I am pleased to report that our Chapter is off to an excellent start in 2008. The installation of officers took place on January 28 with Bob McGarry performing the swearing in ceremony. Some of us had a tough time repeating Bob's elongated sentences - we can probably attribute our ineptness to a “senior moment”. Thanks Bob.

Our featured speaker was one of our very own, Blaine Lotz, who gave an excellent presentation on “Intelligence Oversight”. For those of us not of the intelligence community we found it illuminating and very helpful in understanding the complexity of the intelligence function carried out by our government.

Your response to our request for donations to the scholarship fund and the Fisher House exceeded our expectations. Both funds received in excess of $1,400. As we outlined in the initial request, Fisher House will be an ongoing effort in “supporting our troops”. Again, thank you for your support.

In 2007, our Chapter sponsored an initiative with the South Carolina Council of Chapters (MOAA) to begin a campaign that would exclude all military retired pay, as well as survivor's benefits, from placeStateSouth Carolina income tax. Over the past two months, there have been several actions in which we have been participants:

State Senator Ceips has initiated a bill that would exclude all military retired pay from placeStateSouth Carolina income tax. In this regard, her legislative assistant Randy Bates held two meetings in Beaufort to rally support for this bill. Blaine Lotz and I attended this first meeting along with other representatives of multiple veteran organizations. The response of the group to this bill was very positive. It was decided at this meeting that each organization would work through their statewide organizations (VFW, American Legion, MOAA, etc.). It was pointed out at this meeting that this bill would not be addressed in the current legislative session.

Blaine Lotz, George Stubbs and I attended the South Carolina Council of Chapters meeting on February 9, 2008 at placePlaceTypeFort PlaceNameJackson. This topic was extensively discussed after placeCityBlaine presented a white paper on the subject. It received the whole-hearted endorsement of all attendees. It was decided at that meeting that placeCityBlaine would spearhead this effort. placeCityBlaine will be assisted by David Pustilnik, John Shkor and myself.

Finally, at this same meeting it was brought to everyone's, attention that Congressman Joe Wilson is introducing a bill that would name the PlaceNameNational PlaceTypeCemetery at PlaceTypeFort PlaceNameJackson the placePlaceNameFloyd PlaceNameSpence PlaceNameNational PlaceTypeCemetery. The State Council and your Board disagree with this action. We all prefer the Cemetery be named placePlaceTypeFort PlaceNameJackson PlaceNameNational PlaceNameVeterans PlaceTypeCemetery. We would appreciate your contacting Congressman Wilson to voice your opinion.

First, I would like to thank George Moss for his guidance and leadership of our Chapter this past year. Notably, with assistance from the Board, he has put the Chapter on sound financial footing, ably represented us to the Military Coalition, and organized a very interesting series of events.

Second, I know a number of you attended the Veteran's Day ceremony, but those of you who may have missed it, I commend you to mark your calendar for next year's ceremony. This year the Navy League headed the program - and the consensus is that it was the best ever! The speaker was outstanding, the music was inspirational, and the weather was perfect. Jim Smith (Navy League) has requested copies of the speech for possible publication in the Headliner.

Membership - National MOAA has had a membership drive the past two years - it is called “Give Me Ten”. We have added at least ten new members in the past two years. I would ask each of you to recruit potential members. Do not hesitate to extol the virtues of membership in MOAA. You might point out the following:

New Initiative - Several months ago the board began discussing ways in which the Chapter could “support our troops”. David Pustilnik headed a committee to explore this issue. Their recommendation was to lend our support to Fisher House. I know the majority of you are familiar with Fisher House, but I will include a brief explanation of their mission.

Fisher House is a not-for-profit foundation funded by the Fisher family. The foundation has built `comfort homes' on the grounds of major military and VA medical centers. These homes enable family members to be close to their loved ones at the most stressful times - during hospitalization for an unexpected illness, disease, or injury. Fisher House is the military version of the Ronald McDonald House. Over 90% of the donations go directly to support Fisher House. Annually, the Fisher House program services more than 10,000 families and has made available nearly 2.5 million days of lodging to family members since the program began in 1990. There is no charge for any family staying at Fisher House. The Fisher House Foundation uses donations to reimburse the individual Fisher Houses operated by the Army, Navy and Air Force.

