August is here; the last full month of summer before school starts in September and eyes start turning to football season. I want to wish the United States Coast Guard a 233rd Happy Birthday on the 4th of August. In 1782 the Purple Heart Medal was established on August 7th and the Vietnam War was officially declared in 1964 on that date.
I want to officially welcome FORCM Garry McClure as the new President of NCOA. Garry has been a member of the Rogue Chapter for a number of years and will do an outstanding job representing NCOA. A thank you also goes out to FORCM Paul Kingsbury, the outgoing NCOA President, for your leadership and being the driving force behind our strategic plan.
Last month the Association met in San Antonio and I am pleased to announce that your Rogue Chapter was named the Large Chapter of the Year again. That makes 5 out of the last 6 years and that would have only been possible due to the hard work of many of you. Rogue Chapter had 12 delegates at the conference. I also want to acknowledge Trails End Auxiliary in Portland for being selected the Auxiliary of the Year. Oregon Chapters did well!
Rogue Chapter is still actively leading the charge to award Medallions. As of the conference, our chapter has awarded 730 Medallions which is approximately one half of all the Medallions awarded across the entire Association. Great Job! Thanks goes out to Ken Wilson, Audie Cooper, & Susan Wetzel who carried on with the mission while I was in San Antonio.
Do one of you have 1 to 2 hours a month to be involved with our legislative team? NCOA’s legislative presence in Washington DC is one of the corner stones of our existence. The legislative team meets via Zoom so you can perform this task anywhere that you have internet access. Please help as this is extremely important. If interested, let me know at the email below.
There is a way to help NCOA’s footprint grow without costing the recruit or the Association anything. If you know veterans that care about what happens to our benefits but don’t want to join, send them to https://ncoausa.org and go to the bottom of page one and click on “Become and Advocate”. They will be counted as a member for legislative bragging rights but will receive no member benefits other than receiving the twice a month NCOA Advocate via email. That membership gives our legislative team more numbers to claim in Washington when fighting for our benefits. It also allows us to claim a larger number when seeking sponsorships from the corporate world to support programs important to our members. Please pass the word.
If you have any ideas or suggestions, either contact me at retiredveteran89@outlook.com and I can assure you that your leadership will take note.
Strength in Unity & Leadership By Example,
MCPO (SCW) Terry M. Haines, USNR Retired
Chairman, Rogue Chapter #1260