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.

Congratulations to MOAA’s Legislative Chair and Surviving Spouse Liaison Award Winners!

The Colonel Steve Strobridge Legislative Chair/Liaison Award and Surviving Spouse Liaison Excellence Award are awarded annually to outstanding leaders.

Each year, national MOAA recognizes one council or chapter legislative chair/liaison who has demonstrated superior service in support of the national and/or state legislative agenda. The recipient of this year’s Colonel Steve Strobridge Legislative Chair/Liaison Award is Col. Lee Lange, USMC (Ret), legislative chair, Arizona Council of Chapters, and legislative liaison, Arizona Chapter.

Likewise, MOAA’s Surviving Spouse Advisory Council annually recognizes a surviving spouse liaison who has made outstanding contributions in the council’s mission to educate, encourage, and engage. The recipients of this year’s Surviving Spouse Liaison Excellence Award are Sharon Douglas, surviving spouse liaison of the Arizona Council of Chapters, and Donna Martin, surviving spouse liaison of the Greater Birmingham (Ala.) Chapter.

Congratulations to the winners! Read more about them in the December issue of Military Officer magazine.

Chapters 2021: Stronger Together

Don’t miss the special 20-page section in the October issue of Military Officer highlighting the outstanding efforts of MOAA chapter members over the past year. In addition to showcasing the benefits of chapter membership and the many ways chapters are giving back to their communities, the section provides helpful tips, information, and resources. Access the digital edition at this link (login required).

Seeking Currently Serving Officers and Spouses, and Guard/Reserve-Affiliated Officers

MOAA is in the initial stages of developing virtual chapters for currently serving officers, currently serving spouses, and Guard and Reserve officers, including former and retired Guard/Reserve officers. If you are interested in getting in on the ground floor or helping to shape one of these chapters, email chapters@moaa.org.

Upcoming Events

Mark your calendars for these MOAA events.

Annual Meeting — MOAA’s 2021 annual meeting and Levels of Excellence Awards Dinner will take place Oct. 15 at the Sheraton Pentagon City Hotel in Arlington, Va. Find the schedule of events at MOAA.org/annualmeeting2021.

Important COVID update: Currently, Virginia and Arlington County guidelines classify MOAA’s annual meeting as a “higher-risk event” and recommend staying home if you have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 in the past 14 days or have symptoms and wearing a mask if not fully vaccinated, especially when less than 6-feet apart. For our event, all participants, including board members, headquarters staff, and guests, must be fully vaccinated when they attend or test negative for COVID-19 within 72 hours before the event. We are also incorporating social distancing protocols into our event planning to the greatest extent possible. The host hotel, the Sheraton Pentagon City, has assured us their staff will be fully masked and the property has instituted a number of preventive measures, including constant cleaning of common areas and extensive use of Plexiglas shielding during food service.

Monthly Chapter Leader Virtual Roundtable — Join us at 7 p.m. Eastern on Oct. 28 for a discussion about membership retention and officer succession planning. Click here to join at the time of the meeting.

Did You Know? Don’t Overlook These Two Online Tools

Find out how you can access the Near Real Time Report and recordings of leadership workshops.

Near Real Time Report: This feature within the Committee Module is updated monthly with potential members located within your chapter’s catchment area. Whenever someone joins national MOAA or members move into your area or update their chapter contact preferences, their name and contact information is listed as a potential new chapter member for you. In addition, chapters can earn a $50 incentive for accessing the report (and self-reporting to chapters@moaa.org) as part of our quarterly incentives program through Oct. 31. Find more details online. Send any other questions to chapters@moaa.org.

Leadership workshop recordings: All Council and Chapter Leadership Workshops are recorded and can be viewed anytime online on MOAA’s website. If you’ve ever missed a workshop or perhaps need to reference key talking points, these recorded sessions are perfect for you.  Recorded workshops are on the council and chapter page of MOAA.org. In addition, you can download the leaders workbook that accompanied the workshop. We look forward to you joining our quarterly workshops for 2022. If you have any questions, email chapters@moaa.org

Surviving Spouse Corner: Recognizing the Work of Surviving Spouses

Surviving spouses are valuable members of their chapters and national MOAA. Here are several doing exceptional work.

