Military Officer - June 2008 - (Page 46)

chaptersinaction Great Communicators Find out how MOAA’s council and chapter newsletter editors and webmasters help keep chapter members informed so they can achieve grassroots legislative victories. M OAA’s Government Relations Department makes things happen on MOAA’s national legislative agenda that beneﬁt servicemembers and their families. But it’s local MOAA chapters and state councils that take the lead on state legislative issues important to you. Some MOAA councils head up state-level lobbying efforts with the help of chapter members, and those members sit on state veterans’ advisory groups and coalitions to ensure servicemembers will have a voice in state politics. Other councils and chapters organize their own version of MOAA national’s Storming the Hill by visiting their state capital to talk to legislators about issues important to them. The Virginia Council of Chapters is very effective in state-level lobbying. Legislative chair Col. Sam Wilder, USA-Ret., says this year, council members have “given a lot of direct testimony on [state] issues and even helped draft bills.” Council and chapter newsletters and Web sites bridge an important communication gap by keeping members informed on state-level legislative issues. Many state veterans’ programs are facing budget shortfalls. The California Council of Chapters is letting its members know about proposed budget cuts that affect veterans, which include funding for state veterans’ homes and veterans’ service ofﬁcers who process claims. Visit their toprated Web site, www.cal-moaa.org. In Arizona, council members are working to get a state constitutional amendment passed that would provide a $150,000 property tax exemption for disabled veterans or their unmarried surviving spouse, if the veteran died of service-connected disease or injury while on active duty. We read that report in The Sentinel — an award-winning newsletter published by the Arizona Chapter. A bill is pending in Wisconsin that would provide all Wisconsin veterans 100-percent paid tuition to attend universities and technical colleges in that state. We saw that in a recent edition of A-Ten-Hut, the Southern Wisconsin Chapter’s newsletter. MOAA’s chapters and councils are doing great work at the grassroots level. Why not be a part of it? — Col. Lee Lange II, USMC-Ret. Director, Council and Chapter Affairs Communicate at Every Level M ON THE ROAD: This month, Col. Lee Lange II, USMC-Ret., will visit chapter members in Florida. Col. Barry Wright, USA-Ret., will visit chapter members in Wisconsin. Go to MOAA Calendar, page 88, for dates. 46 MILITARY OFFICER JUNE 2008 * OAA’s councils and chapters provide the grassroots support needed to pass national legislation that beneﬁts military ofﬁcers and their families. However, many members don’t realize MOAA’s councils and chapters also work on state-level legislative issues that can affect them just as much as national legislation. MOAA national doesn’t lobby on these issues or publish articles about them in Military Ofﬁcer. In fact, the best way to learn about state-level lobbying efforts is to join and participate in a local MOAA chapter. Councils and chapters use their newsletters and Web sites to keep members up-to-date on state-level legislative issues that affect them. (Visit www.moaa.org/communica tionsaward to view award-winning PHOTO: STEVE BARRETT http://www.cal-moaa.org http://www.moaa.org/communicationsaward http://www.moaa.org/communicationsaward

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Military Officer - June 2008

Military Officer - June 2008 Contents MOAA Online From the Editor From the President Your Views MOAA Directory Rapid Fire MOAA Member Services Washington Scene Chapters in Action Financial Forum Ask the Doctor MOAA Scholarship Donors Cover Story: Mission to Modernize World War Web Playing to Win Fitness in Numbers Fighting Infection Pages of History Faces of MOAA Information Exchange Member Books Advertising Index MOAA Calendar Sounding Taps Encore

Military Officer - June 2008

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