Wnc Moaa Board Meeting

Wnc Moaa Board Meeting

WNC MOAA BOARD MEETING

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21, 2015

Members Present: John Knapp, Spence Campbell, Jeff Snyder, Don Jackman, Mike Covell, Bob Smith (USMC), Mickey Parnell, Frank Ortiz, Bob Lair, Paul Sutherland, and Herb Mensch.

The meeting convened at 1200 at the House of Flags in Columbus, NC with President John Knapp presiding. John Knapp thanked Paul Sutherland, Frank Ortiz, and Bob Lair for inviting the Board to have our quarterly meeting at the House of Flags. John also thanked Spence Campbell for organizing the chapter’s membership meeting in March after the original meeting was cancelled due to inclement weather.

The board approved the previous board meeting’s minutes as submitted. John Knapp reminded the board of the upcoming general membership BBQ to be held on 8 May at 1600 at the Hendersonville Country Club. Mickey Parnell will run the registration desk for this meeting in Mike Covell’s absence. John Knapp also reminded the board of the upcoming 2015 NC State Convention to be held in June in Cashiers and encouraged board members to attend. The convention is being co-hosted by the western NC chapter.

President Knapp reported to the board that the chapter has participated in 30+ veteran pinning ceremonies in support of Four Seasons Hospice. Additional chapter members are completing the required training as demand for these ceremonies is exceeding supply at this point. Of note, five members of the Smokey Mountain Satellite are completingtraining which will give the chapter much more capability in the western part of the state.

President Knapp also announced that several chapter members were recognized as winners of MOAA’s 2014 Marvin Harris Communications Awards. In Category III (200-300 chapter members), Karen McKay took top honors in the legislative coverage category. Len Baker was selected as 2nd runner up in Category III for the chapter’s web site.

Other officer reports were given as follows:

First Vice President Spence Campbell: The ice cream social at the VA Hospital on 7 February went well with 10 chapter members present. The chapter is planning another event in late summer/fall. Spence Campbell reported to the board that he had received no response from Carolina Village re the chapter’s offer to meet with veteran residents similar to the chapter’s meeting at Lake Pointe Landing. Spence asked the board for other suggestions re retirement communities that we could offer to visit with veteran residents.

Second Vice President Jeff Snyder: MOAA JROTC leadership awards have been shipped to all 17 JROTC units in western NC. Chapter representatives are slated to present at 9 units, so far. The chapter has submitted two nominees for the NC Council of Chapters JROTC Instructor of Year program; MSgt (ret) Mike Jensen from E Henderson HS and Maj (ret) Russ Arrmentrout from Rutherfordton-Spindale Central HS. Jeff Snyder proposed to the board that E Henderson HS received $500 from the chapter to help defray costs associated with the unit’s participation in the Converse College Leadership Camp. The board approved this amount last year. (NOTE: The board approved this proposal electronically on 14 May). The chapter continues to support the Veterans Restoration Quarters on the 4th Wednesday of each month by prepping/serving the lunch meal. The three crew leads (Knapp, Jackman, Snyder) report good chapter participation.

Levels of Excellence Report: Don Jackman reported to the board that the chapter would be submitting a levesl of excellence package for 2014. Suspense for package submittal is 1 Jun.

Smoky Mountain Satellite Update: Brent Ramsey submitted a written report that is attached to these minutes.

Treasurer’s Report: Mike Covell presented the proposed 2015 budget for the chapter. There was a lengthy discussion re the costs associated with the quarterly membership luncheons and whether there was a need to increase the meal price. The board approved an increase to $25 per person, effective with the November luncheon. John Knapp proposed deleting the car wash tickets as a budget item due to poor response. Jeff Snyder proposed increasing the budget line item for JROTC from proposed $600 to $1500 to enable the chapter to increase our support for local JROTC units. There was a discussion re the increasing costs of producing a paper chapter newsletter. See the item under new business re a proposed way ahead. After a lengthy discussion, the proposed 2015 budget (as amended during the discussion) was approved by the board.

There were no reports from service directors, legislative affairs, personal affairs or auxiliary liaison.

New Business: John Knapp reminded board members that May is military spouse appreciation month. He plans to recognize spouses at the 8 May general membership meeting/BBQ. Board members were reminded that information re how to get ID cards in the local area for retirees and their spouses continues to be provided in the monthly newsletter.

The board discussed the process for forming a nominating committee for next term’s officers and board members. The chapter’s bylaws require a nominating committee be formed. After discussion, the following board members were selected as the nominating committee: Mickey Parnell, Don Jackman, Bob Smith (USMC), Ken Hadeen, and Herb Mensch

The board agreed to table a discussion re the future of the chapter newsletter (paper or digital?) until the Jul board meeting.

Next board meeting: 22 Jul at the Hendersonville Country Club (NOTE: Board meeting subsequently changed to 23 Jul, same location per John Knapp)

The meeting adjourned at approximately 2:00.

Jeff Snyder, 2nd Vice President (for Marleen Varner)

19 April 2015

Smoky Mountains Satellite Update

  • A founding member of the satellite and member of WNC chapter, Major Frank Burda will be moving to Detroit in the near future. We are actively recruiting for a replacement to the organizing board. The remaining board members are Chuck Luce, Karen McKay, John Kummer, Jon Boettcher, Bill Gunn and Brent Ramsey. The organizing committee will meet 24 April to plan the next full meeting.
  • The Satellite met March 26th in Maggie Valley with 21 in attendance. We had two guest speakers, CAPT Stephen Allred, Haywood county VA Officer, and Robin Minick, Haywood Regional Medical Center Hospice.
  • To date the satellite has 5 volunteers for the We Honor Veterans Program. Haywood hospice is offering training on 27 April and 2 members will receive training at that time. Two other volunteers have arranged separately with Haywood hospice and Care Partners respectively to receive training. CAPT Michael Toedt, USPHS is assisting Brent Ramsey in developing relationships and coordinating training for satellite volunteers out west.
  • The dates for the remaining meetings in 2015 are:

May 28

July 23

September 24

November 19

  • The satellite has decided to seek membership in the Haywood county Veterans Council. Jon Boettcher has the lead and will be the representative to that board if our application is accepted. This will enable us to more effectively coordinate with other veterans organizations in the area. John Kummer is pursuing a similar initiative in Jackson county.
  • 3 satellite members (John Kummer, Bill Gunn, and Jack Presson) have either presented the MOAA Leadership award at local HS JROTC events or are scheduled to do so in the future.
  • The satellite has decided to purchase our own American flag for use at meetings. An anonymous donor has stepped forward with an offer to pay for the flag.
  • A satellite representative will attend the NC MVP meeting in May at Flat Rock.
  • Two satellite members David McCracken and Tom Blount have volunteered to assist with academy recruitment and assessment.