February 2001 President's Corner

Bob Bush '65, USNAAA Atlanta Chapter President

First, an item of unfinished business. Back in the December Newsletter I wrote that I had contacted Senator Cleland, Senator Miller and Congresswoman McKinney expressing my concern regarding the reported failure to count military absentee ballots in Florida and elsewhere in the November national election. I promised to report back any responses I received. In early December I received a letter from Senator Max Cleland who reports to share my concerns and stated:

“I have contacted the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee to call for a public hearing to evaluate any discrepancies between the Department of Defense postal policies and the laws governing Florida’s elections which may have prevented the counting of the votes of servicemen and women. I look forward to these hearings and will continue to review voting policies that affect service members to ensure that any existing barriers to their voting rights are removed.”

Item #2 – the old “check’s in the mail” routine – although in this case it’s the long-awaited Year 2000 Chapter Membership Roster which you should have already received if you were a Year 2000 dues payer. If you haven’t received your copy and think you should have, please let me know. Otherwise, for those of you coming aboard this year, there will be a Year 2001 Roster that will come out later in the year. Copies of the current edition are available for a nominal ($10.00) charge.

Which leads me directly to Item #3 – the Year 2001 Dues Mailers – that should arrive in early February. Please respond promptly to ensure your place in the prestigious Chapter Members section of the next roster. Also please notice that due to space limitations the response form in the mailer leaves out a lot of the information that is normally included in the Membership Roster. To do a complete job of updating your info, please go to the Chapter web page at www.usnaaaa.com and search out the data update form.

On the topic of membership, it is the policy of the Chapter that all Alumni living in our area, which essentially consists of the entire State of Georgia, are included in the Roster (to the extent that we have the information) and are invited to attend any Chapter function. Dues paying members are entitled to a copy of the Membership Roster as well as a printed Monthly Newsletter if desired. Additionally, dues payers get discount prices on some of our events, such as the Lobster Fest and last year’s Tailgate Party at the GA Tech game, and of course they are entitled to vote in Chapter elections and other items of business.

In years past the principal purpose of the annual dues was to pay for the newsletter and roster printing and mailing. The roster is still a significant expense, but with the development of our web page – which is available to anyone who chooses to visit – the “electronic newsletter” option and our Chapter Email Service – it is no longer necessary to be a dues payer “to get the word.” I do believe it is important to join, however. The cost is nominal and yet I think it makes a statement of commitment to the Chapter, the Association and the Academy.

Additionally, as our printing and mailing costs have lessened somewhat, it has freed up money that has given us the ability to do things like make the donation we made to the USS COLE relief fund and the lunch we provided to the Gospel Choir during their visit, a $150.00 outlay that was very much appreciated.

It has been the desire, often expressed at Board Meetings, to do more for the membership, and one idea has been to hold a special “Members Only” dinner and annual meeting. We are introducing that event this year, and while it is kind of short notice, Carl McCallum and Jim Ravenel have put together a special dinner to be held on Sunday evening, March 25^th in the pavilion at the Lickskillet Farm Restaurant in Roswell. This is a very special place for what will be a very special evening. Please check the web site for details as they are posted, and please plan to attend this celebration of us.