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David Sandman, Communications Dir.
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LOCAL VET ELECTED AS STATE VFW SR. VICE COMMANDER
Jessup’s Russ Canevari Installed As PA VFW State Sr. Vice Commander
Russell Canevari of Jessup recently began serving a one-year term as the second highest officer in the Pennsylvania Department of Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW). Installed during the recent State VFW Annual Convention, Canevari will serve as State Sr. Vice-Commander of the Department, which is the largest state VFW organization in the country with 100,000 members and 500 posts. He will serve as State Sr. Vice-Commander through June 2013, when he will elevate to the position of State Commander.
“It is an honor to serve this great organization as State Sr. Vice-Commander,” said Canevari, after his election. “The VFW does so much for veterans, our troops, military families and our local communities. We will work hard to continue the VFW’s honorable mission of ‘honoring the dead by helping the living’ because this mission has never been more important.”
“The VFW will fight hard to protect the benefits that veterans have earned. Most of the nation’s landmark veterans' benefits and assistance programs—including VA healthcare—exist in large part because of the VFW’s advocacy work. The VFW will also continue urging lawmakers to provide the armed forces with the best equipment, training, pay and housing to keep them as the best fighting force in the world,” added Canevari, whose motto as a VFW state officer is shared by the Army’s C-Battery 8th Battalion Artillery in which he served, “No Step Backwards.”
Canevari noted that the PA VFW will ask Congress to create or strengthen existing programs that help younger veterans recover from post traumatic stress symptoms, traumatic brain injuries, disabilities and conditions unique to female veterans. VFW leaders promise to also request that VA reduces case backlogs for claim reviews, eliminates claim errors and cuts waiting times for appointments and procedures.
Joining the Army in 1968, Canevari is a veteran of the Vietnam War. He served a tour with the Army’s C-Battery 8th Battalion Artillery during the TET Offensive. After his service in Vietnam Canevari deployed to Korea with the 8th Army General Support Group. He received the Vietnam Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal with 60 Device, Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm, Korean Defense Medal, Good Conduct Medal, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, the Army Meritorious Unit Citation and the National Defense Service Medal. He qualified for the expert badge with the M-14 assault rifle and as a sharpshooter with the M-16.
A member of VFW Post 5544 since 1970, Canevari has been very active in his local VFW post as well as at the district and state level. At his Post, he has held all chair positions including Post Chaplain, and has been Commander for 18 years—15 of which he was recognized as an All-State Commander. At the District level, he has been an “All-State” and “All-American” District Commander, and has held numerous positions including as Inspector, Chief of Staff and Internal Affairs Committee member.
He has served for many years at the state chairman of the Pennsylvania VFW’s Patriot’s Pen Contest, which gives junior high school students the opportunity to earn prizes for writing essays that focus on patriotism. He served as State Jr. Vice-Commander during 2011-12, which placed him on the VFW Department’s Council of Administration. He will continue serving on that governing body as a VFW state officer. Canevari has served on seven National VFW work groups and was named as a National-Aide-de-Camp eight years and a Special National-Aide-de-Camp in 2001.
Inducted into the Gino Merli State Veterans Home Hall of Fame for his veterans advocacy, youth and community work, Canevari received the Legion of Honor, Chapel of the Four Chaplains Award, in 2000 and that organization’s Humanitarian Award in 2009. He was chosen to participate as an Allied group member to represent U.S. veterans on a trip to Israel. In 2009, he received a certificate of appreciation from the U.S. Freedom Team for outstanding service to our nation as an Army Soldier for Patriotism and for his constant support of the Army family. The certificate was signed by Army Chief of Staff General George Casey, Jr. and Secretary of the Army Peter Green.
He is married to Grace Harcharik for 42 years, and they have three children and two grandchildren. He graduated from Lackawanna College with a business administration degree and worked for the Empire Construction Company and the State Department of Welfare.
Canevari coached Little League and Teener Baseball for 42 years, and is an avid hunter and fisherman. In addition to the VFW, he has been chairman of the Jessup Veterans Monuments Committee, chairman of the POW/MIA Flag Pole Committee and member of the Lackawanna County Veterans Association. He sat on the Jessup Borough Council from 1976-80.
There are more than 1.1 million VFW members nationwide. The VFW is credited with creating grassroots support for passing some of the nation’s most far reaching veterans’ legislation including the VA healthcare system. The VFW is also well known for contributing millions of dollars and millions of volunteer hours every year. In Pennsylvania alone, VFW units donated more than $3 million in scholarships, youth program support, charitable donations, public safety donations and other community support last year. VFW members volunteered more than $10 million worth of community service time to support their fellow veterans, U.S. troops and communities.
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