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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
VCOC Leaders Draw a Crowd
MOAA’s Virginia chapter and council members were rewarded for their trek to Washington’s Capitol Hill Club April 30, as both of their senators and seven of their representatives joined their annual luncheon.
Now in its 18th year, the Virginia Council of Chapters’ (VCOC’s) Congressional Luncheon consistently has drawn many of the state’s legislators, says Maj. Albert Wright,
AUS-Ret., secretary and newsletter editor for the Northern Virginia
Chapter. Col. Frank Wickersham,
USMC-Ret., is VCOC president and led this year’s event.
The luncheon is a way for Virginia’s MOAA leaders to interact with those who represent them at the federal level. This year Reps. Randy Forbes (R), Virgil Goode Jr. (R), Bob Goodlatte (R), James Moran (D), Edward Schrock (R), Bobby Scott (D), and Frank Wolf (R) and Sens. George Allen (R) and John Warner (R) attended. Virginia’s Deputy Secretary of Administration Sheryl Bailey represented Gov. Mark Warner’s (D) office.
Each legislator spoke briefly about legislation he’s working on and thanked both
VCOC members and the MOAA staff for their willingness to work to affect change.
“MOAA and the Virginia council represent that excellence and support we need to sustain the role we have to play in the world today,” Moran said.
Bailey discussed upcoming changes to Virginia’s board of veterans’ services, which should streamline access for the state’s more than 780,000 veterans.
The VCOC also presented its leadership award, given annually to a national
MOAA staff member. This year’s recipient was Col. Steve Strobridge,
USAF-Ret., director of Government Relations for MOAA. He gave an update on
MOAA’s legislative agenda, stressing ongoing efforts regarding the Survivor Benefit Plan, concurrent receipt, active duty pay raises, and
TRICARE Standard.
Strobridge and MOAA President Vice Adm. Norbert R. Ryan Jr., USN-Ret., praised the chapter system for its influence. “The chapter system is the bedrock of our association,” Ryan said. “You inspire us with your individual examples and your willingness to continue to serve.”
Cape Cod Awards Scholarships
Members of the Cape Cod (Mass.) Chapter awarded six $1,000 college scholarships to area high school students at the chapter’s annual awards dinner in May. “One of the primary goals of our chapter is supporting the scholarship fund,” says Capt. Les Mikalson,
USN-Ret., chapter president. The chapter scholarship program, which helps college-bound students who are the children or grandchildren of active duty, retired, or former military members, is in its 26th year.
The 450-plus Cape Cod Chapter members also are active in MOAA’s Bay State Council of
Chapters, which works to pass legislation that affects military members, veterans, and their families. Although base closures have reduced the number of active duty military facilities in the Northeast, the chapter maintains close ties with other Cape Cod-area organizations, including the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Otis Air National Guard Base, U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod, and the Army National Guard. The chapter is working to attract more active duty and National Guard members stationed at these facilities.
Newsletters: The Inside Story
I have long extolled the value of good chapter newsletters. Give me an interesting, informative newsletter, and I’ll show you a thriving chapter—one that keeps its present members interested and informed and also adds new members.
The judging for our recent newsletter awards was, as always, competitive, with winners in some categories being decided by as little as a point or two. (See the
May issue
of Military Officer for a list of winners.)
To make their decisions, the judges used three criteria—all listed in Chapter 11, the Newsletters Section of the Chapter Handbook: news value or content, presentation, and overall impression of the publication. News value was the most critical factor. Judges were particularly impressed with newsletters that in a simple, straightforward fashion conveyed as much useful information as possible or, to paraphrase one judge, employed the KISS rule (keep it simple, stupid). According to the judges, if a newsletter could accurately detail an upcoming event in 50 words, it generally was judged higher than one using 150 words to convey the same thought. Also, if a newsletter republished a meaningful article, say from the
TROAGRAM (now The Affiliate), that, too, was considered important.
The overall impression the judges had after they finished reading the newsletter was critical. Their gut reaction as a whole played a major part in their ultimate decisions.
In the final analysis, the judges reported that this was one of their toughest newsletter contests, so tough in fact that there were at least two ties for the best overall publication in a respective category. All entrants should be proud of their publications. Meanwhile, I maintain that you who put in the time and effort needed to make your newsletter the best it can be are the heroes of the chapter world. While your newsletter may not have won an award, you are all still winners because you do what it takes to keep your members informed and interested!
Col. Chris Giaimo, USAF-Ret.
Director, Council and Chapter Affairs
Greenville Chapter Big on Recruiting
Demonstrating their commitment to recruiting to fill their ranks, members of the
Greenville (S.C.) Chapter distributed information about national
MOAA and the local chapter at the recent Greenville Air Festival, which attracted more than 40,000 people. Earlier this year, chapter members hosted a biannual White Elephant Sale, which netted $610 to be donated to the local Meals on Wheels program, the Boys Home of the South, and the Salvation Army.
