January 2020 Council and Chapter News

Maryland Council (MD MOAA)

Last Update: Jun 2021

BREAKING NEWS:

URGENT Legislative Action Needed: Legislative Liaison, CAPT Lynn Nash, USPHS (Ret), has provided an update on the Advocacy in Action. We need support from MOAA members to increase support for the three bills. See the Legislative Priorities section below for her message and instruction. (21 Jul 2021)

Chapter in Action: Read about what the Upper Potomac Chapter has done for COVID-19 Relief. (15 Jul 2021)

Legislative Update: Legislative Liaison, CAPT Lynn Nash, USPHS (Ret), has provided a summary of Wins and Unfinished Business in the 2021 Maryland General Assembly, and a summary of the work done by the Advocacy in Action teams. Our teams were only able to meet virtually with 6 of the ten Congressional offices (both Senators and four Representatives). (13 Jul 2021, AiA link updated 21 Jul)

Updated Congressional Points of Contact: The Congressional Points of Contact list has been updated to include phone numbers for the District Offices. (13 Jul 2021)

Advocacy in Action Request: See below for a plea from our Legislative Liaison, CAPT Lynn Nash, USPHS (Ret). We still need you to write to your Senators and Representatives in support of a number of bills in the US Congress this year. (18 Jun 2021)

Maryland Military Coalition 2021 Legislative Wrap-up: COL Bob Norton, the Maryland Council of Chapters President and Maryland Military Coalition President just released a wrap-up of the 2021 Maryland Legislative session. See this file for details. (1 Jun 2021)

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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 2020 (as of May 2021).

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 or a separate chapter-hosted page (Stars indicate the Level of Excellence rating earned by the Chapter for 2019 – as announced in August 2020.):

· Annapolis

· Ft George G Meade

· _{* * * * *} Star Spangled Banner (Winner of 5 Star Col Marvin J Harris Communications Award for 2020, as of May 2021 – newsletter and website)

· General Smallwood

· _{* * * * *}Montgomery County (Winner of 5 Star Col Marvin J Harris Communications Award for 2020, as of May 2021 – newsletter)

· Prince Georges County

· Southern Maryland

· _{* * * * *}Susquehanna – Chapter Site at MOAA (Winner of 5 Star Col Marvin J Harris Communications Award for 2020, as of May 2021 – newsletter and website)

· _{* * * *}Upper Eastern Shore

· _{* * * * *}Upper Potomac – Chapter Site at MOAA

Council Officers

Here are the Council officers for 2021 – 2022 (as of 13 Jan 2021):

President	Norton	Bob	COL		USA	rfcknorton@verizon.net
1st Vice Pres	Gary	Palmer	Lt Col		USAF	gtdbpalmer@verizon.net
2nd Vice Pres	Cathy	Hampton	MAJ		USA	cathyhampton51@gmail.com
Secretary	Dave	Peterson	CAPT		NOAA	kmpdhp@comcast.net
Treasurer	Jim	Campbell	Capt		USAF	jim@jrcampbelljr.name
Webmaster	Jim	Shiffrin	Maj		USAF	jim.shiffrin@gmail.com
Chaplain	Jim	Campbell	Capt		USAF	jim@jrcampbelljr.name
Immediate Past Pres	Bryon	Hartzog	LTC		USA	bkhartzog@gmail.com
Legislative Director	Lynn	Nash	CAPT		USPHS	Lynn.Slepski@outlook.com (This is the correct email)
Transition Liaison	Annie	Brock				mdmoaatransition@gmail.com
Spouse Liaison	Cheryl	Glang				glanghaus@comcast.net
Md Veterans Commissioner	Jim	Shiffrin	Maj		USAF	jim.shiffrin@gmail.com
MOAA Director – Maryland Military Coalition	Harvey	Kaplan	COL		USA	htkaplan@verizon.net

Annapolis	Andrew	Fallon	COL		USA	fallonajf@aol.com
Ft Meade	Bryon	Hartzog	LTC		USA	bkhartzog@gmail.com
Gen Smallwood	Daniel	Donohue	COL		USMC	dadonohue@hotmail.com
Montgomery Co	Dave	Peterson	CAPT		NOAA	kmpdhp@comcast.net
Prince Georges	Steve	Regner	Col		USAF	shreg01@aol.com
Southern MD						Combined with Gen Smallwood
Star Spangled	Sean	Casey	BG		USA	caseyarmy@gmail.com
Susquehanna	Cathy	Hampton	MAJ	USA		cathyhampton51@gmail.com
Upper Eastern Shore	Mike	Johnson	CW5		USA	mjnmi1@verizon.net
Upper Potomac	Guy	Everhart	CAPT		USN	gfeverhart@gmail.com

The Southern Maryland Chapter is currently functioning as an affiliate of the Gen Smallwood Chapter.