Given the size and scope of the Fisher House program and the services they render to the deserving men and women in uniform, we believe our efforts on behalf of Fisher House is a manifestation of our support of the troops. We ask that you include with your dues and scholarship donation a separate check to Fisher House, which is tax deductible.

Finally, we are in the process of putting together our program for 2008, which will be similar to 2007. If you have any suggestions for speakers or other comments please email me at wganderson114@gmail.com

http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/word/2003/wordml013fThis is my last column as president of our Chapter and I would like to thank everyone for their help during 2007. It has been a decided privilege and honor to be able to serve you, the Membership, during the past twelve months. We had great turnouts for all our events; Bill Anderson and his Program Committee did a great job. Particular thanks and congratulations to Dave Pustilnik for getting Senator Graham to visit us in February. Hopefully, Congressman Joe Wilson will be able to make his promised visit in 2008. He was unable to visit Hilton Head in early November, as planned, when Congress failed to adjourn.

Also, particular thanks to Beth Krise for the superlative job she has done for the past three years as our Secretary. Beth always kept us on the straight and narrow regarding Board of Directors meetings and we will miss her greatly. Thanks also to Lois Wilson for agreeing to take over this challenging position; I am sure she will do a wonderful job as well.

Congratulations to George Stubbs and his committee for their selection of the outstanding slate of Officers for 2008 as elected by you at the Annual Meeting on December 14. Our Chapter will have great leadership during the coming year.

Heartfelt thanks to Bob McGarry for his many contributions to our Chapter - the Headliner, the annual picnic, the website, the Directory, the issuance of meeting and annual dues notices and lastly, but by no means least, his wisdom and advice from long years of service to our Chapter. Many, many thanks to all the other members of our Board of Directors this past year who made my job easy through their fine performance. Most will be returning for 2008, but we will miss Tom Kaupas greatly. Thanks, Tom, for a great job as Second Vice President.

Mark your calendars for the annual Veterans Day observance which will be held at the Veterans Memorial at placePlaceNameShelter PlaceNameCove PlaceNameCommunity PlaceTypePark on Monday, November 12th. The Navy League is the host organization this year and has an excellent program planned. The ceremony will begin at 1030 hours, but I recommend you get there a bit earlier to get best seating. There should be additional information appearing in the local media in the immediate future.

Also mark your calendars for our Annual Meeting and Election of officers which will now be held at the Country Club of Hilton Head on December 14th. We would like to have a really good turnout for this important event. It now appears that, since Congress is remaining in session, Congressman Wilson will not be able to make his previously planned visit to the placeIsland during the week of 4-11 November and the dinner function with him as speaker will not occur at that time. We had rescheduled our Annual Meeting from November to the December date cited above in order to avoid two major functions close together. We will continue to work with the Congressman's staff to schedule him at a future date.

Many thanks to Bob and Sally McGarry for their usual superb job on the annual picnic. Hopefully, everyone enjoyed the new way of preparing the meal. Also, many thanks to the Team who assisted Bob in the cooking and serving. Good job, gang!

Sharma gave us a challenging presentation on the issues facing our world of today. Kudos to Bill Anderson for this exceptional program. If you were unable to attend, but would like to better understand many of the forces which are reshaping the world as we knew it and affecting our daily lives in so many ways, you may wish to read “the World Is Flat” by Thomas L. Friedman, the Foreign Affairs Columnist of the New York Times.

Finally, don't forget this! Revitalized old procedure we once had is now back in effect except, more so. We do not intend to have anyone miss a function they want to attend for lack of a way to get there. When you send your response in, mark on it in BIG letters: “I need a ride.” The Chapter will see to it that someone picks you up and takes you back home after the function. Howard Haines, our Personal Affairs Chairman, is coordinating this so, volunteer drivers, please contact Howard to see if he has anyone needing transportation.

Also, the final list of attendees for our first Field Trip, the Beaufort Air Show, which will have taken place before you read this, had a total of 92 MOAA members and guests. That's our largest turnout in a long time and I hope everyone had a great time and no severe sunburns were suffered. Turnouts like these are really gratifying to the Program Committee and the Board as a whole.

