chapters in action
Longtime MOAA member and chapter leader Capt. Don Kuyper, USN (Ret), says he also looks forward to attending the chapter’s monthly meetings, which helped him retain his connection to the military community and his belief in service to country.
“I didn’t realize how much I would miss the camaraderie I had in the service until I got out,” says Kuyper. “Being in the chapter is certainly fun, but we also help each other and try to take care of our veterans.”
Chapter members don’t just get together to eat or swap war stories. Many times, their camaraderie has a purpose, such as raising money for the chapter’s scholarship program. Before Veterans Day 2013, members of the Military Officers Association of Sarasota Inc. gathered to assemble more than 1,400 boxes that were distributed to area citizens and community groups as part of the chapter’s highly successful Support Our Troops program. Each box contained mailing instructions, a customs form, and a list of comfort-care items deployed servicemembers need while stationed abroad.
“It doesn’t take that long to assemble the boxes,” says Col. John O’Brien, USA (Ret), president of the Military Officers Association of Sarasota Inc. “Then the pulled pork and the wine will come out, and we’ll visit [with one another] and have a good time. That feeling of camaraderie and working toward a common goal is the big thing that holds this chapter together.”
“I didn’t realize how much I would miss the camaraderie I had in the service until I got out.”
— Capt. Don Kuyper, USN (Ret), Military Officers Association of Sarasota (Fla.) Inc.
Establishing connections
The desire to share common interests and goals with other military officers led three 30-something Navy reservists — Lt. Cmdr. Joel Knippel, Lt. Marc Lawson, and Lt. Cmdr. Nick Younker — to lay the groundwork for the new NYC Military Officers Club chapter in New York City that will be chartered soon. While the Big Apple isn’t a military town or a popular retirement destination for military personnel, it is home to thousands of potential chapter members. According to Knippel, most prospects are younger than the average chapter member and are either recently separated servicemembers or drilling reservists who moved to New York City to further their careers.
“In an area like New York City, even though the population is dense, people are spread across so many different industries … and it’s not always easy to identify and connect with other officers,” says Knippel. “What we have is an opportunity to strengthen the camaraderie and mentorship between officers who live here … through the chapter.”
According to Younker, the new chapter already is attracting many servicemembers who miss the esprit de corps they experienced while on active duty.
“This chapter will not only provide camaraderie … it also will give former officers who are just getting out of the service, or those who are still in the reserves, a chance to build a professional network and some business relationships that really have some value,” says Younker.
A network of support
Camaraderie is important to MOAA’s auxiliary members — who are the surviving spouses of MOAA members. Pauline Edwards, who belongs to the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Area Chapter (
www.moaastpetearea.com), found that out following the death of her husband, Lt. Col. Fred Edwards Jr., USMC.
“A lot of the auxiliary members and some of the regular members helped me a lot when Fred passed, which was traumatic,” Edwards says.
Edwards developed a love for MOAA and her chapter when she helped her husband with council and chapter projects and later when he served on the national board of directors. That commitment continues, and these days you can find her procuring T-shirts for the Florida Council of Chapters’ annual state convention, serving on the chapter’s board of directors and acting as its publicity chair, and writing press releases for the chapter’s wives’ club. Edwards’ press releases draw prospects to meetings, with three new members joining the chapter in one month.
Many of the chapter’s 98 auxiliary members also hold leadership positions in the chapter, and they’re quick to offer their support when someone in their ranks loses a loved one.
“We’re like a family,” Edwards says. “We’re there for each other, and I still go to every chapter meeting I can.”
JANUARY 2014 MILITARY OFFICER 51
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