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President’s Page
Fall Greeting to all of you!
Like many of you I am still wondering where the summer went! Trying to embrace the fall weather and still get in as much golf as possible.
I am looking forward our next general membership meeting on December 7thwhich is of course, Pearl Harbor Day. What better place to honor and remember the 2390 service members and civilians who lost their lives in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor than our own Maine Military Museum in South Portland. Mark your calendars for what is sure to be a great event!
In addition to a hot catered lunch of delicious casseroles from FoodWorks in Portland, we will also install our 2023 Board of Officers and present the 5th Annual Ann LePage Service to Veteran’s award. This year’s recipient will be Chief Warrant Officer 4 (Retired) Wendy Moody. Wendy has recently retired from a combined 48 years of military and civilian service, and has helped hundreds, possibly thousands, of Maine servicemembers transition from military to civilian life. She has also been instrumental in assisting with the many post 9-11 deployments that our Maine National Guard and Reserve units have participated in. Hope to see you all there! Please get your Reservation form in by December 2. Luncheon Reservations Form
We are setting our calendar for 2023! Please save the following dates, locations are TBA, but we plan on having one meeting in the Brunswick area and one in the Augusta area. For 2023 we will have a quarterly meeting on March 18th, June 17th and December 7th. We will also again join the NH chapter of MOAA for annual Lobsterbake, that date is still being firmed up but will be late summer.
Wishing you and your family a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!
Brenda Pennels, President
Southern Maine Chapter ROTC Program
It’s that time again when I report on my efforts to contact the Junior and Senior ROTC programs that we support throughout the state of Maine. Our Chapter supports a total of 8 Junior Programs and 3 Senior Programs. It is still very early in the school program year so we do not have graduation and awards data yet for these units. This will change over time and I will provide updates as I receive them. The programs listed below are broken down by Military Branch, with a school phone number for contact purposes. I hope to have much more information on projected graduation and awards dates in our March Newsletter. We are hoping that members of the Chapter will volunteer to represent our Chapter at these graduations to be able to present our awards to the top graduates.
(COL Frank Toderico, ROTC Chair)
Junior ROTC
ARMY
Bangor High School 207-992-5570
Hermon High School 207-848-5436
Nokomis Regional High School 207-368-5239
Old Town High School 207-827-3910, ext 309
Sacopee Valley High School 207-625-2303
AIR FORCE
Brewer High School 207-989-4140
Lewiston High School 207-795-4190 ext 5246
NAVY
Massabesic High School 207-247-5011
Senior ROTC
ARMY
University of Maine, Orono 207-581-1121
NAVY
University of Maine, Orono 207-581-1551
Maine Maritime Academy, Castine 207-326-2356
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Winner of the 5th Annual Ann LePage Service to Veterans Award
Wend y Moody enlisted in the Women’s Army Corps as a Finance Specialist and served three years at Ft. Campbell, KY followed by a tour at US European Army Headquarters, Heidelberg, Germany. After her discharge in 1980 as a SP5, she married and moved to Maine and joined the 240th Engineer Group in Waterville. She worked at the Maine American Legion HQ until accepting a full-time position in the Comptroller Division with the Army National Guard HQ in 1981, rising to the rank of Sergeant First Class. In 1985, she was promoted to Chief of the Pay and Exam Section and received a direct commission to Chief Warrant Officer Two. She went on to become the auditor for the Comptroller Division for the U.S. Property and Fiscal Officer. She retired from the Army National Guard as a CW4 after 32 years of service. She began her next career as the State Benefits Advisor and later named the Transition Assistance Advisor (TAA) where she continued to serve exiting members of the service. She retired in October 2022 after 18 years of service. She is married and the mother of three children and seven grandchildren.
Military Health Care Update - Open Enrollment
Once again, ’tis the season - annual open enrollment, of course. TRICARE runs from November 14 through December 13; FEDVIP (dental, vision, etc.) from November 14 through December 12; Medicare from October 15 through December 7. (Federal, many employer plans, and Affordable Care Act plans also have their open enrollment periods around this time.) Open season is an opportunity to look at your choices and decide whether you need to make a change or should stay where you are. On the Medicare front, the monthly premium for Part B will drop from about $170 this year to $165 during the coming year. And the Inflation Reduction Act will set a $35 standard price for insulin for Medicare enrollees. Lots of Medicare Advantage plans are available in Maine, all competing for customers who want something other than traditional Medicare. TRICARE/Medicare-eligible beneficiaries, including those using Martin’s Point, can take their TRICARE for Life through an Medicare Advantage. Finally, Veterans Affairs is implementing the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act that expands access to VA health care and will likely increase enrollment in the VA system. The respective web sites are the best places to go for further information. (Col Bill Hall)
Annual Dues Drive
The dues remain the same for 2023 at $20.00. Your additional contributions each year make it possible for the Chapter to support the activities that are important to all of us. While it is still fresh in your mind, please take a moment to complete the form and send in your check. With the holidays coming up, it is easy for this to slip through the cracks. Also, please remember that this is for your Chapter dues, not the MOAA National dues. Click here for a copy of the Dues Form.
