President's Page
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From WFA-USA President T.J. Johnson
Hello to all!Greetings to all. I am submitting a few items for your consideration and action: Office of President and Vice President. As I have earlier reported to the Board of Directors neither I nor Vice President Steve Gehnrich will seek another term as Branch President and Vice Prescient respectively. One member has stepped forward as a candidate for the vice-presidency, but to date there are no names in nomination for the office of president. I plan to convene a meeting of the Board of Directors at a working lunch on Saturday, September 13 during the National Seminar in Carlisle. The first item on the agenda will be the election of a President and Vice-President to two year terms. No one has volunteered and I have been unable to identify a member who will run for the office of president. The Nominations Committee, chaired by Susan Neeson, has been equally unsuccessful in its search for a candidate. My term will expire and I will leave office on October 13, thirty days after the election at the Board meeting on September 13. If no one is elected, the office of the president will be vacant on October 13. National Seminar 2009. I will be visiting the U S Naval Academy at Annapolis on June 16 to evaluate the Academy as a venue for our National Seminar in 2009. Based on telephone calls and emails, the site appears to be ideally suited to our needs. The projected dates of the seminar are September 18 - 20 2009. The Navy football team has an away game at Pittsburgh that weekend. With the concurrence of my successor and the Board, I will be willing to organize and manage a seminar at the Naval Academy.. If Board members wish to recommend other venues for 2009, please contact me. Recommendations should identify the individuals who will be primarily responsible for organizing and managing seminars at the recommended sites. Membership. Membership renewals continue to trickle in but we still have sixty of seventy members who have not yet renewed for 2008. Candidates for Branch Offices. Our Nominations Committee seeking candidates for the office of president as well as four candidates to replace the four members of the Board of Directors whose terms will expire on November 11, 2008. The member who agreed to be a candidate for the presidency has withdrawn his name from consideration. As per our bylaws the Board of Directors well elect a President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer during the National Seminar in Carlisle in September. The nominee for the office of President has withdrawn his name from consideration. The Nominations Committee has identified a candidate for the office of Vice-President. Incumbent Secretary Sheila Swigert and incumbent Treasurer desire another term. Two current members of the Board of Directors have indicated a desire to serve another term. If you have members in mind who might be willing to serve as President or as members of the Board of Directors, please contact the Chair of the Nominations Committee, Susan Neeson, at red_neeson@hotmail.com or me at tjjohnson59@aol.com. We will contact those members who are recommended. National Seminar in 2009. The Seminar Committee is developing a list of venues for the National Seminar in September 2009. The National World War I Museum was considered, but the costs of using the facility are prohibitive. Sites under consideration include the National War College at Fort McNair in Washington, DC, the US Naval Academy at Annapolis, MD, Fort Sam Houston at San Antonio, and Fort Lee at Petersburg, VA, If you have suggestions or recommendations for additional sites please contact me. I am also interested in hearing from anyone who would be interested in organizing and managing the Seminar in 2009. The Branch Journal. The April issue of our Branch journal, Camaraderie, is now at the printer. It should be in the mail by the April 29. Our Editor-Publisher, Susan Hall-Balduf. has done yet another superior job with this issue. Susan and I are interested in the opinions and comments on the journal, and specifically suggestions for improving it as a major link for communications with the membership. Election of Branch Officers. This is an election year for the Branch as well as an election year for the nation. The two year terms of Branch President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer will expire in the fall. Neither Steve Gehnrich nor I desire to be nominated for or to serve an additional term as Vice-President and President respectively. Incumbent Secretary Sheila Swigert and incumbent Treasurer Joe Liggera have agreed to serve an additional term if nominated and elected. In accordance with the bylaws the officers of the Branch is elected by the Board of Directors at the Board meeting convened at the annual National Seminar