This letter is to extend an invitation to join our local chapter of the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA).  As you may know, at the national level, MOAA has been active in a number of areas that are of importance to all current, former and retired officers, and to the military community as a whole.  At the local level, we are working very hard to make a difference in areas that impact those of us who are living and working in Maine, while at the same time striving to make contributions to the welfare of the State.

    Recently, Major General Bill Libby, Maine Adjutant General, completed his term as our Chapter’s President.  He was the only State Adjutant General serving as a local chapter president in MOAA.  As you might expect, he lead the Chapter toward a very active future and has challenged us to build upon our already strong reputation within MOAA.  Part of that challenge was to continue to enhance the strength and resources of our Chapter so that we can increase the power of our “voice” and maintain our ongoing efforts to support a number of worthy causes.  On Saturday, February 10, 2008, leadership of the Chapter passed into the able hands of Captain Bob Wood, USA.  Bob has been an active member of our organization for several years.  We are looking forward to following the path he will lay out for us. 

    I am providing the following list of activities and objectives so that you might have a better understanding regarding some of what we do and, perhaps, find something that is of interest to you.

•    We keep our members informed of MOAA’s efforts to protect the interests of our members and encourage direct communications with our Congressional Representatives in Washington, and our Legislators in Augusta.

•    We generated funds to help support a summer camp program for the children of the State’s deployed National Guard personnel, provided Commissary gift certificates for needy Navy families at Brunswick Naval Air Station, donated money to help with fuel oil heating assistance for some of our National Guard Families and gave financial support to a JROTC member that attended a leadership camp over this past summer.

•    We encourage future leaders by providing awards for honor graduates of six High School JROTC programs and college level programs at U Maine and the Maine Maritime Academy.  And, we are engaged in developing a ROTC related scholarship program.

•    We hold a quarterly luncheon to bring our members together and provide them with informative and educational presentations by a series of exceptional speakers.  During recent meetings, we have hosted commanders of local units recently returned from Iraq, State political candidates, a nationally distinguished medical expert, Maine’s Director of Emergency Management, the State Attorney General and the President of MOAA.

•    We are looking to develop additional social or community service activities to meet the interests and life style of our members and make use of their many talents and abilities.  In this regard, we are aiming towards an organization that is relevant to all our members; retired, former and active duty officers.

•    We are currently moving toward an active out reach program that will help us stay in contact with, and help meet the needs of our Auxiliary Members (Surviving Spouses) so that they will always have a resource upon which they can rely.

•    We publish an informative Quarterly Newsletter that is provided to each member and posted on the Chapter’s web site.

    As you can see, with the direction of our Chapter’s leadership and the guidance of the Board of Directors, we are striving to be a vibrant and productive organization.  We understand that it may not be possible for every member to take an active role within the organization.  But, whatever support we receive from each member is critical to helping us continue to meet our objectives.  And, we hope the support we provide to our members is of value to them.

    If you find our activities and objectives to be of interest, I hope that you will consider joining us as a member.  Our Chapter dues are $15/year and the national dues are $28/year (the first year of national dues are waived for new members).  If you are interested, please complete the Membership Application and return it with a check in the amount of $15 made out to “MOAA Southern Maine” to the following address: