Recent news from The MOAA Newsletter. View previous editions of Council and Chapter News here. Send updates about your affiliate’s activities to blaird@moaa.org for possible inclusion in future editions.

MOAA Crisis Relief Fund

This grant program from The MOAA Foundation may assist those affected by Hurricane Ian.

In light of the extensive damage resulting from Hurricane Ian, we are reminding our council and chapter leaders of The MOAA Foundation’s Crisis Relief Fund grant program. This program is designed to provide small grants to servicemembers and veterans and their families who are financially affected by natural disasters or crisis situations.

Anyone in your local military or veteran community who might need financial assistance as a result of this current natural disaster or unique crisis situation can apply for financial assistance of up to $500 by filling out The MOAA Foundation’s Crisis Relief Fund Grant application.

If you or another MOAA council or chapter member can verify the applicant’s military status and current financial needs, please fill out a MOAA Affiliate Verification Form once their application is complete.

Learn more about the MOAA Foundation’s Crisis Relief Fund grant program processes and eligibility requirements.

Program information specific to MOAA council/chapter members can be found here.

Survivorship Webinar

MOAA’s Oct. 6 virtual event will review key benefits and financial topics.

Join MOAA for a free webinar, Preparing a Spouse for Survivorship, Thursday, Oct. 6, at 2 p.m. Eastern. The webinar is open to uniformed servicemembers of all ranks, veterans, military spouses, and surviving spouses. Join MOAA’s financial and benefits counselor Capt. Paul Frost, AFC®, USN (Ret), for an in-depth review of the following topics:

• Survivor Benefit Plan
• VA Dependency and Indemnity Compensation
• Financial matters and estate planning concerns
• Former spouse areas
• Remarriage issues
• Medicare, TRICARE, Social Security, and more.

Register now at this link. Can’t make the webinar, or missed the event? No problem. Register anyway and we’ll send you a link to the recording.

PACT Act Resources

Find a list of materials to help you determine how the new toxic-exposure law might affect you.

The Aug. 10 signing of the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promises to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act of 2022 ended a long legislative fight for earned benefits but signaled the beginning of another, sometimes-complex process: ensuring those benefits get to the millions of veterans who’ve earned them.

Many veterans and families might be unsure whether the act covers their particular service or health situation. For a list of related resources, which will be updated as more materials become available, please visit https://MOAA.org/PACTresources.

Surviving Spouse Corner: Strengthen the MOAA Community

Connect with members of other chapters and share your military experiences with younger generations to extend our sense of community.

By Patricia Green, Surviving Spouse Advisory Council member

While waiting in my little cabin in the remote Georgia mountains for a handyman, I decided to do an online search for a nearby MOAA chapter. I found one only 30 miles away, so I emailed my phone number to the chapter president and awaited a response.

The next day, he called and invited me to their chapter meetings, the state convention, and their Christmas dance. I responded with an invitation to my Florida chapter. We had such a lovely warm chat. It was almost like speaking to a member of my family.

[RELATED: Find a MOAA Chapter Near You]

I like to think of MOAA as a community, where joys, ambitions, sorrows, loyalties, and good works are shared. Connections of past service, local activities, charitable work, and legislative initiatives cement the bonds of friendship.

To strengthen our community, reach out. If you hang your hat at a second home, vacation someplace regularly, or spend more than a week with grown children or old friends in other locales, check to see if a MOAA chapter is nearby. By attending a meeting, you might gain new insights, learn their methods and successes, form bonds, and maybe reconnect with old friends. Observe the surviving spouses functioning in that chapter. Pick up pointers, and share your chapter’s successes.

To strengthen our community, reach younger. One summer, I took my grandson to a museum on an Air Force base. As we drove around, at each turn he exclaimed, “There’s a grocery store, a church, a gas station, a bowling alley! This is just like a little town!”

This was his first exposure to a military base. I had not realized what a great experience it would be for him. He was so impressed.

If you are near a base, check online for tours or museums open to youngsters. If that’s not possible, look for books about the military at your library. (Military Officer magazine often suggests books to read and has reviews.) You can also watch movies with a military theme. Be sure and check for age appropriateness, though.

