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ADVOCACY IN ACTION - 2026

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Colonel Bob Norman and I travelled to northern Virginia in support of the annual MOAA Advocacy in Action event.  While I don’t have the numbers, I hope our Illinois chapter members sent emails that week in support of our visit to the Hill on the 15th. Since Bob provided such a thorough review of the legislative portions of the week in his legislative column, I will focus on several other topics covered during the week.  First and foremost, MOAA is an ADVOCACY organization whose purpose is to “protect the earned benefits of all uniformed servicemembers and their families and survivors.”  The 350,000 members organized into 31 councils, 299 chapters, 8 virtual chapters, and 9 satellite chapters gives MOAA voice at national and local levels. It is the 30,650 chapter members who continue to do the “heavy lifting” for the organization.  Kudos to you for being part of the “heavy lifters”!

 

On the 15th Bob and I, with our teammates CDR Brian Czarnecki, USPHS, and Genelle Felix, a MOAA staffer, visited both Illinois senators’ offices, and each team visited separately four representatives’ offices. As Col Norman points out MOAA has revised our visits by targeting specific Congressmembers instead of visiting all of a state’s elected officials.  Thus, we did not attempt to visit all of the Illinois delegation.  Even so, I logged over 10,000 steps in 93-degree weather making the trips between the Senate and House offices.  Overall, approximately 160 MOAA members conducted nearly 300 in-person office meetings of which over 50 were with the lawmakers themselves.  Additionally, over 25,000 emails were sent from members across the country in support of those visits. Again, I hope that several of our members have their emails included in that count!  It was a good day.  And, especially as our country nears its 250th birthday, it is an awesome feeling to walk the halls of this nation’s governing bodies – that doesn’t happen in very many places in the world.  For those of us who have worn the cloth of our nation, it is a special and rewarding experience.

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Other things in the week:

  • I hand-delivered the Zip code files to the Chapter & Councils folks

  • MOAA is committed to keeping the Council & Chapter framework.  I personally see a shift to more virtual chapters in an effort to engage more members in the advocacy efforts. (More numbers and more emails)

  • Updating the CM is essential (expect a name change in the future) – MOAA can’t provide information and data to the right chapter members if we don’t have the correct data in the CM

  • The Total Force Plus event last year was successful despite the concurrent government shutdown (there were over 2,700 participants) – the next one is scheduled for February 2027

  • We really need to be careful with the personal information (PPI) on our members contained in the NRT and prospective members listings

  • MOAA has given out $190,000 in Community Grants to 91 chapters

  • The MOAA store will be stocking the ROTC medals “soon”

  • MOAA encourages chapters to collaborate with other VSOs, especially for advocacy issues – the more the louder the message

  • Victoria retires 1 May! – She will be missed after several decades at MOAA

  • Several of the MOAA “partners” promoted their offerings to our membership

    • MOAA Vacations is offering discounts on Viking cruises, even those already booked

    • Both Insurance providers (liability & medical) had good information

    • I found the “Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors” (TAPS) to be very applicable as an aid to our surviving spouse liaisons.  Check them out at www.taps.org

  • At the Honoree Ceremony and Reception, MOAA recognized Senators Tim Kaine and John Boozman, Representatives Don Beyer and Mike Kelly, two staffers Patrick Flood and Jordan Nasif, and the Bob &Renee Parsons Foundation

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It was a productive, informative, and rewarding week that reminded us that “People Outrank Everything” and that we should “Never Stop Serving!”

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Semper Fi – Bob Tyler

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Click Here to Enter MOAA Advocacy page to become involved with the efforts

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