President’s Message

Presidents Message June 2018

The month of May has been a challenge for your Board of Directors.  I returned home from an extended trip and almost immediately learned that Larry Rathbun’s medical issues were significantly worse resulting in his resignation as the President of BCMOAA.  Larry’s wife, Charelene, had also endured medical issues of her own and now Larry needs her additional attention.  For those reasons Charlene also resigned her position as 1st Vice President of BCMOAA.  As 1st VP Charlene was not only a one person Programs Committee but she was singlehandedly managing publicity of all events.  Additionally, Max Mattox, the second Vice President recently experienced an unexplained sudden loss of vision in one eye.  This and other medical issues have resulted in Max’s resignation from the Board.  The last shoe to fall in May was the resignation of Loretta Ballow as Secretary of the Chapter.  That is the unpleasant news but the good news is that several of our active members quickly stepped up to fill the gaps.  On May 14th the BCMOAA Board met to discuss and make plans to keep the Chapter moving forward.  For the remainder of 2018 year the Board has approved the following members to serve on the Board of Directors in the following positions:

President                Jerry Davis

1st VP                      Frank Connell

2nd VP                     Vacant

Secretary                Sid Vogel (also Legislative Liaison)

Treasurer               Dennis Koppersmith

Director                  Jerry Morrison

Director                  Jim Parnell (Roster Management)

Director                  Elenor Parker

Director                  Jim Wallace

IT Chair                  Ken Cooper

Publicity                 Brenda Wallace

Special Projects      Jack Gifford

Our situation will not be totally resolved anytime soon but I can assure you this Board lives the motto “Never Stop Serving.”  If you would like to learn more or have any questions please feel free to call me or any of the members of the Board, contact information is available on our website (www.bcmoaa.org)

Lunch Meeting May 17th – Only three days following the Board Meeting a very successful lunch meeting was held at the Fairhope VFW.  Our speaker, Wayne Boulware, a retired Army Chaplin living in Orange Beach, talked about his experiences as a married Army officer with children volunteering to go to Viet Nam and his experiences there.

Email Notification Changes – With the resignation of Charlene Rathbun our Email messages notifying our members of upcoming events and other information will be coming from an ATT Email account.  If you have not received any Email messages in the past few weeks please send Jim Parnell an Email message so we can identify/correct the error.  Jim’s Email is jparnell38@att.net.

Future Group Trip – In the coming months you will be hearing about an overnight trip to The National WWII Museum in New Orleans.

This past year has been an uphill effort for our young chapter and I don’t for one minute believe this is the last challenge but I pledge to you that our Board will always live by the MOAA moto of NEVER STOP SERVING.  BC/MOAA will soon activate the Nominating Committee for the 2019 slate of officers and as away it is very important to keep new blood flowing into our organization so please accept the opportunity to serve if asked.  Thank you for your continued support and I wish you and your families a great summer.

Jerry

President’s Message August 2017

In July our speaker, Major Andrew Kolb, USMC, spoke about the 3rd Force Recon.  His subject was very interesting, but it did remind us that we (the military) have a language all of our own.  Most of the military members seemed to comprehend his presentation, but I can only guess what the spouses thought.  They showed great restraint because I saw none of them asleep.
To keep things interesting, we were informed, after we arrived at the Yacht Club, that the gate to the parking lot was lowered and would not be raised for us even though the lot was virtually empty.  Negotiations to resolve this issue are in progress.   The November meeting is “Toys for Tots” sponsored by the USMC.  It is scheduled to be held at the Fairhope Yacht Club if the parking lot issue can be resolved.
The August meeting was early in the month to accommodate our speaker,  Representative Bradley Byrne, who enlightened us on happenings “Inside the Beltway”.  He was well received by more tan 70 members and guests.
Our September meeting will be held at The Gift Horse in Foley.  The “Team River Runner”  the organization will make a presentation.  “Team River Runner” envisions a national network which creates innovative paddling programs designed to assist with the the recovery of those injured while serving our country.
Charlene has been busy with Communications.  She has created a Facebook page (www.facebook.com/BCMOAA.org) and a Twitter account (https:/twitter.com/BaldwinMOAA).  She is making an attempt to include younger active duty, retired and veteran officers.  Please join both sites to be informed of current military/governmental news and upcoming events.

Respectfully,

Larry Rathbun

We Continue to Serve

President’s Message July 2017

On June 15, BCMOAA hosted SACMOAA for the third annual joint meeting.  Charlene worked with Nick Matranga (President of SACMOAA) and Tammy Wintzell to ensure a smooth operation and provide a great atmosphere and food at the Venue.  The menu was modified, by making it Italian instead of our usual fish and chicken. Thanks to Charlene (1st VP) for handling the logistics and making this a special occasion.

