Field Reports
By By Col. Chris Giaimo, USAF-Ret., Director, and Col. Jim Pauls, USAF-Ret., Council and Chapter Affairs; and Kris Ann Hegle

	MORE TO DO
	As you settle down to read this, keep in mind that April is a very special month for all TROA members. It is that time of the year when our representatives — TROA members like you and me — take our legislative messages to Capitol Hill. They come from every state in the union (and from Puerto Rico) to spearhead our push for equal treatment; they are the voices that speak for us when we ask our elected officials to live up to the promises their predecessors made to each of us; they are our council and chapter presidents. Their successes truly are becoming legendary. Even jaded regulars of TROA's lobbying efforts are sometimes amazed at how influential these grassroots activists can be. Why this success? It's hard to tell. Maybe it's because of their sincerity; maybe it's because the legislators they visit know how much these retired military members have devoted to their country. But whatever the reason, they get results. As in previous years, TROA's legislative staff will tell them what legislation we are seeking this year and why. They will learn that what we are asking for is not sought out of greed or avarice but involves entitlements we have earned. Yes, earned. Despite our past successes, our representatives will be informed that there is still more to do. We are asking for equitable treatment (concurrent receipt) for those who have sustained a disability resulting from years of military service — an inequity, I might add, faced by no other federal workforce. We also have yet to overcome the inequities faced by our survivors under the current version of the Survivor Benefit Plan. As you can see, there really is more to do. Each representative needs our support back home, and that support comes in the form of votes. Legislators need to know that our TROA representatives truly represent us and that we stand behind them. So, when the time comes, be it in person, by phone, or by letter, remind your legislators that you, too, support what our representatives told them and that you will act accordingly.

Investment Club "Best in Florida"

The stock market may be down, but the portfolio held by members of the Cape Canaveral (Fla.) Chapter's Satellite Investment Club is up. Earlier this year, the National Association of Investment Clubs named it "Best in Florida" for FY 2001.

The award caps off a stellar run by members of the Satellite Investment Club, who have increased the club's portfolio by more than 22 percent during the past six years despite rough market conditions. The club's portfolio currently contains more than $100,000 in assets.

Members say the club's structure has been instrumental to its success. Every member who joins the Satellite Investment Club is assigned a stock to follow. Each month, club members give status reports on their stock, which also is exhaustively analyzed every three months.

"I think this is not only the reason for the club's success but for our success with our individual portfolios as well," says Cmdr. Stan Todd, USNR-Ret., who serves as the club's education chairperson.

Memphis (Tenn.) Chapter Innovates

Giving ROTC scholarships to deserving college students is important to members of the Memphis (Tenn.) Chapter. Each year, they award $5,000 in scholarships to area students.

Last year, the chapter began thinking of ways to expand the program and decided that as long as a student continued to meet the program's requirements, he or she would continue to receive $1,250 each year until graduation. This meant the Memphis Chapter would be providing four students with scholarships at any given time.

To accomplish this, the chapter would need $100,000 in its scholarship fund, but it only had $60,000. So members of the chapter's board of directors and Trust Fund Committee put their heads together and developed an innovative fund-raising plan.

Since tricare For Life was implemented, members no longer pay $200 to $300 a year for supplemental health insurance. Now, chapter members are contributing the equivalent of one month's health care premium each year for three years to the ROTC Scholarship Trust Fund.

"The campaign has been received quite well," said Maj. Robert Ebbers, USAF-Ret., treasurer of the ROTC Scholarship Fund. "We've raised at least $10,000 to date, and money is still coming in."

Fort Rucker Focuses on Retention

Member retention always has been a challenge for TROA's chapters, and the way members and officers address this issue often can make or break a chapter. The Fort Rucker (Ala.) Chapter is one of many in TROA tackling this tough issue. In 2000, it added 44 new members. A year later, 20 members chose not to renew their memberships.

This year, chapter members and leaders are trying a number of new things in an effort to retain and attract more members. Lt. Col. Bobby L. Holland, USA-Ret., the chapter's immediate past president and newsletter editor, published a list of events the chapter would be hosting in 2002. Publishing the schedule helped remind members of the many benefits of chapter membership.

Communication within the chapter also has increased, thanks to the launch of the chapter's new Web site, accessible through TROA's links page, www.TROA.org/magazine/links.asp. The site contains a calendar of upcoming events; the chapter's newsletter; a membership application; minutes from board meetings; information on the scholarship program; and the picture, phone number, and e-mail address of every chapter leader.

Col. Charlie Block, USMC-Ret., who developed the site, was able to convince AlaNet to host the site at no cost—a move that will save the chapter more than $300 a year.

North Carolina Council Recognizes Congressional Supporters

This past January, the North Carolina State Council of Chapters made an extra effort to recognize two of the state's congressional representatives for their long-standing support of TROA's legislative initiatives. In early January, Cmdr. Jack Overman, usn-Ret., then-president of the council, visited Rep. Walter B. Jones (R-N.C.) at his office on Capitol Hill to thank him for his support and let him know he had been made an honorary life member of the council.

Jones, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, was responsible for advancing legislation on the military homeowners' capital gains tax relief effort in addition to providing his support to such legislative issues as tricare For Life and concurrent receipt.

Later in January, the council recognized the efforts of Rep. Mike McIntyre (D-N.C.), also a member of the House Armed Services Committee, by announcing that they were making him an honorary life member of the council as well. He received a life-member certificate following his presentation to council members at a special banquet held in conjunction with the council's winter meeting in Wilmington, N.C. McIntyre has championed virtually every legislative initiative TROA has sponsored over the past few years.

Virginia Council Storms State Capital

Members of the Virginia state legislature know what issues are important to military members, thanks in part to the lobbying efforts of the Virginia Council of Chapters (VCOC). Currently, the VCOC represents 16 chapters and more than 45,000 national TROA members who live in Virginia.

On Jan. 17, 30 VCOC members traveled to the statehouse in Richmond for their second annual Storming the Hill session, which is patterned after TROA national's one-day lobbying blitz. The trip was the latest effort undertaken by state council members, who have ramped up their political activism in the past two years.

In 2001, VCOC members helped bring together representatives from every military organization within the state to form the Virginia Veterans Coalition, which then established five legislative goals every military organization in the state would work to achieve.

Speaking with a collective voice worked, and three of the coalition's five legislative goals were passed by the state legislature last year. This year, VCOC members and the Virginia Veterans Coalition are working to achieve five more goals that would better the lives of military members who live in the state. These goals are:

• getting a second veterans' care center built adjacent to the Hunter-Holmes-McGuire Department of Veterans Affairs Hospital in Richmond;
• expanding the Virginia Veterans Appreciation Act to include Korean War veterans;
• passing a medals protection act, which would make it illegal for the state of Virginia to sell or otherwise dispose of any military medals that come into its possession as the result of unclaimed property;
• requiring able-bodied males 18 to 25 who are U.S. citizens or resident aliens to register with the Selective Service before receiving a Virginia driver's license; and
• mandating that veterans receive special preference when applying for state jobs.

In Richmond, VCOC members met with the state's president pro tem of the senate, the speaker of the house, and the head of the appropriations committee. Afterward, they broke into small groups and lobbied by legislative district. Later, members of the VCOC met with congressional Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and a legislative assistant to Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.) to discuss a number of federal issues that affect active duty and retired military members.

Although the results of this year's Storming the Hill session still are unclear, members of the VCOC feel confident their state legislators understand the issues important to military members.