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Field Reports
By Col. Chris Giaimo, USAF-Ret.,
Director, and Col. Jim Pauls, USAF-Ret., Council and Chapter
Affairs, and Kris Ann Hegle
Charleston (S.C.) Chapter Hosts State Senator
State Sen. Glenn McConnell (R-S.C.) briefed members of the
Charleston (S.C.) Chapter about the progress being made on the
excavation of the H.L. Hunley during the chapter’s June
meeting. McConnell chairs the Hunley Commission, which was created
by the state to acquire, recover, and preserve the Confederate
submarine Hunley. The Hunley has the distinction of
being the first submarine to sink a ship in wartime.
Chapter President Col. Halbert Smart, USAF-Ret., says the 649-member
chapter has heard from many interesting speakers at meetings during
the past year, including former Secretary of the Air Force Thomas
Reed and National Guard Bureau Chief Army Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum.
The chapter’s board of directors also works hard to keep members
involved by continually looking for new projects and programs for
them to participate in. Currently, the Charleston Chapter funds its
own scholarship program, supports several local ROTC and Junior ROTC
units, hosts an annual golf tournament and barbecue, and cosponsors
a 55 Alive driving safety class with AARP.
Throughout the year, members raise money for charitable
organizations, such as the annual Toys for Tots program, by selling
MOAA/Charleston Chapter decals and license plates. The chapter is a
strong supporter of Toys for Tots, and last year, its efforts to
support the program received publicity after several members were
interviewed by a local TV newscaster.
The chapter also participates in projects and programs that help
military members and their families, such as the Gift of Groceries
program, through which members purchase gift cards that can be used
by authorized shoppers in a military commissary. Members can give
the card to a needy military family or forward it to a local
military relief organization for distribution.
Recently, the chapter’s board of directors stepped up recruiting
efforts by setting up a display table during Retiree Day at
Charleston AFB. Col. Allan Smith, USAF-Ret., second vice president
and membership chair, spearheaded the effort, during which the
chapter distributed 20 applications and gained eight new members.
“As they passed our tables, several attendees expressed appreciation
for what MOAA does and stands for,” says Smith. “On one occasion, a
woman showed her esteem by dropping a sizable donation in our Toys
for Tots collection bowl just to say thanks. It was an uplifting
experience to represent MOAA and to receive this type of gratitude.”
Servicemembers Receive Educational Grants
Members of the Willow Grove (Pa.) Chapter demonstrated their
support for 10 area servicemembers who are furthering their
education by presenting them with $500 educational grants. For more
than 15 years, the 486-member chapter has been awarding educational
grants to deserving military members who are stationed at Joint Air
Station Willow Grove. Members fund the program by selling raffle
tickets, with part of the proceeds going to the winner and part
going to the chapter’s educational grant fund.
“This year, the choice of who received the grants was especially
difficult because of the quality and the number of the applicants,”
says chapter Treasurer Cmdr. Tom Stack, USNR-Ret. “If funds allowed,
we could have easily justified adding 10 more grants.”
Former Navy Lt. Paul Swartz, who chairs the chapter’s educational
program, presented the grants during a captain’s muster awards
ceremony July 2. All of the awardees hail from the enlisted ranks,
are stationed at Joint Air Station Willow Grove, and serve in the
Navy, Air Force, or Marines. During the ceremony, chapter President
Lt. Cmdr. Gene Kelly, USNR-Ret., presented the base’s outgoing
commanding officer, Capt. Layne Smith, USN, with a book detailing
the history of Bucks County, Pa., and thanked him for supporting the
Willow Grove Chapter during his tenure.
The chapter maintains close ties to Joint Air Station Willow Grove,
and members frequently contribute money to worthy causes that help
military members who are stationed there, such as the “Chief’s Bag
of Chow,” which provides food to needy families during the holidays.
Show Your Colors
As a group, MOAA members and chapter members are very generous.
Whether responding to a tragedy such as a typhoon-spawned flood in
Bangladesh, an earthquake in the Middle East, or a volcanic eruption
in the Philippines, MOAA members always are ready with food,
clothing, or money to help the less fortunate recover. This is a
tradition we can be proud of.
But these charitable deeds are not just directed overseas. MOAA
members are just as generous, if not more so, with their neighbors.