[RELATED: MOAA's Military Professional Reading List]

Another opportunity is having an overnight party with the grandkids. Bring out the photo albums and scrapbooks. Explain your spouse’s role and assignments while in service. Relive some of your overseas adventures. The kids will love it. They’ll learn a new dimension of your life and enjoy viewing photos from your youth.

Instill patriotism and love of country in the younger generation. Remind them of their responsibilities and your spouse’s and family’s history of service and sacrifice. Tell them of the activities of your MOAA chapter and your role in their good works as a member, surviving spouse liaison, board member, or active volunteer. You will be extending that sense of community to the next generation.

Demonstrate and teach them to “never stop serving.”

Read past Surviving Spouse Corners.

Chapters 2022: A Time for Service

Don’t miss the special 18-page section in the October issue of Military Officer highlighting the outstanding efforts of MOAA chapters. In addition to showcasing chapter community-service projects and affiliate leaders from across the country, the section provides helpful tips and resources.

[RELATED: Military Officer Digital Edition (Life/Premium Member Login Required)]

Upcoming Events

Monthly Chapter Leader Virtual Roundtable: Join us Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. Eastern for a discussion on Transition Services. Join here at the time of the meeting.

Find a complete list of Council and Chapter Affairs events online.

MOAA’s Annual Meeting: The association’s 2022 annual meeting and Levels of Excellence Awards Dinner will take place Oct. 28 at the Sheraton Kansas City Hotel at Crown Center in Kansas City Mo. Find the schedule of events at MOAA.org/annualmeeting2022.

From the Field

MOAA chapters give back to their communities through fundraising efforts, community-service projects, scholarship programs, and other initiatives. Here are some recent activities. 

The Southwest Oklahoma Chapter is helping to restore an abandoned cemetery and ensure a fallen soldier interred there is not lost to time again. The chapter is partnering with the Masonic Triangle Lodge 548 and the Purple Heart Association for the effort and appealed to Cotton Electric Cooperative for help to install a light to illuminate the cemetery in the hopes of deterring further vandalism. Learn more about the chapter’s work.

Northwest Arkansas Chapter member Capt. Clifford C. Mosier, USA (Ret), has been selected for induction into the Arkansas Military Veterans' Hall of Fame (AMVHOF) Class of 2022. The AMVHOF was established April 4, 2011, with the primary objective to publicly recognize the honor brought to the state and nation by the sacrifice of Arkansas military veterans and their families. Mosier served for 39 years, in the U.S. Navy, Arkansas Army National Guard, and the U.S. Army.

The Iowa Chapter participated in the annual Joint Military Retiree Appreciation Day at Prairie Meadows in Altoona Aug. 18. Chapter members set up a recruiting table with information about MOAA. More than 150 attended the event, which brought together experts to update military retirees on information about their earned benefits.

Members of the Green Valley (Ariz.) Chapter participated in a fundraising event at the Fourth of July festivities in Quail Creek. The chapter raised $550 in cash donations plus proceeds of $240 from the 50/50 raffle. Additionally, approximately 300 lbs. of food donations were collected and dispersed to the 162nd Fighter Wing, Arizona Air National Guard food pantry.

Get Newsletter Content From National MOAA

Need some content to supplement your chapter’s newsletter? The White Label Newsletter Template includes information, articles, and helpful tips from national MOAA that already are formatted for inclusion in your newsletter. The content is updated every month to ensure you are receiving timely, relevant information.   

National MOAA Travel Schedule

Here are the councils and chapters MOAA leaders will be visiting over the next few months.

