--Non-Voting Members Present:

Col. William Gavitt, USAF [Ret.], Past President/MOAA Board of Directors
Col. Robert White, USMC [Ret.], Budget and Finance Chairman
Col. Arthur Isensee, USMC [Ret.], Treasurer
Cmdr. Earl Gustafson, USN [Ret.], Secretary

The meeting was called to order by the president at 1:25 p.m. Stumpf led the assembly in the pledge of allegiance. The invocation was led by Burke. Burke made welcoming remarks.

The roll of voting members was called. It was noted that Enos held Sammons' proxy. It was determined that a quorum was present. Non-voting members were acknowledged.

The minutes of the ExComm meeting of Sept. 30, 2004 were considered for approval. Isensee submitted an amendment in the form of a corporate resolution [Attachment A] directing the establishment of accounts with the March Federal Credit Union [now known as the March Community Credit Union], and procedures regarding those accounts. Motion for approval of minutes as amended was made by Stumpf and seconded by Ashurst. Motion carried unanimously.

The treasurer presented the final report as of December 31, 2004 [Attachment B] and the interim report as of February 26, 2005 [Attachment C]. Ashurst invited attention to the fact that CAL-MOAA committed $1,000 to the support of the legislative advocate in the minutes of the ExComm meeting of May 22, 2004. After discussion the consensus was that the chair direct the treasurer to send a check for $1,000 to the California State Commanders Veterans Council CSCVC] for purposes of support of the legislative advocate.

A motion was made by Ashurst and seconded by Talmadge to accept the annual audit report for 2004 [Attachment D]. Motion carried unanimously.

The Year 2005 CAL-MOAA budget as revised February 11, 2005 was considered. After review and discussion the item for Legislative Support in 2005 was increased from $400 to $600 and a new line item in Category Expense was established, i.e., 629 Legislative Support - CSCVC $200.00. In addition, the chair will submit a request for a grant from the Military Retiree Benefit Foundation [MRBF] for $1,000 for the purposes of legislative advocacy. A motion to approve the revised budget [Attachment E] was made by Ashurst and seconded by Stumpf. Motion carried unanimously.

Gavitt reported that "Storming the Hill" will take place the first week in April. Emphasis will be on improving survivors? benefits and equity for the Guard and Reserve. He reported he was installed as a national director in October in Nashville. His committee assignment is Council and Chapter Affairs. There are 106,000 national members over 80 years of age out of 370,000. There were 26,000 new members with a loss of over 30,000. MOAA is recognized as a leader in the Military Coalition. Gavitt commented on MOAA's Member Service Center which is staffed to answer questions called in on an immediate basis. It is for any member of any service and of any rank. If they don?t have an answer immediately they will call back.

Burke called for Area Director reports.

--Area 1 Enos reporting for Sammons:
• Chapters are still fairly healthy although struggling with recruiting and finances. There will not be any support for a dues increase. The Army JROTC Program at Elsie Allen High School in Santa Rosa is in serious jeopardy for causes related to State of California finances. Sammons has been working with Redwood Empire Chapter and the program but only succeeded in postponing decision.
  
  Sammons suggests detaching Marin County and Solano County Chapters from Area 1 and attaching them to the Bay Area 2. This will shift the Area 1 "flag" further to the north and east where it probably should have been. Sonoma County adjoins the Bay but with its expanded Sub Chapter and the inclusion of other counties makes it appropriate to remain as is. Sammons will be a candidate for vice president.

--Area 2 Enos reporting:
• --Silicon Valley Chapter:
• Membership down 10 percent over last year; now engaged in serious membership drive. Finances adequate for operations. February 2005 awarded four (4) $500 scholarships. Will award ROTC medals in May 2005. Will not support CAL-MOAA dues increase. February luncheon national speaker, Cmdr. Katherine Tracy, on benefits/personal affairs attracted 110. Direct mail letters with newsletter; one response of 38; national mailing list, ten of 400 plus. Average age in chapter is 79. Chapter meetings at the Ramada Inn.


• --San Francisco Chapter:
• Having serious difficulty; might be candidate for chapter rescue. President having difficulty finding anyone to serve as officers/board members. When Adm. Ryan visited the chapter the attendance numbered 45. January luncheon attracted 32; speaker didn?t show; Enos spoke 20 minutes on CAL-MOAA. Difficulty putting out effective newsletter.


• --Santa Cruz Chapter:
• Doing well; President Jay Balzer well liked and highly respected. January installation dinner meeting attracted 55; Enos did installation of officers, spoke on CAL-MOAA. Chapter newsletter outstanding, very effective; mails 103 copies per month. Just completed membership drive with mailing to National MOAA members in local area with follow up phone call; sent out 66 letters and picked up three new members to date. Will not support CAL-MOAA dues increase. Appeals to CAL-MOAA: help chapters in trouble with advice and counsel, coaching, help with newsletter, setting up scholarship programs - spend CAL-MOAA money to help put out chapter newsletters, set up phone trees to get out the membership, get good speakers. Use some of the financial reserves to strengthen chapters. Wants fall meeting in the North/Monterey; not interested in cruise ships.


