Monthly Archives: October 2014

Newly Elected Chapter 2363 Officers

The new Chapter 2363 officers, elected by acclamation, are:

President –D. Thomas Longo, Jr. of Lawrenceberg, Indiana

Vice President- Rodney Todt of Tampa, Florida

Treasurer/Secretary – Sandra Threadcraft, of Decateur, Georgia.

The three new officers were the only ones to announce their candidacy for the positions and ran unopposed. According to Roberts Rules of Order:

Under Robert’s Rules of Order, if there is no opposition there is no need for a formal vote.

Congratulations to each of you. I am confident that with the member’s help, you three will continue to lead and strengthen the chapter into the future.

The new officers will take their positions effective November 1, 2014.

David Snell, Outgoing President

Chapter 2363

Flu Shots for Feds 2014

Final Flu Flyer 2014

Article in Cincinnati Enquirer, on October 17, 2014 by D. Thomas Longo,Jr., incoming NARFE eChapter #2363 President

TIRED OF GRIDLOCK?  VOTE FOR A CHANGE

As a former U.S. Foreign Service Officer whose job it was to help Washington make sense of foreign political sensibilities and developments, I was challenged at times to explain why countries like Italy, Germany and Turkey could become so politically deadlocked at times.  I was grateful then that we Americans with our can-do spirit and willingness to compromise for the greater good were somehow “better.”  But our own political gridlock in recent years has given me pause and a greater humility.

As a former U.S. Navy officer, diplomat and continuing patriot, I want better for our country.  I therefore offer the following perspective by way of urging my Hoosier, Ohio and Kentucky neighbors to think hard about the upcoming midterm elections.  Here are some considerations.

o    However you feel about President Obama, he is not on the ballot.

o    This election is to choose a new Board of Directors for the republic for the next two years,  the Congress, at a time of growing significant international perils and challenges and strongly debated domestic issues.

o    Beware of simplistic slogans that Government is Bad and Government Is Evil.  Government and dedicated federal employees do much good.  Examples:  the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control, workplace and product safety and consumer protection, the National Transportation Safety Board, the Forest Service, F.E.M.A….   Recall that, but for the public’s confidence in federal bank deposit insurance, a major run on the banks would have deepened the Great Recession into economic catastrophe.

o     It is important for each of us to reach out beyond the Fox Propaganda Network, MSNBC’s Talking Heads, other slanted media and organizations and talk radio, intelligence-insulting political ads, and the Internet on which anyone can post anything, to inform ourselves and make our own conscientious decisions.

o     We each need to weigh whether we support or oppose respective political party positions on subjects such as foreign interventions, terrorism, U.S.-Russian and U.S.-Chinese relations, Obamacare, minimum wage, infrastructure investment, immigration, climate change, gender and marriage equality, the federal role in natural disasters and disease threats like Ebola, significant tax reform, voting procedures and so forth.  There are pro- and con arguments on each.

Yet gridlock blocks progress on anything.  I was struck a while ago by a comment from an Ohio neighbor, a small businessman, who was not a close follower of politics.  His comment was like a jolt of common sense fresh air.  He basically said that if you have a business and things are not going well, Management has to change or be gone.  The same can be said of Congress.

One should not oversimplify and I as I said, this gentleman was a small businessmen, not a major private sector or academic intellect.  He doubtless confronts myriad local, state and federal rules and regulations as he has to make ends meet for his payroll and business.  But he was looking beyond that.  And unlike large Big Business and Big Finance, he was hardly in a position to spend or contribute megadollars to buy and pay lobbyists and Congressmen.  He was just being an honest American in his talk with me.

If you favor continued political gridlock and consequently paralyzed government, arguably your best rational course of action is to vote for your present incumbent in Congress whether that person is a Republican, Democrat or Independent.  But if you are uncomfortable with gridlock and the present state of affairs, a rational decision is to vote for that incumbent’s opponent regardless of party.

The bottom line is that we all need to think hard about our vote in November.

