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.

Help Local Communities Across the Country

Do you want to help MOAA’s network of councils and chapters fuel local programs that benefit their uniformed services community?

Since 2017, The MOAA Foundation has been supporting grassroots efforts across the country through the Community Outreach Grant Program. This initiative grants funds to MOAA councils and chapters to fuel projects that make a positive impact for the greater uniformed services community at the local level.

Acting as the foundation’s boots on the ground, MOAA councils and chapters have helped homeless veterans find safe housing, provided financial relief to active duty families by gathering school supplies for military children, connected jobs seekers with local companies that value the strengths veterans and military spouses possess, arranged specialized therapeutic retreats for those suffering with PTSD, and much more.

Over the years, the requests we receive for funding far outweigh the funds we have available to disburse. This forces our team to offer smaller grants to the approved applications and deny worthwhile grant requests every year.

We know MOAA councils and chapters have a deep commitment to their local community. The MOAA Foundation is committed to approving as many Community Outreach Grant applications as our funding allows. But we need your help.

This year, we are experiencing a historic number of applications requesting support. Before our judges review applications and award money to the top applications, we are asking our national network of supporters to invest in the uniformed services community at the local level.

While it is great to see so many MOAA members strive to help their fellow veterans, active duty members, surviving spouses, military spouses, and military families, as it currently stands, The MOAA Foundation will not be able to distribute the financial resources necessary for these programs and services.

All funds raised in response to this message will go directly to the MOAA councils and chapters that present the best, most thoughtful, and thorough applications. Our team of judges review each application to ensure that grant funds go toward worthwhile causes that benefit our nation’s heroes.

With your support, we know we can provide our local experts with the resources they need to make a positive impact in their hometowns.

Donate today!

Levels of Excellence Award Submissions

May 1 is the deadline to submit your entry for a Levels of Excellence Award. Look for the nomination portal for the 2022 program year to open on March 10, 2023.

Did you know that MOAA now awards 3-, 4-, and 5-star Levels of Excellence Awards? The program recognizes excellence in program year 2022. Council and Chapter leaders are encouraged to download the Informational Guide (PDF) to review the criteria, which were newly implemented last year. The nomination form will be posted March 10.

Important Details About MOAA’s Spring Advocacy Campaign on Capitol Hill

On April 26, MOAA will send teams of volunteer leaders to Washington, D.C., to meet with their legislators on the Hill. Council and Chapter leaders will be accompanied by members of MOAA’s board of directors and headquarters staff — a contingent of 225 people with sights on contacting every one of the 535 congressional offices. Anyone can join MOAA’s Advocacy in Action (AiA) efforts by reiterating these messages to lawmakers:

• As servicemembers face skyrocketing rents and mortgage payments, it’s time to reverse cuts to the Basic Allowance for Housing, restoring the benefit to cover 100% of these expenses.
• As TRICARE Pharmacy users deal with drug shortages and high drug costs, it’s time to restore the thousands of brick-and-mortar pharmacies, including many locally owned shops in rural areas, to keep this crucial benefit strong.

Learn more about the AiA topics and how to get involved at MOAA.org/aia.

Support The MOAA Foundation's Crisis Relief Fund

Help the foundation establish an endowment to ensure the fund can continue its mission to provide financial assistance to military community members in need.

By Col. Mary J. Mayer, USAF (Ret), former member MOAA board of directors

While on MOAA’s board of directors during the height of the pandemic, I strongly advocated for the launch of The MOAA Foundation's COVID-19 Relief Fund to assist uniformed servicemembers and their families of all ranks with critical funding to address some of their emergency needs. It soon became apparent there was a tremendous need to continue assisting the military community to cope with all types of catastrophic situations. Though the COVID-19 Relief Fund officially closed out in November 2021, the lessons learned and demonstrated need for assistance led to the creation of a new, permanent pillar of support.

The MOAA Foundation established the Crisis Relief Fund to offer financial assistance to those falling under one or more of the following categories: currently serving (including National Guard and Reserve), spouses of currently serving, veterans (with an honorable discharge), surviving spouses (whose spouse held an honorable discharge), and caregivers of the same who are experiencing financial setbacks due to an unexpected current crisis. Open to all ranks and U.S. uniformed services, this program was designed to provide one-time emergency grant funds to approved applicants experiencing an extreme financial hardship as a result of a natural disaster or personal crisis.

