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.

Quarterly Incentives Program

Chapters have the opportunity to receive $50 each quarter through this program.

The 2021 Quarterly Incentives Program was established to emphasize and encourage chapter utilization of the various tools available for recruiting and retention efforts. Chapters will receive a $50 bonus for each quarter they are using these tools/resources by the last day of the quarter as follows:

• 1st Quarter, Jan. 1-March 31: Recognized chapters that are subscribed to and using MOAA’s Online Chapter Member Dues program. MOAA was proud to recognize 81 chapters with a total bonus payout of $4,050.
• 2nd Quarter, April 1-June 30 (extended to July 15): Chapter has an active website or self-populated MOAA web presence. Self-report with URL required to chapters@moaa.org by July 15.
• 3rd Quarter, July 1-Sept. 30: We have modified third-quarter criteria due to an unanticipated delay in our Association Management System implementation. Revised criteria will recognize affiliates that are using MOAA’s Near Real Time Report (NRT) in their recruiting and retention efforts. We will soon promulgate more details. Find more information on the NRT report.
• 4th Quarter, Oct. 1-Dec. 31: Chapter held an event (may be virtual) sometime during the year to increase community awareness of the chapter and reports it on a Levels of Excellence submission in 2022.

You can find more information on MOAA recruiting resources, tools, and incentive programs in our recruiting guide on MOAA.org.

Advocacy in Action Update

Thanks to the efforts of MOAA councils and chapters, we continue to make a difference on the three legislative topics.

Teams of MOAA chapter leaders from across the U.S. have played a critical role in engaging with their legislators on this year’s Advocacy in Action topics: the fight for comprehensive toxic exposure reform, TRICARE Young Adult coverage parity, and the creation of a Basic Needs Allowance to fight hunger in the ranks. Read more about the impact of your efforts and the work that remains to be done to address these advocacy issues.

Electronic Support Messages

With more chapters returning to in-person meetings, national MOAA can help you promote these events and recruit new members with council/chapter electronic support messages. These messages, on behalf of chapters that request them, will be emailed to non-chapter MOAA members who live within your chapter’s ZIP code area and who have opted to receive emails from national MOAA. We will email up to two messages a year per council/chapter. Learn more and complete the fillable message template.

Did You Know MOAA Is Back on the Road?

MOAA Council and Chapter Affairs staff, board members, and senior leadership have resumed in-person affiliate visits. To submit a visit request, please use the visit request form by clicking this link to provide your initial request details, which should include secondary and tertiary dates. We look forward to resuming these visits and encourage all to send in your requests.

Council and Chapter Leader Training

We’re adding new opportunities for volunteer leaders to learn, network, and share best practices in monthly leader virtual roundtables starting in July. The roundtables will focus on a single topic and be held at 7 p.m. Eastern time on the last Thursday of each month. The July discussion, “ROTC and JROTC programs,” will be led by Arkansas Council President Col. Don Berry, USAF (Ret). Other topics are listed online, along with information about joining.

Surviving Spouse Corner: Get to Know the Surviving Spouse Advisory Council

Learn more about what this important MOAA council does to help surviving military spouses.

By Gail Joyce, MOAA board member, surviving spouse

The Surviving Spouse Advisory Council (SSAC) was established in 2004 as the Auxiliary Member Advisory Committee to report to and advise the MOAA president about issues that are important to the surviving spouses of MOAA members. Its main goal is to represent YOU — not only survivors but military spouses as well — about issues that impact each of us.

The SSAC has had numerous major accomplishments, including:

• Creating and designing the Survivor’s Planning Guide: A Handbook for One of Life Toughest Assignments.
• Starting, in 2018, the Surviving Spouse Virtual Chapter. The chapter currently meets via phone on the third Tuesday of each month and has grown from 10 members to 160 members from 33 states. Learn more about the chapter.
• Assisting with the 2019 passage of the bill that eliminated the Survivor Benefit Plan-Dependency and Indemnity Compensation offset, which took 40 years to accomplish.
• Developing and producing the Surviving Spouse Liaison Training, which is held several times each year in conjunction with the regional chapter leadership training.

Current members of the council represent all services and several states and bring a broad swath of experience. Each member was nominated by her chapter and then thoroughly vetted and selected by members of the SSAC. Meet the current members of the SSAC.

While the SSAC initially was organized to work with surviving spouses, the council has expanded its role to work with military spouses to help better prepare them for the future.

If you have questions or concerns, the SSAC is your conduit for answers and to make things happen. Please get in touch when and where you see a need at sscomm@moaa.org. We look forward to meeting you.  

Vacation With MOAA

MOAA Signature Groups are exclusively for MOAA members and their guests.

Hosted by MOAA leadership and MOAA staff to ensure a stress-free experience and include multiple exclusive MOAA events, MOAA Signature Groups offer a number of features no other trip can provide. Cruise from Nuremburg to Vienna this December on a European Holiday Markets cruise hosted by MOAA President and CEO Lt. Gen. Dana T. Atkins, USAF (Ret), and Chairman of the Board Gen. Walter “Skip” Sharp, USA (Ret).

We now have a video you can post to your chapter website or share at your next meeting. This 30-minute video was filmed live at the recent Southwest Oklahoma Chapter Annual Dinner and highlights the upcoming 2021 and 2022 Signature Groups. The video also includes an introduction about MOAA Vacations and why they were selected to serve as MOAA’s official travel agency affinity partner.

(This video can be shared on any public medium. You can find it on YouTube at this link.) 

As noted in the video, each Signature Group has a website that contains complete information on that departure. You also can share the link to the Signature Groups home page — www.brennco.com/MOAAVACATIONS/signature — in upcoming newsletters or emails. MOAA Vacations President Jon Brenneman can provide website banners and links, newsletter advertisements, videos, handouts, and flyers to help your chapter get the word out on these groups. For questions or additional information, email jon@MOAAvac.com or call (800) 211-5107.  

Promote MOAA Charities in Your Newsletter

Councils and chapters can download and use newsletter inserts to encourage their members to consider MOAA charities for their philanthropy. Find the full-page, full-color PDF files to download on MOAA.org.

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.   

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 Ark-La-Tex (La.) Chapter presented scholarships totaling $28,000 to 11 graduating seniors June 5 at its annual Scholarship Awards Dinner Program at Barksdale AFB. The scholarships are funded through the generosity of chapter members.

The Greater Rome-Utica (N.Y.) Chapter recently nominated a local servicemember to be memorialized during the NASCAR Salutes Together at the Coca Cola 600 event May 30. Sgt. Michael Uvanni, of Rome, was killed on Oct. 1, 2004, in Samarra, Iraq. He was a member of the New York Army National Guard. Uvanni’s name among the names of 40 fallen servicemembers featured on all NASCAR Cup Series cars during the race.

The Star Fort (S.C.) Chapter honored U.S. prisoners of war (POWs) and those still missing in action (MIA) during its bimonthly dinner meeting May 27. The chapter had a small, round table set for one, with a single red rose displayed, an inverted glass, and other items to symbolize U.S. servicemembers who are missing or POWs. In addition to the POW/MIA Remembrance Ceremony, State Rep. Stewart Jones gave a presentation.