This year's Memorial Day observance, sponsored by the Navy League, will be on Monday, May 28th, at 1030 hours at Veterans Memorial Park at Shelter Cove. The featured speaker will be BGen Lefebvre, Commanding General, MCRD Parris Island. I'm sure the Navy League will be releasing additional details through the media as we get closer to Memorial Day. Let's have another great turnout.

In further observance of Memorial Day, the Chapter will also continue its tradition of placing flags at the gravesites of those Veterans buried in Six Oaks Cemetery in Sea Pines. This will be at 0900 hours at the Cemetery on Wednesday, May 23. A few good volunteers are needed (3-4 according to Howard) and it will only take at most a couple of hours. Sea Pines residents are especially welcome since this minimizes travel and the need for passes into Sea Pines. If you would like to volunteer, please call me since Howard will be out of the country until just before Memorial Day. Anyone requiring Personal Affairs assistance during the period of Howard's absence can also call me and I will try to arrange for the needed assistance from somewhere within the Chapter's resources.

At this point, we have a final accounting of those who renewed their Chapter memberships for 2007 and, although we did lose a few members, we had a much higher percentage of renewals than any of the three previous years. This is great news, particularly when coupled with the wonderful turnouts we have had for the first few events. Thanks to everyone.

Directors, almost all of whom I am fortunate enough to have continuing into this year, for their exceptional efforts. Particular mention to Bill Anderson for once again achieving the goal of MOAA National in their “Give Me Ten” campaign; we have received a reward of $100 from National for this.

As a majority of you have noticed by now, we have made some sweeping changes in our way of doing things for the coming and future years. With our declining membership (more on that later), if we were to hold the line on Chapter dues, it became clear that we had to achieve some significant economics in our expenditures of operating funds. Since approximately 75-80% of our operating fund costs were in the area of communications with you, our members, this was where we had to make our changes. Accordingly, we are sending both the Headliner and our event fliers by electronic means to everyone who has email. Initial indications are that we are having good success with this program; however, if you have suggestions for how we can make it better for you, please convey them to me or another Board of Directors member.

In accordance with our chapter tradition, past Chapter President Jerry Barkie installed our new Officers and Directors and the new MOAA Ladies Officers at our Luncheon Meeting on January 17th. Next, Capt Matt Brower from MCRD parries Island again gave us a brief presentation on the free tax services available to our members. The meeting was capped off by an inspirational presentation by our own Jim Kennedy or his visit to MOAA National and the Washington DC area at the specific invitation of our National President, VADM Norb Ryan.

As I mentioned earlier, we have experienced a significant decline in Chapter membership from our high point of 4-5 years ago. A major challenge is identifying eligible candidates. As you interact socially with your neighbors and friends, you may become aware of good candidates. Tell them about our Chapter, encourage them to join us and provide contact information to our Membership Chairman, CDR Tom Kaupas, so that he can follow up. You, our Chapter Members, are our best sales persons in convincing other eligible to join us.

Bill Anderson and his Program Committee have put together a great slate of events for this year. They have targeted some exceptional speakers and are planning a field trip that should be most interesting and enjoyable. We will once again have the Blue Angels at the MCAS Beaufort Air Show and, by the time you read this, will have had a visit from Senator Lindsey Graham at a morning coffee, which I hope many of you attended. Our next event will be another joint dinner, hosted by the Navy League, on March 22nd at which the speaker will be LTC Orr from MCAS Beaufort. LTC Orr has just returned from a deployment in Iraq and will speak on his experiences there. Watch your email and mailboxes for this event flyer which will have complete detail.

George Moss is to be congratulated for a great set of programs. There was something in there for everyone. Bill Anderson undertook the challenge and, for a second year in a row, we successfully met the MOAA Give Me Ten! membership drive campaign. Each of the Officers and Directors supported me in great style, and I thank you.

This year we conducted the Veterans Day program in the new Veterans Memorial. First a comment there. Without the vision, drive and hard work of Tom Shanahan, we would not have the wonderful Veterans Memorial you see today. As for the program, I had a solid committee to make it work. Tom Shanahan arranged the flyover, Denny Tomlin got the ball rolling for the Marine Honor Guard, Tom Kaupas got the word out in the media, and drafted and got the programs printed. Bob Warden was in charge of invitations to the many VIPs and friends of Veterans. Al Wattay and Bill Baker from our Coalition partners were instrumental in the program. We had great support from the Town, from the Mayor on down. Mike Roan of his staff worked tirelessly in the closing days to ensure the Memorial would be ready. And finally, we were honored to have our own General Art Brown deliver an inspiring keynote speech. I am deeply indebted to one and all for what was a great tribute to our Veterans and the men and women in uniform today.