Here are the Maryland Council Bylaws, updated on 12 Jan 2019. (13 Mar 2019)

Here are the Maryland Council of Chapters Goals for CY2019-2020, approved by the Council on 12 Jan 2019. (19 Jan 2019)

Annual Congressional Luncheon

The 2021 Congressional Luncheon was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Jun 2021)

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.

There is a “Why MOAA” video produced by the MOAA National Office. Please use the following link to access the video:

https://youtu.be/42YD9d8WI5Q

For those concerned about embedded links and cyber security, please do the following:

1) Go to the YouTube website by typing: www.youtube.com in your web browser

2) Type MOAA in the search bar

3) Click on the link to the MOAA channel

4) Once the MOAA channel comes up, you will immediately see the “Why MOAA” video.

5) If you want to cut and paste the video web address for others, click on the “Videos” link, then select the “Why MOAA” Video

6) Once the video begins playing, highlight and then copy the web address at the top of the screen. It should exactly match the hyperlink listed in this email.

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.

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 16, 2021 (Virtual) - Minutes

April 3, 2021 (Virtual) - Minutes

July 10, 2021 (In-Person)

October 15, 2021 (In conjunction with MOAA National Annual Meeting)

January 15, 2022

Spouse and Surviving Spouses Newsletter

Below are recent newsletters from the Spouse and Surviving Spouse Liaison Officer. (25 Feb 2021)

- Nov 2020

- Feb 2021

Maryland National Guard Unit of the Year

BG Sean Casey, USA (Ret), President of the Star Spangled Banner Chapter and COL Andy Fallon, USA (Ret), President of the Annapolis Chapter presented the delayed 2019 Maryland National Guard Unit of the Year to the 175^th Operations Group on 2 May 2021. Here are some pictures. The officer accepting the award was the Unit Commander, Colonel Drew E. Dougherty, Col, MDANG. There were approximately 50- 60-unit members present. In addition, MG Gowen, the Maryland Adjutant General, and BG Paul Johnson, Commander 175^th Wing, were also in attendance.

BG Sean Casey, Col Drew Dougherty, COL Andy Fallon Closeup of the award

Photos courtesy of the 175^th Wing Public Affairs office. (7 May 2021)

Stay tuned for the announcement of the National Guard Unit of the Year for 2020. (29 Jan 2021)

Highlights of recent and upcoming Chapter activities

From LtCol Hugh McIlroy, USMC (Ret), Past President of the Upper Potomac Chapter:

“On 14 April 2020 some members of the Upper Potomac Chapter received stimulus checks from the IRS in accordance with recent passage of the CARES Act. Our members immediately recognized that in many cases this stimulus money could be put to much better use to support the less fortunate and those in serious financial distress in our community because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Board of Directors unanimously approved an initiative to solicit our membership to donate some, or all, of the stimulus money they received to the Chapter so we could help veterans or others identified by the Board who had been devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Just seventeen days later, on 1 May 2020, the Upper Potomac Chapter had collected $8,100 so we donated $2,700 to the Maryland Food Bank, $2,700 to Feeding PA and $2,700 to The Mountaineer Food Bank: food banks in the three states we represent. Just two weeks later we had collected an additional $1,673 that we are donated to the MOAA Foundation for the COVID-19 Relief Fund.

Later that year, in late October, the Upper Potomac Chapter conducted their second COVID-19 Relief Fund drive. By mid-December the chapter had collected $2,710 which as, again, donated to the three food banks in our area.

Again, in early 2021, the chapter conducted their third COVID-19 Relief Fund Drive. By late January the chapter had collected $2,775 which was also distributed to the three food banks in our area.

Finally, in April and May of 2021, the chapter conducted their fourth COVID-19 Relief Fund Drive. By the end of May 2021, the chapter had collected $2,375 that was distributed to the three food banks.

