WNC MOAA CHAPTER BOARD MEETING
January 22, 2014
Present: Spence Campbell, Mike Covell, Rick Devereaux, Gene Frame, Ken Hadeen, Don
Jackman, John Knapp, Frank Ortiz, Micky Parnell, Bob Smith, (USA), Bob Smith (USMC),
Jeff Snyder, Marleen Varner.
The 2014-15 WNC MOAA Chapter Board of Directors held its first meeting on Wednesday,
January 22, 2014 in the main dining room of the Hendersonville Country Club. President John
Knapp called the meeting to order at 12 noon. He led the pledge of allegiance to the flag and
gave the prayer. The business of the meeting continued after lunch with approval of the
minutes of the October 9, 2013 Board meeting. The opening discussion involved membership
development and ideas. Bob Smith (Army) agreed to serve as membership chairman and
each member is asked to bring a guest to our February chapter meeting.
President Knapp reminded us that the MOAA website is moaa.org. Weekly legislative updates
are available. Our state website is: moaa-nc.org. A discussion of our treasury funds and
mission and how best to approach our future contributions followed. He also announced the
request from AB-Tech for volunteers for its vets café. Marleen agreed to get an
announcement for Bob Smith to include in the newsletter.
New business included a discussion of publicity for our chapter and how our
contributions might affect our visibility in the community. It was decided that we will again sell
the AutoBell car wash tickets that cost us $7.50 and we sell for $15.
Officer reports followed:
First Vice President – had led mission discussion
Second Vice President – We have 17 ROTC units in our service area. We will continue to try
to send representatives to their banquets and a subcommittee will discuss scholarship
options for the future.
Western Satellite report – Chuck Luce unable to attend for weather reasons, sent his report
that 35 positive reponses have been received for development of a satellite in
the Waynesville area. Plans are underway for an initial luncheon in late
February or early March.
Membership – Bob Smith (Army) encouraged everyone to bring a guest to the next meeting.
Treasurer – The cash flow report for 2013 was distributed showing a 12/31/13 bank balance of
$10.493.61. The 2014 budget was presented and approved. Our chapter members
may now pay dues on line by credit card through the website: MOAA.org. Questions
should be referred to Chapter Treasurer Mike Covell, 828-242-6816.
Service Directors – no reports.
Legislative Affairs – Karen McKay was not able to be present.
Personal Affairs: Please help getting names and addresses of heirs.
Bob Smith was thanked for getting our new flag.
President Knapp reported that he led a small group from our chapter that met with Rep. Mark
Meadows in his office in Hendersonville on January 22 to discuss the COLA reduction issue.
The meeting was arranged for us by MOAA BG Steve Rhoades, US (Ret). Others present
from the chapter were Rick Devereaux, Fielding Lucas and Karen McKay.
The Board voted a $500 contribution to the Patriotic Salute to Veterans in Columbus for next
year’s event.
The benefits of additional publicity were discussed and Bob Smith (ARMY) and Marleen
Varner will look into developing a better strategy for our chapter. We encourage folks to
“like” our FACEBOOK page and Marleen and Bob will endeavor to keep it up to date.
Our Bylaws provide the option of having honorary members and a considerable discussion
followed regarding the pros and cons. It was decided to have no more than one a year and
that this could well be the year we will start including this in our activities.
The meeting adjourned at 2:35 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Marleen A. Varner (Aux)