STILL SERVING AMERICA

Changes to VSO Honor Guard Stipends

Date of Notice: September 03, 2009

From: Denny J. Lenoir, MT ARNG Honor Guard State Coordinator

Subject: VSO Stipends

You've probably all heard by now that Congress and the current Presidential Administration have cut our funding for the 4th quarter. VSO stipends have been halted for August and September 2009. All submitted prior to August should be paid out before the end of September. Please make sure your VSOs are aware of this. We are getting flooded with calls regarding stipends. We paid out $30,000 in stipends this year, so they should not be upset with us. We are being told by NGB to expect more funding cuts in FY 2010 and more severe cuts in FY 2011. We will plan on paying another $30,000 to VSOs in FY 2010, with the possibility of more cuts. Payments will likely not be $50 per funeral in FY 2010. What I’m planning to do is obligate $2,500 per month to VSO and divide it equally based on the amount of funerals. For Example:

50 funerals conducted statewide per month= $50.00 per funeral
60 funerals conducted statewide per month= $41.67 per funeral
70 funerals conducted statewide per month=$35.71 per funeral
80 funerals conducted statewide per month=$31.25 per funeral
90 funerals conducted statewide per month=$27.78 per funeral
100 funerals conducted statewide per month= $25.00 per funeral

With this plan each and every VSO that has been certified and submitted their correct EFT(electronic funds transfer) information will receive some reimbursement. Some VSOs still have not submitted EFT information and finance is unable to pay them. Please ensure all VSOs in your area have submitted this information to expedite the pay process. It is not our responsibility, nor do we have the time to hunt the commanders down to pay them. If they want pay they must take the proper steps by simply providing us a void check. In FY 2010 VSO stipends will be paid quarterly. This was requested by contracting. Apparently quarterly is much easier for them then monthly, so we’ll make it as easy as possible for them to get the payments out in a timely manner.

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