President's Message

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#006699" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="04e285a1erlcgo.gif"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" ><B>The Hilton Head Area Chapter-MOAA</B></FONT><B>     |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Hilton Head Area ChapterMOAA"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div>                                                   </div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFCC66" TEXT="#080000" background="04dd2c00dkelyh.gif"> <div> <B><IMG SRC="15992d20.jpg" border=0 width="146" height="210" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <div> <B>David Pustilnik</B></div> <div> <B>President</B></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>PRESIDENTS COMMENTS</B> </div> <div> <B>September - October 2011</B></div> <bR> <div> You may recall that at our 18 February luncheon meeting the membership unanimously adopted a resolution requesting a letter be sent to Admiral Ryan (national MOAA president) presenting our Chapter's displeasure with the VOICES initiative and opposing chapter membership for nonofficers. Set forth below is the letter I sent and the response by Admiral Ryan. While he takes issue with our position regarding chapter membership efforts note that national will follow our suggestion of assigning national members to chapters and will initiate a pilot program in two states, TX and VA. </div> <div>  </div> <div> Thanks to the generosity of Lynne and Blaine Lotz some twenty of our members were treated to a complimentary Gullah Heritage bus tour on 28 July. The Lotzs' purchased the entire tour and donated it for the benefit of interested members. The tour narrator was Dr. Emory Campbell, noted Gullah heritage expert. Those on the tour enjoyed Dr. Campbell's insights and expertise of the Gullah culture and communities on Hilton Head drawn fro his family experiences and as the executive director of the Penn Center on St. Helen Island. After the tour members went to the Roast Fish and Cornbread Restaurant on Marshland Road to enjoy some Gullah cuisine. </div> <div>  </div> <div> On 30 August we held our annual picnic at a new venue, Indigo Hall Pavilion, in Indigo Run Plantation. Some sixty attendees enjoyed fine food prepared by our member chefs (and spouses) drinks and fellowship in an air conditioned and bug-free setting. Many thanks to Charles Gobrecht for making the arrangements and to the many members who worked hard to make this such a successful event. </div> <div>  </div> <div> As always, we welcome your suggestions regarding suggestions for future programs.</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>