Sebastian Junger at SVA NatCon 2022
“I’m here to tell you now that your country still needs you. And they need you because you have experienced what unity, real unity, feels like.” Sebastian Junger spoke about coming home, community, and the purpose of Vets Town Halls at Student Veterans of America‘s National Conference on January 8, 2022. Listen to Sebastian’s talk…
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Help Sheet: Running a Vets Town Hall
We’ve just uploaded an updated printer-friendly PDF version of our Running a Town Hall page. You can download, print and share. Don’t forget to let us know how your town hall goes, or get in touch to ask any question.
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Speaking at a Vets Town Hall
At a Vets Town Hall, veterans of any era who have served in any capacity have the right to stand before their community and speak for up to ten minutes. We’ve posted some notes and starting points for speakers, and uploaded a printable speaker info sheet.
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‘What it’s like to go to war’: Veterans share their stories of service, suffering, levity (Cape Cod Times)
HYANNIS — Tears streamed down Paula Smith’s face as she stood behind a podium, sharing her anguish over leaving her children when she served in Iraq in 2009. “I was so far away from my babies,” she said. “That was one thing I didn’t figure into my preparation for deployment. How would I make up the time that…
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Virtual Vets Town Hall 2021
Rep. Seth Moulton hosted a virtual Vets Town Hall this year. You can watch the Facebook Live recording here.
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Timekeeping at a Vets Town Hall
At a Vets Town Hall, each speaker has up to ten minutes to speak about what it was like to serve their country. Keeping to a ten-minute time limit ensures that many veterans will have the opportunity to speak, and that each speaker will be allowed equal time. In order to keep speakers on schedule…
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Suggested Remarks for the Vets Town Hall Host
The host/MC introduces the event, handles transitions between speakers, and kindly reminds attendees of the ground rules if necessary. We’ve uploaded a printer-friendly .pdf of the suggested host remarks.
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Check-in at a Vets Town Hall
Having a check-in table at your event provides an opportunity to welcome speakers and attendees, and to answer any questions about the town hall. It’s also a chance to see whether registered speakers have arrived, to sign in veterans who would like to speak but haven’t yet registered, and to ask if attendees would like…
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VTH POSITION ON PUBLIC GATHERINGS DURING COVID
We at VTH are acutely aware of both the collective national need to gather to process the aftereffects of war, and also the very real threat that such gatherings pose to the public health.
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Press Release Template for Local VTH Organizers
We’ve just uploaded a press release template designed for organizers to use to publicize their local Vets Town Hall. Organizers can download a PDF or copy/paste the text from a Google Doc.
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