• --Contra Costa Chapter:
• Capt. Lee Rosenberg, USN, an active duty officer now J-5 at Coast Guard Island, making a significant contribution. New treasurer in place; now need secretary; having difficulty obtaining new leaders. Nineteen chapter members donated to scholarship fund; chapter awards high-dollar scholarships.


• --Monterey Chapter:
• Chapter doing well; 300 members. Supports veterans cemetery at former Fort Ord.

--Area 3 Faul reporting:
• Ventura County and Central Coast Chapters doing well. Santa Barbara Chapter meeting regularly with Mike Kwan contributing as treasurer and newsletter editor. No recent contact with Santa Maria-Lompoc Chapter but it is operating well. Recently held a mixer at Vandenberg AFB during which they signed up some active duty officers.

--Area 4 No report:

--Area 5 Talmadge reporting:
• Chapter membership numbers are down. West Los Angeles is a problem chapter. Need continued effort on the part of the chapters. No problem obtaining speakers.

--Area 6 Ashurst reporting:
• Chapters in reasonably good shape. No enthusiasm for increase in dues. Orange County Chapter maintaining membership, had Congresswoman Sanchez who is pro-retiree for speaker this past month. Next month will have an assemblyman representing Irvine as speaker. Over 25 percent of Orange County Chapter members contributed to 75th anniversary scholarship drive. Golden West Chapter planning a presentation by the MOAA travel group on Mar. 26. Other chapters doing well with minor retention and leadership problems.

--Area 7 Zimmerman reporting:
• SW Riverside County had change in leadership with Bob Hillery replacing Dick Ritz who moved out of state. Chapters have problems common to all chapters. Heads chapter where average age is mid-80s. Discussed efforts to find meeting place that is receptive to chapter meetings and may use catering for meals. Breakfast group outdraws regular meetings because of different type of speakers. Discussed ways of educating non-members on MOAA and the idea of giving free chapter memberships and free meals to prospects.

--Area 8 Cahill reporting [by email]:
• On Saturday, March 5, 2005, MOAA Travel will host 150 members of the Region VIII Chapter members for lunch and a tour of the cruise ship, Oosterdam, in San Diego. Invitations were received early last week and will fill up rapidly. The Annual Joint Chapters luncheon will be hosted by the Miramar Chapter on Sept. 17, 2005. The event will be held at the Marine Corps Air Station, Miramar Officers Club. The guest speaker will be announced at a later date. Some Chapters are having a problem with numbers of members attending Chapter membership lunches or dinners. The O clubs in this region have either closed or have priced themselves out of reach. The civilian venues are requiring a certain number of guests, quite high, for any good rates on the menu. In order to keep the costs reasonable, some Chapters are joining with other service clubs to keep the cost down and meet the required numbers. Silver Strand is having joint meeting with the Coronado Council of the Navy League [we both have many cross over members in the city] and will try the concept on a quarterly basis. We will expect to double the numbers attending a meeting. Silver Strand Chapter, under the leadership of 2nd Vice President, Maj.Gen. Bob Butcher, has had significant success in recruiting new members. Gen. Butcher took the National list of non-chapter members, reduced the list to the top 100 potential candidates and wrote them all a personal letter, outlining Chapter member benefits. His efforts resulted in 16 new members, with 3 more promised. This is not a large number to some Chapters, but to Silver Strand, percentage wise, it is a huge boost. All Chapters report Chapter Officers slates are filled, and the dues are flowing in as expected. Region VIII has been fortunate to have Maj.Gen. Bob Butcher agreed to serve as Vice President of the Region. The secretary is Mrs. Flecia Brodien.

Out of regular order, Item 1 under New Business was taken up. Enos reporting for Sammons on the status of proposed chapter on Coast Guard Island, Alameda. He stated that there may be a reluctance on the part of the Coast Guard for fear of committing some type of ethical breach. National MOAA, and others, have provided support by enumerating other cases where MOAA chapters have met using government facilities. After some delay, on Feb. 17, Sammons, Enos and national director Warren MacDonald met with the RADM Breckinridge and staff at Coast Guard Island. Staff legal officer commented that MOAA is not considered to be in the same organizational category as the Navy League and is therefore looked upon in a different light. The Admiral declared she would investigate the matter further. On Feb. 23, the Coast Guard suggested that MOAA write to Coast Guard G1 stating a request for chapter formation in national terms. There was further discussion regarding meeting sites such as the Marines Memorial Club and the facilities at Coast Guard Island.

