Chapter 984 Jan_Feb Newsletter

8/13/2019 Chapter 984 Jan_Feb Newsletter

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AFSA Chapter 984CMSAF #6 James M. McCoy Chapter

Important Dates:Inside this issue:

Chapter 984 Website!

Bingo Night w/ENVH1830-1930

Jan 8

Jan 6

General MembershipMeeting @ 1130,Bowling Alley Lounge

Feb 12

Presidents Corner

Feb2 14

AFSA Chapter 984 January/ February 2014, Issue 10

AFSA Chapter 984CMSAF #6 James M. McCoy ChapterWelcome New Executive Council Members!

Mark your calendar: General Membership meeting, 19 February 2014 @ 1130 hoursat the Bowling Alley Lounge. MSgt (Ret) Merle Spaulding donates pizzas for the

meeting, come join us for lunch. Door Prizes will be given away!

Page 2

Ways & Means Page 3

Membership Page 4

Page 6

Page 6

Page 5

Page 7

Communications

Veterans Affairs

Successes

Legislative

Additional Info Page 8

Awards &Reco nition

Leadership

Page 9

Page 10

During the General membership meeting on 8

January 2014, all new executive council members

were sworn in.

Feb 3

Jan 2 14

PlayStation 4 Drawing

Ralston Arena, VictoryFighting Championship@ 1700

Dec 11

Dec 14

www.afsa984.org

Bingo Night w/ENVH1830-1930

General MembershipMeeting @ 1130,Bowling Alley Lounge
http://www.afsa984.org/http://www.afsa984.org/


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AFSA Chapter 984 January/February 2014, Issue 10

Presidents Corner

Chapter 984 Members,

THANK YOU As we enter our last couple of weeks as your executive council for Chapter 984, we just want to saythank you for your continued support. I want to personally thank my executive council for meeting my tough

timelines and meeting the goals we set in the beginning of the year. With their hard work we were able to

accomplish a lot for our Chapter in 2013. I want to personally thank all the members that stepped up to lead our

events and fundraisers that our Chapter held. Finally, I want to thank all the volunteers that came out to help

during these events. None of this would have been possible without the hard work and leadership you all have

shown. So I applaud you all!!!

This past year as the Chapter President I have learned so much and a lot of it was on the run. At times it wastough, but with the team I had made it that much easier. They did not accept failure. As we have accomplished a

lot this past year, I still believe we still have work to do to improve our membership, all areas of the Chapter and

educate all on the Air Force Sergeants Association mission. So with that being said on December 11th, I will run

for a second term of Chapter President of 984. I will not campaign for this position and if given the chance I will

be honored to lead this Chapter into 2014 with the same passion as I did in 2013. If not re-elected, I will continue

to support this great Chapter and Association because I believe in it so much. This Association is here to protect

you and your family with your pay and benefits. These volunteers work hard for you each and every day.

Items for Sale

New Cha ter T-Shirts

Front Design

Back Design

Division 3 Trustee Gary Swanson has designed our new chapter984 t-shirt. You can order these t-shirts in pink, white, grayand many more from his website. Cost is only $10.00 per t-shirt. If you would like to order the new chapter t-shirt go tothe following website:

http://www.gstshirts.com/store/#!/~/category/id=4468302

&offset=0&sort=normal

Chapter 984 Coins

Another way to help the Chapterto raise funds is purchasing a newChapter 984 coin. The cost is$10.00 per coin. If you would likea coin please contact personnelMSgt Nicholas Melenka.
http://www.gstshirts.com/store/#!/~/category/id=4468302&offset=0&sort=normalhttp://www.gstshirts.com/store/#!/~/category/id=4468302&offset=0&sort=normalhttp://www.gstshirts.com/store/#!/~/category/id=4468302&offset=0&sort=normalhttp://www.gstshirts.com/store/#!/~/category/id=4468302&offset=0&sort=normal


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At Ralston Arena and Werner Park AFSA, Chapter 984works in the concession stands and makes profit ontotal sales. Usually an event takes 8-14 people to rusmoothly. Below are the dates scheduled for the RalstoArena & Werner Park.

