MOAA: Chapter Activities (Field Reports)

Welcome, Lee

In May’s column I bade farewell to my longtime friend and partner in the council and chapter world, Col. Jim Pauls, USAF-Ret.

This month I welcome Jim’s relief, Col. Lee Lange, USMC-Ret. Many of you already know Lee, as he’s been a frequent visitor to chapters since joining the staff in June 2001. Foremost, he has been a stalwart on MOAA’s Government Relations team, serving as the association’s lead on military survivor issues.

While serving in the Marine Corps, Lee’s assignments included a wide range of operational, staff, and command billets in each of the Corps’ artillery regiments and four divisions. He was involved in Operation Frequent Wind — the evacuation of Vietnam — and served with the 2nd Marine Division during the Gulf War. Lee also served eight years, in three assignments, as a manpower planner at Headquarters Marine Corps, Washington, D.C.

As you can tell, Lee is well-prepared for what will be a brief stint as a deputy in the Council and Chapter Affairs department. On Jan. 1, 2007, he will take over as director when I, like Jim, will retire.

I’m excited that a member of MOAA’s outstanding Government Relations team was chosen to lead our department. Lee is following the same career path I took way back when. A special synergism exists between our government relations function and our chapters’ grassroots lobbying efforts that makes it almost a natural transition. I know Lee will continue nurturing that relationship.

He and his team will be working for you. I hope you’ll welcome him to your chapters as you’ve always welcomed Jim and me and that you’ll continue to support him as you have us. I know he’ll be doing his utmost to support you and your chapters and to keep them a strong and viable force for the entire association.

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

Field Reports

Council and Chapter Leaders Lobby Congress

More than 50 council and chapter leaders from all 50 states and Puerto Rico traveled to Alexandria, Va., to participate in MOAA’s annual Council Presidents’ Seminar, held this past March 27-29. The highlight of the seminar was when these council and chapter leaders teamed up with members of MOAA’s national staff and board of directors to head to Washington, D.C., and Storm the Hill.

During the one-day lobbying blitz, participants met face-to-face with congressional representatives and staff members on Capitol Hill and discussed several of MOAA’s key legislative initiatives. This year, council and chapter leaders lobbied against the large TRICARE fee increases recommended by DoD. Legislators also were asked to support bills that would fix inequities in the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) that impose major financial penalties on the survivors of servicemembers who died from service-connected causes as well as “greatest generation” retirees who enrolled in SBP in the early 1970s.

Council and chapter leaders also took time to thank the congressional leaders and key staff members who supported MOAA’s legislative initiatives last year during the Arthur T. Marix Awards ceremony and reception, held on Capitol Hill.

For more about the accomplishments of Marix Award recipients, see “You’re the Tops,” on page 53.

In addition to their lobbying efforts, participants had an opportunity to attend one of two benefits information briefings. Council and chapter leaders also learned more about the benefits available through Garrett Planning Network, an MOAA-sponsored financial services partner, and received details about a travel program offered by MOAA Vacations that allows members to earn money for their chapters by traveling as part of a vacation group.

Council and chapter leaders then participated in a lively Cross-talk session, sharing their thoughts, ideas, and problems with each other. In addition, participants learned how they could apply for a position on MOAA’s board of directors and received information about how they could become a chapter liaison for The Officer Placement Service (TOPS). TOPS is MOAA’s long-standing career counseling and employment service that provides resources to members and their spouses. One MOAA member, Col. Edward Gibson, USA-Ret., received a certificate of appreciation recognizing the work he has done to help MOAA members seeking employment.

Participants also heard from a series of speakers who described service projects they could start in their own chapters. The executive director of the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) in Arlington, Va., Maj. Gen. Bobby Hollingsworth, USMCR-Ret., described some of the ways MOAA chapter members can help the ESGR meet its mission of promoting cooperation and understanding between reserve component members and their civilian employers.

Pam Crespi, Morale, Welfare, and Recreation program manager with Military Community and Family Policy in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, told participants about the Heroes to Hometowns program, which helps severely injured servicemembers make the transition back into their communities by providing them with a local support network.

Tampa Chapter President Capt. Bob Silah, USN-Ret., gave a presentation about his chapter’s community-service program, Operation Helping Hand. Tampa Chapter members provide emotional and financial assistance to the family members of troops who often spend months recuperating from their wounds at the James A. Haley VA Hospital. Operation Helping Hand has generated much publicity for the Tampa Chapter, and in 2005 the program received first-place honors and a $10,000 grant from the annual Newman’s Own Awards contest.

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