NORWICH – The Disabled American Veterans (DAV) will host a meeting from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Norwich Fire Station, 31 E. Main St.

The DAV transportation van, stationed in Norwich, ferries veterans living in Chenango County to medical appointments at the VA Medical Center in Syracuse. And for many veterans in the area, the DAV’s transportation service is their only means of getting to and from potentially life-saving doctor visits. For a long time, the DAV has struggled finding volunteers to drive the Norwich van and was forced to greatly reduce the amount of runs preformed each week. Administrators were even facing the grim possibility of having to completely shut down the Chenango County branch due to the lack of volunteers.

However, since late February, 21 fresh volunteers have signed up to drive the Norwich van. As a result, the operation has drastically been altered from a bare bones contingent – with only a few drivers struggling to do three runs a week – to a robust division preforming runs every day of the week.