(This article originally appeared in the March 2026 issue of Military Officer, a magazine available to all MOAA Premium and Life members who can log in to access our digital version and archive. Basic members can save on a membership upgrade and access the magazine.)

I’m now a few months into my fourth year as your association president. In my first year, we defined six enduring challenges we need to tackle over time to secure the health of MOAA into the future.

Annually, I also share with the MOAA staff a list of carefully selected priorities I believe will make the biggest positive impact on our members while also ensuring the strength and longevity of our association by helping to address our enduring challenges.

We rely on your support for MOAA’s mission, so it’s incumbent on me to provide transparency regarding our efforts.

Execute TotalForce+ at or above first-year levels: Our first-ever people-focused conference had more than 2,500 registered attendees, gained hundreds of new members, yielded new business partners, and brought together voices across the currently serving, veteran, industry, and academic populations. Even facing headwinds from a government shutdown, we were able to meet sponsorship goals and garner a large turnout with satisfied reviews from all who attended.

[RELATED: TotalForce+ in Review]

In 2026, we will host a series of smaller TotalForce+ roundtable events to build on our momentum as we prepare for the second full conference, Feb. 1-3, 2027.

Meet or exceed previous-year fundraising and programming goals for MOAA Charities: We had record demand for scholarships and grants in 2025. Our Crisis Relief Program also felt the strain of increased need as families faced natural disasters and hardships beyond their control.

Our team is taking significant steps to support both programs, and I am confident we are making exciting strides for 2026.

Continue and expand younger cohort commissioning activities: In 2025, outreach at the U.S. Military Academy led to one of the year’s biggest membership wins. We also started similar relationships at the Air Force and Naval academies that we will expand this year. And we intend to launch efforts with at least seven ROTC programs, some representing the biggest officer-producing universities.

[RELATED: News and Resources for Currently Serving Officers]

Support member recruitment for councils/chapters: At headquarters, we are making it easier for chapter leaders to reach out directly to national MOAA members in their own communities and invite them to a local MOAA experience.

Continue executing our advocacy while developing metrics to measure outcomes: In 2025, we identified areas of focus that spanned our community while also taking time to support our fellow military and veterans service organizations. New this year, we are improving analytics to better identify strategies that can bring legislative wins. I look forward to sharing key data with you.

[RELATED: MOAA’s Legislative Action Center]

Expand MOAA’s data-driven decision-making: Data is a recurring theme of our 2026 goals. We have a wealth of information that our team will use to answer important questions so we can become more attuned to the needs of our members and of the new generation of servicemembers.

While these might be top priorities for 2026, please know our day-to-day work involves much more. The MOAA staff and I are honored to get the job done for you and our entire association.