Several weeks ago, for example, our department received a large
number of phone calls from chapters across the country asking how
they could help the hurricane victims in Florida. As active or
retired military members, it is in our nature to be generous, and we
always let our deeds speak for us.
In keeping with this tradition, more and more chapters are becoming
involved in community service programs that go a long way toward
helping a chapter’s local community. Not a week goes by that we
don’t receive information about another local effort sponsored by an
MOAA chapter—a program to visit long-term shut-ins in VA hospitals;
sponsorship of a golf tournament to raise funds for a local
orphanage; volunteers to pick up drug prescriptions for the elderly;
assistance to local military recruiters; placing flags on graves at
a local national cemetery. The list goes on and on. But the theme is
always the same—MOAA members serving others.
Most often, chapters are more concerned with the “doing” than in
getting noticed for what they do. In most cases, this is as it
should be—no one likes a braggart. However, there are exceptions to
every rule. Within the bounds of propriety, if your chapter
contributes to the betterment of its community, let your fellow
citizens know what you are doing. Invite them to join you. Show your
colors as community leaders. The benefits derived from this small
amount of exposure will improve your standing in your chapter and in
your community at large.
Col. Chris
Giaimo, USAF-Ret.
Director, Council and Chapter Affairs
Upper Potomac (Md.) Chapter Distributes Phone Cards
This summer, members of the Upper Potomac (Md.) Chapter
distributed 350 prepaid long distance phone cards to wounded
servicemembers who were being treated at Walter Reed Army Medical
Center in Washington, D.C., and Bethesda Naval Hospital in Bethesda,
Md.
“We wanted to do something to help the troops, so I called the
hospitals and asked what they needed,” says chapter Treasurer Cmdr.
W.A. Ballweber, USNR-Ret. “They really didn’t want us bringing
cookies or books in because of contagions. They suggested we
purchase the prepaid phone cards, which could be used by wounded
servicemembers and their family members.”
Chapter members raised more than $2,500 to buy the cards. Although
most of the money was contributed by members, the chapter also
received contributions from area businesses, schools, and church
groups. Ballweber says filing the paperwork necessary for the
chapter to become a nonprofit 501(c)(19) organization helped it
collect more money, because contributions are tax-deductible.
During the summer, chapter member Col. Clyde Tate, USA-Ret.;
President Cmdr. Chip Chipley, USN-Ret.; and Ballweber distributed
the phone cards, which were tucked inside greeting cards donated by
The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in Williamsburg, Va., to
hospitalized troops. Each greeting card had a picture of the
American flag on the front and MOAA’s emblem with the words, “Thanks
for your service on our behalf. We would like you to know how
grateful we are to you for the sacrifices you have made on behalf of
our country” printed inside.
According to Ballweber, the effort was such a success the 100-member
chapter has decided to continue the project, and members currently
are raising money to purchase more prepaid phone cards.
New Hampshire Chapter Hosts Clambake
More than 357 people turned out for the New Hampshire Chapter’s
annual clambake Aug. 7 at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. The event
raised $2,981 for the chapter’s college scholarship program, which
provides interest-free loans to members’ children and grandchildren.
The New Hampshire Chapter has hosted a clambake every year since
1984. During the past 20 years, members have raised $23,533.83 and
awarded 51 interest-free loans to students, including 16 students
who received $1,250 loans this year. To date, none of these students
has defaulted on his or her loan.
Among the guests attending the event were Sen. John Sununu (R-N.H.)
and Rep. Jeb Bradley (R-N.H.), who graciously offered to serve his
constituents by dishing out food in the serving line. Col. Jim Pauls,
USAF-Ret., deputy director of MOAA’s Council and Chapter Affairs
Department, and his wife, Marvella, also attended along with MOAA
board of directors Member Lt. Cmdr. Paul Sova, USCG-Ret., and
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Commander Capt. Kevin McCoy, USN, and his
wife, Terri. Some 14 MOAA members who belong to the Green Mountain
Chapter in Vermont also made the trek, along with chapter members
from as far away as Virginia and Florida.
“None of this would have been possible without the efforts of a very
dedicated group of volunteers,” says chapter President Lt. Cmdr.