Thank you for your continuing support of the Chapter. (Col Rob McAleer, Membership Chairman)
Save the Dates - 2023 General Membership Meeting Dates
March 18, 2023
June 17, 2023
December 7, 2023
Lobsterbake with NH Chapter, MOAA on August 6th
 For the 2nd year in a row the Southern Maine MOAA chapter officially joined forces with the NH Chapter for a very successful Lobster Bake at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine. In total, there were over 180 attendees from both chapters as well as several distinguished guests: Congressman Chris Pappas, NH 1st District, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Commander Captain Michael Oberdorf and his wife Tara, and Lt Gen Dan Atkins USAF (Ret), President and CEO of MOAA. The Color Guard was provided by the Shipyard Medical Clinic. We also had the Director of the Regional Office for the Togus Veterans Benefits Administration Jennifer Bover and her staff on hand to answer benefits questions and meet our members. The weather was picture perfect and we all enjoyed the fellowship and delicious food! Hope you all will consider attending next year! We will share the date as soon as it is confirmed.
Lt Gen Dana Atkins, President and CEO of MOAA addresses the attendees during the opening ceremony.
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Induction of New Officers and Members of the Board of Directors
Our Chapter By-Laws require us to install the newly elected slate of officers and members of the Board of Directors at our December Quarterly Meeting. The officers for 2023 elected by our members at the September Quarterly Meeting include:
New Officer Slate for 2023
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President: Brenda Pennels, USA
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671-1262 |
Brenda.Pennels@martinspoint.org |
| 1st Vice President: CDR David A. Patch, USN |
633-3659 |
dpatch@maine.rr.com |
| 2nd Vice President: Deb Couture |
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navycaptpomi0031@gmail.com |
| Secretary: LT(jg) John J. Fay, USN |
883-6447 |
jfay0001@maine.rr.com |
| Treasurer: LCDR Mark S. Patrick, USN |
729-6042 |
mpatricks@comcast.net |
| Immediate Past President: CDR Richard Tetrev, USN |
443-6645 |
oldrepme@comcast.net |
Directors 2021 - 2023
| COL Arthur Wickham, USA |
799-4115 |
arthur.wickham@yahoo.com |
| LTC John T. Ham, USA |
883-5982 |
johnandsueham@maine.rr.com |
| Col Robert P. McAleer, USMC |
833-5574 |
rmcaleer04079@gmail.com |
| CWO4 Robert D. Jaffin, USN |
850-1009 |
robertjaffin@gmail.com |
Directors 2022 - 2024
| COL Frank Toderico, ARNG |
799-8999 |
ftoderico@juno.com |
| CPT Robert B. Wood, USA |
846-5088 |
mainerwoods@gmail.com |
| Col Michael D. Delia, USAF |
967-4571 |
mbadelia@roadrunner.com |
Directors 2023 - 2025
| LTC K. Scott Berry, USA |
767-0236 |
berryk419@live.com |
| LCDR Paul F. Loveless, USN |
725-0946 |
paul.loveless@comcast.net |
| Col Douglas J. Scott, USAFR/ANG |
222-2225 |
dscott2@maine.rr.com |
| Col William F. Hall, USAF |
766-2514 |
wpeaks@earthlink.net |
Committee Chairmen
| Budget: |
LCDR Mark S. Patrick, USN |
| Chaplain: |
CPT Robert B. Wood, USA |
| Health Care: |
Col William E. Hall, USAF |
| Membership |
Col Robert P. McAleer, USMC |
| Veterans Assistance: |
CDR David A. Patch, USN |
| Newsletter Editor: |
LTC K. Scott Berry,USA |
| Personal Affairs: |
LCDR Paul F. Loveless, USN |
| ROTC Awards: |
COL Frank Toderico, ARNG |
In Memoriam
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Commander William F. Brennan, USN
Falmouth, Maine
September 28, 2022
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Captain Charles W. O'Reilly, USN
South Portland, Maine
October 23, 2022
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"We are grateful for your loyal service to the Nation."
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Military Officers Association of America 