MOAA Central Ohio Chapter Annual Meeting, 17 January 2025

MOAA is one of the most influential lobbying organizations supporting veterans and their families, and as a chapter of MOAA, we strive to achieve excellence as we continue to serve. In that regard, we are fortunate to have so many members working hard to keep our chapter in motion.

LCDR Nancy Rey continued her outstanding management and tabulation of our membership. Thanks to your continuing loyalty to the chapter, the 2024 year-end roster stood at 89 Military, 14 Surviving Spouses, and 23 Supporting Members for a total of 126 members.

Several years ago, we established an IRS 501(c)(3) tax-deductible Foundation to focus principally on two areas: (1) our “Adopt-a-Servicemember” program and (2) scholarships for deserving ROTC cadets and midshipmen. Our Adopt-a-Servicemember program supports active, reserve, and National Guard members deployed to remote locations. We can do this due to generous donations to our chapter and foundation. Both funds are healthy. CDR Walter Rey administers both the chapter’s finances and the foundation’s funds, and as of 31 December 2024, our chapter’s respective checking account balances were: Chapter—$7,977.06 and Foundation—$15,290.02.

Throughout 2024, MOAA National and LTC Jeff Collins, our state legislative liaison, have kept us current on legislation important to veterans and legislative proposals affecting all veterans. More importantly, however, through our website and newsletters, we have shared information with the membership on how important it is to contact our national and state legislators about bills to support.

Throughout 2024, Lt Col Marston McKeon managed the chapter’s liaison functions with ROTC and JROTC detachments at three universities and 12 high schools. She coordinated the delivery of scholarship checks, medals, and certificates we awarded to outstanding ROTC and JROTC cadets and midshipmen.

Speaking of scholarships, in 2024 we awarded scholarships to six deserving cadets and midshipmen at The Ohio State University, Ohio University, and Capital University. Each scholarship was for $750. For 2025 we will be increasing our scholarships to $1,000.

Lt Col McKeon is also our point of contact with the Central Ohio Veterans Stand Down. Stand Down is a nonprofit program held annually to support hundreds of veterans in need of clothing, food, social services, and other personal items. Our chapter supports that program.

Another charitable focus is the previously mentioned “Adopt a Servicemember” program. Mrs. Dorothy Williams, chairman, has tirelessly worked to obtain items that are hard- or impossible to find in remote locations. Then she has sent scores of care packages, or “goodie boxes,” to servicemembers deployed overseas in Poland, Iraq, Kuwait, Syria, Niger, and other areas of the world. Many deployed unit chaplains have praised her highly for her efforts.

Mrs. Williams is also the chapter’s Director of Personal Affairs. Over the past year, she has sent nearly 150 birthday, get-well, and thinking-of-you cards to our members. She deserves high praise from us all.

In other areas for us all to be proud:

• Our chapter again received one of MOAA’s highest honors, a 5-star banner for our Level of Excellence.
• Our MOAA Central Ohio Chapter website, managed by CDR Walter Rey, received a MOAA 4-star award.
• Our monthly e-newsletter, edited by CDR Bill Roberts, also won a 5-star award, in MOAA’s Col. Marvin J. Harris Communication Awards for Chapters.
• Our participation in MOAA’s Advocacy in Action program. Through his monthly “President’s Corner” of our CONNECT newsletter, our president, Col Alex Bettinger, has adroitly described MOAA’s many legislative priorities and has stressed the importance of contacting your state and federal representatives for their support of important initiatives to improve the lives of all veterans, not just active and retired officers. Along with over 350,000 other MOAA members across the nation and around the world, your communications with legislators have helped to satisfy many of MOAA’s legislative priorities. Indeed, many have come to fruition, but our work is never done. More detailed information is available on MOAA’s website, MOAA.org.

Our greatest appreciation goes out to you, our members. We are grateful to you for your service, your membership in the Central Ohio Chapter, and your generous donations to our chapter’s foundation. In addition to donations, there are other ways to support our foundation. All are enumerated from time to time in our CONNECT newsletter.

Finally, I ask for a moment of silence to honor the memories of our members who have passed away during 2024:

• COL Edward W. Sensenbrenner USA/Ret
• LT Robert Allen Feurillerat, USN (Ret)
• Mrs. Natasha Brown, Surviving Spouse
• Mrs. Anna J. Buss, Surviving Spouse
• Mrs. Rose Clem, Surviving Spouse
• LTC Richard L. Hoffman, AUS (Ret)

Thank you.

Respectfully submitted,

Pryor B. Timmons Jr., Lt Col, USAF (Ret)                       Walter Rey, CDR, USN (Ret)
Secretary                                                                               Treasurer