Ralston Arena:None Scheduled

Werner ParkNone Scheduled

LEAD A FUNDRAISER OR EVENT!If you would like information on how to help or spearhead

a Chapter 984 fundraiser or event contact SrA Colby [email protected].

Fundraisers and Events

Ways & Means: SrA Naomi Colby

Ralston Arena & WernerPark Concessions!

2014 Calendar

Fund Raiser (Open) x2 Jan-Mar

Chief Lokovic Visit Feb

Division 3 PAC Mar

Adopt-A-Highway May

Softball Tournament May

Golf Tounament June

Fund Raiser (Open) x1 Jul-Sep

Cell Phone RecyclingProgram

We collect old cell phones and turn them in forreprogramming. We get $1 for each phone we turn in.When we get to 100, we send them in. The money wegain is donated to the Bellevue Food Pantry!

Air Show Program Sales Aug

Internation PAC Aug

POW/MIA Ceremony Sep

Fundraiser (Open) x1 Oct-Dec

Adopt-A-Highway Oct

Thanksgiving Baskets Nov

First Quarter FundraisersThere are no fundraisers currently scheduled for thefirst quarter of 2014. We are looking for 2 fundraisersto get 2014 started off right! If you have any ideas, orwould be willing to lead a fundraiser please contactSrA Colby at [email protected]
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Presidents Drawing

Chapter 984 Membership Leaderboard:MSgt Melenka: 101 (4 ret) MSgt Wilson: 101 (2 ret)

TSgt Sidel: 53 (Retentions) A1C Finch: 47

CMSgt (ret) Parente: 17 SSgt Therrien: 16

A1C Walker: 9 SSgt Parker: 8

Membership Team Seeks Motivatedpersonnel!

MSgt Wilsons membership committee is lookingfor a representative from each squadron to joinour membership committee! Come join ourmembership team to recruit & retain membersinto the Air Force Sergeants Association. You willbe trained how to recruit & retain. You will learnhow to talk in front of large groups about AFSA.Membership team briefs at ALS, NCOPME, SNCO

induction, Right Start, and many more! Only skillrequired is MOTIVATION. Contact MSgt Wilson [email protected].

Every month at the general membership meeting if youbring an E-4 below non-member they are entered into

the Presidents drawing to win a free $25.00 two-year

membership. So bring your Airmen to get them involved

and a chance at a FREE membership! Winner for

Drawing in August is below with CP Melenka.

Chapter 984 has moved into the Top 13 Chapter

all of AFSA with total members. This is the first tin years our chapter has been in the Top 15.

We need to continue the momentum to the endthe year. Our next goal is for 1,700+ members. Chapter 984!!!

TOP 13 IN AFSA!!!

Membership ChallengeP Melenka challenged the general membership and

is executive council to recruit 14 new members in

014 to go along with HQAFSA initiative of 14

ecruits in 14. If you hit 14 in 14you will receive a

oin from the International President. CP Melenka

ffered the same incentive to the members who

meet this challenge. They will also receive a Chapter

oin.

Chick-Fil-A Membership

Chapter 984 just teamed up with Chick-fil-A Bellevue NE, for a monthly membershsponsorship. For the remainder of the year Chicfil-A, will buy a membership for an outstandinE-6 non-AFSA member. They will also providefree meal to the recipient of this award. AnChapter 984 member can nominate an individuwithin their workplace.

Membershi : Chair MS t Wilson

Total Chapter Members:1,629

New Members in 201401
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Take action now to protect ourbenefits!!!

Le islative: Trustee MS t Herndon

Misleading Data Used by GovernmentOfficials to Steer Congress on MilitaryPersonnel Program Decisions. We often saythat one of the great strengths and missions of theAir Force Sergeants Association is that it works toensure Congress gets the entire story aboutquality-of-life programs so that it makes the rightdecisions based on facts. It can be documentedthat government officials often try to persuadeCongress to accept hyperbole and exaggeration asjustification for congressional decisions

Accordingly, programs such as commissaries,military retiree healthcare, education programs,military retirement, military pay, etc., come underattack based on specious claims. One can assumethe reason for the exaggeration is that presentingthe facts would not achieve the ends (which are areflection of political philosophy) desired by thesegovernment officials.

An article in by Army Times publishing reports,Its become a common refrain: Military personnel

costs are soaring, changes are needed. And, oh bythe way, that will probably mean less money goingto the men and women in uniform.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel sounded thealarm about military compensation and personnelcosts as a major problem during a recent speech toan influential Washington think tank. He said,Without serious attempts to achieve significantsavings in this area--which consumes roughly halfof the DoD budget and is increasing every year--we

risk becoming an unbalanced force ... one that iswell-compensated, but poorly trained andequipped, with limited readiness and capability,Hagel said Nov. 4.

To read the entire article, go to:http://www.armytimes.com/article/20131124/BENEFITS02/311240019From that perspective, personnel costs areactually shrinking as a share of the entire defense

Last Chance to InfluenceSenate on 2014 Pay RaiseUnder normal circumstances and inaccordance with current law, service

members would be entitled to a 1.8% raise for thecoming year. The House-approved version of theNational Defense Authorization Act passed in Juneallows service members the full 1.8% pay raise buta Senate plan will soon be considered, conforms to

Administration wishes that next years raise becapped at 1%. This may be your last chance toinfluence Senate lawmakers on this matter. If youagree with AFSA that service members deserve afull pay raise, go to the following site to write yoursenators:htt : www.ca wiz.com h afsa home

Urge Your Senators to Support TheseAmendments to the Senate NDAA.After more than five months of waiting, the Senatehas resumed work on its version of the FY 2014National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).Several lawmakers plan to introduce amendmentsthat address key Association goals like ensuringmilitary service members get a full pay raise,expanding concurrent receipt and repealing theSBP/DIC offset.

Other amendments seek to restore TRICARE Primeto certain beneficiaries and make Applied BehaviorAnalysis (ABA) therapy a covered TRICARE benefit

for active and retired service members.Now is the time for users of CapWiz to engage withyour two senators on key issues.

http://www.capwiz.com/hqafsa/issues/alert/?alertid=63004856
http://www.armytimes.com/article/20131124/BENEFITS02/311240019http://www.armytimes.com/article/20131124/BENEFITS02/311240019http://www.armytimes.com/article/20131124/BENEFITS02/311240019http://www.capwiz.com/hqafsa/home/http://www.capwiz.com/hqafsa/home/http://www.capwiz.com/hqafsa/home/http://www.capwiz.com/hqafsa/issues/alert/?alertid=63004856http://www.capwiz.com/hqafsa/issues/alert/?alertid=63004856http://www.capwiz.com/hqafsa/issues/alert/?alertid=63004856http://www.capwiz.com/hqafsa/issues/alert/?alertid=63004856http://www.capwiz.com/hqafsa/home/http://www.armytimes.com/article/20131124/BENEFITS02/311240019http://www.armytimes.com/article/20131124/BENEFITS02/311240019


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The Animals from AFSA was an initiative created bythe Executive Council. Chapter 984 created twoinitiatives back in August. The first initiative wassoliciting donated used stuff animals to be donatedfor less fortunate children Chapter 984 hascollected over 600 pounds of stuff animals thatequals to over 2,000 animals that were donated tothe Open Door Mission in October animals.

The second initiative did not start off with a banglike the first. Within the month there were onlyabout 15 new animals donated to the chapter.CMSgt (ret) Robert Muthard donated $500 towardthe rest of the animals. With his donation theChapter was able to purchase 64 new build a bearsfrom Noahs Workshop online.

