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Maryland Council (MD MOAA) |
Last Update: Apr 2018
BREAKING NEWS:
See the Legislative Priorities
section below for the final 2018 update from our Legislative Liaison, Annie
Brock.
(12 Apr2018)
All
Maryland MOAA members are invited to attend the 32nd Annual Massing
of the Colors and Memorial Day remembrance ceremony at Fort Meade on 20 May
2018. The ceremony starts at 1430 and will run until about 1630, with a mass
march-on of Colors from area military, ROTC, and Scouting units (plus a Fire
Department or two), a couple of speeches and a concert from The US Army Field
Band. Pre-registration is NOT required – just show up between 1400 and 1415 to
get a good seat. (30 Mar 2018)
New MOAA Pet Insurance announced (19 Mar 2018)
200th
MP Company (MD Army National Guard) to receive National
Guard Unit of the Year Award. (12 Mar 2018)
We
also have a list of the members of the Maryland House
of Delegates Veterans’ Caucus. (8 Feb 2018)
MOAA
has announced new rules for the Levels of Excellence Awards for 2017. Submissions
are due 1 May 2018, and there are limits to how much you can write in response
to the questions. See below for details. (8 Nov 2017)
Click
here
for notes from the Council President on the 2017 Annual Meeting and other items
of interest to the membership. (30 Oct 2017)
We
recently started getting periodic emails from the Howard County Office of
Veterans and Military Families. Follow this link
for the latest information from them.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Welcome to the Web Pages of the Maryland Council of Chapters, an affiliate of the Military Officers Association of America. The Maryland Council was awarded a Five Star Level of Excellence for 2016 (as of August 2017).
The Maryland Council is composed of ten chapters, spread geographically across the state. Here is a list of the Chapters, with links to their individual Web Pages. All Chapters have an informational page here, and some have additional pages, as shown with additional links (Stars indicate the Level of Excellence rating earned by the Chapter for 2016 – as announced in July 2017.):
·
Annapolis – Chapter Web Site
·
* * * * * Ft George G Meade
·
* * * * * Star Spangled Banner – Chapter Web Site (Winner of 5 Star Col Marvin J
Harris Communications Award for 2016, as of 7 Apr 2017)
·
* * * * * General
Smallwood
·
* * * * * Montgomery
County
– Chapter Site at MOAA
·
Southern
Maryland
– Chapter Web Site
·
* * * * * Susquehanna – Chapter Site at MOAA – Chapter Web Site (Winner
of 4 Star Col Marvin J Harris Communications Award for 2016, as of 7 Apr 2017)
·
* * * * * Upper
Potomac
– Chapter Site at MOAA
Council
Officers
Here are the Council officers for 2017 – 2018 (as of 2 Feb 2018):
|
President |
Harvey |
Kaplan |
COL |
USA |
||
|
1st Vice Pres |
Bryon |
Hartzog |
LTC |
USA |
||
|
2nd Vice Pres |
Norton |
Bob |
COL |
USA |
||
|
Treasurer |
Jim |
Campbell |
Capt |
USAF |
||
|
Webmaster |
James |
Shiffrin |
Maj |
USAF |
jim.shiffrin@gmail.com |
|
|
Secretary |
Dave |
Peterson |
CAPT |
NOAA |
||
|
Immed. Past Pres |
Andrew |
Fallon |
Col |
USA |
||
|
Transition Officer |
Jim |
Dittbrenner |
Maj |
USA |
||
|
Legis Liaison |
Annie |
Brock |
CPT |
USA |
||
|
Spouse Liaison |
Naomi |
Kaplan |
||||
|
Chaplain |
Jim |
Campbell |
Capt |
USAF |
||
|
Md Veterans Commissioner |
Brad |
Jewitt |
COL |
USMCR |
bjewitt@msn.com |
|
|
Annapolis |
Andrew |
Fallon |
Col |
USA |
||
|
Montgomery Co |
Dave |
Peterson |
CAPT |
NOAA |
||
|
Ft Meade |
Bryon |
Hartzog |
LTC |
USA |
||
|
Southern MD |
Greg |
Dalke |
CDR |
USN |
dalke@olg.com |
|
|
Gen Smallwood |
Daniel |
Donohue |
COL |
USMC |
||
|
Prince Georges |
Steve |
Regner |
Col |
USAF |
||
|
Susquehanna |
Harry |
Quinn |
LTC |
USA |
||
|
Upper Eastern Shore |
Mike |
Johnson |
CW5 |
USA |
mjnmi1@verizon.net |
|
|
Upper Potomac |
Hugh |
McIlroy |
LTC |
USMC |
germac03@gmail.com |
|
|
Star Spangled |
Tom |
Seybold |
COL |
USA |
||
Here are the Maryland Council Bylaws, last revised in 2008, and reviewed in Dec 2017.
The Council published a set of Goals in 2011 that are still relevant for 2017-2018.
7th
Annual Congressional Luncheon
The 7th Annual Congressional Appreciation Luncheon was held on 13 Sep 2017 in the Rayburn House Office Building. Both Maryland Senators and seven of the eight Representatives attended and spoke to the crowd. Thanks to all who attended.
