VCOC Quarterly Chapter Affairs Report - 31 December 2010

Quarterly Reports: Many chapters are still not in compliance with the prescribed report format for Quarterly Reports. From the organization and content of most of the reports received, it appears the responsible chapter representatives have not reviewed or cannot comprehend the standard report format approved for 2010. Here are some of the common errors: o Membership statistics - beginning and ending membership figures and gains and losses reported are usually inconsistent with totals provided on reports for previous quarters. Most chapters are still reporting “quarterly” vice “year-to-date” membership totals. Give- Me-10 program activity (if and when reported) is usually not consistent with official totals reported on the MOAA Web Site. o Public Affairs - several chapters are including “Personal Affairs,” “Chapter Activities” and “ROTC Support” items in this section which is inappropriate. This section of the report is designed for reporting specific actions taken by your chapter to “publicize” what you accomplish via articles submitted to newspapers and/or news releases sent to both print and television media outlets. “Personal Affairs,” “Chapter Activities,” “ROTC Support” and other noteworthy accomplishments should be reported under “Chapter Vitality” or in the “Most Significant Chapter Event” sections of the report. o Chapter Officers - There is no longer a requirement to list chapter officers in the heading of the report. This wastes space and causes the report to exceed the prescribed one page in length.

Membership Activity: As of 3 January 2011, total membership among VCOC chapters stands at 4,042, which is a net gain of 90 members since 1 January 2010. All of this gain is vested in “wash” membership transactions of the Southwest Virginia Chapter, which grants free chapter memberships to VPI graduates, many of whom are eventually dropped from the chapter roll within 12 months. Overall, ten of eighteen chapters experienced a net loss in members for the year. Two chapters did not submit 4 th quarter reports (GCM and SVC).

Chapters have been encouraged to appoint a designated “Membership Chairman” for 2011 to oversee chapter recruiting, Gold Bar and Give-Me-10 program efforts. Several chapters have already complied with this request. Based on overall chapter recruiting results, accuracy of membership data reported and Give-Me-10 program performance observed during 2010, the remaining VCOC chapters are sorely in need of an officer to oversee this vital area of chapter operations to develop and execute effective recruiting plans.

Give-Me-10 Program: As of the MOAA Give-Me-10 report dated 30 December 2010, the VCOC has gained 1,042 new, reinstated or life members for MOAA (958 “free;” 61 “new or reinstated;” 17 “new life and life conversions;” and 6 “other.” This activity has earned the council and its chapters a total $12,400 in rebates and bonuses and accounted for 19.99% of the national Give-Me-10 program total. A few Give-Me-10 transactions are still in-process by MOAA.

As shown in the table below, the focus of Give-Me-10 efforts by VCOC chapters was vested in granting “free” MOAA memberships through the Gold Bar program and service-school recruiting. Only three chapters (Richmond Area, Mount Vernon and Portsmouth) managed to reach the more challenging goal of earning at least 8 “paid” membership equivalents by year’s end. Four chapters posted no Give-Me-10 program activity at all for the year.

While the VCOC remains MOAA’s “top council” for overall Give-Me-10 performance for 2010, the council fell far short of its goal to earn its fifth-consecutive “Night Out on MOAA,” which required at least 14 of 18 chapters to earn at least 8 “paid” membership equivalents. Here are the 30 December 2010 Give-Me-10 Program results:

Chapter Give-Me-10 Program

Free Paid Life Other (half-credit) Total

CSV 10 1 1 0 12 CVC 27 3 1 0 31 FLC 0 1 0 0 1 GCM 117 6 1 0 124 HHC 0 2 3 0 5 HRC 67 3 0 0 70 HVC 0 0 0 0 0 MVC 14 9 0 0 23 NNC 0 0 0 0 0 NVA 70 1 4 5 80 PAC 12 6 2 0 20 POT 0 0 0 0 0 PVC 22 0 0 0 22 RAC 16 20 3 1 40 SSV 432 3 1 0 436 SVC 0 0 0 0 0 SWV 97 1 0 0 98 VIP 74 5 1 0 80

958 61 17 6 1042

9,580 1,220 340 60 11,200 Council bonus: 1,000 Chapter bonus: 200

Total earnings: $12,400

Here are the overall membership statistics for VCOC chapters for 2010:

Chapter 1-Jan-10 Gains Losses 31-Dec-10

CSV 84 3 8 79 CVC 202 24 25 201 FLC 182 13 14 181 GCM (no report) 134 8 7 135 HHC 107 17 3 121 HRC 429 102 12 519 HVC 37 12 28 21 MVC 533 61 138 456 NNC 126 24 15 135 NVC 369 36 50 355 PAC 98 32 16 114 POT 95 2 5 92 PVC 48 0 1 47 RAC 679 57 49 687 SSV 135 30 0 165 SVC (no report) 109 0 11 98 SWV 197 103 31 269 VIP 388 30 51 367

Totals: 3952 554 464 4042

Net gain: 90

The above data shows that the VCOC is not making significant progress in growing the number of Virginia MOAA members in the VCOC. If this trend continues, the legislative efforts of the Council will be adversely affected as we will not have the “numbers” to support our legislative initiatives at both the national and state levels. We will also find it more difficult to identify “younger” and “more capable” chapter members to staff leadership positions in our chapters.

To reverse this trend, chapter presidents need to focus on “managing” and remaining “involved” in chapter membership activities. This effort needs to be supported by an aggressive and effective Public Affairs program to “advertise” the legislative and community-support actions our chapters accomplish, in order to attract new members. Like it or not, “Membership is Job One” in every fraternal organization - without the support of a viable and sustained membership program, our efforts in legislative affairs and all other areas of endeavor are inconsequential.

We have become “weak on membership” - both Council and chapter leaders need to commit themselves to a more robust membership effort for 2011.

Chapter Action Items for 2011:

o Ensure compliance with all sections of the VCOC quarterly report format o Appoint a designated chapter “Membership Chairman” o Submit Chapter Officer Report to MOAA for 2011 officers and directors o Reconcile chapter roster with MOAA to prepare for Give-Me-10 program and recruiting o Obtain “reconciled” spreadsheet of chapter members to identify those with “lapsed” MOAA memberships and “annual” MOAA memberships o Obtain a MOAA “prospect list” based on chapter zip code areas o Submissions due for 2010 MOAA Communications Awards - 1 February 2011 o Submit requirements to MOAA for 2011 Gold Bar program - NLT 1 March 2011 o Include “Levels of Excellence” assessment in 1st quarter report to the VCOC o Submissions due for MOAA Levels of Excellence Awards - 1 June 2011

/ presented by VCOC 3rd VP at VCOC meeting 6 Jan 2011