President's Message
December 2006
Click Here For Archived October 2006 Message

As usual the last quarter was full of events that show just how vibrant and broad our Chapter is as we support the many groups, events and programs across the community. The pictures and other articles in this newsletter will break them down as individual events and they can stand by themselves; but it is important to put the entire community support in perspective. One of my basic charges to the Board as we began the year was to find ways to promote AUSA objectives within the government civilian sector, support the military with a focus on deployed soldiers and to continue to promote education and leadership within our junior ranks. Needless to say, we did not fail this quarter and ran through the objectives always looking for ways to improve. Before I run through a summary of each area, I would be remiss if I did not mention the great work that has been done on individual membership. As of the date of writing this article there are currently 945 members of our Chapter, which is the largest it has ever been. The high number of members is directly attributable to the things the Chapter does within the community, because it shows the diverse individuals what we do to support and how we can positively impact on the profession. Thanks to all who ensure the word gets out and then follows through with the membership applications.

Now to break down three specific areas of support, with the first being the support to the government civilian community where, once again, our Awards program came to the forefront. During the course of the year, the Command conducts the quarterly awards and retirement ceremonies and this quarter was not devoid of those; but the highlight was on the 1st of December when I attended the ceremony that recognized the recipients for six categories of Employee of the Year. The Chapter provided each with an AUSA watch, a savings bond, a plaque and a certificate. Quarterly award recipients were also recognized. Not to be shortchanged, it was also my privilege to attend the quarterly awards ceremony at Patterson Army Health Clinic (PAHC) where the Hospital Commander awarded plaques and savings bonds to the PAHC employees of the quarter. I want to expand this to provide refreshments at the next awards ceremony at Pruden Auditorium, so be looking for some support in that area as well.

A second area of support is to deployed soldiers, and as usual Kathy Reidy led the charge and continues to do the lion’s share of work. Mailings of snacks, DVDs, books, holiday items and sundries continued throughout the quarter and with Thanksgiving and Christmas both occurring the pace stepped up, but she managed to stay on top of it. Emails and photos of soldiers expressing their appreciation became a daily occurrence beginning in November, and it does the Chapter proud to see how much Kathy’s efforts were appreciated. This also extended to the Marine community in Red Bank, so when we say deployed we don’t mean only Army deployed.

The third area of continued focus is on education and junior leadership. We provided support to the CERDEC Greening course in the form of a Professional Organization presentation as well as contributed to the purchase of T-shirts. On a weekly basis the Taste of Heaven program continues at the Post Chapel and members of our Board, as well as Chapter members as a whole, attend the weekly event with Cadets Candidates from the USMA Prep School. We also supported, in conjunction with the West Point Society of New Jersey, the Army Prep-Navy Prep Football game on 11 November in the form of donated snacks and drinks. Our highlight was the luncheon with LTG (ret) Hal Moore that was clearly a lesson in leadership for all that attended. These are just some snippets of what was done, but we are always looking for ways to support our junior leaders and their professional education.

I would like to end this message by expressing, on behalf of all our individual and corporate members, our sincere thanks and appreciation to Vic Ferlise as he retires from Federal Service in January. Those that have been in the community know of Vic’s contributions and drive to make things work on our behalf. We will all miss you, and can only, quite humbly say, “THANKS”. One word says it all, because it comes from the heart.

On that note, I hope that your holidays were enjoyable and that the New Year is as good as the last.

We are doing great! Help us do better.