“Everyone looks forward to the White Elephant Sale because it’s so much fun,” says Lt. Col. Tom Hendricks,
USA-Ret., chapter president. “The members bring items and mementos they’ve collected during their travels around the world, and we auction them off.”
The 344-member chapter supports several area Junior ROTC and ROTCunits and has its own scholarship program. Each year, an
ROTCstudent at Furman University in Greenville receives a $500 Col. Charles C. Grant Scholarship from the chapter. The late Colonel Grant founded the Greenville Chapter and served as its first president.
The chapter also hosts a number of other activities. In June, members attended a minor league baseball game, and every November, the chapter has a “patriotic surprise guest” who speaks at the monthly meeting. Previous speakers have ranged from former
POWs to recipients of the Medal of Honor.
Tucson (Ariz.) Chapter Updates Auxiliary Status, Hosts Board Member
Tuscon (Ariz.) Chapter President Lt. Col. James Kalal, USA-Ret., says auxiliary members account for 40 percent of his chapter’s membership. In recognition of this, the chapter’s bylaws were rewritten recently to give auxiliary members full voting rights, and several auxiliary members now hold offices and serve on the chapter’s board of directors.
“I look for people who are doers, and I felt that some of our auxiliary gals deserved to hold an office in the chapter,” says Kalal. “We have a lot of talent in our chapter and enough doers to keep us going.”
In other chapter news, Brig. Gen. J. Timothy Boddie, USAF-Ret., a national board member, updated members about
MOAA’s current legislative initiatives during the chapter’s April meeting. Members learned more about national
MOAA’s scholarship program and were encouraged to keep up their recruiting efforts so the association would remain strong. Boddie also recognized chapter member Lt. Col. A.J. Miller,
USAF-Ret., who had been one of his mentors.
The Tucson Chapter has hosted a number of interesting guest speakers in recent months, which has enticed more members to attend the monthly meetings.
Members also participate in several community projects that benefit students. Currently, the chapter supports one
ROTC and five Junior ROTC units and helps fund a Drug Abuse Resistance Education program for students who attend school at nearby Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. The chapter also awards six $500 scholarships each year to area students who are the children of active duty servicemembers.
To appeal to members’ diverse needs and schedules, the chapter alternates between luncheon and dinner meetings and varies the meeting location monthly.
IN FOCUS
A closer look at council and chapter achievements
Supporting Our Troops
On March 8, members of the Old Capitol Area (Ga.) Chapter demonstrated their patriotism by participating in a “Rally for America” in Milledgeville, Ga. Approximately 200 members of the community, including military retirees, veterans, and families of servicemembers, came together at the county courthouse to express their support for the president of the United States and for troops preparing to go into combat.
“A couple of weeks before the rally, there were some protests centered around Georgia College and State University here in Milledgeville,” says Col. Gerald A. Johnson,
USAF-Ret., chapter president. “There’s a large military presence here in central Georgia. Georgia Military College is located here, and a lot of veterans live here. We wanted to make sure our voices were heard.”
The 80-member chapter got involved in the effort after Jean Peecher, the rally’s organizer, asked for help. One chapter member, Col. Lovett Briggs,
USA-Ret., took the request and ran with it.
Briggs, a longtime resident and a graduate of Georgia Military College, is involved in many area civic groups and organizations in the area and is well-known among Milledgeville’s 19,000-plus citizens. Working alongside Peecher, he helped drum up support for the rally, which was organized in only two weeks.
Cadets from Georgia Military College presented the colors during the rally and led the Pledge of Allegiance. A local performer sang patriotic songs, and several elected officials, including State Rep. Ken Birdsong, addressed the crowd.
A number of veterans, including Briggs and fellow Old Capitol Area Chapter member Capt. Jake Goldstein, also spoke. Their comments struck a chord among the veterans and family members of servicemembers who had assembled.
“Most of us living here in middle Georgia are against war and bloodshed,” Briggs, a veteran of World War II, Korea, and Vietnam, told attendees. “However, I believe there comes a time when we must remind our community that we are one of many thousands of communities across this great land, and it takes all of us, working together as a team, to maintain our way of life. So it falls upon us to stay vigilant and, if necessary, defend our way of life against those who would have us surrender our ideals and live in tyranny under a dictator.
“Personally, I am against any form of government that must jail or execute the opposition in order to stay in power. Our system may not be perfect, but in my 75 years of living, I have not found one that offered me the freedoms that I enjoy here. So if it means taking military action to defend our way of life, then so be it. Let’s roll!”
A CBS affiliate in Macon, Ga., covered the event, along with reporters from several local newspapers. Chapter members say they’re glad the Rally for America received good media coverage so American troops would know they had the support of many citizens who live in central Georgia.
“It really was a great event,” Johnson says. “You had to be there to appreciate the emotion and patriotic sentiment that was in the air.”
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