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THE SHARK’S TOOTH NEWSLETTER VENICE AREA CHAPTER OF MOAA

An Affiliate of the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) and The Florida Council of Chapters (FCOC) 2009, 2010 & 2011 Recipient of the MOAA 4-Star Chapter Award

OUR MISSION

With nearly 400,000 members the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) is a

strong voice in Washington that includes active duty, Reserve National Guard, retired and

former officers from the seven uniformed services. When combined with other military

organizations in the Military Coalition we are "one powerful voice". By joining together at

the local level with other members of the Sarasota Veterans Council, we can be sure our

concerns will be heard by our local, state and national leaders.

November, 2012 Issue

MEMBERSHIP TO MOAA MOAA membership is open to all retired, former and active duty commissioned and warrant officers be they active duty, reserve or National Guard. This includes Marine Corps, Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, Public Health Service and National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration. Also eligible are the widows or widowers of former or retired officers. For more information and a membership application, please click on our web site.

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE – Lt.Col. Mike Healey USMC (Ret.) Hello All! First I want to express the sadness we feel in losing a wonderful member and great guy,

Joe Beima. He will be sorely missed. We had a terrific turnout at our October membership meeting. Twenty-eight members attended, many of which had just returned from up North. We usually work off an agenda at the meetings that includes reports from our various officers and committees. However, after the President’s remarks we ask for member remarks. This is a good time to bring up any questions and/or concerns and we welcome discussing them with you. Our November meeting will include Colonel Linda Gould USA (Ret.) as our guest speaker. Colonel Gould only recently retired after 29 years of active duty. She holds the distinction of being the first female Army officer to command a US Military Group in Latin America. The Colonel is also the co-chairperson of the FCOC Convention occurring in Sarasota next year. I am sure she will bring us up to date on the preparations. Marjorie and I plan to attend the MCJROTC Marine Corps birthday ball on November 8

th at

Plantation Golf & Country Club. Let us know if you would like to join us. We support the JROTC with scholarships during the year; however, this is another great way to show our support for these young people. Have a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving!!! Mike

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MEMBER/CHAPTER INFORMATION MEETING DATES AND LOCATION Chapter meetings are held on the THIRD Tuesday of each month (September to May) at 11:30 a.m. We gather at the American Legion Post #159, Venice Avenue and Auburn Road in Venice, Florida. Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, November 20, 2012 at 11:30 a.m. All members and Associates are invited and encouraged to attend. Lunch may be ordered from the menu with members responsible for their own tab. Our Guest Speaker will be Colonel Linda L. Gould. Colonel Gould retired October 1, 2011 after 29 years of active duty service in the U.S. Army. Colonel Gould is also a co-Chairman of the FCOC Convention being held June, 2013 in Sarasota. SCHOLARSHIP COMMITTEE MEETING There will be a Scholarship Committee meeting on Tuesday, November 20

th, 10:30 a.m. at the American Legion.

NOVEMBER SOCIAL/FUTURE SOCIAL EVENTS Lunch or dinner socials are held once a month (September to May) and are announced on the last page of our newsletter. These events are held at various locations within the Venice/Englewood areas. Our next social will be a lunch on Tuesday, November 13, 2012 at 11:30 a.m. at the Gulf View Grill in Englewood. The election of 2013 Officers and Board members will also be held. Menu information and reservation form are included in this newsletter. Future Social events include: December 11, 2012 at 5:30 p.m. at the Plantation Golf & Country Club; January 10, 2013 at 5:30 p.m. at the Boca Royale Country Club; May 18, 2013 at 4:00 p.m. at the Dallas & Liz Jensen home. More information on these events will be in forthcoming newsletters. 2013 MEMBERSHIP DUES The last page of this newsletter is a membership fee renewal form. The dues are as follows: $25.00 (former or retired officers); $5.00 for associates (spouses) and $15.00 for auxiliary (widows or widowers). Please return the form with your check to Jean White, 331 Bucknell Road, Venice FL 34293 by December 31, 2012. 2013 BOARD OF DIRECTORS NOMINEES The election of our 2013 Board of Directors will be held at the social on November 13, 2012. The nominees are: President, Lt.Col. Mike Healey, Vice President, Lt.Col. Dallas Jensen, Secretary, Mrs. Marjorie Healey, Treasurer, Mrs. Marjorie Healey; Directors Col. Norm MacLellan, Lt.Col. Cris Cristofori, LCDR Alf Kirkeeng, Capt. Denny Matheney, Col. Vince Surwilo and Lt.Col. Gerald Kelly.

