chaptersinaction Headed for D.C.
MOAA council and chapter leaders once again are traveling to the Washington, D.C., area to participate in the Council Presidents’ Seminar and lobby their legislators on Capitol Hill.
M
OAA’s council and chap- ter leaders from across the country will travel to
Alexandria, Va., April 11-14 to par- ticipate in the annual Council Presi- dents’ Seminar. The highlight of the four-day signature event is Storming the Hill, where council and chapter leaders team up with members of MOAA’s staff and board of directors to discuss the association’s key leg- islative goals with their states’ con- gressional representatives. This year, the issues are especial- ly significant as Congress is faced with the difficult task of trying to reduce the national deficit. Budget cuts are being proposed, and likely no group will be spared in the re- ductions being discussed. The goal of Storming the Hill is to ensure members of Congress understand what servicemembers and their families sacrifice in service to their country and that the benefits they receive are hard-earned. The Council Presidents’ Seminar also gives council and chapter leaders
On the road: This month, Col. Lee Lange II, USMC-Ret., director of MOAA’s Council and Chapter Affairs Department, will visit chapter mem- bers in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Go to MOAA Calendar, page 82, for the dates.
an opportunity to share ideas with each other about what works — or what doesn’t work — in moving their councils and chapters forward. Dur- ing last year’s seminar, for example, Virginia Council of Chapters (VCOC) President Col. Sam Wilder Jr., USA- Ret., gathered information from seven other council leaders about how to establish a state lottery to fund state veterans’ programs. He also met with council leaders who were successful in helping pass legislation to establish “veterans’ courts.” These specialty courts hold veterans and servicemem- bers accountable for their actions while giving them an opportunity to receive help for other problems, which might involve drug or alcohol abuse or untreated PTSD. National MOAA’s Storming the Hill effort has been so successful that councils in Georgia, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin have launched simi- lar efforts within their states. In this department’s main article, “Storming the Statehouse,” we examine some of the legislative issues VCOC members tackled when they met face-to-face with state lawmakers earlier this year. Many of these issues also are being addressed — or have been addressed — by other MOAA councils that lobby on state issues.
Being able to influence the passage of state legislation that affects ser-
*online: Visit
www.moaa.org/chapters/locator to find an MOAA chapter near you. 46 MILITARY OFFICER APRIL 2011
vicemembers and veterans and their families is a major role for MOAA’s 35 state councils. Our councils need a broad base of grassroots support to accomplish their legislative goals. Add your voice to their legislative ef- forts by joining an MOAA chapter. — Col. Lee Lange II, USMC-Ret. Director, Council and Chapter Affairs
Storming the
Statehouse Virginia council works to pass important legislation.
P
assing state legislation that benefits the military community is extremely
important to Virginia Council of Chapters (VCOC) members. That’s why they traveled to Richmond earlier this year to participate in the VCOC’s 14th annual Storming the Hill lobbying blitz. VCOC members coordinate with
22 other veterans’ groups that make up the Joint Leadership Council of Veterans Service Organizations (JLC). Each year, members of the JLC select five to seven military- specific legislative issues to sup- port. Then they develop position papers on each issue, which include
PHOTO: STEVE BARRETT
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