by a simple majority of the votes cast by those members of the Board in attendance. The newly elected Branch Officers will take office thirty days after the election and will serve for a term of two years. The annual meeting of the Board in 2008 will be held on Saturday, September 13 at the National Seminar in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. The newly elected officers will take office on Monday, October 13, 2008. Election of four members to the Board of Directors. The three year terms of four members of the Board of Directors - Pete Guthrie, Louise Arnold-Friend, MGEN Tom Jones, and William Peerenboom - will expire in the fall. The bylaws require that the membership elect four new members of the Board by mail in ballot. The Chair of the Nominations Committee will compile a list of nominees and draft a ballot to be mailed to the membership in August, 2008. Members will be requested to return these ballots not later than November 1, 2008. Newly elected members of the Board of Directors will take office on December 1, 2008. Identifying Nominees. The Chair of the Nominations Committee, Susan Neeson, is compiling a list of nominees for the four Branch offices to be submitted to the Board of Directors at the annual meeting in September. She is also compiling a slate of nominees for the Board of Directors to be listed on the ballot. She has requested and she requires assistance from Branch Officers, Branch Officials, and members of the Board of Directors to identify members who are willing to be nominated and serve as President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer, and other member to serve as members of the Board of Directors. Please forward names of interested members to Susan at (email) as soon as possible. Publications. The December 2007 issue of our journal, Camaraderie, was in January The February 2008 edition of our newsletter, The Field Memo, will be posted this week, Susan Hall-Balduf, editor of Camaraderie, and David Beer, editor of The Field Memo, have done outstanding volunteer work in drafting and organizing these informative, interesting, and insightful publications. Each is a primary means for communications with the membership and our editors have superbly met the myriad challenges of publishing our publications and getting the word out. Membership. After a surge in the fall membership renewals and new applications for membership have slowed to a trickle. At the moment, however, we are about one hundred shy of the 420 plus members we had in 2007, and about one hundred seventy-five short of our membership goal of 500 in 2008. The recent mailings of both Camaraderie and The Field Memo include reminders to members who have not yet done so to send their checks to fill out the forms and to mail them with checks for $25.00 to the Western Front Association, 96 College Ave Poughkeepsie, NY 12603. List of Branch Officials and Directors. (Click here to see a full list of our officers.) Camaraderie. The December edition of the journal is in the mail. Susan Hall-Balduf has done another super job. As we say in the Navy, WELL DONE. Of course we in the Navy also say BEAT ARMY. Membership. From membership renewals and applications from new members, our membership is creeping toward 300. We are now at about 295, some 130 short of our membership of 425 in 2007. The issue of Camaraderie now in the mail includes a reminder to those who have not yet renewed. My Annual Report which will be mailed to each member next week will also encourage members to renew. I am hopeful that we can increase the membership to 450 in 2008. National Seminar. Louise Arnold-Friend is well along in her planning for our next National Seminar scheduled for September 12 - 14, 2008 at the Army Heritage and Education Center (AHEC) in Carlisle Pennsylvania. Data on the schedule of events, list of speakers, topics and times of presentations, accommodations, meals, and costs are being added to our website as the details are finalized. Chapter Seminars. The Florida - Gulf Coast Chapter, the East Coast Chapter, the Great Lakes Chapter, the New England/New York Chapter, and the Southwest Chapter have scheduled or are planning to schedule regional seminars in 2008. Data on these seminars are included on the website. In addition, the Pacific Coast Branch in Victoria, British Columbia will conduct its annual seminar March 7-9. Information on this seminar is also on the website. Finances and Budget. We presently have about $12,000 in operating funds for 2008. Memberships renewals and income from the National Seminar will add to this amount. We have budgeted about $8,000 in 2008 to cover the costs of printing and mailing the journal and the newsletter, and managing the website. New Directors. Again Welcome Aboard to our four newly elected Directors - Jeffery Lamonica, Andy Pouncey, Dick VandenBrul, and John Snow. Board of