LEGISLATIVE ISSUES Getting Up To Date Information [Courtesy of Jim Connor]

For those of you who haven’t tried it yet, here’s how you find the MOAA place on your computer that

gives you the latest piece of legislation that they’re fighting for. MOAA makes it as easy as it can to get

the message to your legislators on how you would like them to vote.

2012 Officers

Lt.Col Mike Healey, President, (941) 493-3965 Lt.Col Dallas L. Jensen, VP (941) 493-1420 Mrs. Marjorie Loria Healey, Secretary, Newsletter Editor, Web Master (941) 493-3965 Lt.Col Gerald Kelly, Treasurer (941) 412-1726 2012 Directors Col. Norman MacLellan, Past President (941) 493-1726 LCDR Alf Kirkeeng, Past President (941) 468-7753

Mrs. Ellen MacLellan (941) 493-1726 Lt.Col Cris Cristofori (941) 423-9675 Capt. Win Orben (941) 474-4453 CHAPLAIN EMERITUS CDR Ira E. Ramsey (941) 408-0313 SCHOLARSHIP CHAIR Capt. Denny Matheney (941) 244-2333 SOCIAL CHAIR Mrs. Denise Kirkeeng (941) 468-6668 MEMBERSHIP CHAIR Mrs. Jean F. White (941) 497-5906 WEBSITE: www.venicemoaa.com MOAA: www.moaa.org FCOC: www.moaafl.org

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Here’s how to do it in 5 easy steps: 1. Type MOAA in Google search box.

2. Click on MOAA home page. (must be the home page)

3. Click on red Take Action tab on left at top.

4. Click on Contact Congress from drop down box that appears.

5. Featured Action Alert appears in pale blue box.

a. Click on Take Action in blue box.

b. Scroll down and read.

c. Add your name and contact info in the boxes at bottom.

d. Click Send Message at bottom.

Politicians actually prefer to have you send an email rather than a letter. They don’t have enough staff to read each legislation letter. The computer keeps track of the number of emails that come in to them for each legislation item, and that’s what they use to decide how important that bill is to their constituents. MOAA writes the email for you but allows you to change it if you want to. Just remember, they’re going by numbers, not quality of message. Current State Issues

FLORIDA VETERANS’ PROPERTY TAX AMENDMENT, AMENDMENT 2 The following Amendment is worthy of your attention on the November ballot. It will especially assist our disabled veterans: Amendment 2 is on the November 6, 2012 state ballot in Florida as a legislatively-referred constitutional amendment. The proposed measure would allow for

property tax discounts for disabled veterans. This bill explicitly extends the rights to ad valorem tax discounts, made available in 2010 to all veterans who were residents of Florida prior to their service, to all combat-disabled veterans currently living in Florida whether they were residents prior to their service or not. The proposed measure requires 60 percent voter approval for adoption. Current National Issues

FINAL COLA ANNOUNCED!

It's official. The 2013 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for military retired pay, SBP annuities, Social

Security checks, and VA disability and survivor benefits will be 1.7%, effective December 1, 2012. It will

first appear in the January checks, which will be paid on December 31.

The 1.7% 2013 COLA will be the fourth-lowest COLA since the turn of the century – trailing only the zero-

COLA years of 2009-10 and the 1.4% of 2002.

View the trends for yourself on MOAA’s COLA Watch webpage.

But there are two categories of military retirees who won't receive a 1.7% COLA:

2012 Retirees: Some service members who retired during calendar year 2012 will receive a somewhat

smaller, partial COLA for this year only, because they weren't in retired status for the full year. Their

partial COLAs generally reflect the amount of inflation experienced in the calendar quarters since they

retired.

Jan.-Mar. retirees will receive 1.7%; Apr.-Jun. retirees, 1.0%; and Jul.-Sept. retirees 0.2%. Those who

retire after Oct. 1, 2012, will see no COLA this year. All members who retired during 2012 will receive full-

year COLAs in future years.

REDUX Retirees: Service members who entered service on or after Aug. 1, 1986 and who elected to

accept a $30,000 career retention bonus at the 15-years-of-service point agreed to accept reduced retired

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pay and COLAs as a trade-off for the bonus. REDUX retirees' COLAs are depressed 1% below the

normal COLA rate, so they'll see a 0.7% COLA this year.

