Dear Regional Vice Presidents, info others:
This email is to introduce the RVP’s to myself as eNARFE Chapter 2363’s first non-resident Chapter President and to share with you briefly some recent Chapter 2363 developments and thoughts. I am D. Thomas “Tom” Longo, Jr., resident in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. I became eNARFE president by volunteering for such last September and running unopposed. The other elected eNARFE officer at present is Secretary-Treasurer Sandra Threadcraft of Georgia, who also volunteered and ran unopposed. We assumed office November 1, 2014 and our terms are two years.
The chapter’s Service Officer is Federal Benefits Chief David Snell at Headquarters who was also 2363’sfirst president whom I succeeded. Our Legislation Officer is Marc Harris, of Florida. Membership Chair is Ms. Vilma Geisert, of North Carolina. We are currently conducting an electronic election by our members among five good candidates for a chapter vice president. The voting deadline is August 5 and the new V.P. will be installed promptly once results are known.
Chapter 2363 had 27,695 members as of July 23, 2015. Our recruitment occurs primarily through electronic means by National Headquarters and is proving to be a success story in reaching out in particular, apparently, to the “Boomers Generation” as described at the July 2015 N.E.B. meeting in Reno. These are people born 1946-1964, currently aged 51-69, many if not most of whom are still actively employed. They are inclined, evidently, not to be “joiners” of volunteer organizations since they assume they will continue to work at least part-time well into retirement. Accordingly, numbers of them apparently find eNARFE to be a good fit since they benefit from NARFE’s advocacy efforts while not needing to join a local chapter. NARFE in turn benefits from their national dues revenue. 2363 does not have chapter dues nor receives “10% money” but National helps us out from time to time with officer travel-expense reimbursement.
Recent Chapter 2363 developments since I became president include:
- We have set up a chapter Advisory Committee comprised of currently 10-11 persons who have shown themselves closely interested in and attentive to eNARFE matters, including where and how eNARFE should fit into Future NARFE per the FONC exercise and current Strategic Planning.
- Chapter 2363 successfully urged National Headquarters to move forward ro implement the Orlando Convention’s stipulation to set up a new national NARFE blog open to all NARFE members. The new national blog went live on June 5. The preexisting eNARFE blog open only to eNARFE members that was very little utilized will be taken down shortly, replaced by the national blog.
- With the help particularly of my Membership and Legislative Chairs, we have given special weight to a “service-to-our-members” philosophy wherein if someone posts a question or situation to 2363, they WILL get a reply, or a referral. You can imagine that with 27,000+ members such responsiveness can be a challenge at times, but it’s what we do.
- We have built further on the voting precedent that past chapter president David Snell established at the 2014 Orlando convention, namely, proportional chapter voting on national officer candidates and major resolutions according to results of electronically polling our membership shortly prior to conventions. This means that, notwithstanding the large number of ballot votes we are entitled to by the one-delegate-per-50-members national bylaws rule, Chapter 2363 can not and will not “steamroll” anything at a convention. Rather, we divide our ballot vote proportionally according to our members’ desires.
I and my colleagues fully subscribe to the philosophies that 2363 and the local chapters, federations and regions are all on the same NARFE team, and that 2363 is an asset, not a liability or rival, for your and our efforts toward an effective Future NARFE.
Some of you may remember me from the Orlando convention when I spoke repeatedly from the floor on issues pertinent to eNARFE Chapter 2363. In any event, I hope to become a regular attendee at N.E.B. meetings, starting with this November’s, to provide a face of 2363 there and to become better acquainted with all of you.
Sincerely, /s/ D. Thomas “Tom” Longo
eNARFE Chapter 2363 Pfesident
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