About COVO

Mission

Aid Central Oregon houseless, jobless, and disadvantaged military veterans as well as non-veteran community members by:

  • Establishing and operating a centrally accessible community friendly outreach center and one-stop venue to provide day-to-day necessities.
  • Providing emergency shelter and transitional housing
  • Providing permanent low-income housing
  • Developing, sponsoring, and/or managing programs to help with housing placement, communication, training, job search, case management, and access to health services.

Vision

To continually serve, assist, and support Central Oregon’s houseless, jobless, and disadvantaged military veterans and non-veteran community members.

Board and History

Les Bivens, President
Les is originally from North Carolina where he graduated from Pfeiffer University with a BA in history. After graduation Les joined the US Navy and became an Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) officer. He was assigned to EOD Group 2 at Fort Story, VA. and deployed aboard the aircraft carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt, CVA-42 for nine months as the EOD officer. After the tour aboard CVA-42, Les was recruited to serve as one of 3 EOD officers assigned to the Naval Undersea Center, Kaneohe, Hawaii to develop a new type of swimmer defense system using dolphins for Viet Nam. He was deployed to Viet Nam as the Asst. Officer-in- Charge, then Officer-in-Charge of a 14-man EOD detachment in Cam Ranh Bay, VN to provide swimmer defense and EOD services to ships and pier facilities in the area. After a successful OPEVAL in VN the system was redeployed to Guam where Les was OIC during turn over to an operational unit of Naval Special Warfare. Les resigned from active duty and took a civil service job with the Naval Undersea Research and Development Center, Hawaii where he continued to work as a program manager for research and development of Marine Mammal Systems in support of Naval missions. From Hawaii, Les moved to San Diego where he became the director of the Navy’s Marine Mammal program and met his wife, Junko. He served 28 years as a Navy Officer and Navy Civil servant before retiring. After retirement Les moved to Colorado where he was a volunteer with the Upper San Juan Search and Rescue Team (SAR), directing and participating in mountain search and rescue operations. During this time he became a Wildness EMT for SAR, and served 8 years on the Archuleta County SAR Board of Directors, as President of the Board for 3 years. He was recognized as the Colorado Emergency Management Association Volunteer of the year in 2015 for his service with SAR. Les and his wife, Junko moved to Bend in 2016.
Dennis Merrill, Vice President
Brigadier General Dennis Merrill, USA (Ret) has over 35 years of public and military service. He served over 32 years with the Oregon Army National Guard, retiring in 2004. He is a veteran of Operation Joint Guard (1997), in Bosnia-Herzegovina where he served as a brigade task force commander. Additionally, he served as the United States Marshal for the District of Oregon from 2002 to 2010. Prior to his appointment as the United States Marshal, He served for 27 years with the Portland Police Bureau, retiring as a Captain in 2002. BG Merrill’s volunteer and community service endeavors include: past co-coordinator and driver for DAV transportation program in Bend; past area coordinator for the Employer Support of Guard and Reserve; current Advisory Board member of the National Guard Youth Challenge Program; President of the Oregon State Council of Chapters of the Military Officers Association of America; and Communications Chair/Board member of the Central Oregon Military Officers Association of America. His professional associations include Life member of the MOAA, VFW and Oregon Peace Officers Association. He is a native Oregonian. He graduated from Tigard High School and Portland State University. He currently resides with his wife Carol in Powell Butte.
Len DeGroot, Secretary & Treasurer
Len was born and raised near Green Bay, Wisconsin and developed a lifelong love of the Packers. He spent 11 years in the U.S. Navy, educated in electronics, and served as a Sonar Technician. He then added to this education with an Associate’s Degree in Psychology, a Bachelor’s Degree in Business and a Master’s in Finance. He had a varied career, which included Gremlin Industries, General Dynamics, Convair, and IVAC Corporation. Len settled into his last 22 years before retirement with Hughes Network Systems as Manager of Installations for the Western US and Canada. He connected with COVO at the 2011 Stand-down, and has continued his interest in helping Vets through the Outreach program since then. Len also volunteers with Mosaic Medical and the ELKS. In his spare time, he enjoys fishing (sometimes catching), hiking with his wife and dog (Annie), and RV-ing, enjoying life in Oregon.
Casey Baxter, Director
Casey was born and raised in Oregon, attending high school in Bend, Oregon, where he served as the first rifle team commander for Mt. View High School’s NJROTC. After high school, Casey enlisted in the United States Marine Corps as a Helicopter Crew Chief. After the Marines, Casey attended the University of Houston where he graduated summa cum laude with a degree in Business Management. While in college, he served as the President of the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society. After graduating, he attended the University Of Denver Sturm College Of Law. He was a member of the national moot court trial team and worked for a clinic where he represented low-income clients. Since law school, Casey obtained his real estate and financial advising licenses, and worked as a Morgan Stanley Smith Barney financial advisor. Soon thereafter, Casey worked for over three years as a Deputy District Attorney in Deschutes County. There, he served as both President and Treasurer of the Deschutes County District Attorney’s Association where he helped to lead efforts to obtain the Veteran’s Treatment Court and develop the Veteran’s Intervention Strategy to appropriately address the combat related conditions of veterans in Central Oregon. Casey also took numerous misdemeanor and felony cases to trial, including successfully co-chairing a murder trial in 2013. Casey then founded a law firm in the Old Mill District where he is now working as a criminal defense, family law and estate planning attorney. He enjoys the many outdoor activities that Central Oregon has to offer, including snowboarding, mountain biking, hiking and boating.
Jim Cunningham, Director
Jim has over 37 years of public and military service with the U.S. Air Force and Oregon Air National Guard, retiring in 2006. He is a veteran of Vietnam as well as Desert Shield/Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom. Prior to commanding the Oregon Air National Guard, General Cunningham was the Oregon Air National Guard Director of Operations. In this capacity he oversaw state operations and training for seven Air Guard units, coordinated Air Guard involvement in state emergency operations, and managed military air space management issues. General Cunningham is a retired Captain with United Airlines. Jim serves on the Advisory Board of Oregon Youth Challenge and Board of Directors of the Rosenbaum Foundation. Past board experience includes, Sisters Habitat for Humanity, Sisters Folk Festival, Deschutes County Search and Rescue Aviation Advisor, and Aviation Advisor for Economic Development for Central Oregon. The General is a graduate of the University of California at Los Angeles (BA) and Webster University (MA). He resides with his wife Dana in Sisters Oregon.
David Abbott, Director
JW Terry, Executive Director
o JW was born and raised in Ashtabula, Ohio. He joined the U.S. Navy in 1963 and served for over 30 years, retiring as a Chief of Naval Operations Command Master Chief. After retiring from the Navy, he worked on the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Department, as Office Manager for Maricopa County Home Health Care Department, and attended Lampson Community College. In 2000 JW became an instructor for the Navy’s NJROTC program in LaVerne, CA and came to Bend in 2001 as an instructor at Mountain View High School NJROTC program, where he taught until 2012. JW took the helm as Executive Director of Central Oregon Veterans Outreach (COVO) in 2014. He is also currently the State and Bend Chapter President of the Band of Brother’s, Post Commander of Post 4 American Legion, lifetime member of Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 820 and a member of OVMA High Desert Eagles, He enjoys family time, golf and keeping up with his 3 grandchildren, and 3 great grandsons.
Additional Information/ Governance