Contact the associated chapter if you would like to attend any of the following scheduled visits:

• Oct. 6, Palm Beach-Martin Counties (Fla.), Palm Beach, Capt. Erin E. Stone, JAGC, USN (Ret), Council and Chapter Affairs (CCA)
• Oct. 6, VA Council of Chapters, Richmond, Capt. Frank J. Michael, USN (Ret) (Virtual).
• Oct. 8, Cape Coral (Fla.) Chapter of MOAA, Cape Coral, LTC Marc Oliveri, USAR (Ret), MOAA board of directors (BoD)
• Oct. 8, Louisiana Council of Chapters, Lake Charles, Capt. Frank J. Michael, USN (Ret), CCA
• Oct. 12, Alabama Council of Chapters, Montgomery, Oct. 12, Capt. Erin E. Stone, JAGC, USN (Ret), CCA
• Oct. 13, Luke (Ariz.) Chapter, Goodyear, Lt. Gen. Dana T. Atkins, USAF (Ret), MOAA president and CEO
• Oct. 14, Orange Empire (Calif.) Chapter, Redlands, Capt. Erin E. Stone, JAGC, USN (Ret), CCA
• Oct. 15, Central New York Chapter, Syracuse, Capt. Kathy Thorp, USN (Ret), MOAA BoD
• Oct. 18, Silver Strand (Calif.) Chapter, San Diego, Capt. Erin E. Stone, JAGC, USN (Ret), CCA
• Oct. 18, Southern Delaware Chapter, Lewes, Capt. Frank J. Michael, USN (Ret), CCA
• Oct. 20, Central Pennsylvania Chapter, State College, Capt. Jim Carman, USN (Ret), Council/Chapter and Member Support
• Oct. 20, Huntsville (Ala.) Chapter, Capt. Paul Frost, USN (Ret), Financial Education/VSO
• Oct. 20, Pensacola (Fla.) Chapter, Pensacola, Capt. Frank J. Michael, USN (Ret), CCA
• Oct. 29, Heart of America (Mo.) Chapter, Kansas City, Capt. Erin E. Stone, JAGC, USN (Ret), CCA
• Nov. 2, Sun City Center (Fla.) Chapter, Sun City, Capt. Erin E. Stone, JAGC, USN (Ret), CCA
• Nov. 3-4, Arizona Council of Chapters Convention (Ariz.), Surprise, Lt. Gen. Dana T. Atkins, USAF (Ret), MOAA president and CEO
• Nov. 3-4, California Council of Chapters, Port Hueneme, Capt. Frank J. Michael, USN (Ret), CCA, and MOAA staff
• Nov. 4, South Central Florida Chapter (Fla.), Sebring, Capt. Erin E. Stone, JAGC, USN (Ret), Council and Chapter Affairs, CCA
• Nov. 5, Catalina Mountains Chapter (Ariz.), Saddlebrook, Lt. Gen. Dana T. Atkins, USAF (Ret), MOAA president and CEO
• Nov. 8, Tarheel Central (N.C.) Chapter, Clemmons, Chaplain (Col.) Samuel J.T. Boone, USA (Ret), BoD
• Nov. 10, Michigan Council of Chapters (Mich.), East Lansing, Capt. Frank J. Michael, USN (Ret), CCA
• Nov. 15, Heart of Illinois Chapter (Ill.), Peoria, Capt. Erin E. Stone, JAGC, USN (Ret), CCA
• Nov. 15, MOAA Surviving Spouses Virtual Chapter, virtual, Lt. Gen. Dana T. Atkins, USAF (Ret), MOAA president and CEO
• Nov. 16, Star Spangled Banner (Md.) Chapter, location TBD, Capt. Erin E. Stone, JAGC, USN (Ret), CCA
• Nov. 17, Don Root – Tularosa Basin (N.M) Chapter, Alamogordo, speaker TBD
• Nov. 17, Monterey County (Calif.) Chapter, Seaside, Virginia “Gail” Joyce, BoD
• Nov. 17, Solano County (Calif.) Chapter, Fairfield, Capt. Frank J. Michael, USN (Ret), CCA
• Nov. 18-19, Texas Chapter Leader Workshop (Tex.), Dallas, Capt. Jim Carman, USN (Ret), Council/Chapter and Member Support, and Capt. Erin E. Stone, JAGC, USN (Ret), CCA and MOAA Staff
• Nov. 19, Georgia Council of Chapters Convention, Athens, Adm. Walter F. Doran, USN (Ret), former BoD chairman, and MOAA staff