LITTLE ROCK – The Democratic Party of Arkansas has established a new Veterans And Military Family Members Caucus. Unanimous approval by members of the Executive Committee was reported during the DPA's quarterly State Committee meeting, held on Saturday in Little Rock. This is the ninth caucus formed within the state Democratic party and the first under new Chair Grant Tennille.
“We are pleased with the response from Arkansas Veterans and Active-Duty members, as well as their families. Their welcoming energy is lifting up our commitment to work together on behalf of Veterans to improve their quality of life. Our caucus is also committed to electing more people to office who understand the needs of Veterans and military families all across the state.” said Caucus Chairwoman, Margaret Robinson. "Our party has a proud tradition of supporting and being led by Veterans. We are continuing that work by doing our utmost to highlight those leaders and to serve their mission."
The caucus will act as a strong voice within the Democratic Party of Arkansas to: advance and protect veterans' quality of life and benefits by identifying, discussing, and addressing issues important to veterans and military families; promote effective legislation to advocate for our veterans; and to encourage veterans and military families to participate in all levels of policy making. The Caucus will seek to elect Democrats who understand the issues important to veterans and military families by recruiting, assisting, and supporting interested veterans and military family members who wish to be candidates for local, state, and national political offices.
The inaugural leadership team for the Caucus is comprised of the following leaders across the state:
Chair — Margaret Robinson — Sergeant, USAF
First Vice Chair — Mayor Ethan Dunbar — Command Sgt. Major (Retired), US Army
Vice Chair for Membership — Captain Nathan Coulter, USMC, Inactive Reserve
Secretary — Jean Wallace, Gold Star & Veteran family member
Treasurer — Gene Castin, Lieutenant (Retired), US Navy
Parliamentarian — Mary Richardson, Veteran family member
Chaplain— Dr. Cheryl Felder Stuart, Gold Star family member
Communications Director — Gracie Ziegler, Veteran family member
“I couldn’t be happier to engage yet another group of Democrats who have fought for our rights and supported the work here in Arkansas and around the world. As a party, we are growing and by including more and more leaders, we will keep working to represent all Arkansans” said Democratic Party of Arkansas Chairman Grant Tennille.
Additional founding members of the Caucus are DPA Vice Chair Nicole Hart, Sergeant, US Army National Guard; Former State Representative Tommy Roebuck, Colonel, USAR Retired, and State Representative David Whitaker, Staff Sergeant, USAF Retired.
Membership is open to all members of the Democratic Party of Arkansas who are veterans, family members of veterans, active and retired members of the military including the Arkansas National Guard, and their families who share the goals of the caucus and support the principles of the Democratic Party of Arkansas.
The caucus will host its first membership meeting (virtual) on December 5th at 5 pm. Please contact Margaret Robinson, (501) 690-2510, [email protected] or Ethan Dunbar, (719) 210-4544, [email protected] for more information on how to join and attend.. You can find the Caucus on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArkDemVets/
For more information about the Democratic Party of Arkansas, the caucus groups supporting the Party, and ways to join and support their efforts, visit: https://www.arkdems.org/