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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
Young American Awards Presented
Members of the Yuma (Ariz.) Chapter recently presented
their Young American Award to eight area students during a joint
ceremony conducted by the chapter and the Yuma County sheriff’s
office. The chapter joined forces with the sheriff’s office more
than 10 years ago and started the program, which recognizes students
who have achieved academic success, are involved in the community,
and exhibit outstanding citizenship.
Auxiliary member Grace Eaton chairs the chapter’s awards committee,
which reviews nominations submitted by area schoolteachers. The
committee then selects seven student finalists along with one high
honors winner. The chapter presents the awards biannually, with the
winners selected during the fall and spring semesters.
Caitlin LeeAnn Leonard, a student at R. Pete Woodard Junior High
School in Yuma, was selected as the fall 2003 high honors winner.
Leonard received a $100 U.S. Savings Bond, and seven other student
finalists each received $50 U.S. Savings Bonds. The committee gave
all winners a $10 gift certificate to Barnes & Noble and a card
identifying them as outstanding citizens.
Chapter members invited Leonard, her parents, and her teacher to a
chapter meeting, where the seventh-grade student was formally
honored. Leonard addressed members during the meeting and
described how she was raising a puppy for the Eye Dog Foundation for the
Blind.
“We started this because we wanted something that would put us out
in the community,” says Capt. Dave Van Amburg, USMC-Ret., publicity
officer for the Yuma Chapter. “I think we’ve done that.”
In addition to its Young American Award program, members of the Yuma
Chapter promote legislation that benefits veterans who live in the
state. The chapter also has a personal affairs program that helps
chapter members and their spouses.
Hendricks Receives President’s Award
Lt. Col. Thomas Hendricks, USA-Ret., was recognized Jan. 22 for
his outstanding service to the Greenville (S.C.) Chapter when
he received MOAA’s President’s Award. Col. Jim Pauls, USAF-Ret.,
deputy director of MOAA’s Department of Council and Chapter Affairs,
presented the award, which is one of the highest forms of
recognition the association bestows on an individual member.
Hendricks served on the Greenville Chapter’s board of directors for
six years and was chapter president for three. During his tenure,
the chapter’s newsletter increased from four to eight pages, and
members began receiving MOAA’s Legislative Update via e-mail.
He also helped develop the chapter’s Web site, which now is
maintained by Maj. James Honl, USA-Ret.
Ever the promoter, Hendricks made sure the chapter had a recruiting
booth set up whenever a minor league baseball game or air show was
held in the area. He also worked to expand the chapter’s membership
by initiating contact with every National Guard and Reserve unit in
the Greenville area.
Hendricks’ innovative thinking led to an auxiliary member getting
appointed to the chapter’s board of directors. He also was a liaison
between the chapter and the community, serving on the Armed Forces
Emergency Services Committee of the American Red Cross, which serves
area residents.
According to Hendricks, most of the chapter’s accomplishments during
his tenure were the result of a group effort. In fact, he credits
the chapter’s board members and officers for doing the work needed
for the Greenville Chapter to receive one of MOAA’s four-star Levels
of Excellence Awards last year.
In addition to receiving the President’s Award, Hendricks received
two awards from his fellow chapter members. One award recognized his
service to the chapter when it was an affiliate of The Retired
Officers Association. The second award recognized his service
following the association’s name change to the Military Officers
Association of America.
“Colonel Hendricks is a prime mover,” says Lt. Col. Thomas McNeese,
USA-Ret., who became chapter president after Hendricks left office.
“He’s a hard act to follow.”
Chapter Presents Legislators With Honorary Chapter Memberships
Members of the Green Country Chapter in Tulsa, Okla., are
thanking congressional legislators for their support by presenting
them with honorary chapter memberships. The chapter’s board of
directors began the program in the fall of 2003, and to date,
honorary chapter memberships have been presented to Reps. Frank
Lucas (R-Okla.), Brad Carson (D-Okla.), and John Sullivan (R-Okla.)
and Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.).
“We actually got the idea from a chapter president who was talking
about it at the Chapter Presidents’ Symposium in Kansas City last
fall,” says Col. Larry Anduss, USAF-Ret., member of the Green
Country Chapter and president of the Oklahoma State Council of
Chapters. “It’s a great program. It doesn’t cost us anything, and it
gives us a chance to thank those representatives who have
cosponsored or supported legislation that benefits servicemembers
and their families.”
