(Washington, D.C) — Vietnam Veterans of America will hold its biennial National Leadership Conference in Reno, Nevada, August 20-24. Hundreds of Vietnam War veteran leaders will come together at the Silver Legacy Resort Casino to take part in seminars, meetings, and other activities.
Opening Ceremonies, which are open to the public, will be held on Wednesday, August 21 at 8:45 a.m. Brittanie Ngo, a civilian IT employee at the U.S. Air Force’s Material Command at Edwards Air Force Base, will deliver the keynote address. Ngo escaped Saigon with her family in 1975 and has been a strong supporter of all active-duty military and veterans, especially Vietnam veterans.
Bob Parsons, the self-made entrepreneur, marketing wizard, and philanthropist best known as the founder of GoDaddy, will be presented the 2024 VVA Lifetime Achievement Award at the Awards Banquet on Saturday evening, August 24. Parsons joined the Marine Corps in 1968 at eighteen, and served in Vietnam as a rifleman in the 1st Battalion/26th Marines operating out of Quảng Nai Province.
Troy Evans – veteran Hollywood character actor and life member of VVA – will emcee the event. Clare Christenson, a Pan American stewardess who volunteered to fly on chartered passenger jets into and out of Vietnam in 1966-68 on R&R flights, will receive the President’s Award for Supporting the Troops in Vietnam, and Jan Daley, a prolific singer/songwriter and actress who joined the Bob Hope Christmas tour in 1971, will receive the President’s Award for Entertaining the Troops in Vietnam. Bill McCloud, a VVA life member who served a 1968-69 tour of duty in Vietnam with the 147th Assault Support Helicopter Company, will receive the Excellence in the Arts Award. McCloud, an award-winning writer, is best known for his book What Should We Tell Our Children about Vietnam? (1989). For more information, including the complete conference agenda, go to https://conference.vva.org/
