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AMVETS
National Headquarters
Official Website
National Leadership
National Officers
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National Commander
Horace Johnson (FL)
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National First
Vice Commander
Paul Shipley (PA)
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National Second
Vice Commander
Sandy Vorhies (OH)
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National Third
Vice Commander
Christopher Studebaker (IL)
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National Judge Advocate
Frederick Bates (GA)
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National Finance Officer
Kelly McFarlain (LA)
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National Provost Marshal
Arthur L. Majors (OH)
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National Finance Committee
NEC Lee Ann Adams (TN)
NEC A.J. John (FL)
PNC William "Bill" Clark (NC)​​
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National Districts
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District I
Tom Davitt (MA)
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District II
Randy Ferguson (NC)
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District III
Early Hood (SC)
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District IV
Sheldon Hartfield (MO)
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District V
Deborah Wehrli (NE)
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District VI
Jack Isaacson (AZ)
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National Appointees
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National Chaplain
Rigley K. Jackson​ (DC)
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National Inspector General
Joe Ashman (NY)
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National VAVS Rep
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National Deputy
Judge Advocate
Ross Smith (CA)
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National HQ Staff
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Executive Director
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Membership Director
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Service Director
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Programs Manager
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National Controller
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Communications
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AMVETS National Commander Horace Johnson
National Commander Horace Johnson was elected to the organization’s highest office by his peers in August 2024 at the AMVETS National Convention in Springfield, Illinois.
A retired Sergeant Major and Vietnam War Veteran, Commander Johnson served in the U.S. Army and National Guard for 22 years, including time as a senior combat medical specialist in Vietnam and an operations sergeant major with the 37th Armored Brigade.
Commander Johnson’s military awards include the Army Commendation Medal, the Armed Forces Reserve Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, and the Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal.
After retiring from the Army as an E-9 in 1998, Commander Johnson had a 38-year career in the United States Postal Service, starting as a letter carrier in Cleveland, Ohio, working all the way up to officer-in-charge of the Painsville Post Office in Ohio.
Commander Johnson has led with distinction at every level in the AMVETS organization, including commanding AMVETS’ National III District, the Department of Florida, and Post 4 in Tampa, Florida. Commander Johnson served for eight years on the AMVETS National Service Foundation Board of Trustees and was treasurer of AMVETS National Charities. He also served as executive director of the Department of Florida. Commander Johnson is a past chairman of the AMVETS National Diversity Committee.
Commander Johnson is a native of Cleveland, Ohio. His wife Toni and he live in Tampa, Florida. Together, they have nine children, 27 grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren.
Also see: ​Commander Johnson's Project
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National Executive Director Joseph R. Chenelly
Joseph R. Chenelly was appointed national executive director of AMVETS in May 2016. In this capacity, he administers the policies of AMVETS, supervises its national headquarters operations and provides direction, as needed, to state and local components. Joe previously served as AMVETS’ national communications director.
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Joe Chenelly is the first veteran of combat operations in the Global War on Terrorism to lead one of the nation’s four largest veterans service organizations’ staffs. A native of Rochester, N.Y., Joe enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1998, serving with the 1st Marine Division, and was honorably discharged as a Staff Sergeant in April 2006. He is a combat veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, having served in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Kuwait, East Timor and the Horn of Africa.​
Joe became a veterans advocate, a journalist, and a political adviser after his time in uniform. He covered military and veterans matters on staff with Leatherneck magazine, the Military Times newspapers, USA TODAY and Gannet News, reporting on operations in the Middle East, Southwest Asia, Africa, as well as disaster relief in the United States.
Joe was named one of the 100 “most influential journalists covering armed violence” by Action on Armed Violence in 2013. He was the first U.S. Marine combat correspondent to step into enemy territory after September 11, 2001, as a military reporter in Pakistan and Afghanistan. He also reported from the front-lines with American and allied forces in Kuwait and Iraq as that war began. He was on the ground for the start of both Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Joe served as AMVETS’ national communications director in 2005-2007, and for eight years as assistant national director for communications for the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) in Washington, D.C., leading grassroots efforts through social networking and new media.
He has also served as president of Social Communications, LLC; a public affairs officer director for the Department of Navy; and and an elected member of the Calvert County (MD) Board of Education. Joe is an alumni of Syracuse University and Central Texas College. He resides in Fairport, N.Y., with his wife Dawn, a service-connected disabled Air Force veteran, and their five children.
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