Maj. Al Nichols, USAF-Ret., editor of the chapter’s newsletter,
thinks the honorary membership program has helped chapter members
forge a stronger relationship with area legislators. In fact,
several stories about the chapter presenting honorary memberships to
congressional legislators have appeared in the Tulsa Beacon.
In addition to their legislative efforts, members of the Green
Country Chapter are involved in several community service projects.
Members frequently help the American Red Cross with its blood
drives, and each year they present MOAA certificates and medals to
outstanding cadets in 14 area Junior ROTC units.
Just Ask
Sometimes, even with the best intentions, our efforts to help
members fail. We often write stories about what our chapters can
do for their members: How much chapters have to offer
non-chapter members with community involvement, legislative
activism, etcetera. Unfortunately, on occasion, the information
never is received. Because I strongly believe the majority of
MOAA members should belong to a chapter, I’m going to try again.
Let’s begin with members who want to belong to a chapter but
after some research on our Web Base,
www.moaa.org, find they do not
live near an existing chapter. The obvious inclination for them
is to throw their hands in the air in disgust, curse the gods of
demographics, and do nothing.
This raises an interesting question. Do these members know they
can call this office and get information on subjects such as how
many other MOAA members live in their area, how to start an MOAA
chapter, and the names of other local members who might want to
start a chapter? All you have to do is ask.
The key to success for chapters interested in attracting new
members is, again, accessing available information. Do chapter
leaders want the names and addresses of MOAA members who
recently relocated to their area? How about free preprinted
mailing labels addressed to these new arrivals? Do chapter
recruiters know that this recruiting information can be refined
so that the new arrivals are grouped by service affiliation? If
the answer is “no,” then it’s time to start asking.
One last item: How many chapter recruiters are aware of the free
one-year membership in national MOAA? Yes, a free one-year
membership in national MOAA is available to any eligible person
who joins a chapter. Once the chapter notifies headquarters of
the new membership, we will send the member a free one-year
membership in national MOAA. How’s that for a deal?
That’s what we’re here for! If you need help starting a new
chapter in your area, want to start a sister chapter of an
already existing chapter, or want to do some recruiting for your
own chapter, all you have to do is ask. We’re ready to help.
Col. Chris Giaimo, USAF-Ret.
Director, Council and Chapter Affairs
Members Share Wartime Memories With Elementary School Students
Eighth-grade students at Ripon Elementary School in Ripon,
Calif., know a little bit more about the military and our nation’s
veterans, thanks to three members of the Santa Cruz (Calif.)
Chapter.
Chapter First Vice President Lt. Col. Henry Temme, USAF-Ret., his
wife, June, and Lt. Col. Ed Kalina, USA-Ret., drove more than 180
miles round-trip to speak to students at the school. The three were
part of a group of military members and veterans who were invited to
share their memories with students.
Temme and Kalina, who both are World War II veterans, brought
medals, money from faraway lands, aircraft photos, and other props
that illustrated what life was like for members of America’s
“greatest generation.” June Temme, who taught at Ripon Elementary in
1941, shared her memories of what life was like on the home front.
Several students asked about the types of weapons used in World War
II. Others were amused to learn how soldiers on water-starved
Pacific islands took their baths in rainwater that was collected in
55-gallon drums.
Following their presentation, the three fielded students’ questions.
One student wanted to know how the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
influenced America’s entry into World War II. Another student asked
why only women were portrayed on the nose sections of aircraft.
Temme smoothly explained it was our troops’ way of showing
appreciation for the loved ones they had left behind.
“I would say that [the presentation] was well received,” says Temme.
“We were really very appreciative of the response we received from
the students.”
The trip to Ripon marked the second time chapter members have shared
their wartime memories with area students. Three years ago, Cmdr.
Richard Allen, USN-Ret.; Capt. John Siembiech, USN-Ret.; Lt. Cmdr.
Arthur Wells, USN-Ret.; and Temme addressed students at the
University of California–Santa Cruz.
“We did that on Sept. 12, 2001—one day after the terrorist attack,”
says Temme. “We came expecting to speak to about 30 or 40 students.