By Gail Joyce, Surviving Spouse Advisory Council and MOAA board member  

“They bring new blood, fresh ideas, organizational skills, energy, creativeness, a ‘can do attitude’— they have made us a better organization.” These are the words of a chapter president about the work of surviving spouses in their local chapters and communities.

This month, we recognize the work of our local chapters and councils at MOAA’s annual meeting, honoring the recipients of the Levels of Excellence Award as well as the winners of the Colonel Steve Strobridge Legislative Chair/Liaison Award and the Surviving Spouse Liaison Excellence Award (see announcement of these winners above).

We also want to recognize the work of several other of our brightest shining stars: Judith Thomas of Houston; Janet Oglesby of Ohio; and Cheryl Toland of Mount Rainier, Wash. 

Judith Thomas has had a long-distinguished career of working with community-service programs for veterans and their families and survivors in Colorado, Virginia, and Texas. In addition to providing information to her MOAA constituents about retiree and surviving spouse issues as surviving spouse liaison of the Houston Area Chapter, she is very active in the Vietnam War Memorial Program, having provided over 2,800 pins and certificates to surviving spouses in every state and worldwide. In addition, she presents the Vietnam Veteran Lapel Pin to veterans who served from 1955-75. She always keeps a few pins in her purse to present to an unsuspecting deserving veteran, whether in the grocery store, post office, restaurant, or at a MOAA meeting. She considers herself a well-seasoned Army brat, born at Fort Leavenworth; wife and now widow of a career Army officer; and mother of a currently serving Army officer (MOAA member) who continues to be an advocate for the military and for veterans and their families and survivors.

Janet Oglesby, member of several Ohio chapters, has been instrumental in the creations and successes of these chapters. One chapter earned a 4-star Levels of Excellence Award in only its second year of existence as a result of her efforts. She and her husband were key organizers of two chapters, she edited the newsletter for another one for 10 years, designed and printed membership brochures for two chapters, and was a chapter secretary and surviving spouse liaison for another one. In addition, she served on the Ohio Council of Chapters for two years. She has been a very involved member of the Surviving Spouse Virtual Chapter since its inception. She said it has been a wonderful link for her to learn about current military issues, along with the MOAA website. Her goal in life is to help all surviving spouses work through complicated military issues, learn about their benefits, and to specifically provide assistance for those in a second marriage. 

Cheryl Toland is relatively new to the work of a surviving spouse liaison — appointed to her position in 2019. She became well-informed and busy immediately. She currently serves as third vice president of the Mount Rainier Chapter and is the representative for Wreaths Across America. She is also a member of the Governor’s Veterans Affairs Advisory Committee. She is the first person of contact for those members who have lost a spouse, providing information and support. She posts information on the chapter’s Facebook page about topics such as VA aid and attendance and VA caregivers support programs in addition to other VA programs of interest to her chapter members. She is currently taking classes from TAPS about their benefits and has been trained in the VA Caregiver Support Mentor program. Recently, she was appointed as the surviving spouse liaison for the Washington Council of Chapters. She says her goal is to prepare “spouses to be surviving spouses before it is time for them to be survivors.”

How lucky MOAA is to have such dedicated, knowledgeable, and caring surviving spouses to ensure that valuable information is available along with a great support system. We are confident these special surviving spouses will always shine and never stop serving. 

Read past Surviving Spouse Corners. 

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 Greater St. Louis Chapter staffed a booth at the Missouri State Fair Military Appreciation Day on Aug. 15. Chapter members handed out information about MOAA to attendees.

The Southeastern North Carolina Chapter held its annual Junior ROTC scholarship presentations earlier this summer and presented eight graduating seniors with scholarships valued at $900 each. This is the 20th year the chapter has presented scholarships to graduating seniors. Eighty-nine students have received scholarships totaling $110,700 during this time.

During the Green Valley (Ariz.) Chapter’s annual Food for the Troops event in July, the chapter raised over $1,500 and collected approximately 140 lbs. of food donations to support the young airmen of the 162nd Fighter Wing, Air National Guard.

Members of the Southwest Virginia Chapter served on the host committee and participated in an appreciation event in August at the Salem Memorial Baseball Stadium honoring veterans and brain injury survivors and their families. In addition, chapter members participated in the massing of the colors of veteran and military service organizations during the Salem Red Sox Military Appreciation night Sept. 18.

National MOAA Travel Schedule

Here are the councils and chapters MOAA leaders will be visiting over the next few months.

