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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
A Meeting of the Minds
MOAA’s seventh annual Chapter Presidents’ Symposium, held Sept. 30 through Oct. 2 in scenic South Lake Tahoe, Nev., attracted a record 137 council and chapter officers, 49 personal affairs representatives, and 97 spouses. The symposium, which is held in a different region of the United States every year, drew
MOAA council and chapter leaders from Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
Attendees had the opportunity to meet and share their thoughts with members of the national staff, such as
MOAA President Vice Adm. Norbert R. Ryan Jr., USN-Ret., who was accompanied by his wife, Judy. Also on hand were several members of
MOAA’s board of directors, including then-Chairman of the Board Adm. Jerry Johnson,
USN-Ret.
During the symposium, chapter and council leaders broke into small groups and examined five key chapter-management goals: recruiting and retention, chapter roles and missions, leadership and revitalization, community involvement, and legislative affairs. Members of the national staff or the national board of directors facilitated these meetings. Delegates from each workshop then met to compile their recommendations about how to achieve these goals and shared them with symposium participants during the closing session.
For the second year in a row, Capt. Bud Schneeweis, USCG-Ret., director of
MOAA’s Benefits Information Department, conducted workshops to help personal affairs officers learn how they can improve their chapter benefits information program. Cmdr. Katherine O’Neill Tracy,
USNR-Ret., deputy director of the Benefits Information Department, led a benefits information seminar for council and chapter members’ spouses. Both of these briefings were well attended.
Col. Mike Jordan, USAF-Ret., deputy director of MOAA’s Government Relations Department, briefed delegates about pending legislative issues and outlined
MOAA’s legislative agenda for the coming year. Chapter leaders also learned more about The Officer Placement Service (tops) from Col. Buzz Buse,
USMC-Ret., director of tops, which provides members and their spouses with career-transition assistance.
Cindy Amos of The Scholarship Fund of MOAA thanked members for contributing to
MOAA’s 75th anniversary campaign to benefit the scholarship fund and answered members’ questions. Delegates then heard from one of national
MOAA’s newest staff members, Col. Jess Ramirez, ARNG-Ret., deputy director of Contract Services and Marketing, Guard and Reserve Affairs, who talked about the importance of recruiting more Guard and Reserve officers.
Representatives from several businesses and nonprofit groups also attended the symposium. Chapter members learned more about the discounts and services available to them through
MOAA Vacations and the Garrett Planning Network, while representatives from Pfizer Inc. briefed delegates on “The Value of Medicine” and distributed health care pamphlets. Clark Rogers of the National Flag Foundation encouraged delegates to launch a Young Patriots Program to instill a greater respect for the flag in young people and give them a deeper appreciation of America’s heritage.
Participants and their spouses attended several receptions and dinners where they interacted on a more personal level. Maj. Gen. Thomas W. Eres,
ARNG, adjutant general for the California National Guard, was the keynote speaker at the closing dinner. After his speech, Maj. Gen. Bobby Butcher,
USMC-Ret., former
MOAA board member and chairman of MOAA’s council and chapter affairs committee, presented the leaders of several outstanding
MOAA chapters in the western United States with four-star or five-star Levels of Excellence Awards. The chapter leaders accepted the awards on behalf of their fellow chapter members.
Next year, MOAA will host its 8th annual regional Chapter Presidents’ Symposium in Wilmington, Del. It will bring together
MOAA council and chapter leaders from the eastern United States.
Year in Review
In 2004, working in lockstep with our Government Relations Department, MOAA’s councils and chapters kicked off a vigorous campaign to convince Congress to end the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) “widows tax.” Under existing SBP law, the surviving spouse of a deceased military retiree stands to lose one-third of his or her annuity at age 62 — something that is inflicted upon no other federal surviving spouse.
Beginning in March, when MOAA had its annual Council Presidents’ Seminar and Storming the Hill effort here in Washington, D.C., these state leaders, backed up by the thousands of chapter members they represent, set out to accomplish this, and I am proud to report that we have succeeded.
In November, President George W. Bush signed legislation phasing out the widows tax over the next 31/2 years. Our success in overturning this egregious provision of the SBP law — a battle MOAA and other military associations have been waging for more than a decade — is a testament to the combined efforts and perseverance of MOAA’s council and chapters’ leaders and members. They wrote the letters, made the phone calls, and paid the visits to their legislators — and that’s what made it work. Our hats are off to all of them.
MOAA’s overall national and chapter membership, so vital to the association’s legislative strength demographically, continues to age. This is a problem that chapter leaders know intimately. They were the first to suggest that a name change might be helpful — that the word “retired” in our name was a detriment to recruiting. Their wise counsel was right on. Early analysis — it’s been only two years since TROA became MOAA — indicates the name change has had a positive effect on recruiting active duty and National Guard and Reserve officers. Thanks to the efforts of many of MOAA’s chapter leaders and members and the national board of directors and staff, the association is continuing to reach out to local Guard, Reserve, and active duty members and tell them who MOAA is, what MOAA does, and what MOAA stands for.
Do chapter leaders think the name change will solve all MOAA’s age-related problems, that their recruiting and leadership problems will be solved instantly? Of course not. They realize that reversing this trend will be an uphill battle requiring a great deal of time and effort. They do know, however, that they now have the weapons in their arsenal to attract younger members — and that is all they asked for.
On a more positive note, while the overall age of MOAA’s chapter members increases, we have not seen the dramatic decline in the number of chapters nationwide that we anticipated. In fact, we are down just two chapters from five years ago. While some chapters have folded, others have started up. By and large, these new chapters are made up of younger members living far away from established MOAA chapters. They are being formed with the guidance of the well-established chapters, a concept we long have espoused.
Some 200 chapter and council leaders from the West Coast gathered in September for the Chapter Presidents’ Symposium in South Lake Tahoe, Nev. During his remarks, MOAA President Vice Adm. Norbert R. Ryan Jr., USN-Ret., once again pledged his continued support to MOAA’s councils and chapters and stressed the vital role they play in the association’s legislative successes. Needless to say, his remarks were enthusiastically received.
So there you have it. A quick overview of what you accomplished in 2004. To you, our chapter members, we say thank you. All of MOAA’s members owe you a lot, especially for refusing to sit on the sidelines and let someone else do the work. In a year during which many of America’s young military personnel were called to serve their country, as we all once were, you were there to help on the home front, to offer your advice, your counsel, and your moral support. You carried MOAA this year as you always have, and we look forward to working with you next year as we continue to fight for the preservation of our earned entitlements and benefits.
Happy holidays from all of us!
Col. Chris
Giaimo, USAF-Ret.
Director, Council and Chapter Affairs
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