The last quarter has been another one of those whirlwind time periods, much like any other. In early October many chapter members attended the AUSA National Meeting in Washington, DC, and the tone was set for the chapter when we were recognized as the Best Overall Chapter for our size. During the four day event the hard work that many of our volunteers provided during the past year was recognized in the form of awards or streamers, sometimes on a large stage. The cover article of this newsletter will discuss, in more detail, the events of the week and what went in to being recognized. Of course, the highlight was our chapter reception on 8 October at the Marriott Renaissance Hotel.

Not one to slow down, the remainder of October was filled with various soldier support activities, and rolled right in to November with our annual Veterans and Recruiter Recognition luncheon. COL Chuck Hoppe, the guest speaker, linked the contributions of our veterans with the tasks and missions of a recruiter in today’s world, and presented his heartfelt thanks of the nation to our veterans. At that luncheon, we were graced with four WWII Veterans, and it was my honor to talk about each individually and how they contributed to the war effort, and are still serving our country in some capacity. November also brought the annual State of Team C4ISR luncheon, and although not hosted by AUSA, it was a community event that was shared by all. MG Via used the forum to present his thoughts on where the command has been this last year and where it is going in the near term, with some thoughts on the BRAC actions that are proceeding.

Kathy will discuss the myriad of soldier activities during this period, and they are many, but the genuine highlight was the Soldier Support drive conducted in concert with the Holiday Inn and Morgan’s. Over a three week period, the Holiday Inn collected donations, and on 30 November, hosted a Happy Hour at Morgan’s and provided door prizes and collected donations. Over the next two weeks the collection continued and culminated in another Happy Hour, this one sponsored by the Chapter on Friday the 14th of December at Morgan’s. Since we are at the height of the holiday season, the spirit of giving is alive and well when it comes to our soldiers. The three hour event was packed and resulted in a huge collection of items to be sent to our soldiers. On the following day, many volunteers met at the Holiday Inn and boxed everything for shipment to those units we are sponsoring overseas. All totaled there were almost 60 boxes that will be shipped over the Holiday period. The Chapter accepts item donations, but we use our fiscal resources to pay for the postage and shipping costs, so that is where some of your donations to AUSA go. You can be assured we are taking care of those soldiers that the chapter has adopted.

With the Holiday season here now, the many things that we are involved in will be over by the time you get this newsletter, but suffice it to say that we are cranking on all cylinders to take care of the soldiers. AUSA National provides the insight and expertise to lobby our elected representatives, but the local chapters are the ones that complete the linkage with the Warfighter, wherever they are. Our chapter provides donations to support the Headquarters Company Holiday party for the soldiers’ families, the money to support the USMA Prep School holiday events and the money to support the Patterson Army Health Clinic Christmas ball. Our support goes beyond that to the 90th Anniversary of Ft. Monmouth events that will be occurring over the next several months. As always we continually, support the Fisher House Foundation with time and resources. I continually need new ideas and volunteers to support the chapter activities because it is the new ideas and the new energy that has made this chapter so supportive and successful within the community. Don’t be afraid to raise your hand or give me a call if you want to get involved. I guarantee that if you do, you will have a warm feeling in your heart when you are done!

Thanks again to all for your continued support of our chapter and the people of our Armed Forces. But remember, that support can only continue if you help somehow, and that help can also consist of a note to our elected officials to not abandon our uniformed personnel, so please keep that in mind as well.