As it turned out, they put us in a lecture hall, and we spoke to
about 250 kids.”
The chapter members later received several thank-you letters from
professors at the university who remarked about the effect they had
on the students. Following the chapter members’ presentations,
several students indicated they were going to ask their grandparents
about their military service. Others requested videotape copies of
the presentation, which had been filmed.
The 100-plus members of the Santa Cruz Chapter undertake many other
activities, including a scholarship program for area high school
students. This year, they plan to give away two $1,000 scholarships
to outstanding college-bound students. The chapter also has its own
newsletter and Web site that keep members apprised of upcoming
events.
A closer look at council and chapter achievements
Storm Your Statehouse
Every January, members of the Virginia Council of Chapters (VCOC)
travel to the statehouse in Richmond, Va., for their Storming
the Hill session. The effort, patterned after national MOAA’s
Storming the Hill, sees members from Virginia’s 16 chapters
lobby their elected representatives on behalf of the state’s
45,000 MOAA members.
Members of the VCOC began storming the statehouse four years
ago. Since then, they’ve racked up a number of significant
legislative achievements, including creating a new Virginia
Veterans’ Cemetery in Hampton Roads and safeguarding the
personal information contained on servicemembers’ DD 214 forms.
They also have succeeded in exempting the first $15,000 of
enlisted servicemembers’ pay from state taxes, if the
servicemember is on active duty and claims Virginia as his or
her state of residence.
The VCOC’s achievements are impressive. So why aren’t more state
councils storming their statehouses?
Part of the problem is focus. It’s easy to concentrate solely on
important and high-profile national legislation such as
concurrent receipt and survivor benefits and forget about the
important legislation enacted at the state level. This
particularly is true of veterans’ issues.
“A common misconception about veterans’ legislation is that it
all occurs at the national congressional level,” says Col.
Melville Drisko Jr., USA-Ret., third vice president and
secretary of the VCOC. “That’s just not true.”
The legislative process at the state level, however, can be
tedious. Members of the VCOC combat this problem by working to
increase their political clout. They make a point of meeting
with state legislators when the General Assembly is not in
session. The VCOC also works with other veterans’ organizations
in Virginia and makes a list of common legislative priorities
for the coming year.
For example, this year VCOC members lobbied to:
- restore funding for the newly organized Virginia
Department of Veterans Services;
- provide license renewal extensions to servicemembers who
are deployed overseas;
- get the funding needed to operate the Virginia War
Memorial Foundation in Richmond;
- retain the state income tax exemption for those age 65
and older; and
- obtain funding for two additional state veterans’ care
centers.
In addition, VCOC members work on developing personal
relationships with key legislators. Although an ice storm
prevented some members from participating this year, those who
made it received quite a bit of attention.
Democratic Gov. Mark Warner met with VCOC members for more than
45 minutes. Warner recalled many of the legislative issues
members lobbied for in 2003 and reviewed his plans to improve
support for Virginia’s veterans during 2004.
Council members met with Commissioner John Mangis, who heads up
the newly formed Virginia Department of Veterans Services.
Mangis reviewed three bills on veterans’ care that were before
the General Assembly and asked for VCOC members’ support. They
also visited with speaker of the House of Delegates Bill Howell
(R) before moving on to meet with delegates Kirk Cox (R) and
Riley Ingram (R), who are members of the powerful House
Appropriations Committee that makes key decisions regarding
funding. U.S. Sen. George Allen (R-Va.), who was in the
statehouse on business that day, also spent an hour with
members.
Thanks in part to the VCOC’s lobbying efforts, along with those
of the Virginia Veterans Coalition, the commonwealth has begun
reforming and refocusing the way it delivers services to
veterans who live there. In 2003, a new Department of Veterans
Services was created, along with a Veterans Services Foundation,
Board of Veterans Services, and Joint Leadership Council. When
legislators selected members to serve in these organizations,
they looked to the VCOC, and Drisko and former council President
Col. Frank Wickersham III, USMC-Ret., received plum
appointments.
Passing national legislation that helps MOAA members always will
be a concern. In late March, our attention has been on
Washington, D.C., as council members participated in MOAA’s
annual Storming the Hill. But the question remains: Why aren’t
we, as council and chapter members, initiating similar
legislative efforts at the state level?
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