Greetings from the VARC at University of Central Florida! We would like to welcome you to another Fall semester at UCF and present our September newsletter full of upcoming events, important dates, and information regarding veterans. We thank you for your service, hope your summer went well and look forward to the completion of another successful semester! VARC STAFF DR. PAUL VIAU Associate Registrar/VARC Director LORINE CISCH-TAYLOR Transfer & Transition/ Career Services BETHANY GLASSBRENNER Assist. Registrar/Certifying Official LENA HUNTSMAN Program Assist./Certifying Official JOSHUA JJ JOHNSON Program Coordinator LEE YOUNG Office Manager VARC PEER MENTORS Sept. 4th - Labor Day (No classes) Sept. 9th - Family Tailgate Cancelled To Be Rescheduled Sept. 11th - Patriot Day Sept. 28th - Veterans Yoga @ VARC 5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. BRIAN BARNETT Marine Corps Sport & Exercise Science, Senior Brian.Barnett@ucf.edu HUNTER COMBASS Army Masters of Social Work Phillip.Combass@knights.ucf.edu TRACY LOVINGOOD Navy Anthropology, Senior Tracy.Lovingood@ucf.edu KELSIE WHEATLEY Navy Elementary Education, Senior Kelsie.Wheatley@ucf.edu PEER MENTOR PHONE: 407-823-1186
Employee Spotlight Congratulations to two of our VA Work Study students on their accomplishments this summer. Nahum Hill earned his Bachelor of Science in Health Service Administration, and began his Master of Health Administration program. On Wednesday, August 9, 2017, UCF Veteran PhD student Lloyd Duran (U.S. Marine Corps) was awarded the Freedom to Rock Award by Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley from KISS at Rock & Brews Oviedo for the Friends of Fisher House Event for his work teaching free guitar lessons at the Vet Center Orlando! Congrats Lloyd! During this event Rock & Brews Orlando presented Friends of Fisher House with a check for $7,500 toward items needed for Fisher House Orlando Donovan Meno completed Marine Corps Officer Candidate School and will be commissioning as a Second Lieutenant upon completion of his Undergraduate degree in Sport & Exercise Science.
Fall Semester Open House The Veterans Academic Resource Center hosted our Annual Fall Semester Open House Luau. This event was to welcome our Veterans Students, Faculty, Staff and their families. During the event we had games, food catered by Mission BBQ, & Hawaiian Shirt Contest.
Honorably discharged veterans will soon get to shop tax-free Per ABC News: Starting later this year, all honorably discharged veterans, no matter their branch of service, will be eligible to shop tax-free online at the Army & Air Force Exchange Service with the same discounts they enjoyed on base while in the military. It's the latest way in which the organization is trying to keep its customers as the armed forces shrink and airmen and soldiers buy more for delivery Adding 13 million potential new customers will give extra ammunition to the group that runs the stores on U.S. Army and Air Force bases worldwide as it fights Amazon and other retailers for veterans' online shopping dollars. Since hiring its first civilian CEO five years ago, the Exchange has upgraded the brands at base stores to include items like Disney toys, Michael Kors fashions and other top names. Like private stores, it's also imposed tighter cost controls, reduced the number of employees and improved people's experience on the website. The Exchange is adding shipping centers within its stores to allow it to send products directly from those locations more cheaply and quickly. Twenty-six stores now ship orders, and that will expand to 55 by the end of the year. Within the next three years, Shull said the goal is to deliver something on base within two hours of when it is ordered. That's possible partly because the Exchanges are already on base, cleared by security. The Exchange delivers most orders on the second day now. Shull said shipping from stores will make a big difference in regions around bases, which are often in more rural areas. Expanding online shopping to all honorably discharged veterans is expected to add about $200 million annually within three years to the $8.3 billion in sales the Exchanges generated last year. (Continued >) CENTRAL FLORIDA HONOR FLIGHTS GREETERS NEEDED!!! Honor Flight hub is part of the nation-wide organization that takes veterans on a single day trip to our nation s capital where they visit the WWII, Korea, and Vietnam War Memorials, Marine Corps Iwo Jima and the Air Force Monuments, and witness the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery. Bring your flags and signs to welcome them back after a long day in D.C. We will assemble in Terminal A, Airside 2 right in front of Starbucks. Before leaving home, check online to see if the flight is on time. Upcoming dates are below: September 6 - Southwest Airlines #1283 @ 9:25 p.m. September 9 - Southwest Airlines #2371 @ 10:20 p.m. September 16 Cancelled Free airport parking located at FastPark and Relax located at 7870 N. Frontage Rd, Orlando, FL 32812 and they will provide direct shuttle service to Southwest Ticket counter. Any questions please contact JJ Johnson at Joshua.Johnson@ucf.edu or 407-823-5874. You may also check for updated on the VARC Facebook or website. Adding those shoppers, what Shull called "the foundation of our growth," is critical to help offset the 13 percent decline in the number of active-duty Army and Air Force soldiers since 2011 when the Exchange generated $10.3 billion revenue. "It's a modest benefit, but it can save you thousands of dollars a year," said Shull, a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy who served in the Army for a decade before starting a retail career at chains including Macy's. Army & Air Force Exchange Service: www.shopmyexchange.com Veterans verification site: www.vetverify.com