Directors. I am pleased to announce that Jeffrey Lamonica, Andy Pouncey, John Snow, and Dick VandenBrul have been elected to three year terms on the Board of Directors of the Branch. They replace Guy Cavallaro, Eric Miller, Wayne Pettyjohn, and Susan Neeson whose terms have expired. Congratulations to the new guys and many,many thanks to those completing their terms. Our publications and lists of Branch Officials and Directors are being updated to reflect the change in the membership of the Board. Membership. Membership renewals for 2008 are pouring in to Treasurer Joe Liggera and Membership Chairman Steve Gehnrich. We are now approaching 200 renewals well on our way to fully enrolling the 400 plus members who were signed on in 2007. We will send out a reminder on January to those who have not renewed. Nominations. Susan Neeson, Chair of the Nominations Committee, is preparing a slate of nominees for Branch President. Ballots wil be forwarded to the Board of Directors in August. The election will take office on October 1, 2008. National Seminar in 2009. We do not yet have a venue or a manager/coordinator for the National Seminar in September 2009. We are open to any suggestions on where we might meet and who might volunteer to arrange for a facility, schedule speakers, make the necessary arrangements for accommodations and meals, and coordinate the myriad other details of the Seminar. The Board of Directors held its annual meeting in Newport Rhode Island on September 8, 2008. The following business was transacted: Membership dues. The B of D determined that our Branch should no longer collect dues for membership in the WFA-UK. Because of the dollar - pound exchange rate we have been expending funds from our general accounts to cover the differences in the amounts we have collected and the amounts forwarded to the UK. The UK has sent each member a renewal form which includes information on renewing UK membership by check or credit card directly with the UK.. Our Branch membership renewal which is now in the mail contains the same information and lists the UK website address and the UK membership snail mail address. The UK Membership Trustee has been advised of this decision. Publications dates. The B of D agreed that both out newsletter, The Field Memo, and our journal, Camaraderie, should continue to be issued three times annually. The newsletter will be published in October, February, and June. Camaraderie wil be published in December, April, and August. Membership. We now have 411 members. Membership renewal forms for 2008 are now in the mail. The dues remain at $25.00 annually. Treasurer's report. Treasurer Joe Liggera advised that the Branch holds the following assets:
Anticipated expenses in 2008:
Anticipated income in 2008:
The BofD noted that dues for 2009 may have to be increased to $30 or $35. Undergraduate and High School Essay Contests. After consultation with Jack Tunstall of Phi Theta Kappa and Lannie Liggera, representing, Guy Cavallaro , Chairman of the High School Essay Contest Committee, the Board of Directors agree to change the dates for submission of essays. Undergraduate essays will be due by January 31, 2008. High School essays are due by May 15. National Seminar 2008. Louise-Arnold Friend will arrange and manage the National Seminar at the Army Heritage and Educational Center at Carlisle, Pennsylvania September 12 - 14, 2008. Information on the details of the seminar will be available on the Branch website, www.wfa-usa.org, and in the Branch publications, The Field Memo and Camaraderie. Editors-Publishers. The Board thanked David Beer, Editor-Publiusher of The Field Memo, and Susan Hall-Balduf, Editor-Publisher of Camaraderie, for their continuing efforts in keeping the membership informed and current in the issues of the newsletter and the journal. Conversations with the Great War Society. Len Shurtleff and Steve Suddaby have met with representatives of the Great War Society (GWS) on matters of mutual interest dealing with overall coordination of the activities of the WFA and GWS, and proposals on increasing the membership in the two World War I organizations. A Joint Study Group has been formed to continue to address items of interest. The Board and Directors and the Branch membership will be kept informed on the progress of these discussions. End of Term. I will complete my second term as President of the Branch on November 1, 2008. I do not desire a third term. The Chair of the Nominations Committee has been requested to propose candidates for consideration by the Board at the annual meeting that will be convened at Carlisle, PA in September 2008. National Seminar. To date forty-eight attendees have signed on for the National Seminar at the U S Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island September 7 -9. In addition eleven speakers are scheduled. Anyone interested in attending