MEMBER INTERESTS October Social at Venetia Community Center We had a wonderful time at our October social. The Matheney’s and the Kirkeeng’s did a great job of setting it up and the venue was beautiful! The food was delicious and don’t get me started on the desserts! Unfortunately, the attendance was one of the lowest we have had in a long time which was quite disappointing. We hope we have more participants at our November social which will include voting on our 2013 Officers. Congratulations are in Order! The daughter of Perry and Mardie Butler, Jennifer Peters, is #3 on the Colonels List and will receive her commission in January or February of next year. Jennifer is in the Army Nurse Corps and is currently working out of the Army Surgeon’s Office along with her husband, Colonel Jeff Peters. She has served in the military for 23 years and we certainly thank them both for their great service!

Women Veterans [Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs] The Sunshine State is home to the third largest population of women veterans in the nation, with more than 140,000. Women veterans are one of the fastest growing segments of the

veteran population, comprising nearly eight percent of the total veteran population. Many female veterans are unaware that they are eligible for the full range of federal and state benefits, to include special programs for them. You can get more information from the following websites: VA Center for Women Veterans www.va.gov/womenvet/ Women Veterans Issues www.vba.va.gov/bln21/topics/women/index.htm Women Veterans Health Care www.womenshealth.va.gov/WOMENSHEALTH/about.asp Homeless Women Veterans www.va.gov/homeless/for_women_veterans.asp TRICARE Electronic Explanation of Benefits EOB’s are now available on www.mytricare.com. You just need to sign up and thus eliminate paper delivery. It’s secure and convenient since you can access the website 24/7. Dependants’ ID Card With the new year coming, be sure and check the expiration date on your identification card! MacDill’s Fact Sheet states that dependant cards should be renewed 30 days prior to the expiration date and dependants 75 years or older must renew 90 days prior to birthday.

for Veteran [Courtesy of Dottie Connor] Do you have a blue “V” on the bottom portion of your Florida’s driver’s license? That blue “V” indicates to the world that you are a military veteran. Next time you renew, bring your DD214

and your new driver’s license will have that “V”. Semper Fi! [Courtesy of Cadet/Second Lieutenant Alana Soodak, VHS MCJROTC Public Affairs Officer]

The Venice High School MCJROTC presents greetings. It is the closing of the first quarter and much has been accomplished. Students are learning the basics of drill, marksmanship, land navigation and survival. At first, students were a little confused about these skills, but practice is making them more perfect.

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The marksmanship and raiders team meet up every day after school to practice. Many curious freshmen joined the teams and are enjoying it immensely. The teams are getting better as the days go by. Already the marksmanship team has participated in two competitions so far and rank third in the district. Everybody is working very hard to do their best and have improved since the beginning of the year. The raiders are working hard as always, sweating and gaining more muscle as weeks go by. They are currently training very hard for two events; the “Raider Nationals” November 2-4, 2012 in Molena, GA and an Orienteering meet in Punta Gorda, sponsored by Charlotte High School’s Navy JROTC. On Veteran’s Day, our color guards will have quite a workout, and are committed to three separate events. A highlight of our school year is the Marine Corps birthday, which we will celebrate on the 8

th of

November. This year’s ball will be held at the Plantation Golf and Country Club. The year seems to be flying past as the JROTC is already planning and rehearsing for the Venice Christmas parade on November 24, 2012. Hope to see you all there!

“HELL IN THE PACIFIC: A MARINE RIFLEMAN’S JOURNEY FROM GUADACANAL TO PELELIU” [Courtesy of Clara Millar] This book was written by Marine Jim McEnery. Mr. McEnery, born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, enlisted in the Marines in 1940. He had intended to join the Army but their recruiting office was closed. He served at Parris Island, South Carolina, Norfolk and Quantico, Virginia, where he joined the First Marine Division's famed K-3-5 rifle company

in June 1941 before shipping out to the Pacific after the United States entered World War II. He took part in the invasion of Guadalcanal, Cape Gloucester and Peleliu where Mr. McEnery assumed command of the company and helped hasten the final defeat of the Japanese garrison after weeks of torturous cave-to-cave fighting. Mr. McEnery was married to Gert who is member Clara Millar’s sister. He passed away on September 16, 2012 a couple of weeks short of his 93

rd birthday. The book is available at

Amazon.com and has a 4-star rating.

