Recent news from The MOAA Newsletter. View previous editions of Council and Chapter News here. Send updates about your affiliate’s activities to chapters@moaa.org for possible inclusion in future editions.

Annual Award Recipients Announced

Congratulations to the winners!

MOAA is proud to recognize affiliates and individuals for their work in 2023 as part of our national awards program:

• Levels of Excellence (LOE): Congratulations to the 168 Levels of Excellence council and chapter award honorees for their work to earn this prestigious recognition. Click here for the full list.
  
  
• Col. Marvin J. Harris Communications Awards: Congratulations to the 225 councils and chapters recognized for their communications work in 2023. Click here for the full list. 
  
  
• Col. Steve Strobridge Legislative Chair/Liaison Award: Congratulations to our 2023 winners: Council Legislative Chair Capt. Lynn Nash, USPHS (Ret), Maryland Council of Chapters, Montgomery County Chapter; and Chapter Legislative Liaison Col. Thomas Waddell, USAF (Ret), Grand Canyon Chapter (Ariz.).
  
  
• Surviving Spouse Liaison Excellence Award: Congratulations to our 2023 winners: 1st. Lt. John Glenn, USMC (Ret), Missouri Council of Chapters, Greater St. Louis Chapter (Council Level); and Linda Wolverton, Luke Chapter (Ariz.).

Learn more about these awards, download award logos, and see past winners at MOAA.org/CCAwards

Advocacy in Action Week Recap and Photos

MOAA council and chapter leaders from across the U.S. joined MOAA National leaders and staff April 16-19 for the association’s annual Advocacy in Action (AiA) day, Marix Award ceremony, and Council Presidents’ Seminar, including the presentation of the 2023 Levels of Excellence and Col. Marvin J. Harris Communication awards.

This MOAA Ad (PDF Download) appeared in The Hill newspaper April 17, helping promote MOAA’s congressional visits with hundreds of legislators during AiA.  

Read a recap of the events at this link. You can also view and download AiA photos as well as Council and Chapter award presentation photos.

Announcing the 2024 Community Outreach Grant Recipients

The MOAA Foundation has selected 42 MOAA affiliates to receive funds from its Community Outreach Grant program.

The MOAA Foundation is awarding 50 grants totaling nearly $104,000 to 42 MOAA affiliates through its Community Outreach Grant program. To date, the program has awarded nearly 250 grants totaling more than $650,000 through its eight annual cycles.

To learn more about The MOAA Foundation and its programs and how you can donate, visit charities.moaa.org.

Find the list of 2024 grant recipients here.

Surviving Spouse Corner: Why It’s Not ‘Happy’ Memorial Day

The word choice might be wrong, but you should still celebrate.

By Nancy Mullen, MOAA Surviving Spouse Advisory Council member

This time of year, we are all inundated with advertisements on TV, in our email, on social media, or even in stores that say, “Happy Memorial Day” or promote Memorial Day sales.

I get it — for most, it is a well-earned day off of work. It often signals the beginning of the summer beach season. And yes, it is a long weekend with friends and family spent by the pool or grilling in the backyard. It is easy to forget the true meaning behind the holiday.

So, what is Memorial Day? Memorial Day, formerly known as Decoration Day, is the one day a year our country sets aside to recognize, remember and mourn our U.S. servicemembers who have died while serving our great country. It is also a day to remember our Gold Star Families, those who have lost a servicemember on active duty. This day can be especially hard on these families and those who have lost loved ones, as emotions are often elevated.

For this reason, although I don’t take offense, I always encourage people to not say “Happy Memorial Day.” Think of it this way: Would you say, “Happy funeral”? That helps it to sink in a bit more, doesn’t it?

Given that we have an all-volunteer force, fewer and fewer people have lost someone in the service or even know someone who served after the Vietnam War era. Many do not realize we still have servicemembers in harm’s way, and each year we continue to have families back home who are getting that dreaded knock on the door to inform them their loved one has been lost. To some, it seems as though Memorial Day has become just another fun holiday for which the meaning has been lost. And to that I would say CELEBRATE!

Really? Yes, really! I am the Gold Star wife of WO1 Sean Mullen, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), who was killed in action in Afghanistan in June 2013. Sean loved this country and felt it was his honor and duty to serve. He would want you to go shopping, throw a neighborhood barbecue, take that beach trip, go camping with your kids — after all, he fought and died for the freedom we have to do those things. All we ask is that at some point during that celebration, you join me by lifting up your drink for a toast or say a silent prayer for those who died for our freedom and that you live a life worthy of such sacrifice.