Additional Information/ Governance

A. General:

Release of information to the public is an important factor in the transparency of the organization. Transparency is a tool to increase community engagement, provide better self-assessment as well as attracting outside resources.

B. Procedures:

1. the COVO website will make available the following documents:

2. COVO is not required to make photo copies of documents that are available on the website. However, they must still be available for inspection at the office.

3. Response Due Dates:

    • a. In-Person Requests: if a request is made in person at the COVO office, it shall be responded to on the same day (copies of these documents should be maintained for this purpose).
    • b. Written Requests: requestors are to be advised the documents are available on the website within 30 days (see paragraph B above).

4. Copying and Mailing fees: In the event copies are made the following applies:

    • a. $1.00 for the first page
    • b. 15 cents for each additional page
    • c. Postage

5. Penalties for failing to comply with a request for Disclosure

  • a. Failure to comply on the day of the request, if in person, or 30 days if in writing, IRS can assess a $20 per/day penalty for every day out of compliance.
  • b. There is a maximum penalty of $10,000 for failing to provide a copy of the annual information return (Form 990 and all schedule and attachments).
  • c. There is no maximum penalty for failure to provide a copy of the Tax-Exempt Application (Form 1023 or 1024)
  • d. Harassment Exception: Relief from disclosure is provided for an “Harassment Campaign.” This is a single coordinated effort to disrupt the operations of a tax-exempt organization, rather than to collect information about the organization.

C. Documents requested that are not listed above may be released only with the explicit approval of the Executive Director.