MD/NARFE: Call for Winter 2014 Federation Newsletter Articles

TO: Members of Executive Committee, Federation Committee Chairs and Chapter Presidents
FM: President Dan McGrath

SUBJECT: Articles for Winter 2014 Federation Newsletter

Deadline for Federation Newsletter articles for winter issue is Friday, Nov. 28. Articles should be submitted no later than that date to Secretary Pat Farmer (buttonspaf@aol.com), with a cc to me, Dan McGrath (mcgrathsop@aol.com). Pat will do the initial editing of the articles.

If you have any questions, please contact me by email or phone, 410-641-5570 or Pat by email or phone, 301-776-4645.

Thanks,
Dan

CALL TO MARYLAND FEDERATION TRAINING DAY THURSDAY, OCT. 30, 2014 – BOWIE COMFORT INN

CALL TO MARYLAND FEDERATION TRAINING DAY

THURSDAY, OCT. 30, 2014 – BOWIE COMFORT INN

 TO:      Chapter Presidents, Membership Chairs, Legislative Chairs, Social Media Coordinators, FLC and SLC Members

CC:      Federation Executive Committee, Federation Committee Chairs, Region II RVP, Configuration Advisory Board Representative and Region II Federation Presidents

FROM: Dan McGrath, President – 410-641-5570 – mcgrathsop@aol.com

SUBJ:  MARYLAND FEDERATION TRAINING DAY

DEADLINE: Pre-register with Marty Strombotne, Registrar, by Friday, Oct. 24

 Registration Form – Registration form for October 30, 2014 Training

AGENDA:

8:30 a.m.

  • Registration                 Marty Strombotne, Registrar
  • Coffee, Danish

9:30 a.m.

  • Call to Order               Dan McGrath. President
  • Invocation                   Larry Lange, Chaplain
  • Pledge of Allegiance
  • Announcements         Dan McGrath
  • Update on NARFE Legislative Program – National Office Staff Invited, Legislative Director Gary Roundtree has lead
  • Update on NARFE Membership Program – National Office Staff Invited, Membership Director Jo Anne Groves has lead

11:45 a.m.       Break for Lunch

1:00 p.m.         Start Afternoon Sessions-To be run in 3 Tracks

  • Track-1: Legislative Workshop and FLC Meeting – Gary Roundtree and Sudha Haley, FLC Chair, have lead. All attendees are invited to attend this session, not just the MD Federation’s FLC members.
  • Track-2: Membership Workshop Recruitment and Retention – Jo Anne Groves and Dick Strombotne, Member Retention Chair, have lead.
  • Track-3: OAM Q & A Session and Update on National Office’s Web Hosting Software for Chapter Websites – Pat Dempsey, Region II Representative on the National Configuration Advisory Board and Member of the MD Federation’s ECC Committee has the lead. Attendance at this session will be by appointment scheduled in the morning at the ECC table on the side of the meeting room. Attendees scheduled for this track should also plan to attend Track 1 or 2 leaving that session for the appointment time of their Track 3 attendance and then returning to the Track 1 or 2 meeting for the rest of the afternoon.

3:25 p.m.         Closing

MAKE SURE YOU COMPLETE THE EVALUATION FORM BEFORE LEAVING MEETING.

For this event, the cost of registration, including lunch, will be borne by the Federation for all attendees from the Maryland Federation. Attendees from outside Maryland will have to pay the $20 registration/lunch fee. One driver from each Maryland chapter will be reimbursed for mileage at 45 cents per mile. Carpooling is strongly encouraged.

Pre-registration is required. Please inform Marty Strombotne promptly of your plans to attend this training. The Registration form is attached. Be sure to tell Marty whom you are riding with. In addition please give Marty your best guess as to how many will be attending each breakout track in the afternoon. If an individual is planning to schedule a Track 3 appointment that individual should be listed for both Track 3 and Track 1 or 2. This will help us size the groups to the available meeting rooms. Deadline for registering is Friday, October 24.

Chapters will be billed for payment of No Shows

Because of the distance involved, 125 miles or more, the Federation will reimburse Chapters 410 West-Mar and 2274 Ocean Area for one or more rooms (up to 4) for October 29 at the hotel as necessary. These chapters should make their own reservations with the Comfort Inn. All attendee names are needed on the registration form so that accurate lunch arrangements can be made and a proper number of training materials prepared. The Federation will pay mileage at 45 cents per mile. Again, carpooling is strongly recommended.