MOAA: Chapter Activities (Field Reports)

Teamwork

MOAA chapters and councils are the association’s action arm for legislative activism. With 535 legislators in Congress and fewer than 10 lobbyists on the national staff, it’s impossible to reach every legislator. Our staff lobbyists form half of our legislative team.

Our councils and chapters represent the other half, which we rely on when we need to present our views to legislators in their hometowns or their Washington offices.

It’s hard to quantify this assistance. Often, the only way to know if grassroots intervention is effective is seeing the successes that immediately follow an effort such as visiting legislators or after a call to arms.

Legislative activism at the national level is only one facet of chapter and council activities. They’re involved at the state and local legislative levels. Several councils have won state-level victories providing for full or partial tax exemption on military retired pay and other benefits and entitlements.

Another hallmark of our affiliates is volunteerism. They devote countless hours to local VA facilities, blood banks, fund-raising telethons, and more — a remarkable performance.

If you aren’t familiar with MOAA chapters, do yourself a favor: Go to MOAA’s Web Base (www.moaa.org) and click “Community,” then select “Chapters and Councils.” From there you can select “Chapter Locator” and enter your ZIP code to find the nearest chapter. Go ahead — call and pay the chapter a visit. Find out what its members are involved in, and see how you can join their ranks to make a difference in your community.

Col. Chris Giaimo, USAF-Ret.
Director, Council and Chapter Affairs

Field Reports

Virginia Council Members Storm the State Capital

Passing state-level legislation to help active duty, National Guard, and Reserve servicemembers and their families was top priority when the Virginia Council of Chapters (VCOC) conducted its sixth annual Storming the Hill. Council members traveled to Richmond Jan. 23 to lobby for the 38,000 MOAA members living in Virginia.

Council members lobbied for many of the issues addressed by the state’s Joint Leadership Council, which coordinates some 23 veterans’ organizations within the state as they work together to achieve common legislative goals. Former VCOC President Col. Frank Wickersham, USMC-Ret., chairs the Joint Leadership Council, and two other MOAA members who represent other veterans’ organizations sit on the board of directors.

For this year’s effort, the 40 participating VCOC members divided into small groups and lobbied by district. Topping their list of legislative priorities were several issues that would help National Guard and Reserve families, including providing the seed money needed to start a Military Family Relief Fund; funding three “Team Virginia” support centers to help deployed servicemembers’ families; expanding in-state college tuition eligibility to help the dependents of active, Guard, and Reserve members stationed in Virginia; and giving tax breaks to employers who make up pay differentials or who continue to provide health care coverage when their Guard or Reserve employees are deployed.

Other items included hiring more claims personnel for the Department of Veterans Services; obtaining construction funding for a Fisher House near the Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center in Richmond; and getting needed funding to construct a 240-bed veterans’ care center in Hampton Roads.

The VCOC members met with Majority Whip Delegate Kirk Cox (R); Speaker of the House of Delegates Bill Howell (R); Senate Majority Leader Walter Stosch (R); Sen. John S. Edwards (D); Delegate William R. Janis (R); Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling (R); Gov. Tim Kaine’s (D) Chief of Staff Bill Leighty; Commissioner of Veterans Services Vince Burgess; and U.S. Rep. Thelma Drake (R-Va.), who sits on the House Armed Services Committee.

“We were really pleased Congresswoman Drake took time out of her busy schedule to meet with us,” says VCOC President Col. Bill Flanagan, USA-Ret., who also is the senior legislative aide to Cox.

VCOC members also have strong ties to their congressional delegation. On April 5, VCOC members will host their 20th annual congressional luncheon, meeting with members of Virginia’s delegation to thank them for their support and ask for their continued support on key legislative issues.

Give Me 10! Winners Announced for 2005

MOAA’s 2005 Give Me 10! campaign, which challenged chapters to recruit 10 new members, ended Dec. 31. About 278 chapters — some 67 percent — opted to participate. A total of 1,149 members joined national MOAA as a result of the campaign. Many of these new members joined a local MOAA chapter as well.

Each chapter member who recruited a new member had his or her name entered into a sweepstakes drawing, with a chance to win $1,000. The winner for 2005 was Lt. Col. Lawrence Herzog, USAR-Ret., of the Fort Knox (Ky.) Chapter. Herzog donated his prize winnings to the chapter “because it was a team effort.” The officer Herzog recruited, Army Reserve Maj. David Plummer, won a life membership and $500.

In addition, $1,000 was awarded to each chapter recruiting the most members in 10 categories, based on membership size. Winning chapters are shown at right in the category each started in, along with the number of new recruits.