At the luncheon, MOAA President Lt Gen Dana Atkins, USAF (Ret) presented the Five Star Level of Excellence awards to The Maryland Council of Chapters and to the six winning Chapters. This MOAA.org photo shows Past Council President COL Andy Fallon, USA (Ret) receiving the award for the Council:
Other photos from the event
are available at this
Dropbox link. View the files as a Grid rather than a List to be able to see
the photos (click on the down arrow near the top right corner of the page to
switch between List and Grid). Chapters may use any of them in their
newsletters, attributing them to MOAA.org.
Rep Anthony Brown, 4th
District, was unable to join us at the luncheon, but he did attend the 10 Mar
2018 meeting of the Council of Chapters.
Additionally, MOAA HQ published
an article concerning this luncheon.
MOAA has revised the criteria
for the Levels of Excellence Awards for 2017. The submission date is now 1 May
2018 (rather than 1 March as in past years). Chapters will no longer complete
the objective portion of the rating (percentage of members who are National
members, lists of officers updated, etc.); National will simply pull that
information from their database. View the new Objective
criteria here.
For the Subjective criteria,
Chapter leaders will complete a Word document, with limits to the number of
characters you can write for each answer, and attachments are not allowed! Here
are the Sections of this report:
-
Please describe your chapter’s
level of effort and results concerning the following chapter management
subjects: Grassroots advocacy, Community Engagement, Recruiting and Retention
(there is a page and a half limit for this section).
-
Briefly describe your chapter’s leadership
succession plan
-
Does the chapter have an established personal
affairs program?
-
Describe the chapter’s most significant
achievement of the year (Extra credit)
-
Please identify and briefly describe an above
and beyond management practice or program that you haven’t already covered in
the award submission (Extra credit)
View the complete list of Subjective
criteria here.
The full list of procedures
for submission is available
here. One thing that is missing is the cutoff point total required for the
4-Star or 5-Star Level.
Award for Long-Time Treasurer
At the 10 Mar 2018 Council of
Chapters meeting, we honored CDR Greg Dalke, USN (Ret), for his 14 years as
Treasurer of the Council. Council President COL Harvey Kaplan, USA (Ret),
Presented CDR Dalke with the MOAA Leadership Award, signed by MOAA President Lt
Gen Dana Atkins, USAF (Ret), in recognition of his long service to the Council.
Who Can
Join:
MOAA
membership is open to all current, former, and retired officers of any of the
seven Uniformed Services. Visit the Why Join MOAA
page at the MOAA Web Site for details on the three classes of membership, and
to join.
Council
Calendar
The Council officers and Chapter Presidents meet quarterly, on call of the President. Meetings are currently held at O’Loughlin’s Restaurant, 1258 Bay Dale Drive, Arnold MD 21012, starting at 1130. Here are the recent and upcoming dates, with links to the minutes of each, as they are available (older minutes are available here)
Jan 21, 2017 - Minutes
Mar 4, 2017 - Minutes
June 10, 2017 - Minutes
Sep 9, 2017- Minutes
Dec 9, 2017
Mar 10, 2018
Jun 9, 2018
Editorial
Policy
MOAA, the Maryland Council of Chapters and the individual chapters
in Maryland are non-partisan. Information on this web site relects the position
of the Maryland Council of Chapters only.
Spouse
and Surviving Spouses Newsletter
Attached
are recent newsletters from the Spouse and Surviving Spouse Liasion Officer,
Mrs Naomi Kaplan. (8 Feb 2018)
-
Feb
2017
-
Apr
2017
-
Jun
2017
-
Sep
2017
-
Nov
2017
-
Feb
2018
Maryland
National Guard Unit of the Year
Maj. Gen. Linda L. Singh, the adjutant general of Maryland, is pleased to announce that she has nominated the 200th Military Police Company, Maryland Army National Guard, to receive the annual Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) Maryland National Guard Unit of the Year Award for 2017 from the Maryland Council of Chapters of MOAA.
The 200th MP Company was called upon in 2017 to assist the U.S. Virgin Islands in the aftermath of the devastation left behind from Hurricane Irma. On short notice, the unit deployed and was attached to the U.S. Virgin Islands Police Force. While attached, the 200th MP Company performed more than a thousand patrols, aided in the arrest of several dangerous gang members, conducted two high-risk search warrants and improved security for more than 150,000 residents of the island territory. The Soldiers of the 200th MP Company directly contributed to the decrease in violent crime, assisted in the improvement of civil infrastructure and provided improved security to the residents of the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The award will be presented on 26 May 2018 at the Catonsville Armory, 130 Mellor Ave, Catonsville MD 21228, from 1400-1600. (3 Apr 2018)
Highlights
of recent and upcoming Chapter activities
·
Nothing
at this time (30
Aug 2017)
Here
is the final 2018 update as of 12 April:
As I promised earlier this week, I
have assembled the legislation passed during the 2018 Maryland Legislative
Session that affects Uniformed Service Members, Retirees, Surviving Spouses,
Veterans, and their families into a document for you. You'll also find a
listing of legislation receiving an unfavorable report from the committee.
