The function is to be held in the Virginia Ball Room at the Princess Anne Country Club, Friday, December 3, 2010.  6:00-7:00 p.m. - Cocktails; 7:00-10:00 p.m. - Dinner /Dancing with Music by the Walter Noona & Band.

Menu: Mesclun Greens with Parmigiano Reggiano & Sherry Vinaigrette
Entrée Choices include: 
(1) Prime Rib of Beef Au Jus with Horseradish Cream Sauce OR,
(2) Coq Au Vin (Roasted Chicken with Mushroom &Cognac Sauce
Roasted Red Potatoes & Green Beans Almondine
Hot Rolls/Butter Coffee/Tea Chef's Choice Holiday Dessert. 

Price:  $50.00 per person

Make a list of your guests, and entree for each. 
Make checks payable to ROWS.
Mail all to Nordie Crews, 1125 Spindle Crossing, Virginia Beach, VA  23455. 
If you have questions, phone Nordie at 363-1094.

Reservations, checks and menu choices must arrive in Nordie’s mailbox  by Saturday, November 27th for the Dec. 3rd dinner/dance. 

Fellow Officers:

November is here and it will be a fairly busy month for our Chapter.  The luncheon this month, as you will see elsewhere in the newsletter, is our annual Toys for Tots event at which we bring an unwrapped toy for a boy or girl.  The Marines will be there, as always to collect the toys and give us a chance to chat with them.  They are from a Marine rotary wing aviation unit.  Normally their Commanding Officer has a few words for us, as well.  The Annual Meeting will follow the luncheon.  This year we will elect the full slate of officers and one-half of the directors.  Our fine nominating committee, “Rip” Dellaripa (Chair), Jim Smith and “Holly” Hollandsworth are developing an excellent slate for us to consider and nominations will be accepted from the floor.

Since this is my last newsletter message as your president, I wish to express my deep and sincere appreciation for allowing me to serve you for the past two years.  It has been a most gratifying and rewarding experience.  However, I look forward to “returning to the ranks” in order to socialize with all of you without the distractions that come with the office. 

I do want to say a word about the time and effort your officers and directors put in to make the chapter work.  I am afraid that most of us just assume things “happen.”  They do not.  Finding speakers, coordinating venues and meal offerings, negotiating prices, and preparing the notification consumes an enormous amount of time and effort on the part of the 1st Vice President.  “Holly” has done a wonderful job and I wish to express my sincere appreciation for all he does and has done.  He has also handled the inevitable complaints that come with that territory with patience and grace.  Thanks, “Holly.”  He was assisted in this by our 2nd VP, Earl Byers who also spent much time and effort on some special projects.

I also wish to express my appreciation to Jim Edge, our Treasurer, for stepping into the job as an appointee to fill an unexpired term.  He agreed to serve, stepped in and just quietly went about doing an outstanding job as has our Secretary, Loren Heckelman.  Loren, who unassumingly does his job in an exemplary manner and is the “go to” guy for knotty issues, respected by all for his wisdom and ability to articulate the real problem and unravel it for the best result.  Dave Wade, Jim Smith, Jack Colgan, Jim Jones, Jack Hilgers and John Vermillion have all spent much time and effort in dealing with our various programs, such as ROTC/NROTC/JNROTC, Honor Flight, placement of the Hail and Farewell banners at the Naval Air Station Terminal, the wounded warrior equestrian program,  recruitment and retention of membership, our participation in the Virginia Council of Chapters, helping to establish state legislative objectives important to the entire military community and preparation of our bimonthly newsletter. Tedee Rink, has served as our auxiliary liaison member of the board and Ray Hart and “Rip” Dellaripa have provided valuable advice and institutional memory as our immediate past presidents.  Last but not least, we all owe a great deal of gratitude to Clif Furedy, our Webmaster and Data Base Manager who just makes everything work and provides wise and valuable counsel.  Thank you all for your valuable and esteemed service to the Hampton Roads Chapter.

Respects,

To update your password, go to the MOAA login screen and click on the Reset My Password.  Enter the e-mail address for your account and you will receive the password re-set insturctions via e-mail.  The new password must be at least seven characters long.  If you have any problems please contact the Member Service Center at 800-234-6622. 

When the cemetery is complete, it will be able to accommodate approximately 60,000 remains.  Veterans will be buried for free, even if they are out of State.  Burial of spouses or eligible dependents will cost $300.
(Information from and article by Jeff Sturgeon in the Roanoke Times.) 

Note:  Over age 75 members, who are eligible uniform family members and survivors of deceased personnel are now eligible for Permanent Identification Cards.  Apply within 90 days of expiration of current ID card.

Contribution/Pledge of Support
Yes! You can count on my support to assist Virginia’s veterans, members of the Virginia National Guard, Virginia residents of the Armed Forces Reserves not on active federal service, and their family members, who are dealing with the effects of traumatic brain disorders, combat stress, and post-traumatic stress disorders resulting from their combat service and sacrifice in the U.S. Armed Forces.

I am enclosing/pledging my most generous contribution in the amount of:
__ $1,000   __ $500   __ $250   __ $100   __ $50   __ Other $________

Please make checks payable to:

Virginia Veterans Services Foundation
For: VWWP: 900 East Main Street, Ground Floor
Richmond, Virginia 23219

Name(s)  ______________________________________________________
Address _______________________________________________________
Home Phone _______________________ 
Work Phone _______________________
Email_______________________________________
Employer __________________________ 
Occupation ________________________

For additional information about the Foundation or about contributing, contact Col. Jack Hilgers (USMC, Ret) at the Department of Veterans Services, 900 East Main Street, Richmond, VA 23219, 804-382-3715 or 757-481-4164 or Steven Combs at the Department of Veterans Services, 804-786-0294.

Stolle indicated in his introduction that he experienced a lot of cooperation in the State Assembly, except for some hot button issues , such as abortion, guns and education.  He also noted that it was easier to kill a bill rather than pass a bill.  A new data base is being established to help retiring military and others leaving the military get jobs.  Another program being established is the Military to Teacher Program.

He addressed the fact that Doctors are cutting back or not taking any new medicare patients as they are only receiving 62 cents on the dollar for reimbursement of services.  Delegate Stolle spent most of his time answering questions from the 70 members.

December Function: This will be the ROWS Annual Dinner Dance on Friday Evening, 3 December at the Princess Anne Country Club.

Our Storming of the Hill on 25 January 2010 was the best ever! The Virginia Council of Chapters had 66 members from all over the state. This was the largest turnout we’ve ever had. The room was overflowing and several favorable comments were received from our legislators who spoke to us. “Numbers count” and it showed. Our MOAA “uniforms” looked great.We accomplished the mission of getting co-patrons signed up. I understand the American Legion and VFW got almost no co-patrons and the JLC got about 30. The VCOC got 72 at the end of the day. 

Lets see if we can do better this coming year on 24 January 2011.