Chairman of Manatee Veterans Council achieves firsts, and says there is more work to do
As Edwin Robinson prepares to start his second full year as chairman of the Manatee County Veterans Council, he remains optimistic about the future and what can be done to improve the life of Bradenton area veterans.
Robinson, 50, wants to do more to help veterans with their access to healthcare, and to do more to combat the problem of homelessness among veterans.
What he doesn’t say is that he achieved a number of firsts in 2020, becoming the youngest veteran to lead the council, the first to lead the council during a pandemic, and the first Black man to fill the chairman’s seat.
“I don’t see colors. I see veterans,” said Robinson, who served two years in the Air Force, working in air traffic control. “Council members are my friends, an extension of my family. Only 1% of Americans raise their hand to take the oath to serve. It never really mattered what color you were. You depended on that person to save your life.
“We have to get back to a time where the content of our character is what really matters,” he said. “There is far more that drives us together than pulls us apart.”
Don Courtney, a retired Army chief warrant officer, and a past chair of the veterans council, said that Robinson is one of only a few who have tackled the job, while working full time. Most of the past chairs have been retirees, with plenty of time to devote to the volunteer position.
“Edwin has done an outstanding job. He cares a lot for the veteran. I am really excited about what he has been able to do so far,” Courtney said.
Robinson worked for two years in veterans services at Goodwill Manasota before being recruited in 2017 by Derrick Heard, former director of the Yellow Ribbon veterans support program at Turning Points.
“While I haven’t always had all the education I needed, I’ve always been grateful to have been given a chance and an opportunity,” Robinson said.
Turning Points, 701 17th Ave W., which recently celebrated its 25th anniversary, helping those who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, added the veterans program about eight years ago.
“Before I went to work at Goodwill, I would have never have put the words ‘veteran’ and ‘homeless’ together in the same sentence,” Robinson said.
In 2019, the Turning Points Yellow Ribbon program assisted 110 veterans.
“We believe it is important for a veteran to help another veteran,” Robinson said. “We have been able to help some stay in their home or come off the streets. While we have done quite a bit we still have a ways to go.”
Monday, Robinson chatted with Brad Marner, president of the Longboat Key Rotary Club, after Turning Points received an $18,000 donation from the club.
“No one starts out to be homeless. But I have come to the understanding that life happens. Sometimes it is choice. Sometimes it is circumstances. Sometimes choice and circumstances come together,” Robinson said.
It’s a sad day when someone falls through the society’s safety net, dies on the street, and no one comes looking for them, he said.
Turning Points held a memorial Monday for some of those who have perished recently and went unmissed by family and friends.
Robinson was born and raised in Sarasota and graduated from Booker High School. He attended Southeast Louisiana University on a speech and debate scholarship after leaving the Air Force in 1992, but did not graduate. He was married for 13 years and and has two stepdaughters and two granddaughters.
He began attending meetings of the Manatee County Veterans Council while employed at Goodwill, eventually being elected secretary, and then vice chairman, before being elected chairman.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought council meetings to a halt for a couple of months before resuming online in June.
“Zoom has become our new best friend,” he said. “Many of the council members are in the most vulnerable category.”
Recently, the council began meeting in person in the Kiwanis Hall of the Manatee Performing Arts Center, where there is enough room to accommodate social distancing.
The veterans council will always have room for any veteran or veteran-friendly organization interested in building a better life for veterans, Robinson said.
“If we want our community to be healthy, we have to address the needs of the least of us,” he said.
One of his still unmet goals is to complete his bachelor’s degree and become an elementary school teacher, like his grandmother.
“I saw the impact that my grandmother’s life had. I want to teach ABCs, values and standards. I truly believe the United States is the greatest nation on the face of the Earth. Men and women — white, black and brown — fought to give me the privilege of being here,” Robinson said.
For more information
▪ Manatee County Veterans Council, visit https://www.mymcvc.org/.
▪ Turning Points, visit https://tpmanatee.org/.
