The Blog

Alfie Alvarado-Ramos, Deputy Director, Department of Veterans Affairs

09/28/09

I’d like to send a huge Thank You to each of the 373 woman veterans and active duty military personnel who attended our Women Veterans Summit on September 12! Your participation demonstrates the need for additional awareness and attention to the unique issues facing the women who wore (or are wearing) the uniform. I would also like to commend our Women Veterans Advisory Committee for their work in making this a first class event.

We gathered these mothers, sisters, grandmothers and friends together, along with 78 exhibitors and service providers to talk about issues ranging from VA benefits, to health care, to personal finance and how to start a business. Our youngest participant was 23 years old who is currently serving our country, and our oldest was a an 84 year old WWII veteran, one of the women that paved the way not only for women in the military but also women in the workforce.

What made the day for many attendees was the Governor’s keynote address, which was referred to by one veteran as the ‘icing on the cake’!

With women making up 15% of our military personnel today, we at the Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs want to be sure our veterans know they can turn to us for help. If you know a veteran who needs help, please let me know how we can reach them either by sending an e-mail or calling 1-800-562-2308.