Lieutenant Governor Tim Murray's MASS Veterans Tour: Massachusetts Awareness for Support and Services
On Friday May 27, 2011 to begin Memorial Day Weekend Lt. Governor Murray joined Governor Patrick, Secretary Nee, Secretary Heffernan, members of the National Guard, veterans, and Gold Star Families to unveil the official state memorial for those servicemembers killed during the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. This ceremony was the first stop of the 3rd Annual Veterans Tour.
Read the Press Release and Lt. Governor Murray's Schedule for the 2011 Tour.
With 393,700 veterans living in Massachusetts, every region of the state is a home to veterans and military families. Each site visit is intended to promote the comprehensive services and benefits available to veterans living in Massachusetts and is planned to further prove that Massachusetts is a leader in the nation for veterans' services.
Staff from the Department of Veterans' Services, the Massachusetts National Guard, and/or Lieutenant Governor Murray's Office will be available onsite at each event throughout the tour to answer questions about veterans' programs and benefits in the Commonwealth.
Lt. Governor Murray continues to work as an advocate for veterans and their families during this tour. As the Chairman of the Governor's Advisory Council on Veterans' Services he has led a group of veterans and veterans' advocates for the last four and a half years as they worked to promote and improve the Administration's outreach and service delivery to veterans and their families.
The purposes of the 2011 tour are:
1. To build off the 2009 and 2010 tours, promoting and publicizing the services offered by private and non profit organizations, local, state, and federal governments to veterans and their family members, with a goal of reaching those who have not yet taken advantage of these services.
2. To highlight the work of the Department of Veterans' Services, local support agencies, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as Massachusetts continues to be a national leader in Veterans' Services.
3. To increase public awareness that we are a nation still involved in two wars, and with the Obama Administration's plans for Iraq and Afghanistan we will continue to see higher numbers of service members returning to the state in the upcoming years. Currently, there are over 33,000 post 9/11 veterans in the Commonwealth, over 25,000 of these men and women have deployed in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.
4. To express thanks to those who have served in the military and their families, honor them for their service, and acknowledge their commitment to defending the country.
Previous Tours:
In June 2009 Lieutenant Governor Tim Murray completed the first annual two week military and veterans issues tour on behalf of the Patrick-Murray Administration.
In June 2010 Governor Deval Patrick and Lt. Governor Tim Murray kicked off the 2nd Annual Tour with the Massachusetts visit of the U.S. Department of Veterans' Affairs Assistant Secretary Tammy Duckworth. The tour's first stop was at the 2nd Annual Women's Veterans' Network Conference at UMass-Medical School in Worcester where Assistant Secretary Duckworth delivered the keynote speech. From there they traveled to tour the WPI Center for Neuroprosthetics, and held two roundtable forums with veterans and their family members at Framingham State College and UMass-Boston.
The 2009 tour had visits to: Agawam, Boston, Haverhill, Hanscom, Holyoke, Methuen, Natick, Seekonk, Wellesley, Wilmington, Woburn, and Worcester.
In 2010 Lt. Governor Murray visited: Boston, Framingham, Hanscom, Lowell, Northampton, Salem, Westfield, and Worcester.
Watch a Two Minute Recap of the 2009 Tour
Read about the Services Available to Veterans and Their Families
Read about the Governor's Advisory Council on Veterans' Services