Recent news from The MOAA Newsletter. View previous editions of Council and Chapter News here.

February 2019  

 

Chapter Recruiting 2019

 

This year’s chapter recruiting program began Jan. 16. Make sure you’re up to speed on the program.

 

The 2019 Chapter Recruiting Program has officially started! You should receive your annual recruiting list from national MOAA next month. The list contains the names of potential members who are eligible to join your chapter, the names of current national MOAA members who live in your chapter’s proximity and who do not belong to your chapter, and email addresses for national MOAA (non-chapter) members who have opted in to sharing their email address with their local chapter.

 

As you recruit new chapter members, make sure to report them to national MOAA via the

 

Committee Module. View the Committee Module Instructional Guide 2.0 for details.

 

For additional details about Chapter Recruiting 2019, visit www.moaa.org/chapterrecruiting.

 

2018 Chapter Recruiting Program Results Are In

 

Congratulations to the winners of the 2018 Chapter Recruiting Program competition!

 

The final period of the 2018 Chapter Recruiting Program competition ended Dec. 31, 2018. Thanks to your dedicated efforts and hard work, we recruited 2,239 new monetary incentive-qualified chapter members.

 

A $250 incentive will be awarded to each council whose chapters recruited 40 or more new chapter members from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31. An independent chapter will be awarded a $100 incentive for recruiting 10 or more new chapter members in the same time period.

 

Council winners:

 

California — 40

 

Florida — 104

 

Texas — 118

 

Independent chapter winners:

 

New Hampshire Chapter — 14

 

MOAA Uniformed Services Nurse Advocates Virtual Chapter — 52

 

The annual award winners by category, which each receive $500, for the 2018 Chapter Recruiting Program are:

 

Category 1: MOAA Surviving Spouses Virtual Chapter — 57

 

Category 2: Historic Mayport (Fla.) Chapter — 36

 

Category 3: MOAA Uniformed Services Nurse Advocates Virtual Chapter — 90

 

Category 4: Triangle (N.C.) Chapter — 32

 

Category 5: Monterey County (Calif.) Chapter — 37

 

Category 6: Alamo (Texas) Chapter — 150

 

Thank you for your great support in making the 2018 Chapter Recruiting Program a success!

 

Sign Up for the MOAA Insurance Plans Advertising Program

 

MOAA Insurance Plans is proud to support MOAA councils and chapters and is continuing the advertising program for 2019. A digital and print-ready advertisement promoting MOAA Insurance Plans will be available by request until May 31. If a council or chapter would like to place the advertisement online or in a newsletter or other publication during 2019, it will be provided a copy of the advertisement and a payment of $100. Learn more.

 

Why You Should Start — or Join — a Virtual Chapter

 

MOAA’s goal is to establish at least one more virtual chapter in 2019, and you might be the right person to do it.

 

By Capt. Erin E. Stone, JAGC, USN (Ret)

 

If you have served as a MOAA council or chapter leader, you are uniquely qualified to establish a virtual chapter. Why? Because, like geographic chapters, virtual chapters are MOAA affiliates and not centrally managed. Therefore, each needs a champion who is willing to get the organization off the ground.

 

Because virtual chapter membership requires national membership and because virtual chapters encourage their members to also join their local geographic chapter, the potential effect is increased membership at all levels. In fact, MOAA is seeing that effect from our current two virtual chapters: the Uniformed Services Nurse Advocates Virtual Chapter and the Surviving Spouse Virtual Chapter.

 

Learn more, including ideas for some interest groups that might lend themselves to virtual chapters.

 

Interested in starting a virtual chapter? Contact Erin Stone, MOAA's program director for Engagement, at erins@moaa.org, for more information.

 

Submit Your Newsletters and Websites by March 1

 

The deadline to enter the annual Col. Marvin J. Harris Communications Award Contest is March 1. Council and chapter leaders can submit entries in two categories of competition: 1) print newsletters and electronic newsletters and 2) websites.

 

New this year, to help streamline the submission process, entries will be accepted through an online submission platform.

 

Find more details about the contest at www.moaa.org/communicationawards.

 

Final Chance to Apply for a 2019 MOAA Foundation Grant

 

The deadline to apply for a Community Outreach Grant from the MOAA Foundation is Feb. 28. The grants are offered to MOAA councils or chapters providing services to local military and veteran families — either directly or through partnerships with other community organizations. Learn more about the grants and find the application online.

 

Announcing the 2019 Community Outreach Online Giving Campaign

 

Help support MOAA council and chapter community outreach programs by donating online.

 

For the months of February and March, 100 percent of all donations made online through the MOAA Foundation website will be used to provide community outreach grants to MOAA councils and chapters helping military and veteran families in their local communities.

