20
February 2010
To
ALL,
First,
let me state I am honored and humbled to be elected the President of the South
Carolina Council of Chapters. As has
been stated by my predecessor as well as his, MOAA is the premier organization
representing a cross section of all Federal Uniformed services, retired, active,
reserves, those who served our great nation fulfilling their obligation, and
the spouses of our comrades that have departed this life. It is
my first priority to ensure that MOAA and MOAASC remain the premier veteran’s
organization.
Second,
you noticed I addressed this letter “ALL”.
Rest assured this is not to slight anyone’s gender, status, or
pride. In this world of virtual and
cyber realities there will be many “curious” parties who will explore our web
site. If by chance one of those
“curious” persons meets the qualifications of those outlined in the first
paragraph, let me now present the opportunity to invite you to affiliate with
this fine organization by joining your friends and comrades and become a member
of MOAA national and more importantly a member of a local chapter here in South
Carolina (MOAASC). This is my second priority, MEMBERSHIP and it is understood by all that
no organization can attain “premier” status without membership, quality and
quantity. To accomplish this we must
develop an outreach strategy to attract potential members and then we must educate potential members to our cause
and its challenges.
Now
it’s “Back to the Future”. Simply stated
by looking back we can map our future.
Here’s our future….ALL must
become STAKEHOLDERS. Through the
years there have been stakeholders, the First Continental Army stakeholders,
the Yank or Reb stakeholders, the Rough Riders stakeholders, the Dough Boys
stakeholders, and the G.I. all stakeholders.
Each member must commit to recruiting new members, each member must
commit to participating at the local, state, and federal levels to ensure that
what was earned is not taken, each member must commit on being that human being
we swore to be when we took that commissioning oath yesterday or fifty years
ago. When one commits one becomes a STAKEHOLDER. We need stakeholders for the sake of our
children/grandchildren, our organization, our state, our country.
This
organization has just completed a most successful two years of superlative
performance and accomplishment. Our
Charleston and Hilton Head Chapters both received National accolades and praise
for their chapter activities and performance within their categories in such
areas as newsletter, community support, etc.
The Beaufort Chapter received national notoriety with its aggressive and
highly visible recruiting campaign. And then there are the other Chapters, the
stalwarts, despite the economy, the circumstances of their locations, and other
distracters continue to serve and support and make contributions to community
and military through veteran’s advocacy groups, JROTC/ROTC scholarship
programs, Wounded Warrior Program, and numerous other worthy causes.
Our
chapters have been extremely active in voicing their opinions to our
Congressional delegations on matters of importance to all veterans. This is an institution that must be continued
and preserved. As our National motto
suggests “ONE POWERFUL VOICE”, may South Carolina’s veteran’s voice be
amplified through our Chapters.
Lastly,
the first state conference was planned and executed during this period. For those not in attendance, it was a most
rewarding experience, as professionally orchestrated as if were a routine
occurrence. Kudos to the Columbia
Chapter which carried the water on this endeavor with assistance from some IT
guru’s in the Greenville Chapter.
To
the former council members, now Past-President BG John Allen, and all MOAASC
members, I have been left some mighty big shoes to fill and many top shelf
accomplishments to sustain or improve upon.
I trust I prove worthy of this challenge and the confidence you have
shown in me. With everyone’s help, it is
my commitment to you to met the challenges and accomplish the mission. It’s “Back to the Future” may our future be
as successful as our past. I am certain
with your help it will.
I
am always available and anxious to hear and share thoughts and opinions.
Very
Respectfully,
DALE
F. ELLENBURG
President,
MOAA-SC
217
TERRACE DRIVE
ANDERSON,
SC 29621-1965
864-225-1073