Following dinner, we sat entranced as William C. (Billy) McDonald III spoke to us about his father and his association with General Claire Chennault and the Flying Tigers.  A history lesson made very interesting.  Billy has written a book concerning his father’s aerial successes against the Japanese with the Flying Tigers.  McDonald had copies of his book, Shadow Tiger, which he autographed. Needless to say, sales were brisk.

Jerry Davis, our Immediate Past President, is preparing for an extended cruise.  It is quite strange that a retired Army officer has such a love for the water. I have asked him to serve again, by selecting the Nominating Committee for 2018.  Nominations of the proposed slate of officers of the Board of Directors will be held on October 19th, the candidates will be presented to the Members for election on November 16th.  The officers will then be installed at the January 18, 2018 meeting.

Respectfully,

Larry Rathbun

We Continue to Serve

 Presidents Message December 2017

It seems highly unlikely that you can imagine the thrill of leading such an august group as BCMOAA. Many of you have 4-5 years helping to build BCMOAA. Some of you have 0-2 years with BCMOAA. It makes absolutely no difference. We are us, and we stick together, helping each other when possible. Next month will have more days, so this will be more inclusive.

We now have 121 Regular members and 1 Honorary member. Let’s keep up the momentum and add 20 – 25 more this year

They also serve who only sit and wait.

NEVER STOP SERVING

Larry Rathbun

 

Presidents Message November 2016

November – has been a busy month for all of us with our Baldwin County Chapter’s
annual business meeting & Dinner plus Thanksgiving. I was very pleased that we had 80 attend our first annual business meeting. The budget for 2017 was approved and our annual dues stayed at $15.00. Additional the slate of officers provided by the Nominating Committee was approved with the following officers:

President
1st VP
2nd VP
Secretary
Treasurer
Director
Director
Director		 Larry Rathbun
Richard Geiger
Jerry Morrison
Jim Beck
Frank Connell
Chuck Dumas
Patrice Tiggs
Richard Jaehne

As the past president I will remain on the board until Larry becomes the Immediate Past President.

2017 Membership Drive – our chapter continued to grow through 2016 and as we look to 2017 we know we will continue to attract new members but our #1 goal is to retain all our current members. You have already received an Email from Jerry Morrison requesting your renewals for 2017 and I want to emphasize that if you have not paid your 2017 dues please go to the “Join MOAA” tab on this web site and on the 4th paragraph down find the purple lettering BALDWIN COUNTY MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION link. Print this form and if you are renewing, it is not necessary to complete all the blanks except for information that has changed. Your name, signature, and date are sufficient. Send your application and check (made out to BC-MOAA) to the address on the application. December is a busy month so I ask you to renew now before the Christmas season begins to dominate your lives. Remember your BC-MOAA dues run from January to December but your National MOAA dues begin and end with the anniversary month of your initial membership. National will notify you when those are payable.

December – due to the significant amount of activities surrounding Christmas and the end of the year, BC-MOAA will not hold a meeting in December but please mark your calendars for January 19th as our dinner meeting will be at the Fairhope Yacht Club and our officers will be installed. The speaker for the evening is being finalized and will be included in future Emails.

IRS 501(c)(19) Approval – we just received a confirmation letter from the IRS informing us that our Baldwin County Chapter’s application for 501(c)(19) status has been approved as of November 10. This means that any contributions to BC-MOAA on or after November 10, 2016 are fully tax deductible. I sincerely thank Bill Scully for his assistance in completing this application.

VFW’s Honor Guard – many of our MOAA members continue to provide this important support to funeral services of veterans in Baldwin County. There is a real need for additional Honor Guard members and I would encourage you to talk with any of those now serving to offer your support.

Email Notification Challenges – we continue to experience a few problems with Email notification of some of our members. I will be working with Charlene Rathbun in December to find and correct the problem. This may involve some test Email messages and your timely response to those messages to correct the errors so please be patient and understanding. If you do not receive any of these messages please send me an Email message at jdjpdavis@aol.com.

Future Group Trips – In the coming months you will be asked about your personal interest in some BC-MOAA group trips. Two possible trips are: an overnight trip to The National WW2 Museum in New Orleans, and a 5 or 7 day Cruise from Mobile.

For the past 5+ years I have been sincerely honored to serve as your group, satellite, and finally chapter president. I do not plan to fade away but it is important to keep new blood flowing into our organization and I pledge to you that I will always live by the MOAA moto of NEVER STOP SERVING. Thank you for your continued support and I wish you and your families the best Christmas ever and a most prosperous new year.

See you in 2017,

Jerry Davis