Paul Bernard, USN-Ret. “The planning begins a couple of months in
advance, and on the day of the event, volunteers prepare all of the
food and serve it. This year, approximately 350 people passed
through the serving line in just over an hour. It’s this level of
volunteerism that makes our scholarship loan program and our chapter
so successful.”
A closer look at council and chapter achievements
Helping Students STRIDE
Pensacola (Fla.) Chapter Member Maj. Gen. Al Gilley,
USAR-Ret., knows all too well the challenges African-American
boys face when they grow up without a strong role model. His
mother died when he was 7. Four years later, his father passed
away, and he and his five brothers and sisters became orphans.
Gilley overcame many challenges during his childhood. That’s why
he helped found Students Taking Responsibility in Developing
Excellence Inc. (STRIDE). STRIDE is a nonprofit organization
that uses comprehensive mentorship to help African-American boys
reach their potential.
Gilley was inspired to start STRIDE while he was stationed at
the Pentagon between 1999 and 2003. During this time, he served
as a motivational speaker, talking to schoolchildren in
Washington, D.C., and Baltimore.
“I noticed two significant trends in the schools I visited,”
Gilley says. “First, I observed that minority boys, especially
the African-American boys, were at the bottom of the academic
ladder and received the greatest number of disciplinary
referrals. Second, I found that there were far more students in
need of mentoring than there were mentors to assist them.”
Soon after Gilley retired and moved to Pensacola, he began
working to found STRIDE. To get the ball rolling, he enlisted
the help of fellow Pensacola Chapter members Col. Bill Barrett,
USA-Ret., and Col. Ezra Merritt, USA-Ret., as well as John Wyche,
who owns a dry cleaning business in Pensacola, and Gordon Pike,
the director of the Escambia County, Fla., Department of
Probation. The men, some of whom grew up fatherless themselves,
lent their support to the program and agreed to serve as STRIDE
mentors.
Local school official Peggy Pilcher also helped the group apply
for and receive a $10,000 one-year, non-renewable grant. The
grant provided the seed money to start the program, and in
September 2003, STRIDE was born. Several months later, members
of the Pensacola Chapter contributed $500 to STRIDE.
During the 2003-2004 school year, 12 STRIDE mentors—four of whom
are members of the Pensacola Chapter — served as role models for
76 young African-American boys who attend Wedgewood Middle
School in Pensacola. Each mentor led a team of six boys in a
competitive team environment that encouraged them to strive for
excellence and good grades and to embrace STRIDE’s eight core
values, which are derived from the military’s core values.
STRIDE students also signed a code of conduct that was patterned
after West Point’s honor code.
During the school year, STRIDE team members participated in a
basketball tournament, group outings, and individual team
activities and volunteered in a community-wide cleanup project.
Mentors also spent a great deal of time tutoring STRIDE students
and helping them improve academically, one of the program’s
primary goals.
STRIDE mentors also worked hard to gain the trust and support of
school officials and parents. Mentors met with the boys’
teachers and parents to ensure the values they were trying to
instill would be enforced in all areas of their lives. Each
volunteer also agreed to submit to a background check and to
attend a training program that was offered by Escambia County
about how to mentor children.
Currently, Gilley is working to expand the program, and more
mentors are needed. In fact, STRIDE has been so successful that
officials at Wedgewood Middle School have established a waiting
list for students who want to get into the program.
Gilley also is trying to raise money to ensure STRIDE’s
continuation and to help fund an upcoming field trip to
Tuskegee, Ala. While there, students will visit the museum at
the Tuskegee Institute and meet with Fred D. Gray, a noted civil
rights attorney and recipient of the 2004 American Bar
Association’s Thurgood Marshall Award.
“We’ve placed ads in the newspaper, and I’m speaking at Rotary
Clubs to let people know about the program and help raise
money,” says Gilley. “Every member of our board of directors has
pledged to contribute $500 per year of their own money to help
this noble program continue.”
Chapter members who are interested in supporting STRIDE can send
a donation to: STRIDE Inc., c/o Chief Financial Officer Col.
Bill Barrett, USA-Ret., P.O. Box 18382, Pensacola, FL 32523.
STRIDE is a nonprofit organization, and all donations are
tax-deductible.
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