The Crier Newsletter

Quarterly

The Crier

The VCOC Crier is the Quarterly Newsletter of the Virginia Council of Chapters (VCOC), Military Officers Association of America (MOAA). Per MOAA Charter, the Crier Newsletter remains nonpartisan, all regards.

The purpose of the Crier is to tell the VCOC story. Each issue of the Crier includes officer contact information, feature articles, chapter spotlight section, VCOC schedule and sponsor recognition.

The Crier is published quarterly electronically in March, June, September and December, posted below, PDF format.

Chapter input is most welcome, due to the editor on the 10th of the month prior to publication. Target publication dates are 10 Feb for March issue, 10 May for June issue, 10 August for September issue and 10 November for December issue. Provide stories with supporting photographs to Crier newsletter editor CDR Linc Smith, USNR (Ret) at: mvng288@aol.com. In reminder, MOAA and its affiliates must avoid engaging in partisan political activities. View guidance here: MOAA Guidance on Partisan Political Activities View the MOAA Take Action Center here: MOAA Take Action Center
spotlight on the chapters

Crier Issues, Chapters in the Spotlight, Sponsors

Crier Issues
Click on below links to view issues 2020 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 2021 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
Chapters in the Spotlight
Heritage Chapter holds Zoom Virtual Meeting with VCOC President Col Boyd Nix, USAF (Ret) and Vice President CDR Linc Smith, USNR (Ret)
The Heritage Chapter hosted a virtual Zoom Meeting on 9 December 2020. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the VCOC mission, along with sharing of Chapter communication insights and methods. Thanks to Heritage Chapter President Col. Les Niblock, USMC (Ret) and Maj. Sully Sullivan, USMC (Ret) for their planning and hosting of the virtual Zoom meeting.
MOAA Southwest Virginia Chapter Installs Officers for Calendar Year 2021 The Southwest Virginia Chapter installed Chapter Officers for 2021 via a Virtual Zoom Meeting on 17 December 2021. The ZOOM membership meeting, seen in below screenshot, featured Capt. Jim Carman, USN (Ret), MOAA Vice President, Council/Chapter and Member Support. Captain Carman administered the oath of office to the 2021 Chapter Officers and Board members and then presented an update on the current status of MOAA.
Sponsors
VCOC expresses continued appreciation to Patriots Colony in Williamsburg for ongoing sponsorship for both the annual VCOC Congressional Affairs Luncheon and Quarterly Meetings.
Central Virginia Chapter Establishes New Committee By Central Virginia Chapter’s Personal Affairs Chairman, CAPT David Hilty, USN (Ret)

