NANCY MENAGH

Duties of Vice President

The main job of the Vice President is to take over for the President if he/she is    unable to complete the duties of President.  In addition, the Vice President has a few duties including serving on the Special Recognition Committee, representing GSW in Birmingham for Veterans Day, and working with members in Hawaii to make sure that we have someone from GSW to lay the wreath at Pearl Harbor on December 7^th each year.  At Convention the Vice President reads the “Purposes” of GSW. 

Like all of us, the Vice President tries to raise awareness of GSW and to represent us in the community whenever possible.  The GSW Board meets for monthly conference calls and the Vice President is encouraged to be on the calls to keep informed of current GSW business and legislative issues.

Joining GSW in 1996, I have been active serving Willamette Valley Chapter as President, VP, and current Secretary/Treasurer; also serving as NW Region Secretary , VP, and President.  For the last 3 years I have served as the National Board Secretary.  Our chapter has worked hard to outreach to GSW members and Gold Star families in our area, putting on events for Gold Star children as often as possible.  We also work hard with our local Veteran organizations to both volunteer and also raise awareness of GSW. 

My husband, Capt. Philip Menagh served in the USMC for 13 years, but was killed at Ft. Bragg in 1984 while serving  the VA National Guard.  The benefits for families of National Guard survivors from that time frame is very complicated and I STILL have to deal with issues with benefits, so am very aware of  the frustrations with mountains of red tape many of us go through. Recently I have semi-retired after working in the employee benefits and health insurance industry for 30 years, and have learned firsthand the issues GSW members face after retirement age.

I have five children and numerous grandchildren, having been widowed at age 33 while pregnant with my 5^th child.  My other children were 10, 8, 5, and 3 at the time, so like so many of us I understand the struggles of our young GSW members.   My two youngest children served in the USAF and so I have been a proud Blue Star Mother.

Recently I attended the 50^th class reunion of my husband’s TBS class at Quantico and the dedication of the monument to the 50 members of his TBS class that were killed on active duty.  It was a humbling experience AND an opportunity for me to educate the Marines, wives and the widows about GSW. 

As Vice President, I hope to continue raising awareness of GSW, support both young and older member of GSW,  and encourage both male and female surviving spouses to join and become active in our amazing organization.