Since the launch of the Crisis Relief Fund program in June 2022, The MOAA Foundation has awarded more than $50,000 to qualifying recipients, mostly to victims of Hurricane Ian and the devastating flooding in Kentucky.

Because the need for assistance is so great, the foundation is working to fund an endowment of at least $1 million so this initiative can live on in perpetuity and continue to accomplish its mission each year. As a member of The MOAA Foundation Crisis Relief Fund Advisory Committee, I am personally asking for your assistance.

To help establish this endowment, The MOAA Foundation is hosting a charity dinner benefiting the Crisis Relief Fund, which will be held Thursday, March 23, at the Army Navy Country Club in Arlington, Va. You are cordially invited to this event, which includes a three-course plated meal, networking with other supporters of the uniformed services community, and learning about the impact the Crisis Relief Fund has already made and how you can make a positive impact in the lives of those who have served our country for years to come.

With the generous support from the lead sponsor, HLP Integration, 100% of all donations received in support of this event will go toward the Crisis Relief Fund. To register for this charity dinner, please visit this link.

All of us MOAA members are afforded a unique opportunity to donate to this worthy cause, and some should consider attending the charity dinner. My appeal also applies to our councils and chapters.

I am proud to say MOAA’s Oregon Council of Chapters and the Portland (Ore.) Chapter will have two representatives at the dinner and have pledged to donate to the Crisis Relief Fund endowment. I challenge all councils and chapters to join us in this endeavor. Why? It is probable that all of us have known fellow military members and their families who have needed help at one time or another, and this critical program allows us to make sure that some of those members of the military community are helped in their time of greatest need. Working together, we can provide the critical mass of donations needed to endow the Crisis Relief Fund.

I hope to see some of you at the charity dinner, but if you cannot attend, please seriously consider donating to the endowment of The MOAA Foundation's Crisis Relief Fund.

Col. Mary Mayer, USAF (Ret), is a former member of MOAA’s board of directors and its former second vice chair; president of MOAA’s Portland Chapter; and secretary/treasurer of MOAA’s Oregon Council of Chapters.

Surviving Spouse Corner Archives

Browse past columns to find helpful resources, tips, and perspectives from members of MOAA’s Surviving Spouse Advisory Council.

From learning how to prepare for the inevitable, take care of finances, and navigate loss to finding helpful resources, tips for being an effective advocate, and ways to get involved in your local chapter and community, you can read a wealth of helpful information in the Surviving Spouse Corner column. Written by members of MOAA’s Surviving Spouse Advisory Council — a group of military surviving spouses who report to and advise MOAA’s president about issues that are important to the surviving spouses of MOAA members — the column is updated monthly with a new topic of value to not only surviving spouses but all MOAA members. Find a listing of past Surviving Spouse Corners here.

Did You Know?

Chapter Recruiting Program Guide: Council and chapter leaders can find tools, ideas, and incentives to help with their recruiting efforts in the 2022 Chapter Recruiting Program Guide. Download this helpful resource today.

Newly installed council or chapter officers: Please remember to update your committee module roster as soon as possible so the new officers do not miss any important communications.

Upcoming Events

Monthly Chapter Leader Virtual Roundtable: Join us March at 7 p.m. Eastern time for a discussion about advocacy. Join Click here to join the meeting at the appointed time. (ID: 263 055 077 576; Passcode: rrGTNy)

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

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 Florida Council of Chapters held its annual Leadership Training Seminar Jan. 6-7 in Orlando, Fla.  Gen. Gary North, USAF (Ret), chairman of MOAA’s board of directors, headlined the event, which brought together nearly 200 members from Florida’s 39 chapters in addition to leaders from Georgia and South Carolina. Participants learned from national MOAA and Florida Council representatives how to recruit and sustain their organizations and engage in their communities. 

The Northwest Florida Chapter recently coordinated Valentines for Veterans. The chapter partnered with Bob Hope Village and Longwood Elementary School for the event, which entailed second graders from the elementary school making 125 valentines and then delivering them to residents at Bob Hope Village. The annual event first was enacted in 1996 by Gen. Ron Fogleman, Air Force chief of staff, and was intended to support the Department of Veteran Affairs weeklong National Salute to Hospitalized Veterans.

