By Judy Christie 

Lt. Col. Robert C. “Bob” Bienvenue, USAF (Ret), enjoys playing percussion in a 90-member concert band, plays the drum set and washboard in a Dixieland band, and plays in a German band in his Florida community. 

But the drum that he beats the loudest is as a legislative advocate for about 770,000 people  — Florida’s active duty servicemembers and veterans and their families and survivors.

“I’ve become a policy wonk, unabashedly so,” he said. “This gets me going.” 

Bienvenue, who served 20 years in the Air Force and then had a consulting career, said advocacy is crucial because the voice of those affected by legislation is often silent. “They’re mostly active duty people and active duty families. They need to know that someone is standing up for them.” 

In the past two decades, he has led MOAA legislative efforts in New York and Florida at the council and chapter levels, including as legislative chair for the Florida Council of Chapters and his current work as legislative liaison for Florida’s Lake and Sumter Counties Chapter. For his outstanding work, Bienvenue has been named 2024 council-level recipient of the Col. Steve Strobridge Legislative Liaison Award.  

“Bob has made a profound impact on MOAA’s legislative efforts at both the state and national levels,” said Col. Stephen J. Bond, USA (Ret), president of the Florida Council of Chapters. “Florida’s superb reputation for legislative advocacy was built under Bob’s proactive leadership.” 

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A MOAA Life member, Bienvenue joined the Western New York Chapter after retirement in 1991 and learned about efforts to pass a state education compact for military children, allowing school credits to be accepted when families relocated. This issue, which affected his children, took almost six years to pass and awakened his interest in legislative advocacy.  

“I wrote 100 letters one day,” he said. “To me, that was a long effort but a big, big win.”  

From that experience, he realized MOAA “was an organization that helped people like me when I was on active duty. This is something I can do.”  

He continued the work when he and his wife of 55 years, Barbara, moved to Florida and has developed patience for the time it takes bills to make it into law: “I’ve seen things rise up to the top and no action is taken. That cycle of things reminds me that we need a lot of attention on those issues. We need to be aggressive.” 

For him, the process includes keeping MOAA members informed, getting to the heart of an issue in simple terms, and staying in touch with legislators. He encourages veterans and their families to become part of MOAA’s “one powerful voice.” 

“It really is easy to become a participant in the advocacy process,” he said. 

Judy Christie is a writer in Colorado.