Under Old Business, Items 1 and 2, Isenseee discussed bylaws changes, methods for increasing income, the requirement for using insured accounts for funds, past and projected decline in membership and rationale for budget. See Finance Report [Attachment F]. Burke asked Area Directors to educate their Chapters as to the need to change bylaws to permit greater flexibility in investments and to consider whether or not a dues change is needed. The investment policy change would be acted on at the annual meeting in 2005 and the budget change requiring a dues change would be delayed until 2006. Ashurst asked what rationale should be given for a dues increase considering CAL-MOAA has the current amount of money on deposit. White and Ashurst spoke to the need for the ExComm members to emphasize the mission of CAL-MOAA and what it does for the benefit of Chapters and their members.

New Business Item 2, MRBF Funding of Grant Requests, White spoke on the changes in MRBF leadership changes. CAL-MOAA presented three applications for grants during 2005:

• 1. For purchase of a slide projector to provide for presentations of CAL-MOAA and MRBF information throughout the state - $1,122.50. This grant was disapproved. Subsequently, a motion was approved by the MRBF Board to authorize $600 to support the efforts of CAL-MOAA to develop presentations concerning the Council and the MRBF. It was the sense of the MRBF Board that CAL-MOAA should share equally in this project by contributing a $600 share.
• 2. To support hosting and technical support for the web site of CAL-MOAA and web page support to MRBF - $670. The MRBF Board authorized a grant up to $1,000 after expressing the opinion that the project was under funded. The MRBF will continue to maintain its own web site and be linked to the CAL-MOAA web site.
• 3. To sponsor a Legislative Day at the Capitol for leaders of MOAA and other military organizations in 2005 - $2,000. Since this event has been delayed until 2006, the grant request was withdrawn by Burke. White emphasized the availability of funds to support legislative action followed by a discussion of the makeup of the MRBF Board. There is one vacancy on the Board.

Item 6 under New Business - Burke discussed the negotiations with Network Solutions and the difficulty in getting the transfer of the domain name transferred to the new host since Gavitt's address and phone number were listed with the domain registrar. [Webmaster address is ] The CAL-MOAA web site is at http://www.cal-moaa.org. Burke said his own website which has "blog" capability has proven useful in helping surviving widows and can be used for other communications. He anticipates the CAL-MOAA web site will be available in the near future.

National Director Gavitt reported that information on BRAC is available daily from Barry Glickman at Ask to be put on his email distribution list. He cited the case of Florida which is organized to oppose base closings has never lost a base. Another good site for information is http://www.emergencyemail.org.

Time share rentals are available at http://www.afvclub.com. Joe Smith, CVSO for Los Angeles has calendar for various events around Los Angeles. Call Smith at 213-744-4841 for information. California National Guard Association has its convention on March 19 at LaJolla. Lt.Col. Tom Lasser has a good CNGA information email distribution system. Contact him at lassertom@aol com. Gavitt went on to discuss annual competition for newsletters and Chapters. There is now a category for email newsletters.

Item 7 under New Business; Burke discussed plans for annual meeting. Sites discussed included Palm Springs, Monterey, San Luis Obispo and Vandenberg AFB. Factors considered included costs, activities for spouses, ability of some members to devote more than 1 or 2 days and which days of the week were most desirable. Dates with possible conflicts include National MOAA meeting in Nov. 19 in San Antonio and CSCVC on Oct. 15. Next ExComm meeting will be June 18, probably at Vandenberg AFB. Next annual meeting will be Nov. 4, 5 and 6 at a place to be determined.

The meeting was adjourned at 4:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Earl F. Gustafson, CDR, USN Ret.
Secretary CAL-MOAA

Attachments

A. Amendment to Minutes of Sept. 30, 2004 in the form of a Resolution.

B. Final Treasurer?s Report for Dec. 31, 2004

C. Interim Treasurer?s for Feb. 26, 2005

D. Audit Report for 2004

E. Revised Budget for Year 2005

F. Finance Report

--Corporate Resolution

The undersigned certify as follows:
They are the duly elected President and Secretary of Military Officers Association of America, California Council of Chapters, a California corporation and are authorized to certify the following resolutions of the board of directors of the corporation adopted on Sept. 30, 2004.

RESOLVED, that the funds of this corporation be deposited with March Federal Credit Union.

RESOLVED, FURTHER, that the President or Treasurer of this corporation be and hereby is authorized and directed to establish an account(s) with March Federal Credit Union and to deposit the funds of this corporation therein.

RESOLVED, FURTHER, that any officer, employee or agent of this corporation be and hereby is authorized to endorse checks drafts or other evidences of indebtedness made payable to this corporation, but only for the purpose of deposit.

RESOLVED, FURTHER, that all checks, drafts and other instruments obligating this corporation to pay money shall be signed on behalf of this corporation by any one of the following:

--Arthur E. Isensee, Treasurer
--Robert Burke, President
--Lawrence Stumpf, Vice-President

RESOLVED, FURTHER, that March Federal Credit Union be and hereby is authorized to honor and pay any and all checks and drafts of this corporation signed as provided herein.

Under penalty of perjury, the foregoing resolutions are true and correct.

Dated: Dec. 13, 2004

--For Amendments and Financial Reports, please download the complete PDF file.