Swampscott Disabled American Veterans Elect New Officers

SWAMPSCOTT, MA — Jeffrey Blonder was re-elected as the Commander of the E.F. Gilmore Disabled American Veterans of Swampscott/Lynn during the chapter's recent officer elections.

Dean Robinson was elected to become the Senior Vice Commander, Alicia Reddin was elected to become the Junior Vice Commander, and Andrea Gayle-Bennett was re-elected to be the Adjutant of the chapter. Bob Lennon was also selected to be the chaplain.

The five officers also recently attended the DAV state convention and were elected or selected to several key positions.

Gayle-Bennett was elected to be the 1st Junior Vive Commander of the Department of Massachusetts, while Blonder was appointed to be the Chair of the Community Relations Committee and Alicia Reddin was selected to be the Chair of the Diversity & Inclusion Committee.

Blonder, Gayle-Bennett and Reddin were also appointed Chapter Service Officers.

The DAV empowers veterans to lead high-quality lives with respect and dignity. It is dedicated to a single purpose: keeping our promise to America's veterans.

DAV does this by ensuring that veterans and their families can access the full range of benefits available to them, fighting for the interests of America's injured heroes on Capitol Hill, providing
employment resources to veterans and their families, and educating the public about the great sacrifices and needs of veterans transitioning back to civilian life.

DAV, a nonprofit organization with more than one million members, was founded in 1920 and chartered by the U.S. Congress in 1932.

For more information or if you need to file a claim with the VA contact Blonder at 617-967-6892.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)