The overarching mission of the Southside Virginia Chapter is to promote the purposes and objectives of the national MOAA organization and to support the Virginia Council of Chapters and its efforts to facilitate chapter participation in Virginia Legislative issues concerning military, veterans, military retirees and their families. In doing so we provide useful services for our retired, active duty, former, and Reserve and National Guard officer members, their dependents, and survivors. We work hard to foster fraternal relations and camaraderie and continued service to the nation and our community.

Membership in the Southside Virginia Chapter is open to officers (active, retired, guard, former, including Warrant Officers, who join as regular members and widows/widowers of officers who may join as auxiliary members. All branches of service are welcome... Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, Public Health Service, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Contact our Membership Chairman either via email or at the postal address listed above for further information.

The Chapter holds quarterly business meetings in the form of luncheons or dinners during the year. The Annual Membership Meeting and election of officers and directors-at-large is held in December. The Chapter's Board of Directors currently meets monthly except during June-August.

In cooperation with the Virginia Council of Chapters and the Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Veterans Services Joint Leadership Council, the Southside Virginia Chapter works diligently in pursuit of national and state veteran's issues concerning military, veterans, military retirees and their families. Each year the Virginia Council of Chapters along with local Virginia chapters of MOAA "storm" the state capitol in Richmond and spend the day with the General Assembly to discuss and advocate Virginia Legislative issues. The 2009 state legislative priorities can be viewed on the Virginia Council of Chapters website at http://virginiamoaa.com/homevcoc.html.

Quarterly membership meetings are normally held on the third Friday during February, May, and August and the Annual Membership meeting and election of officers is held during the first week of December. Monthly Chapter Board of Directors meetings are currently held the second Tuesday of the month.

The Southside Virginia Chapter of MOAA was established in 1971. Chapter membership has grown from the original 74 Charter members to more than 200 today. The Chapter's geographic area encompasses 26 zip codes and stretches form just south of the James River to the Southside Virginia counties of Prince George, Dinwiddie, Surry, Sussex, and Southern Chesterfield. The biggest philanthropic project of the Chapter is its Roper Memorial Scholarship program. Since award of the first Roper Memorial Scholarship in 1998, $110,000 has benefited the educational pursuits of 101 children and grandchildren of Chapter members. The Chapter has led the state and nation in the "Give Me 10" membership recruiting campaign for the past three years and has been awarded the five-star excellence award by the MOAA national organization