Three of the 10 winning chapters are in Arkansas. Northeast Arkansas Chapter Secretary Maj. Jim Walker, USA-Ret., challenged every MOAA chapter in the state to recruit at least 10 new members in honor of Col. Jerry Bowen, USA-Ret., the first Arkansan ever to serve on national MOAA’s board of directors.

The tiny, 45-member Seven Springs Chapter responded, recruiting 39 new members, nearly doubling its size. Although it didn’t win a prize, the Southeast Arkansas Chapter recruited 11 members. The River Valley Chapter, which won in Category II, also recruited 11 members. Meanwhile, the Northeast Arkansas Chapter recruited a whopping 63 new members.

Like many other chapters that participated in the campaign, the Northeast Arkansas Chapter looked to its own ranks when it began recruiting and signed up nine existing chapter members who didn’t belong to national MOAA. The chapter also worked hard to recruit Guard and Reserve members, Junior ROTC and ROTC instructors, graduates of Arkansas State University, former officers, and retired officers.

To show their commitment to the campaign, the Northeast Arkansas Chapter’s board of directors paid the $24 needed to sign up each new national MOAA member under the Give Me 10! campaign. The chapter also gave each new national MOAA member a free, one-year chapter membership for 2006.

“We looked at this as an investment in our chapter’s future, not an expense,” says Bowen, a member of the Northeast Arkansas Chapter.

Tenacity and persistence, coupled with a concerted effort to recruit more Guard and Reserve members, helped the Minnesota Chapter take top honors in Category X. Members of the El Paso (Texas) Chapter, which won in Category IX, also are working to recruit more active duty, Guard, and Reserve servicemembers. The chapter even changed its bylaws so an active duty servicemember would always serve on the board of directors.

El Paso Chapter President Maj. Edwin Stone, USA-Ret., said the Give Me 10! campaign gave the chapter the kick-start it needed to get more aggressive with its recruiting efforts.

“We are going to continue to aggressively pursue new members this year,” says Stone. “We have to recruit new members because they are the lifeblood of our organization.”

Officers in the Southern Oklahoma Military Officers Association know all too well how important it is to recruit new members. In 2003, the chapter nearly folded. The following year, the chapter stepped up its recruiting efforts, and it has been adding members ever since. During the Give Me 10! campaign, this revitalized chapter recruited 16 new members to place first in Category III.

“We’ve been beating the bushes down here in southern Oklahoma,” says chapter Vice President Rear Adm. Wes Hull, NOAA-Ret. “It’s been a total team effort.”

The Winner’s Circle

These chapters gave MOAA at least 10 new members, and then some. Congratulations!
■ Category I (49 or fewer members)
Seven Springs (Ark.) Chapter — 39

■ Category II (50 to 74 members)
River Valley (Ark.) Chapter — 11

■ Category III (75 to 99 members)
Southern Oklahoma Military Officers Association — 16

■ Category IV (100 to 129 members)
Fort George Meade (Md.) Chapter — 14

■ Category V (130 to 149 members)
Northeast Arkansas Chapter — 63

■ Category VI (150-199 members)
Capitol Area (Mich.) Chapter — 19

■ Category VII (200 to 299 members)
Aloha (Hawaii) Chapter — 17

■ Category VIII (300 to 399 members)
Western New York Chapter — 33

■ Category IX (400 to 699 members)
El Paso (Texas) Chapter — 54

■ Category X (700-plus members)
Minnesota Chapter — 23

MOAA Launches the 2006 Give Me 10! Campaign

Last year’s Give Me 10! campaign was successful, and now — with the threat of increases to TRICARE enrollment fees looming ever closer — MOAA national is asking each of its 415 chapters to “give another 10” so we can continue our strong advocacy campaign against these health care increases. The 2006 Give Me 10! campaign began in March and concludes Dec. 31, 2006.

Every chapter will receive a Give Me 10! campaign kit with recruiting tips and marketing materials chapters can use to win over new members.

Participating chapters will receive $10 for each new member they recruit and a $100 bonus after they recruit 10 members. Chapters will continue to receive $10 for every member they recruit — even after they’ve signed up 10 new members. As added incentive, chapters will receive $20 for every member who signs up for a life membership. Chapters also will be broken out by size, and a $1,000 prize will be given to the top chapter in each category.

Remember, your recruiting efforts always go a long way toward helping MOAA remain a strong and formidable force on Capitol Hill, fighting for all of us.

Contributors are Col. Chris Giaimo, USAF-Ret., Director, and Col. Jim Pauls, USAF-Ret., Council and Chapter Affairs, and Kris Ann Hegle