MOAA’s sixth virtual chapter, the Advocacy for Servicewomen and Military Families Virtual Chapter, was approved by the association’s board of directors in January. The chapter aims to address some of the challenges women servicemembers and military families face. Membership is open to active duty, retired, or formerly commissioned officers from all branches of service and their surviving spouses. Virtual chapter members must all be members of national MOAA. Learn more about the chapter and how to get involved.

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:

• March 4, Pennsylvania Council of Chapters, virtual, Capt. Frank J. Michael, USN (Ret), Council and Chapter Affairs (CCA)
• March 9, Coastal Carolina (N.C.) Chapter, Virtual, Col. Peter K. Kloeber, USAF (Ret), MOAA board of directors (BoD) 
• March 9, Luke (Ariz.) Chapter, Sun City West, Gail Joyce, MOAA BoD 
• March 9, Northeastern Wisconsin Chapter, Green Bay, Capt. Erin E. Stone JAGC, USN (Ret), CCA
• March 9, South Georgia Chapter, Valdosta, Frank J. Michael, USN (Ret), CCA
• March 10, Columbia (S.C.) Chapter, Columbia, Col. Dan Merry, USAF (Ret), vice president, Government Relations (GR)
• March 16, Dover (Del.) Chapter, Dover, Dan Merry, USAF (Ret), vice president, GR
• March 16, Falcons Landing (Va.) Chapter, Sterling, Lt. Gen. Brian T. Kelly, USAF (Ret), MOAA president and CEO
• March 18, Greater St. Louis Chapter, Des Peres, Theodore J. Janosko, USA (Ret), MOAA BoD
• March 18, New York State Council of Chapters, virtual, Frank J. Michael, USN (Ret), CCA
• March 21, MOAA Surviving Spouses Virtual Chapter, virtual, Lt. Gen. Brian T. Kelly, USAF (Ret), MOAA president and CEO, and staff
• March 21, Jayhawk (Kan.) Chapter, Lawrence, Gail Joyce, MOAA BoD
• March 22, Sunflower (Kan.) Chapter, Overland Park, Gail Joyce, MOAA BoD
• March 26, Wichita (Kan.) Chapter, Wichita, Gail Joyce, MOAA BoD 
• March 30, Greater Cincinnati Chapter, Covington, Ky., Lt. Gen. Brian T. Kelly, USAF (Ret), MOAA president and CEO, and Erin E. Stone, JAGC, USN (Ret), CCA
• April 5, Northern Arizona Chapter, Prescott, Capt. Erin E. Stone, JAGC, USN (Ret), CCA
• April 5, West Volusia (Fla.) MOAA Chapter, DeBary, Capt. Jim Carman, USN (Ret), vice president, Council/Chapter and Member Support
• April 6, Alameda County (Calif.) Chapter, Alameda, Capt. Erin E. Stone, JAGC, USN (Ret), CCA
• April 6, Charlotte-Metrolina (N.C.) Chapter, Charlotte, Lt. Gen. Brian T. Kelly, USAF (Ret), MOAA president and CEO
• April 12, North DFW (Texas) Chapter, Lewisville, Gen. Gary L. North, USAF (Ret), BoD chairman
• April 12, Virginia Council of Chapters, virtual, Col. Dan Merry, USAF (Ret), vice president, GR
• April 15, Triangle (N.C.) Chapter, Wake Forest, Capt. Frank Michael, USN (Ret), CCA
• April 16, Kaw Valley (Kan.) Chapter, Topeka, Capt. Erin E. Stone, JAGC, USN (Ret), CCA
• April 18, Grand Canyon (Ariz.) Chapter, Flagstaff, Capt. Erin E. Stone, JAGC, USN (Ret), CCA
• April 19, Treasure Coast (Fla.) Chapter, Port Saint Lucie, Capt. Frank Michael, USN (Ret), CCA
• April 20, Greater Cleveland Chapter, Brecksville, Vice Adm. Fred M. Midgette, USCG (Ret), BoD, and Capt. Frank Michael, USN (Ret), CCA
• April 20, Montgomery County (Md.) Chapter, Rockville, Capt. Erin E. Stone, JAGC, USN (Ret), CCA
• April 20, Old Capitol Area (Ga.) Chapter, Milledgeville, Col. Donald F. Thompson, USAF (Ret), BoD
• April 22, Piedmont (N.C.) Chapter, Jamestown, Capt. Frank Michael, USN (Ret), CCA