Over the past seventeen months the Upper Potomac Chapter has donated $17,773 that was distributed to local food banks.” (15 Jul 2021)

Legislative Priorities

From Legislative Liaison, CAPT Lynn Nash, USPHS (Ret):

“At the 10 July Council meeting, we agreed to work on those Representatives and Senators who have not yet co-sponsored our three AiA issues:

Basic Needs Allowance “The Military Hunger Prevention Act” which would provide a small subsidy to 10,200 junior enlisted service members who do not qualify for SNAP because their BAH is included in income calculations. Target is ~10,200 junior enlisted for a $400 subsidy.

We could really use the biggest push from our MOAA constituents in Rep. Anthony Brown's district. As you know, he's on HASC. Brown and our Senators signaled support of ALL THREE measures during AiA meetings but have yet to co-sponsor.

Parity for TRICARE Young Adult (TYA) Healthcare Coverage, the “Healthcare Fairness for Military Families Act”, which would correct a TYA coverage gap by extending TRICARE to age 26, like commercial plans. Currently TYA Prime is $459/ per child and TYA Select is $257/ per child, of which 85% of enrollees are children of working-age retirees. We need Harris, Sarbanes, Brown, Hoyer, Mfume and Raskin as well as both Senators.
Toxic Exposure Reform is likely to pass as similar bills have cleared the Senate and House Veterans Affairs Committees. It's a likely win and there’s no need to take action in Bob Norton's view, but if you are on the MOAA website, it’s takes only an additional click to send the messages off.

Please strongly encourage your Chapter members to act on this Action Alert—it’s really easy!

Sign into the MOAA website

Select Advocacy on the toolbar
Under Advocacy in Action, click on “Take Action Now”
Fill out your information—click remember me if you want to save time in the future
Personalize your letter if you want to add more “punch” using the issue papers that are right there
Click submit
Finish up by sending me an email at Lynn.Slepski@outllook.com telling me who you contacted and you are DONE in less than five minutes!

I’ll keep monitoring the bills and sponsors and keep you up to date.” (21 Jul 2021)

Here is a list of Points of Contact for the Maryland Congressional delegation (both Senators and all eight Representatives). This list has been updated to include phone numbers for the District offices. (Updated 13 Jul 2021)

Legislative Liaison, CAPT Lynn Nash, USPHS (Ret), has provided a summary of Wins and Unfinished Business in the 2021 Maryland General Assembly, and a summary of the work done by the Advocacy in Action teams. Our teams were only able to meet virtually with 6 of the ten Congressional offices (both Senators and four Representatives). (13 Jul 2021)

Property Tax Relief in Anne Arundel County: On 4 Jan 2021 the Anne Arundel County Council passed legislation establishing a real property tax credit for disabled veterans and their surviving spouses. For details, see this link. The credit will be 50% of the Property Tax if the Veteran is at least 75% disabled, and 25% for Veterans with a disability rating of 50% to 74%. (14 Jan 2021)

We have an updated list of members of the Maryland Senate Veterans’ Caucus.

We were unable to get a new list of the members of the Maryland House of Delegates Veterans’ Caucus updated before the 2021 session. (25 Mar 2021)

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!

· 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 Delegates. 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

Here are some of the key points from the Maryland Veterans’ Commission meeting 20 Jul 2021.

- From Secretary of Veterans’ Affairs, George Owings III:

- The Maryland Veterans Trust Fund has distributed $230,000 in grants in 2020/21.

- Planning for the second Veteran’s Home in Sykesville is well under way. It will be the first Veteran’s Home in the nation with an on-site dialysis unit.

(22 Jul 2021)

Here are recent minutes from the Commission:

Job Search

Contact our Transition Liaison Officer, Mrs Annie Brock, at mdmoaatransition@gmail.com for any transition-related questions. (11 Jun 2020)

Looking for a new job, or know someone who is? Visit the MOAA Transition and Career Center for Career Information.

Veterans’ Benefits

For further information on Veterans’ Benefits, please visit any of the following Web Sites:

United States Department of Veterans’ Affairs

Maryland Department of Veterans’ Affairs

Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS)/TRICARE

Editorial Policy

MOAA, the Maryland Council of Chapters and the individual chapters in Maryland are non-partisan. Information on this web site reflects the position of the Maryland Council of Chapters only.

Please send any comments and suggestions to the Webmaster using the email address shown in the listing of Council Officers above.

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