ANSO Familia,
Saludos a todos! I hope everyone is well, and that you continue to be blessed. We are still in the midst of this Pandemic, and many have been affected by this and other things. These are tough times. If you need anything, please know that we are here for you. All you need to do is reach out and let us know how we can support you.
As I wrap up my second month as your President, I wanted to update you all on the wonderful things ANSO has done in the last two months, especially through Hispanic Heritage Month (HHM) celebrations.
Some of the highlights:
1. ANSO New England held a wonderful HHM event on the 5th of October. I was able to fly to Boston and spend some time with Berto Perez and his chapter, eat some great food, drink some amazing Coquito, and say a few words about ANSO to all the CG personnel present. Over 200 people attended that event! See more details on the chapter page. A very well executed event.
2. On the 6th of October, we hosted the ANSO HHM and 40th Anniversary event online. The Honorable Carlos Del Toro, Secretary of the Navy, The Commandant of the CG, Admiral Dennis Velez, and many others took part in our event. Overall we had about 60 participants online. Although most of the participants were not ANSO members, I think it was a great event. You can find the videos of the speakers on our new YouTube channel. We also ran a series called ANSO Members in the highlight. We have uploaded all those videos on our YT channel now. These are excellent interviews with some of our members. Please make some time to watch these 15-20 minute videos.
3. This month, we worked with Mr. Rob De La Espriella, owner of BlueDragon HCA. Mr. De La Espriella has offered ANSO access to an online course on critical thinking. This course, normally over $1000, is available to all ANSO members free of charge! This is in line with our Line of Effort (LOE) to increase benefits to all of our members, and helps us provide greater opportunities through learning courses. We will open registrations very soon, so keep an eye out on the Resources section of our website for the link to sign up! Courses like this help you while on active duty, but also will provide certification (through a post course process) for post military life. And its free right now!
4. Our efforts in supporting the Sea Services continue to bear fruits. In the last few weeks I have been working with the Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Manpower and Reserve Affairs (ASN (M&RA)) Director for Diversity and Inclusion on several initiatives in support of Equity and Inclusion in the Navy. More to follow on this! Progress is being made!
5. On 4 October, I was invited to the US Naval Academy for a Diversity and Inclusion conference. It was great to see Admiral Velez, CAPT Then, LCDR Machado, and many others at the conference (see picture below). I also participated in one of the Panels and was able to talk about ANSO and the work we are doing. We are being invited to the table and asked to speak more and more. This is how we advance our LOE to bring greater visibility to our organization on behalf of all our members.
6. On 13 October, CDR Tico Valenzuela and I attended the Naval History and Heritage Command Navy birthday celebration with SECNAV. A great event highlighting Admiral Farragut and his legacy.
7. Two days ago I was the guest speaker for an OPNAV N17 DE&I HHM series. It was another great opportunity to talk about ANSO.
8. Yesterday we had session two of two Hispanics Inspiring Students’ Performance and Achievement (HISPA) ANSO role model training events. We had four members sign up to mentor our youth as part of HISPA’s efforts to show young Hispanics and Latinos that we can do anything! We need more volunteers for this effort. It is inline with our recruiting LOE. HISPA is giving ANSO about 14 sessions starting in Dec-Feb to connect with different classrooms around the country. We need to take full advantage of this. Please contact me or Rolando Machado to find out how you can participate. Thanks to Karen Gonzalez, Diego Londoño, and Javy Medina for leading ANSO as our first volunteers for this. Would love to see some CG and Marines join this effort.
9. Today I am on my way to San Diego for the NAVAIRFOR DEI summit. I hope to see some of our ANSO West Coast members there! More to follow on the conference.
We are doing great things, but we can do more. Your participation is critical to our success. We need to resume in person meetings as soon as possible. Our online events are all being posted for all to see, but few attend and fewer go back and watch them after they are posted. Please get involved. Take advantage of the things we are offering, and help us make ANSO better. There is strength in unity, and we need everyone to help us succeed.
Feel free to contact me anytime.
Un abrazo,
Roy
CAPT Roy Love, USN (Ret)
Presidente, ANSO
president@ansomil.org