KEY ANNUAL MEETING GETS UNDERWAY MARCH 31ST

It was a crisp, cool day in Washington D.C., the cherry blossoms were in full bloom, there were large numbers of tourists on the streets, and in Alexandria, VA the colorful Colonial-era houses were bathed in bright sunlight.

It was a perfect time to conduct the 2008 MOAA Council Presidents’ Seminar set for the Crowne Plaza Old Town Hotel, Monday-Thursday, March 31st to April 3rd.

Council presidents from MOAA’s 35 councils, selected chapter presidents from states without a council , most board members, and MOAA officers and staffers were all in attendance. The key purpose of the meeting was to show strong grassroots support for the most important legislative goals during the annual “Storming the Hill” event set for Wednesday, April 2nd.

And it was an occasion to brief the presidents on a wide range of issues as well as services offered by MOAA’s benefits partners.

The seminar opened with an informal reception on Monday evening, March 31st, following a day of travel for many participants. It was a time to meet old friends and make new ones and a time to network, hear about some of the more important issues first hand, get acquainted with MOAA personnel, establish personal and professional working relationships, and talk of California opportunities and challenges and the kinds of support MOAA might provide CAL-MOAA and local chapters.

On Tuesday morning, while MOAA held its board meeting, council and chapter presidents had an opportunity to visit MOAA partner displays, including those of MOAA Travel, Garrett Financial Planning, Marsh Affinity/Genworth (Long Term Care), the Pentagon Federal Credit Union, and the DOD State Liaison Program. Specific information about these benefits and partners will be provided at a later date. During the morning some of the partners provided large group presentations with MOAA Travel, Garrett Financial Planning, and the Pentagon Federal Credit Union explaining what seem to be extraordinary quality, service, and price values for members.

The afternoon was devoted to preparation for the next morning’s “Storming the Hill” event, with the Government Relations Staff explaining policies and procedures, everything from making an approach to a legislator’s office to photo tips. Team members sat together and made final arrangements for the big day Wednesday.

In the evening several hundred people gathered in the elegant caucus room, Cannon House Office Building, House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. for a very special MOAA awards ceremony honoring Members of Congress who, without regard to political affiliation, have been consistently strong supporters of national defense and the uniformed services community. Some award recipients who made remarks to the crowd were Senator Carl Levin, Senator Saxby Chambliss, Representative Ike Skelton, Representative Vic Snyder, Mr. Jay Ireland of GE Asset Management Company, Mr. Morrill Worcester, President, Worcester Wreath Company, and LTG James T. Scott, USA (Ret), Chairman, Veterans Disability Benefits Commission.

The room was beautifully decorated with tables loaded with fine food. There were MOAA members, their spouses and others, very senior flag and general officers, politicians, and guests everywhere. The casual conversation was pleasant and the awards ceremony impressive. A very nice gesture was to present the Colonel Paul W. Arcari Meritorioous Service Award to Mr. Joel Rubin, Legislative Assistant, Office of Senator Frank Lautenberg and to Mrs. Stacie Oliver, Legislative Assistant in the Offices of Senators Bob Corker and Chuck Hagel. The introduction was made by VADM Norbert R. Ryan, Jr. USN (Ret), MOAA President, and the presentations were made by General Michael P.C. Carns, USAF (Ret), Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Breakfast Wednesday morning was scheduled for oh dark hundred in time to board busses and gather for a group photo at the Reflecting Pool, the Capitol in the background. Look for the photo in a future issue of Military Officer magazine. It was the start of “Storming the Hill” and a full detailed report will be provided later.

Wednesday evening featured a reception followed by the Council Presidents’ Dinner, the highlight of which was a presentation by Congressman Walter B. Jones (R-NC) on the importance of the MOAA mission on Capitol Hill. A photo and more information can be found at http://www.moaa.org/photoessays/storming2008/index.asp. As Jones discussed the issues of military chaplains being restricted in what they say in prayers, he certainly gave evidence of a strong personal Christian faith. He was quick to challenge MOAA to grow in numbers so help can be given armed forces personnel now and those who will serve in the future.

On Thursday morning during a working breakfast, attendees were encouraged by Col Steve Strobridge, USAF-Ret, to organize Chapter Liaisons for Congressional Districts, to get acquainted with legislators and their staffs, develop close professional relationships, and serve as effective local contacts.

During the remainder of Thursday morning there were briefings on marketing principles and practices as related to specific membership and recruitment issues, work of the Benefits Information Department, The Officer Placement Service (TOPS) program, plus a General Counsel overview and Auxiliary Advisory Committee briefing. The morning ended with a 2007 Communication Awards presentation with Admiral Ryan giving awards to councils and chapters representatives winning in the best on-line and print newsletters, best websites, and other categories.

Information about all these programs will be posted to the weblog over the coming weeks and months.

The Thursday luncheon speaker was LTG Michael LaRochelle, USA, G-4 of the Army and in a past assignment Chief, Army Recruiting, who talked of recruiting challenges today. “In 2004, we saw the beginnings of a perfect storm forming,” he said, referring to the shift in U.S. demographics over the past few years. The Army has developed special techniques for dealing with recruiting problems although the recruitment and retention of officers, specifically Army captains, is a continuing problem.

The afternoon, as the conference moved to a close, was dedicated to a “Crosstalk” open forum led by Council and Chapter Affairs Director Col Lee Lange II, USMC (Ret). He was quick to reinforce MOAA’s desire to assist the councils and local chapters and in so doing asked the presidents to cooperate with certain administrative requirements such as assign certain as yet unassigned zip code areas to local chapters.

There was plenty of talk about the conference and most stated openly that the Council Presidents’ Seminar was very useful. Some attendees left for home or other destinations almost immediately; others remained for a pleasant informal dinner and departure Friday.

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