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Home My WebLink About2025 07 10 Veteran and Veteran Family Regular Meeting Minutes VETERAN AND VETERAN FAMILY ADVISORY COMMITTEE REGULAR MEETING MINUTES JULY 10, 2025 CITY HALL – COMMISSION CHAMBERS CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS, FLORIDA CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Laurel Ross called to order the Thursday, July 10, 2025, Veteran and Veteran Family Advisory Committee Regular Meeting at 5:30 p.m. in the Commission Chambers of the Municipal Building (City Hall, 1126 East State Road 434, Winter Springs, Florida 32708). Roll Call: Chairperson Laurel Ross, present Vice-Chairperson Robert Miller, present Committee Member Scott Sims, present Committee Member Gus Douglas, present Committee Member Kim Bean, present Committee Member Paul Dillman, present Committee Member Margo Orf, present Assistant City Clerk Tristin Tarrant, present Also present: Ms. Hannah Kirsch, Recreation & Events Manager, Parks Department Mr. Matthew Reeser, Communications Director – Public Information Officer (PIO), Communications Department Committee Member Orf led the invocation followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. “I WOULD LIKE HAVE A FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS AND 2026 MEETING DATES ADDED TO THE AGENDA [AS AN ITEM].” MOTION BY CHAIRPERSON ROSS. SECOND BY COMMITTEE MEMBER BEAN. ALL IN FAVOR. NONE OPPOSED. MOTION PASSED WITH UNANIMOUS CONSENT AWARDS AND PRESENTATIONS 100. Not Used INFORMATIONAL AGENDA 200. Not Used PUBLIC INPUT Chairperson Ross opened Public Input. No one addressed the Committee Chairperson Ross closed Public Input. CONSENT AGENDA CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS, FLORIDA MINUTES VETERAN AND VETERAN FAMILY ADVISORY COMMITTEE REGULAR MEETING – JULY 10, 2025 PAGE 2 OF 4 P L A N N I N G A N D Z O N I N G B O A R D / L O C A L P L A N N I N G A G E N C Y R E G U L A R M E E T I N G | W E D N E S D A Y , J U N E 5 , 2 OF 4 300) Approval of the April 10, 2025, Veteran and Veteran Family Advisory Committee Regular Meeting Minutes No discussion on this item 301) Approval of the April 22, 2025, Veteran and Veteran Family Advisory Committee Regular Meeting Minutes "I MAKE A MOTION THAT WE APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA.” MOTION BY COMMITTEE MEMBER DILLMAN. SECONDED BY COMMITTEE MEMBER BEAN. ALL IN FAVOR. NONE OPPOSED. MOTION PASSED WITH UNANIMOUS CONSENT PUBLIC HEARINGS AGENDA 400. Not Used REGULAR AGENDA 500) Veteran Banner Program Update Ms. Kirsch presented the staff proposed program relaying the cost, specifications, City responsibilities, application and approval process for the banner program. Suggestions by the Committee were given to excluded “Awards and Commendations” due to the amount some veterans can possess and change the discharge requirements. The committee and staff agreed upon only including the name, photo, rank, and branch of the veteran and staff requested the photos be a high-quality military photo if possible. Questions continued regarding the life expectancy of the banners due to weather. Staff relayed their expectation of them to be of heavy-duty quality and be able to last in the Florida weather. Further clarifying questions were raised on former residents being permitted and proof of service for passed individuals if not available. Staff relayed the rules and requirements were still being hammered out. Discussion ensued regarding what will happen if more than one application is submitted for the same person as well as staff suggest the committee appointing a liaison from the Committee for the banner process. Committee Member Paul Dillman volunteered. Clarification and consensus were given on the discharge requirements to only allow honorable and general discharges. "I MAKE A MOTION TO ONLY ALLOW HONORABLE AND GENERAL DISCHARGES.” MOTION BY COMMITTEE MEMBER DOUGLAS. SECONDED BY COMMITTEE MEMBER DILLAMN. ALL IN FAVOR. NONE OPPOSED. MOTION PASSED WITH UNANIMOUS CONSENT Questions regarding the timeline of when the program will be presented to the commission and start once approval is given from the commission were asked. Staff relayed application can be accepted soon after approval. Staff would just need time to make the application live on the website. Brief discussion on press release ensued and staff relayed they would hit all available channels. CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS, FLORIDA MINUTES VETERAN AND VETERAN FAMILY ADVISORY COMMITTEE REGULAR MEETING – JULY 10, 2025 PAGE 3 OF 4 P L A N N I N G A N D Z O N I N G B O A R D / L O C A L P L A N N I N G A G E N C Y R E G U L A R M E E T I N G | W E D N E S D A Y , J U N E 5 , 3 OF 4 501) Recommendation for 2025 Hometown Hero Chairperson Ross opened the item and reviewed the applications received. Mr. Sean Richards was nominated unanimously to be forwarded to Commission for consideration. 502) Liaison Selection: Veterans Day Chairperson Ross opened the item and gave a brief background on the item. Mrs. Kirsch relayed the timeline and gave a brief overview of the process. Discussion on the appropriate committee member to be liaison ensued. Chairperson Ross volunteered after a brief discussion and the Committee gave consensus. 503) Winter Springs Veterans Memorial Update Ms. Kirsch gave a brief update for the Veteran Memorial relaying there are two names on the waitlist and will be added to the Wall after October 1st. Ms. Kirsch additionally relayed there has been an update to the registration process, and it will now be in the same location on the city website and have the same process as the city’s banner program registration. 504) Newsletter Items: August - October 2025 Chairperson Ross opened and asked for recommendation for the newsletter for the next three months. Suggestions that were given included a promotion for registration for the Veterans Memorial in August and promotion of the Banner Program in September. Mr. Reeser clarified the requirements for newsletter advertisements and the intent to be more Winter Springs centered. Additional suggestions were given to do a write up about the Veteran’s Service officer for the month of October since promotion of the Veteran’s Day event and the Hometown Hero are already scheduled to be included by the city. Through discussion the Committee solidified the coming months entries are a promotion of the Gold Star Lunch for Seminole County residents being held in September will be the entry for the August newsletter, promotion for the Banner Program for the month of September, and for October doing a write up about the Veteran’s Service officer. 505) ADD-ON: Discussion Topics Chairperson Ross asked about the Festival of Arts. Ms. Kirsch relayed that the Oviedo Winter Springs Chamber of Commerce are the coordinators of that event and no longer do the Festival of Arts but have transitioned to a Central Wind Music Festival. Ms. Kirsch relayed contact information of the lead organizer to the committee. A review of the Committee’s tentative 2026 calendar year meetings was given by the clerk. Questions regarding the process to resign from the Committee were asked and the clerk answered in kind. After brief discussion, the Committee discovered a physical quorum would not be established for their next meeting and decided to reschedule the October 9 th meeting to October 7th at 5:30pm. REPORTS Conversation ensued regarding other agency events such the Gold Star Lunch and the Patriate day.