Just a few days ago, the 

Clinic staff and students spent Veterans Day with alumni from the Mizzou Law classes of the 1970s. We were honored to host the reunion so members of those classes could come back to Mizzou and see old

friends and remember good times. It was special to see and meet many at the reunion who served during Vietnam War. The weekend was a resounding success in every possible way, with members of the 1970s classes pledging over $110,000 to the Clinic! Words cannot express how grateful we are to the alumni who generously donated to the Clinic to help us continue our mission of assisting our nation’s heroes on behalf of a grateful nation. All we can do is say “Thank You” and strive to do even more for our veterans.

Veterans Day always underscores for me the great honor and great responsibility of our work at the Clinic. To that end, I am happy to report that we continue to help more veterans and do so in even more effective ways. In August, we launched “Show-me Home,” our homeless veterans program under the direction of Andy Rogers, MSW, LCSW. Andy has years of experience at Truman VA Medical Center helping veterans in need of mental health, legal, and housing assistance.

She literally is the perfect person to start and lead this exciting and essential program into the future. Our students in the Clinic this semester are outstanding and have been able to watch their hard work result in numerous VA compensation awards for our clients. The Clinic has now recovered more than $14 million dollars in VA disability compensation for our clients and has assisted over 1,600 veterans.  

On a personal note, I want to wish Angela “fair winds and following seas” as she sails into retirement. I have heard others refer to her as a “lioness” in veterans law and advocacy. That description really does sum up her ferocious desire to improve the lives of veterans and make the Clinic a place where it happens every day. She turned her dreams for the Clinic into reality and so many veterans in the past and future will benefit from her amazing efforts. From all of us at the Clinic, thank you, Angela!