should call the Best Western The Mainstay Inn on Kalbfus Road to make a reservation. Telephone number 401 - 849 9880. Mention that you will be attending the WFA Seminar. Board of Directors Meeting. Those Directors attending are asked to attend a Board of Directors meeting at 1230 on Saturday September 8, meeting place to be designated. Agenda items for the meeting include increasing UK dues to $65.00 to accommodate the rising dollar/pound exchange rate, a Financial Statement, a proposed budget for 2008, and a brief discussion of both the Undergraduate and high School Essay Contests. Ballots. Ballots to elect four new members of the Board of Directors were mailed to the 401 members on the mailing list this week. Members are asked to vote for four candidates to replace the four members whose terms are expiring in November. Members are asked to return completed ballots by November 1. High School Essay Contest. A flyer announcing the first Branch High School Essay Contest was forwarded to each member in the same envelope as the ballot. Members are asked to provide the flyers to high schools in their local areas. The winner will receive a monetary prize of $500 and the winning essay will be published in Camaraderie. Camaraderie. The August issue of Camaraderie will be in the mail this week. Our new Editor/Publisher, Susan Hal-Balduf, has done a thoroughly professional job with this issue and she has us back on our publishing schedule. The next issue will be out in November. The Field Memo. Editor/Publisher David Beer will have the next issue of the newsletter on the street in mid-September. Membership Renewals. The membership renewal forms for 2008 will be mailed to each of the 401 dues paying members in September. Reminders will be mailed to stragglers in January. Discussions with the Great War Society. Two representative from our WFA Branch will meet with two representatives form the Great War Society in very informal discussions prior to the National Seminar to explore areas where the two organizations can more closely coordinate. This will be an open ended exploratory conversation. No formal agenda has been proposed by either side. Concerning membership, events, and activities both the WFA and the GWS are dealing with the same limited audience and market. The purpose of the September meeting is to identify potential areas of collaboration and coordination. Camaraderie. Using our Branch bulk mailing permit I mailed 400 copies of Camaraderie on May 11, the Friday before the postal rate increase, I have reports that some members have not yet received their copy of the journal, I called the local post office and learned that there is a major glitch in handling bulk mail at the regional USPS bulk mailing office in Washington. The facility is simply overwhelmed with mail and is behind schedule. The journal is still in the system and copies should be delivered within a week or so. I will continue to follow up with USPS. Editors for Branch Publications. Dr David Beer, Chairman of the Southwest Chapter, has volunteered to edit and publish our newsletter, The Field Memo. His first issue was mailed to the membership in April. Susan Hall-Balduf has volunteered to edit and publish the journal, Camaraderie. She anticipates getting out the next edition in August. Tour 2007. Tour 2007 to Belgium and France was highly successful due to the efforts of Paul Guthrie in arranging and managing the tour. Participants followed the British battles at Mons in 1914, the British retreat to the Marne River, and parts of the fight back in 1918. A quick tour of the Chemin des Dames and the Nivelle Offensive of 1017 was followed by a week at the American battle sites in the Meuse-Argonne and St Mihiel. The tour will be covered in some detail including photos in the next issue of Camaraderie. Candidates for the Board of Directors. The terms of four current members of the Board of Director s will expire in November. Andy Pouncey, John Snow, Dick VandenBrul, and Jeff Lamonica have agreed to placing their names in nomination. Secretary Sheila Swigert will mail a ballot to each member in September. Membership. The Branch now has more than 400 dues paying members for 2007. We may reach 425 members before the year is out. National Seminar. The 2007 National Seminar will be held at the Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island September 7-9. The theme of this year's Seminar is "What We Fought Each Other For." Speakers will address the war aims and objectives of the major combatants on the Western Front when the war started in 1914, and the changes in these aims and objectives though four years of war to the armistice in November 1918, the war art sea, the wart in the air, the naval war in the Pacific, and the Treaty of Versailles.. Information on the Seminar together with a registration form will be mailed to each member ins early July. High