 

That’s right, 100 percent! For example, if we raise $10,000 total through your online donations to this campaign in February and March, the MOAA Foundation will disburse at least $10,000 to MOAA councils or chapters qualifying for community outreach grants to help local military and veteran families in need. 

 

In 2018, 19 MOAA councils/chapters received grants of up to $5,000 to support their participation in a wide range of community outreach programs. These included the establishment of a veterans’ court in Montana; refurbishment of Camp Hometown Heroes for the children of fallen first-responders, including active duty military parents, in Wisconsin; an adaptive snow sports program in Maine; and six different military and veteran outreach programs in Florida.

 

Please help us support these wonderful MOAA council/chapter community outreach programs by donating online now.

 

For those who wish to make a general donation to the MOAA Foundation and support all MOAA Foundation activities, call MOAA at (800) 234-6622 or mail your check to:

 

The MOAA Foundation

 

P.O. Box 1555

 

Merrifield, VA  22116-9942

 

Thanks so much for your generous support as together, we never stop serving!

 

Surviving Spouse Corner: Mentors and Role Models

 

You’ve probably been both a mentor and a role model, but do you know the difference between the two?

 

By Michele Costello, Surviving Spouse Advisory Committee

 

Children look to parents, teachers, coaches, or even older siblings or relatives as role models for inspiration on how to behave. Even adults seek to model themselves after those who appear to be successful or who they consider are worth emulating, such as famous leaders in history, professional athletes, and entertainers. It is important to remember, however, that role models can be positive or negative, and it is up to the individual to choose whose actions to follow. 

 

Role models and mentors, though similar, are, in fact, quite different. Role models often are distant, having no actual connection or contact with those who admire them. A mentor, as described in Webster’s Dictionary, is “a trusted counselor or guide,” and because of a close relationship with his or her students, have a more profound impact. A mentor is someone who looks for ways to help others reach their full potential.

 

Whether we realize it or not, each of us has been a mentor and a role model at some time in our lives. Good mentors provide a positive influence on those around them by being willing to share the knowledge, skills, and expertise they have gained and developed.  Effective mentoring takes work and enthusiasm; it requires the mentor to take a personal interest in his mentee, providing guidance and constructive feedback in an effort to grow that person to his or her fullest.

 

John Crosby aptly describes a mentor as a “brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction.” As a leader, one should first practice the behavior desired for others to follow and then look for opportunities to share experience and learning to help the protégé “navigate a course to the destination.” (John C. Maxwell)

 

Get Newsletter Content From National MOAA

 

Need some content to supplement your chapter’s newsletter? The White Label Templateincludes 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.   

 

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 Greater Baton Rouge Area (La.) Chapter honored the public service of a lifetime MOAA during its Christmas celebration Dec. 11, 2010. Col. Carolyn F. McKnight USAF (Ret), served as superintendent of the Baton Rouge Parks and Recreation Commission from January 2012 to December 2018. Chapter President Col. Fred Palmer, USA (Ret), presented a specially made plague to McKnight. In addition, members of the U.S. Marines Corps were honored guests, and the membership made donations to the Marine Toys for Tots program.
  
  
• Through the Citrus County (Fla.) Chapter’s Veterans In The Classroom Program, over 75 veterans gave presentations about being a veteran to more than 370 classrooms in the Citrus County school district in 2018. The program is one of the many events of Veterans Appreciation Week, a two-week period leading up to Veterans Day. Seventeen members of the Citrus County Chapter gave classroom presentations.
  
  
• The Seven Springs (Ark.) Chapter awarded two $650 scholarships at its 2018 Christmas dinner. Recipients had to be a veteran or the spouse or child of one. The scholarship recipients, Michaela Shott and Craig Johnson Jr., currently are enrolled at Arkansas State University-Beebe. They were guests of the Seven Springs Chapter at the dinner, where chapter President Lt. Col. J.W. “Jake” Jacobson, USMC (Ret), presented the awards.
  
  
• The Southern Maine Chapter selected Maine’s first lady, Ann LePage, to receive its first-ever Annual Award for Exceptional Service to Maine Veterans. The chapter created the award to acknowledge and thank those who have contributed their time, energy, ideas, and hard work at a level far beyond expectation to help Maine’s servicemembers.
  
  The award presentation took place Dec. 7, 2018, at the Maine Military Museum in South Portland. Going forward, this yearly recognition permanently will be named the Ann LePage Award in her honor.

 

MOAA 2018 Stakeholder’s Report

 

We’re in the process of mailing each of our council and independent chapter presidents a copy of MOAA’s 2018 Stakeholder’s Report. This guide is packed with accomplishments and future goals of MOAA National, including advocacy, membership, engagement, council & chapter related efforts, and overall general updates on the organization.

MOAA’s 2018 Stakeholder Report is also viewable on our website here. We encourage you to share this information with other leaders in your state so that everyone is aware of how MOAA continues to make a difference.