county, are you kidding me? We should trade both our vans in for winnebago, right?
Speaker 1:now, okay, let's go to no, no, those vans are kind of nice. They are nice.
Speaker 2:It has air conditioning, and we might not have air conditioning in the old winnebago, so I get it no I think, I think we can this.
Speaker 1:It's a conversation we need to start having. It's branding man. It really is.
Speaker 2:It's some pretty cool branding.
Speaker 1:Let's get it wrapped, we can end and then we can start doing outreach events in different cities and towns. Absolutely, yeah, definitely. There's literally a Winnebago town out here. I'm going on Facebook Marketplace right now, no, we want a new one.
Speaker 2:Do they make new mini bagels?
Speaker 1:Oh, hell, yeah, I'm sure. Yeah, they got to.
Speaker 2:Yeah, 2,000. I see it, you got it.
Speaker 1:Well, we're creeping up to an hour here, guys. All right, all right. Is there anything else you want to throw out there? No, Any wishes any dreams besides the van.
Speaker 2:Let's just get it, man. I'm glad if you guys are out there listening, make sure you share it, send it out there, tell your friends. If you have anyone that you're thinking that you want to involve in on this podcast too, that you want us to chat with man, let us know. Let's get it going. Let's get this thing out there.
Speaker 1:We're willing to open. We're open to talk to anyone and let's just collaborate with anyone who's willing to collaborate with us, because, man, there's veterans in every space in the world, so let's do it.
Speaker 2:All right folks.
Speaker 3:We'll check you out later.
Speaker 1:Peace Bye. If you enjoyed this show and are looking for something similar, to listen to check out my state benefits, housing, education, as well as in-depth interviews, special guest appearances and one-of-a-kind perspective on veteran issues.