Your Chapter and Foundation Boards met last week (July 17th) to review our activities for the first half of 2024 and to plan for the remainder of the year. The minutes of that meeting have been posted separately and I solicit your comments on the actions we took.

I am pleased to report that we enjoyed two successful events thus far. We awarded three $1,000 scholarships to outstanding graduating Junior ROTC cadets continuing their education and military training at the university level. We were especially honored to have as our guest speaker Dr. Clinton Robinson, the Wake County Public School System’s Chief of Staff. We also had a great afternoon outing at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park (although the outcome of the game was not what we had hoped for). Thank you to the Board members who organized these events, Bob Penny for the scholarship dinner and Chris Froeschner for the ballgame. You can see more of the details of these events in “Events”, elsewhere on the website.

Going forward, please put our October 8th dinner on your calendar. Grier Martin, a Life Member of our Chapter and recently appointed as Director of the NC Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, will be our guest speaker. Referring to our Board action, we want to offer other veterans organizations an opportunity to join us for the evening as co-sponsors. If any Chapter member is also active in the VFW or American Legion, for example, please take the initiative and have your Post leadership contact me directly. On December 14th, the annual Wreaths Across America celebration will be held; please hold this date, as we are hoping to organize a meaningful Chapter participation.

Sharp-eyed members may have recognized me pictured in the recent MOAA Magazine meeting with Congressman’s Davis’s staff as part of the annual Advocacy in Action (AIA). I cannot emphasize strongly enough my commitment and the need for every member to be involved in addressing our legislative agenda, designed to strengthen recruitment and retention efforts and safeguard benefits. As I write, the two houses of our Congress are at an impasse over military spending programs. I urge every member to log on to the MOAA website and register with the Legislative Action Center to receive up to date information and address your concerns personally with your elected representatives.

Last, I ask that you be on the lookout for upcoming changes to our website. We will highlight MOAA-affiliated businesses that provide discounted services to members. I also call your attention to an initiative to include corporate sponsors for our Scholarship Foundation. If you know of a local business that might be interested in supporting our Scholarship Foundation, please contact Henry Scheller (use the "Contact Us" page on this website).

I hasten to add that in November, we are obligated under our Bylaws to present the slate of officers for 2025. Frankly, your current officers have held on now for years beyond their original commitments and would surely enjoy some relief. Please contact me directly. Enjoy the remainder of the summer. We’ll swap vacation stories at our October 8th meeting. Plan on being there!

Herb