Please note: We are aware of the uncertainty surrounding the resurgence of the COVID-19 virus. We are still planning to execute scheduled chapter visits and continue to schedule visits as requests come in. Our rule of thumb at this point (subject to change) is to make the visit only if all required/appropriate safety measures are in place AND the traveler is fully vaccinated and comfortable with the trip. Chapters with scheduled visits are requested to inform Council and Chapter Affairs of the local conditions and safety requirements one week prior to the visit.

Contact the associated chapter if you would like to attend any of the following scheduled visits:

• Oct. 5, Virginia Council of Chapters, Williamsburg, Lt. Gen. Dana T. Atkins, USAF (Ret), MOAA president and CEO; Capt. Jim Carman, USN (Ret), vice president, Council/Chapter and Member Support; and Col. Dan Merry, USAF (Ret), vice president, Government Relations
• Oct. 9, Georgia Council of Chapters, Fort Benning, Lt. Gen. Dana T. Atkins, USAF (Ret), MOAA president and CEO; Gail Joyce, MOAA board of directors (BoD); Capt. Frank Michael, USN (Ret), program director, Council and Chapter Affairs (CCA)
• Oct. 16, retiree appreciation day, New London, Conn., virtual, Capt. Paul Frost, USN (Ret), program director, Financial and Benefits Education/Counseling/Veterans Services
• Oct. 20, Fort Knox Area (Ky.) Chapter, Fort Knox, Rear Adm. Tom Jurkowsky, USN (Ret), MOAA BoD
• Oct. 22, Charleston Chapter (SC), Charleston, Lt. Col. Shane Ostrom, USAF (Ret), program director, Financial and Benefits Education/Counseling/Veterans Services
• Oct. 26, Greater Baton Rouge Area (La.) Chapter, Baton Rouge, Capt. Frank Michael, USN (Ret), program director, CCA
• Oct. 28, Central Virginia Chapter, Keswick, Lt. Gen. Dana T. Atkins, USAF (Ret), MOAA president and CEO, and Capt. Erin E. Stone JAGC, USN (Ret), senior director, CCA
• Oct. 28, Alamo (Texas) Chapter, San Antonio, Col. Dan Merry, USAF (Ret), vice president, Government Relations
• Oct. 28, Sumner (Tenn.) Chapter, Hendersonville, Col. Don Thompson, USAF (Ret), MOAA BoD
• Oct. 30, Arkansas Council of Chapters, Conway, Lt. Gen. Dana T. Atkins, USAF (Ret), MOAA president and CEO
• Nov. 5, Albuquerque Chapter, Albuquerque, Capt. Erin E. Stone JAGC, USN (Ret), senior director, CCA
• Nov. 5, retiree appreciation day, Naval Station Everett, virtual, Capt. Paul Frost, USN (Ret), program director, Financial and Benefits Education/Counseling/Veterans Services
• Nov. 6, South Carolina Council of Chapters, Aiken, Col. Shane Ostrom, USAF (Ret), program director, Financial and Benefits Education/Counseling
• Nov. 6, Oklahoma Council of Chapters, Norman, Capt. Erin E. Stone JAGC, USN (Ret), senior director, CCA
• Nov. 9, Green Country, Tulsa, Capt. Erin E. Stone JAGC, USN (Ret), senior director, CCA
• Nov. 10, Southwest Oklahoma Chapter, Lawton, Capt. Erin E. Stone JAGC, USN (Ret), senior director, CCA
• Nov. 10, Cumberland Valley (Pa.) Chapter, Carlisle, Capt. Frank Michael, USN (Ret), program director, CCA
• Nov. 11, MOAA-East Iowa Waterloo, Waterloo, Capt. Erin E. Stone JAGC, USN (Ret), senior director, CCA
• Nov. 12, North Carolina Council of Chapters, Raleigh, Capt. Jim Carman, USN (Ret), vice president, Council/Chapter and Member Support
• Nov. 18, Palm Springs (Calif.) Chapter, Palm Springs, Capt. Erin E. Stone JAGC, USN (Ret), senior director, CCA
• Nov. 19-20, Leadership Workshop, San Diego California, various
• Nov. 30, Historic Mayport (Fla.) Chapter, Mayport, Capt. Frank Michael, USN (Ret), program director, CCA