As George S. Patton Jr. said: “It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather, we should thank God that such men lived.”

Read past Surviving Spouse Corners.

Did You Know?

Social Media Guide: National MOAA has a helpful guide to assist MOAA councils and chapters with their social media efforts. Find the guide at this link.

Join a Chapter Video: This video from national MOAA showcases the benefits of chapter membership and can be a helpful recruiting tool for affiliates. Share it in your networks.

Upcoming Events

Council and Chapter Leaders Southeast Region Leadership Training, May 17-18, Greenville, S.C. Council and chapter presidents, membership chairs, legislative chairs/liaisons, and surviving spouse liaisons from Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia and officers from the virtual council and virtual chapters who reside in these states are invited to attend.

Monthly Chapter Leader Virtual Roundtable: Join us May 30 at 7 p.m. Eastern for a discussion about the individual awards program. Join here at the time of the meeting. (Meeting ID: 968 9909 5204; Passcode: 886465). Please note that based on your feedback, we have transitioned to the Zoom platform for these events. 

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.

At the end of 2023, the George C. Marshall (Va.) Chapter awarded $5,000 to the Virginia Veterans Support Foundation (VSF) for use by the Virginia Veteran and Family Support program. This donation caps off a total of $44,195 donated to the VSF since 2017 and nearly $143,000 since the chapter’s first donation in 2008. Additionally, in December the Marshall Chapter made separate donations totaling $7,500 to ConnectionsPlus Healthcare+Hospice for their “We Honor Veterans” program and The Healing Waters project in support of a rehabilitative and recreational fly fishing program for veterans. The chapter raised the funds through a golf tournament and generous individual and corporate donations.

Since 2014, the Western North Carolina Chapter has partnered with Four Seasons Hospice to honor veterans with pinning and recognition ceremonies. On Feb. 9, the chapter performed its 1,000th pinning for this We Honor Veterans program.

On April 5, the General Omar N. Bradley Mid-Missouri Chapter presented a $500 check to Terry A. Woodcock, Fisher House manager of the Truman VA Fisher House in Columbia, Mo. The money was raised from donations collected at the chapter’s quarterly socials through its Adopt-A-Project Program. Over the past 10 years, the chapter has donated $20,631 to various charitable organizations. The Mid-Missouri Fisher House provides temporary no-cost lodging for 16 families of veterans receiving hospital care at the adjacent Truman VA Hospital and the University of Missouri Medical Center across the street. 

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:

• May 3, Arizona Council of Chapters, Surprise, Capt. Frank J. Michael, USN (Ret), Council and Chapter Affairs (CCA)
• May 9, North Carolina State COC, virtual, Dena Kilgore, CCA
• May 12-15, Florida Council of Chapters Convention, Daytona Beach, MOAA Board of Directors Chairman Gen. Gary North, USAF (Ret), and Capt. Jim Carman, USN (Ret), MOAA vice president of Council/Chapter and Member Support
• May 14, Southeast Idaho Chapter, Pocatello, Frank J. Michael, USN (Ret), CCA
• May 17-18, Southeast Workshop, Greenville, NC
• May 18, New Mexico Council of Chapters, Alamogordo, Col. Peter K. Kloeber, USAF (Ret), MOAA board of directors
• May 18, Southern (N.Y.) Tier Chapter, Binghamton, Col. Myles B. Caggins III, USA (Ret), MOAA board of directors
• May 18, Oklahoma Council of Chapters, Norman, Lt. Col. Aric J. Raus, USA, MOAA board of directors
• May 21, Sierra Nevada Chapter of MOAA, Reno, Capt. Frank J. Michael, USN (Ret), Council and Chapter Affairs (CCA)
• May 21, Greater Granbury (Texas) Chapter, Granbury, Dena Kilgore, CCA
• June 2, Spokane (Wash.) Chapter, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, Frank J. Michael, USN (Ret), CCA 
• June 8, Heart of Texas Chapter, Waco, Frank J. Michael, USN (Ret), CCA
• June 9, Western Connecticut Chapter, location TBD, Capt. Jim Carman, USN (Ret), vice president of Council and Chapter/Member Support
• June 11, Missouri Council of Chapters, Columbia, Dena Kilgore, CCA
• June 18, River Valley (Ark.) Chapter, Russellville, Col. Theodore J. Janosko, USA (Ret), MOAA board of directors
• June 20, South Alabama Chapter, Mobile, speaker TBD
• June 28, Charleston (S.C.) Chapter, Charleston, Dena Kilgore, CCA