MOAA National recently announced the results of the 2014 Colonel Marvin J. Harris Communication Awards contest and our Chapter repeated as winner of the best chapter web site and winner of the best chapter electronic-newsletter (“Gram of Info”) in Category III. We may all be justifiably proud of our continued excellence in communications technology.

A proclamation was issued by Chapter President Chavez designating the top senior ROTC scholarship awarded each year as the “Meinhardt Scholarship” in honor of Colonel (Ret) and Mrs. Harry P. Meinhardt.

The proclamation, first of its kind in the history of the chapter, was read and presented to the Meinhardts’ at the March 6, 2015 general membership meeting to recognized their extraordinary patronage of the chapter’s ROTC Scholarship Program over the years.

A copy of the proclamation as well as a letter of acknowledgement from the Meinhardts' are at the download bar below the photo.

We welcome Chaplain (Colonel) Gregory K. Williamson, US Army, Retired as the new Senior Army Instructor at Lumberton Senior High School in Lumberton effective 13 February 2015. He lives in Fayetteville with his wife Jackie; they have two grown sons, Aaron and Isaac, who also reside in the Fayetteville area with their families. Colonel Williamson joined the chapter and he looks forward to attending some of our meetings. We wish him the best of success in his new job.

Colonel Williamson replaces LTC (Ret) Neil Harper who stepped down after one year at LSHS.

Chapter President Juan Chavez, 3rd Vice President Bill Dadek, and Secretary Don Gersh, attended the annual symposium. (Photo at right, L to R: Bill Dadek, VADM Ryan, Juan Chavez, Don Gersh)

Colonel Chavez: “This was the first leaders' symposium I've had the privilege of attending since I took over the chapter and I'm glad I did. I was impressed with how well the symposium was organized and executed. The opportunity to interact with other chapter leaders and share problems, solutions and ideas was most beneficial; we all learned from each other how to improve our chapters. I’m thankful that two of my directors were able to accompany me and share the experience. I wish my entire board of directors could’ve attended, but we were limited to three. The professionalism exhibited by the MOAA National leadership and staff in their presentations and interactions made one proud of being associated with such a top-notch organization.”

MOAA's chapter system includes 34 state councils and 412 chapters nationwide. Each year MOAA holds the Chapter Leaders' Symposium in one of four regions, moving from east to west across the country.

The Cape Fear Chapter leaders joined 240 council and chapter leaders and their spouses from seven state councils and more than 90 chapters in MOAA’s Southeast region. Participants met with other council and chapter leaders and key members of the national staff and board of directors.

Leaders attended general session and breakout workshops the following day, where they discussed membership challenges, shared best practices, and brainstormed new ideas. Membership chairs discussed how to recruit and retain more members, while council and chapter presidents and vice presidents reviewed management techniques. Council and chapter legislative chairs and liaisons attended a special workshop focused on grassroots advocacy and legislative affairs.

“Our council and chapter leaders play extremely vital role in MOAA’s overall success. From grassroots advocacy to community service, they make it happen,” President of MOAA Vice Adm. Norb Ryan, said. “This is a valuable way for us to listen and learn from each other about how to lead our chapters and make them more effective for their members and their surrounding communities. These chapter leaders work hard, and we want to do all we can to help them with their responsibilities,” he concluded.

Other than serving in one of the five elective positions, there are many other ways chapter members can serve and make meaningful contributions. We are in dire need of volunteers to help carry the load of operating the Chapter in an effective and efficient manner. The majority of the positions/jobs listed only require a commitment of a few hours a month of your time and most of the work can be performed from or in your home. Any member or their spouses may participate. Some of the positions listed below are currently filled, but having a replacement in queue to understudy would be ideal.

If anyone is interested in volunteering for one or more of the positions listed, please call our Secretary Don Gersh at (910) 484-4545, or email at Secretary@cfmoaa.org.

Executive Board and Special Staff Appointive Positions:

Surviving Spouse Liaison Officer (surviving spouse preferred)

Personal Affairs Officer

Newsletter Editor

Assistant Newsletter Editor

Assistant Secretary

Webmaster

TOPS (The Officer Placement Service)

On-Going Committees:

ROTC and Scholarship Committee

Personal Affairs Committee

Newsletter Editorial Committee

Legislative Committee

Programs Committee

Publicity Committee

Sponsorship Sales Committee

Membership Committee

Information Dissemination Committee

Membership Directory Committee

TOPS (The Officer Placement Service) Group

Special Purpose Committees and other programs:

Nominating Committee (on election years)

Golf Tournament Committee

Honor Guard Member

ROTC Awards Presenter

USO Volunteer

The Support the Sandhills State Veterans Cemetery Fund recently received a substantial donation from one of our chapter members, LTC (Ret) Dean Russell and his wife Ginny.

In July, the NC General Assembly appropriated $125,000 to upgrade the committal structure at the Veterans Cemetery at Spring Lake with the stipulation that the community was to raise a matching $125,000 in donations.

At the 8 December 2013 Community Concerts screening of the documentary “Honor Flight” at the Crown Arena, Dean and Ginny Russell were publicly recognized for their personal donation of a matching $125,000. Governor Pat McCrory was present to sign a ceremonial $125,000 check to honor his commitment.

The Friends of the Sandhills State Veterans Cemetery are pursuing the funding to provide a place of dignity for veterans and their families to have funeral services for their loved ones at the cemetery in Spring Lake. When attending funerals at that site, families are sometimes exposed to inclement weather.

No one knows that better than Dean Russell who is also the Commander of the Cape Fear Chapter Honor Guard. The Honor Guard was established to pay respects and provide support to the families of deceased chapter members upon request. The Honor Guard provides sentries at the casket or urn during the visitation, and serves as honorary pall bearers at the funeral service. Dean’s membership in MOAA and his role as commander of the Cape Fear Chapter Honor Guard were highlighted during his introduction.

The Russell’s unwavering support of our community and specifically our veterans is worthy of the highest esteem. The awareness of our chapter and MOAA in general they fashioned as a result of their benevolence is priceless. Thank you Dean and Ginny!

Effective October 7, 2013, DMV began offering the opportunity for veterans to request a veteran designation to be placed on their driver licenses and identification cards. This service can be obtained at any driver license office throughout the State.

The decal is affixed when the license is produced and all licenses are produced in Raleigh. There is a $10.00 charge for this license as it is considered a duplicate license.

For procedures on how to obtain the designation, click on link below.

The first event of the new year is the Installation Dinner when we celebrate the official installation of a new Board of Directors. While this is normally a biennial event it will be four years since our last one because of the Covid pandemic.

Barring an unexpected Covid flareup, this year’s event will take place on Saturday, 14 January 2023 in the Iron Mike Conference Center starting at 5:00 PM.

We ask every chapter member who can attend to please do so as a show of appreciation and respect for fellow members who have volunteered to taken on the responsibility of leading our chapter forward for the next two years.

The guest speaker for the event will be Retired US Navy Captain Frank J. Michael, MOAA’s Program Director for Council and Chapter Affairs. Captain Michael will also administer the oath of office to the new officers. We expect Captain Michael to give us a comprehensive report on National MOAA and specifically how local chapters contribute to the effectiveness and success of our National organization. To access Capt. Michael's biography click on download bar above.

Part of the agenda will include a free drawing for some neat prizes. Each attendee will be provided with a ticket at the registration table.

For reservations and details download event flier below. Please RSVP without delay!