For all of the AVVBA members, their spouses, families and friends who attended the Atlanta Vietnam Veterans Business Association 40th Anniversary Gala Event, it was truly an event to be remembered. Some 200 lucky attendees gathered in brotherhood on the evening of November 11, 2021 at the Atlanta History Center, our favorite partner and supporter for many years. It was truly an event for the ages, one that may never be repeated.

This amazing program wasn't cobbled together overnight; it was almost a year-long coordinated effort from the AVVBA officers and directors, plus a dedicated planning team chaired by Vince Corica, including Skip Bell, Jon Bird, John Butler, Jeff Hoffman, Sue VerHoef and Marilyn Weitzel.

To keep attendee costs down, this motivated planning team sought out financial sponsors, who responded big-time. Our thanks go out to the Atlanta Senior Care Network Niche, the AVVBA itself, our own AVVBA Foundation, the Atlanta History Center, and 23 individual donors mostly from among our own membership.

The devil is in the details, and the hard-working planning team hit a home run! Did you notice the flags from all of the Services (to include the new US Space Force)? How about the hanging Vietnam photos around the banquet room, the AVVBA scrapbooks or the display at one end of the room, with photos of our own memorials and our 55 deceased AVVBA brothers displayed at the other end?

Seating arrangements, name tags, printed programs and our Memories Ready to Enjoy (MRE) credit card-sized souvenir all required a lot of work behind the scenes. How about the sound and fury of our stellar audio-visual set-up? Did you check out the "before and after" photos on the screen showing many of our members, still looking good after all these years?

Speaking of photos and photographers, for once in his life, our official photographer Ron Sherman got to relax and enjoy a meal. That was because we had Sue VerHoef's daughter-in-law, Jacey, who runs her own photography business, taking those beautiful (and free!) "prom pictures" outside, plus great candid shots indoors. Now you can download these photos that Jacey provided, through Ron Sherman's Photo Collection.

How about the food? Your choice of roast beef, chicken or smoked pulled pork, plus dessert and coffee. Did we mention you could go back for seconds? Thank you, Marilyn Weitzel, for this great caterer and the attractive programs at each place setting on every table. Speaking of tables, did you notice the centerpiece decorations at each table, courtesy of our guests from the Vietnamese community? Another great detail that added to the overall ambiance for our evening.

Let's offer sincere thanks and a round of applause to Skip Bell, our AVVBA president, who bore the entire weight on his shoulders, in terms of assembling his dynamic AVVBA-40th Anniversary-Accomplishments presentation and then delivering in front of his assembled brothers, family and friends. This was a massive job that was carried off with professionalism and panache.

Finally, we offer this AVVBA-40th Anniversary-Recognition and Appreciation Presentation so you can understand the amazing effort that went into our 40th Anniversary Gala Event.