Legislation that died in committee is not listed. You can access the document by clicking here.
If you are not in a leadership position for the Maryland Council of
Chapters would like to receive further email updates from me, please click here to sign up.
Otherwise, this will be the last email of this kind that you will receive
from me. I apologize for any inconvenience having to sign up for the new list
may cause. It is a vital part of keeping our email list healthy.
For continued emails from me on legislative matters affecting
Maryland's Uniformed Service Members, Retirees, Surviving Spouses, Veterans,
and/or their families, you must sign up for the new email list. The
emails will cover Federal, State, and/or local issues, and education regarding
the legislative process.
I look forward to keeping you informed on issues that are important to you and
your families. Please forward this email to anyone you believe would be
interested in receiving this information so they can sign up, too.
Also, if you are a MOAA member who is not a member of a Maryland Chapter, please click here to find the chapter in your area.
Best,
Annie (12
Apr2018)
We now have a list of the members of the Maryland House
of Delegates Veterans’ Caucus, and the Maryland
Senate Veterans’ Caucus. (21 Feb 2018)
Make MOAA's One Powerful Voice® heard in
Maryland. It will take each MOAA member living in Maryland to make this happen.
Act now to do your part!
Here is a list of Points
of Contact for the Maryland Congressional delegation (both Senators and all
eight Representatives)
There is an email address, mdcoclegis@gmail.com, to reach Legislative Liaison CPT Annie Brock, USA
(Former)
or whoever is filling in for her if she is out of town.
·
From
time to time, we will suggest messages we would like Maryland members to send
to Annapolis on upcoming bills of interest to all of us. There are two
web-based methods you can use to contact your State Legislators:
·
The
Maryland Legislature maintains a Web Site that you can use to contact your
Senator or Delegate. To use it, visit http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/webmga/frmmain.aspx?pid=legisrpage&tab=subject6,
and select the legislator’s name. If the legislator accepts e-mail (I hope most
of them do today), you will see a link to Contact Online. Click on that link.
Enter your identifying information, and type or paste the text into the Message
box.
·
Another
method is to visit http://mdelect.net/.
This site, run by the Maryland State Archives, allows you to enter your address
(Zip+4 will do, unless district lines go through your Zip+4 area – then enter
your full address), and it will tell you who your Federal and State legislators
are. There are links to their web sites. Some have e-mail tools built in;
others will link into Outlook, as above. (21
Jan 2013)
·
NEW
– here is a link to a roster provided
by the Legislature with office locations and phone numbers for all of the
State Senators and Deelgates. Some have moved since last year. (26 Jan 2018)
You can find information on
MOAA’s national legislative priorities at the MOAA Take Action web page.
Maryland
Veterans Commission
There
are no recent reports from the Maryland Veterans Commission. One will be posted
here when available.
Job Search
Looking for a new job, or know someone who is? Visit the MOAA Transition and Career Center
for Career Information.
The Howard County Office of Veterans and Military Families publishes periodic notes with links to other resources to benefit veterans and military families. They are not endorsed by that office, or by the Military Officers Association af America or the Fort Meade Chapter. With that caveat, feel free to browse the notes:
MAJ Jeffery Burbank, an Army Chaplain at Fort Leavenworth and the son of Fort Meade Chapter member CW5 Larry Burbank, has prepared a list of web-sites that provide information on Veterans benefits and how to file/ask for them. There are many sites that explain how to obtain books, military/medical records, information and how to appeal a denied claim with the VA. Please pass this information on to every Veteran you know. Nearly 100% of this information is free and available for all veterans, the only catch is: you must ask for it, because they won't tell you about a specific benefit unless you ask for it. You need to know what questions to ask so the right doors open for you and then be ready to have an advocate who is willing to work with and for you, stay in the process, and press for your rights and your best interests. (Note – the Maryland Council of Chapters has nothing to do with any of the listed sites, and is not responsible if any of them are no longer active.)
The consumer website MoneyGeek.com
has recently published a sutdent financial aid guide for military veterans,
including a list of scholarships offered to vetereans and their family members
and an interactive map tool to help veterans find schools that participate in
the Yellow Ribbon benefit program. The guide is available at http://www.moneygeek.com/
Here are some other sites with military discounts and deals:
Dealback.com: https://dealhack.com/blog/military-discounts-guide
Offers.com: https://www.offers.com/b
AllConnect.com: https://www.allconnect.com/
(Again, the inclusion of these links does not imply any
endorsement by MOAA or the Maryland Council of Chapters.) (22 Jan 2108)
The Council’s Spouse/Surviving Spouse Liaison Officer,
Naiomi Kaplan, has prepared a list of Pertinent
Issues for Spouses and Surviving Spouses. (29 Feb 2016)
The fololowing is from a 19 March 2018 emaiol to all MOAA
members:
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Click
here for more information on Council
activities.
Please send any comments and suggestions to the Webmaster using the email address shown in the listing of Council Officers above.