After all animals were purchased, SSgt Ramseyformed a team to assemble the animals. On 20 Nov13, twelve members visited with patients anddelivered over 90 new stuffed animals on behalf ofChapter 984, to the Omahas Children Hospital.

These animals included an internal pouch wherepatients could place a star after making a wish.Complete story at:http://www.offutt.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=1233717201720

Chapter 984 Successes!Animals from AFSA Update! Below: A1C Brianna Stanley is awarded with a

$100 scholarship by Trustee MSgt John Wilson.

Thanksgiving Day Baskets!TSgt Scott Bettencourt led this yearsThanksgiving Day baskets. His team was able tocollect food from the Commissary and purchase250 Turkeys. With all donations the Chapter

was able to build 290 boxes for families assignedto Offutt AFB. Thanks to the following donors tothe Chapter: Offutt Officers Spouses Club, OffuttTOP III, MDG TOP III and the 1st SergeantsCouncil. This could not happen without any ofyou!
http://www.offutt.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123371720http://www.offutt.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123371720http://www.offutt.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123371720http://www.offutt.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123371720http://www.offutt.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123371720


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Additional Information!

Chapter 984 QuarterlyScholarships

Air Force Sergeants Association and BellevueUniversity has a partnership for AFSA members.AFSA members can get a $1,000 military grantwhen they enroll as a new student at Bellevue

University. AFSA members must use the portal atwww.bellevue.edu/militarypartners to qualify forthe grant. (new students only)

Bellevue University Grants forAFSA Members

Your Chapter is planning for CMSgt (ret) Jim Lokovic to visit!

Chapter 984 will continue to give away two$100 quarterly scholarships to theirmembers or family members that areattending college classes. If you areinterested in submitting an applicationcontact Trustee MSgt Don MitchellSubmissions are due by 31 March 2014 andwill be awarded to the winners at our Aprilgeneral membership meeting on 9 April2014 from 1130-1230 at the Offutt Bowling

Chapter 984 is working on a plan to bring CMSgt (ret) Lokovic in February 2014. Hisbriefingsfocus on the source of quality-of-life benefits, understanding the budget deficit and the nationaldebt and their impact on Airmen, how an annual Defense Bill is produced, understanding the roleof private military associations, how Airmen have a great deal of power and influence over theirown careers, information about the 113th Congress, how to properly communicate with Congress(and what you can and can't do in this regard), current Administration proposals concerning benefitprograms (e.g., compensation, education benefits, retirement, commissaries and exchanges, etc.),howmilitary pay raises and military retiree cost-of-living adjustments are determined, why privatemilitary associations are critical to maintaining your benefits, information about lobbying,

testifying before Congress, grassroots support, and coalition action with other military associations;and targets that AFSA and the Military Coalition are currently pursuing on Capitol Hill. The resultof these briefings (for enlisted and officers who attend) is a better understanding of military benefitprograms and a military career.
http://www.bellevue.edu/militarypartnershttp://www.bellevue.edu/militarypartnershttp://www.bellevue.edu/militarypartners


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Your Chapter LEADERSHIP

President MSgt Nicholas

Melenka

Vice President MSgt Sara Gordon

Legislative Trustee TSgt Stephanie

Therrien

JROTC Trustee MSgt Jesse

Pennington

Communications Trustee A1C Evelyn

Hernandez

Programs Trustee MSgt Don Mitchell

Membership Trustee MSgt John Wilson

Ways & Means Chair SrA Naomi Colby

Treasurer TSgt Joshua Giles

Secretary A1C Briana Stanley

Airman Activities Amn Evan Rios

Ser eant of Arms MS t David Becker


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Presidents Contact Info:Anytime you need to contact the President ofChapter 984 or provide feedback please use

the following info:HP: 210-452-9322 WP: 402-294-6593

Home E-mail:[email protected] e-mail:[email protected]

Visit us on

Facebookafsachapter984

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afsa984

Twitter @AFSA984

Website

www.afsa984.org
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]

Chapter 984 Jan_Feb Newsletter

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