This year the Central Virginia Chapter ‘s Board of Directors established a new committee to offer assistance to the chapter membership. Among MOAA’s purposes, the Chapter is to foster relations among its membership and provide useful services for members and their families. The Personal Affairs committee will offer items of interest to the chapter membership on benefits, health care, survivor issues and financial affairs. The committee will serve as the primary point of contact for issues associated with military rights and entitlements, with special emphasis on survivor benefits information. Personal affairs assistance will be based on researching and identifying resources available to members for answering questions on individual needs and family long-term challenges. The chairman of the personal affairs committee will work directly with the national MOAA personal affairs team. This new committee joins the Board’s other existing committees. They are programs, legislative, membership, auxiliary affairs, The Bugle, ROTC and VCOC. (Virginia Council of Chapters).
The New Year has arrived and you probably are gathering reports and records for filing your taxes. This is also a good time to update your personal affairs records. Getting your personal affairs in order means getting all your information together in one place. Knowing what you need and having all the information correct is a good project for these winter days. Even if you previously created a Personal Affairs folder, it’s a good idea to update it annually, keeping your survivors in mind.
Need your dependents ID card updated? Call Anne (434-971-3288) at the JAG school on the UVA campus for an appointment.
Albemarle County offers real estate tax exemption to any veteran who has been rated by the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs to have a 100% service-connected, permanent and total disability, and occupies the real estate. The surviving spouse may also qualify. To learn more, call the County Assessor’s office at 434 296 5856.
Future articles will cover caregiver challenges and the phased Elimination of the SBP-DIC Offset.
George C. Marshall Chapter, MOAA, Donations In Support of Veterans Programs By Red Taylor The George C Marshall Chapter (GCMC) of the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), established in 2006, continued its mission of supporting Virginia veterans and their families. Despite the challenges of the COVID pandemic, the GCMC provided record support to local veterans, active-duty personnel, Guard and Reserve members, and retired personnel and their dependents in 2020. As seen in below picture, the chapter presented a check on December 9, 2020 for $16,195 to Mr. John D. Lesinski, Chairman of the Virginia Veterans Services Foundation and Mr. Sandor Asboth, Resource Specialist, Virginia Veteran and Family Support (VVFS) as a donation to the VVFS program. The GCMC continued its annual support of local non-profit organizations that provide support to area veterans and their families by awarding $7,250 in total grants to the Rockbridge Area Hospice, the Rockbridge Area Health Center, the Rockbridge Area Transportation System, and the Community Table. Through two fund raising events each year – a golf tournament and a sporting clays tournament – the chapter was also able to donate $1,000 each to two Junior ROTC programs, and contribute an additional $7,500 to GCMC’s endowment in the Community Foundation for Rockbridge, Bath and Alleghany counties, which supports an annual scholarship for the dependent of a veteran who will attend college the following year. The chapter’s donation total of more than $33,000 reflects comprehensive planning and detailed execution as well as the incredible support by businesses and community members in the Rockbridge area for veterans and their families.
The Peninsula Chapter of Military Officers Association of America (VIPMOAA) Receives Recognition and Awards from MOAA National.

Everyone knows that 2020 and the lingering pandemic has made life more difficult and slowed many things down including the formal presentation of organizational awards and recognition of achievements. The Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) and its many Chapters are not exceptions. Finally, on February 19, 2021 at Ford’s Colony Clubhouse, retired Admiral Walter Doran, past Chairman of the Board of MOAA National, presented the local Peninsula Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America (VIPMOAA) with awards that the Chapter would normally would have had presented in mid-2020. In a special, but small COVID restricted ceremony Admiral Walter Doran presented Colonel US Army (Ret.) Ron Corson, President of VIPMOAA, with a MOAA Certificate recognizing the 50th Anniversary of VIPMOAA as an affiliate Chapter of MOAA and a 5-Star Levels of Excellence Award Certificate that VIPOAA attained in 2019. The 5-Star Award is MOAA’s highest level of recognition for outstanding performance as a Chapter. In addition VIPMOAA had previously been awarded two MOAA Harris Communication Awards for 2019 for excellence, one for its monthly newsletter and one for its website. The formal presentation was attended by key To the below picture, board members of VIPMOAA from left to right are Colonel USAF (Ret.) Jim Pauls, Chapter Legislative Affairs Chairman, Mrs. Patricia Pleasant a Surviving Spouse member of the Chapter and Chapter Treasure, Colonel USMC (Ret.) John Harms, Secretary of VIPMOAA, Admiral Walt Doran presenting the 50th Anniversary Certificate to Colonel Ron Corson, Colonel Boyd Nix, Past President of VIPMOAA and current President of the MOAA Virginia Chapter of Chapters, and Colonel USA (Ret.) Paul Miyamasu, Chapter Membership Chairman. While VIPMOAA had to cancel most of its 2020 monthly meetings due to the pandemic, the Chapter was able to continue its support of leadership awards and college scholarships to outstanding cadets in Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (JROTC) programs at 11 peninsula high schools, awards and support to the ROTC programs at William and Mary, Christopher Newport University, and Hampton University and provide donations to five military community support organizations in the area. Any active duty or retired officer from any of the Military Services is eligible to be a member of the local Chapter and can contact VIPMOAA via their website at vipmoaa.org.

Virginia Council of Chapters
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