When you receive the annual request for dues, you will be asked to also contribute to our scholarship program As you know, we support four high school JROTC programs. Ed Tankins is our main man. Each year we award scholarships to college bound outstanding students. For 2007, this will be $750 each which is given to the college for issue to the student for college related expenses. In addition, MOAA medals and savings bonds are awarded to outstanding juniors in each school. The amount we can award to these students is dictated by the amount each of you contribute. So, I encourage you to strongly support this important program.

'If listening to the National Anthem and Marine Corps Hymn played by the Marine Corps marching band, and the pass in review by the better part of a thousand recruits on the parade field does not raise the patriotic juices in your blood, you are probably six feet under. That was what we enjoyed Friday the 6th at MCRD Parris Island as we watched a graduation ceremony.

I had the opportunity the end of September to join MOAA Council and Chapter presidents from Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina and Tennessee at a symposium sponsored by MOAA National Headquarters. We had presentations and workshops by the Staff and exchanged ideas with counterparts. Additionally Personal Affairs Officers from all organizations got together -- we came away with many ideas we can take to better serve you.

A major thrust was to bolster membership, both at the chapter and national level. At the national level, MOAA joins with other military organizations to form The Military Coalition which has effectively lobbied Congress for issues of importance for active duty, Reserve, Guard and retired personnel. Numbers count is why the big push is on for recruiting members. TRICARE for Life, the senior pharmacy program, correcting the survivor benefit program, lobbying for active duty force level and pay increases are some of the TMC successes. On the local level we are involved in community affairs, high school scholarship programs, veterans affairs and just plain comradeship. So, the message is to look around. If you have friends who are still on active duty, or former or retired officers, encourage them to join MOAA.

We have a big November coming. First our annual meeting will be held on Thursday, 2 November at the CCHH. This will be a luncheon affair, you will elect the officers for next year, set next years dues and Jim Kennedy will tell us about his recent trip to Washington sponsored by VADM Ryan. Weston Newton will be the speaker. Then on Saturday the 11th, we sponsor the annual Veterans Day Ceremony at the Veterans Memorial in Shelter Cove Community Park. The ceremony starts at 1030, but get there early to get a seat. General Art Brown is the speaker, the Hilton Head High School chorus provides the music and a Marine Corps rifle squad from MCRD Parris Island will fire the ceremonial salute. You should have received fliers for these events by the time you read this column.

The Navy League invited us to join on a Sunday evening dinner cruise on the Palmetto Star. Warm fellowship and terrific food. This is a great way to spend a summer evening. And finally, another outstanding annual picnic. Bob McGarry outdid himself again. My best advice for those who were unable to attend -- make plans for next year; you really missed wonderful times.

Recall that MOAA is in charge of the annual Veterans Day Observance Saturday 11 November at the Memorial. I may be asking for some help along the way. General Arthur Brown USA has graciously agreed to be the principle speaker.

Clearly our outstanding event of the year was the ribbon cutting by Mayor Peeples of the Veterans Memorial and Veterans Memorial Park during the Memorial Day program. Located in Shelter Cove Community Park, it is in an idyllic site. The Memorial's completion culminates years of effort by many individuals both in Town government and the Veterans groups, all spearheaded by Tom Shanahan. Well done to all!

In the event you have not yet purchased a brick paver for yourself, family member or another veteran, sales continue. We will use the proceeds for continued enhancements to the Memorial and Memorial Park.

The question arose, and the Board discussed the issue at the June Board meeting, of what our Chapter's participation is in the placement of flags on Veterans` graves on the Island. The plan is to develop a permanent procedure so that each grave is properly respected each Memorial Day. We will ensure we do not duplicate any other Veterans` group or any cemetery staff efforts.

Thanks to George Moss and his committee for the programs we have had this year -- outstanding speakers and the trip to the Port of Savannah was a great success. Our next major event will be the annual summer picnic on Tuesday 15 August. And, of course, we look forward to the ladies summer cocktail party.