Paperbacks for Patriots The Venice Chapter will be collecting gently used paperback books to be delivered to the Bay Pines Veteran’s Hospital. Please box the books in sturdy, stackable cardboard boxes and mark the number of books on the top of the box. Books may be paperback or hardcover, but no coffee table size books, please. Boxes may be brought to the November social and membership meeting. Alf and Denise Kirkeeng will be delivering the

boxes to Bay Pines after Thanksgiving. Please call Denise Kirkeeng (468-6668) if you have any questions. Venice Symphony Concert The 2013 Venice Symphony Season includes a concert entitled “Days of Glory, WWII”. At our last meeting director Doug Kerr and conductor Ken Bauermeister advised that at the January 17, 2013 performance the MOAA members in attendance will receive special recognition. The repertoire will include music from those war years plus Tara’s Theme from Gone with the Wind, The Theme from Laura, selections from Oklahoma and South Pacific. It promises to be very entertaining evening. The concert starts at 8:00 p.m. and we get a discounted rate of $25.00 per ticket. There will be more information as the date gets closer.

Charity Donations With the holidays fast approaching, you will no doubt be contacted by many charities. You must be diligent in this regard since you always hear about those who will try scams and take advantage of your good will. To help you decide if this is a charity to which you want to

donate, go to www.charitynavigator.org to get a rating. You will also be able to compare one charity from another. Some religious charities are not rated as they are federal exempt from filing IRS Form 990 which requires information on their mission, programs and finances.

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Welcome! LCDR Joseph Duffy and his wife Colleen have joined our Venice Area chapter. Joe is retired from the United States Coast Guard and they live in Osprey. Joe and Colleen were recruited by Liz Jensen and joined using our website membership form. We hope to see them at our next function. Taps Joe Beima passed away on October 17, 2012. He was a special member and friend. Our deepest sympathy goes to Marie and the entire Beima family. There will be a memorial on what would have been Joe’s 74

th birthday, Wednesday, November 7, 2012 at 4:00 p.m. at the Club House in Lake of the Woods

of Jacaranda, Lake of the Woods Drive in Venice. November Milestones Birthdays: Ellen Hughes 11/03; Edward Krebs 11/08; Don O’Nesky 11/07; Ellie Neuwirth 11/12; Roger Conover 11/14; Ronald Miller 11/18; Francis Stegner 11/23; Hal Knott 11/24; Bill Lutgen 11/29; Anniversaries: Billy & Barbara Moore 11/24/1982 Observances in November 11/01 – All Saints’ Day 11/04 – Daylight Savings Time Ends 11/06 – Election Day

11/10/1775 – Marine Corps Birthday 11/11 – Veterans Day 11/22 – Thanksgiving Day

We Wish You A Wonderful

Thanksgiving Holiday!!

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2013 MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL FORM

Please send this portion of the page with your check payable to “Venice Area Chapter MOAA” to Mrs. Jean F. White, 221 Bucknell Road, Venice FL 34293. Dues must be received by December 31. 2011. Enclosed is my check in the amount of $25.00 (Member) __________ $5.00 (Spouse) ____________ $15.00 (Auxiliary) _________ Last: ____________________ First: _________________ MI ____ Spouse ____________________ Rank: ________ Service ________ Member Birthday: __________ Spouse Birthday: ___________ Anniversary: _____________ Street Address: ________________________________________ City ______________ State___ Zip _______ Phone: __________________ E-Mail ___________________________________ (Unless otherwise specified, your Newsletter will be sent to you via your e-mail address)

MOAA National # __________________ Are you a Life Member? Yes ____ No ____

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Member Pictures at October Social

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NOVEMBER SOCIAL Tuesday, November 13, 2012

11:30 a.m. Social / 12:00 p.m. Lunch GULF VIEW GRILL

2095 North Beach Road, Englewood Reservation Form Must Be Received by November 8, 2012

Entrée Selections:

Flat Iron Steak Marsala w/mashed potatoes and vegetables Chicken Picatta w/rice and vegetables Baked Tilapia w/rice and vegetables

Above served with salad, rolls and butter Dessert not included

Cost: $25.00/person (tax & gratuity included) Please make your checks payable to: “Venice Area MOAA” and mail to Denise Kirkeeng, 1260 Covey Court, Venice FL 34293. Denise’s contact number is (941)468-6668. Please let her know if you have any dietary restrictions. Members with names starting with N to Z are asked to bring a wrapped gift for our scholarship raffle. Thank you. Dress Code: Florida casual, no sandals *********************************************************************************************************************

Reservation Request for November 13, 2012 Lunch Social

Steak Marsala ____________ Chicken Picatta _____________ Baked Tilapia _______________ Member: _________________________ Guest: __________________________ Number: __________ attending @ $25.00/person In addition to my reservation, I would like to donate $_______ to the Scholarship Fund. I am unavailable to attend this function but would like to donate $ _______ to the Scholarship Fund. TOTAL ENCLOSED: $__________