I can report that the Hilton Head Island Military Veterans Coalition has been formally constituted by the approval of the By-Laws. The By-Laws establish a set of officers, Board of Directors and standing committees whose mission is to establish and oversee the maintenance of the Veterans Memorial and Veterans Memorial Park, conduct the annual Veterans Day Observance and screen any event conducted at the Memorial to ensure proper decorum for the site, all this in coordination with the Town of Hilton Head. The Coalition is composed of three representatives each from the American Legion Post 185, The Hilton Head Island Council of the US Navy League and our Chapter of MOAA. The Presidency rotates annually between the three, with MOAA holding the office this year with the attendant planning and execution of the Veterans Day program.

Our first effort at a combined Navy League - MOAA event was highly successful. Almost 190 folks listened to Brigadier General Mark O'Neill of the 1st Infantry Division as he gave us a first hand account of Baghdad and how the US effort is working. We all have a better understanding of the problems there and the way ahead. As a follow on, we have invited the Navy League to join us at our 4 May luncheon where our speaker will be from the 1st Ranger Battalion stationed at Hunter Army Air Field. You should have received your flier in the mail.

We plan to participate again in this year's challenge, so if you have friends or neighbors on active duty, retired or former officers of the seven services, give Bill Anderson a ring so we can give these folks a chance to join and participate in MOAA activities.

One of my responsibilities this year is to be President of the Military Coalition. As such I will be in charge of the Veteran's Day Observance 11 November. Our plans are already in progress and I will report as major milestones are achieved. In this regard, the Coalition is in process of drafting a set of By-Laws to institutionalize the Coalition. Our John Shkor, Navy League's Bill Baker and American Legion's Al Wattay have been hard at work as the drafting committee.

At our April Board meeting, Ed Tankins presented a comprehensive program for the four JROTC high school units we support. We have budgeted funds for summer camp, grants and scholarships. Thanks to all of you who have generously donated scholarship funds during the annual dues request, we are able to support these fine young people at higher than ever levels.

Let me begin my first column by wishing everyone a belated very Happy New Year. I am honored to take over the reins from an outstanding leader, Dick Wiles, and to thank him for a job well done this past year.

We continued our tradition this year by having a past president swear in the new officers. Joe Eagers did the honors at the annual “Installation of Officers” meeting 17 January. Also at this meeting our speaker, Capt. Brower, USMC, advised that free tax and legal assistance services are available to military retirees at the Legal Assistance Center, MCRD, Parris Island.

We have received a message from National MOAA HQ advising of an on-going argument with some Pentagon policy makers about retirees being a “drain on the DOD budget”. To help refute this opinion MOAA is requesting each Chapter to poll its membership to determine the approximate number of hours members spend providing volunteer assistance at DOD facilities. So, I would ask anyone who does volunteer work to contact me ( 843-363-5058 e-mail skipjack585@adelphia.net ) and tell me approximately how many hours you volunteer annually.

One of the ideas the Programs Committee is working on this year is to have joint events when suitable with the Navy League. The first such event will be a dinner meeting Friday 24 March at the CCHH. Brigadier General Mark O`Neill of the 1st Infantry Division will brief us on experiences in Iraq from which he will have just returned. A sign-up flyer will provide more details.

The Veteran`s Memorial in Veteran`s Memorial Park, Shelter Cove, will be completed and dedicated in early May. Clearly, without the vision and hard work by Tom Shanahan, it would never have been built. The first ceremony to be held there will be Memorial Day Observance, followed by the Veteran`s Day Observance which MOAA is in charge of organizing and conducting this year.

This is my last column as your president. Thank-you for bestowing the honor of being able to serve you these last months. Thanks to George Stubbs for the outstanding programs during the year. The last program will be George's installation as your president for 2006 on January 17 at the Country Club of Hilton Head. Other Officers and Directors of MOAA will also be installed. In addition to the installation, a tax advisor from Parris Island will talk to us.

Thanks to Beth Krise for accepting the challenge of being secretary this year. Beth didn't miss a single meeting of the Board or program of the chapter. We are fortunate that she has agreed to continue to serve as your secretary.

Thanks to Bob McGarry for his wisdom and advice as past president. Bob will leave the board, but has agreed to continue as editor and publisher of the Headliner and be the geek to maintain our website.