School Essay Contest. A prize of $500 had been approved for the High School Essay Contest which is being inaugurated this year. Dr Guy Cavallaro is Chairman of the Branch Committee which is defining the requirements for the contest, and which will judge the entries. A flyer will be mailed to each member in August with the request that members give wide notice of the contest at their local high schools. Information on the contest will be available on the website at www.wfa-usa.org The Western Front Association United States Branch enjoyed a productive, informative, and interesting year in 2006. Len Shurtleff and Carl Barna hosted a highly successful National Seminar at Aurora Community College in Aurora, a suburb of Denver. The New England/New York Chapter, the Gulf Coast Chapter, the Great Lakes Chapter, and the East Coast Chapter all conducted regional seminars. The Tomlinson Book Prize was awarded to Janet Watson for her scholarly work Fighting Different Wars: Experience, Memory, and The First World War in Britain. Branch membership increased to about 325 dues paying members and we have issued new membership cards to each member as renewals from members and applications from new members have been received.. Because of the outstanding effort provided by our Interim Editor, Pat Keefe, the outstanding quality of our journal, Camaraderie, and our Newsletter, The Field Memo, has been maintained. Secretary. Branch officials elected to separate the offices of Branch Secretary and Branch Treasurer. Joe Liggera will continue as the Treasurer. Board Member Sheila Swigert has agreed to serve as Secretary until the election of Branch Officers in the fall of 2008. Please include Sheila as an information add on emails and correspondence. Her email is Swigert6554@aol.com and her snail mail is 50 Fort Pl Apt B2E, Staten Island, NY 10310 Membership Chairman. Vice President Steve Gehnrich has graciously volunteered to undertake the duties of the Membership Chairman and to maintain our membership files and mailing lists. In a separate we will mail a reminder form to each member from 2004, 2005, and 2006 membership lists who has no renewed for 2007. Membership Survey. In a membership survey mailed in August 2006 members were requested to vote on two items. 1. The proposal to designate Past Presidents of the Branch as ex officio members of the Board of Directors was proposal approved. 2. The proposal to delete the sentence in Article XII Section 2 of the Bylaws which reads: "If a member joins the Association on or after the first day of May, his/her dues shall be half of the current dues" was approved. Members joining the Association at anytime during the year will be required to pay the full current dues for that and subsequent years of membership. 3. Data from the remaining questions in the survey are being complied. Editor/Publisher. Pat Keefe's tenure as Interim Editor/Publisher terminated in December 2006. Branch Officials are conducting a survey of the membership in an attempt to identify a member who is willing to assume the tasks of Editor/Publisher. To enhance the attractiveness of the position and to provide assistance to the new Editor/Publisher the position of Associate Editor will be reactivated as will the Editorial Board. Branch Officials and Directors are requested to take an active role to find a qualified and motivated Editor/Publisher. This position is critical to tour continuing to maintain a reliable communications chain with the membership. Camaraderie and The Field Memo. As the search for an Editor/Publisher continues, steps are being taken to enhance the quality and attractiveness of our journal and our newsletter. Several features will be added in future editions. These include a section for Letters to the Editor, a section on shorter reviews of recent book on World War I , and a section for member inputs. In this latter regard members will be asked to state the reasons for their interest in and their study of the Great War. To give our publications a somewhat more personal flavor members will also be requested to forward short articles on the training and operational activities of family members and other participants in the war. There are a host of stories and vignettes known to members which would be of great interest to other members. Finally a section on the activities and events of the Regional Chapters will be included. Electronic versions of Camaraderie and The Field Memo. To make our publications more available to the membership while holding printing and mailing costs at a minimum, the feasibility of posting electronic versions of issues of either or both the journal and the newsletter on the website is being considered. No actions have been taken yet and I solicit comments on this considerations from Directors and Chapter Chairs. 2007 Battlefield Tour. We now have about thirty signed up for the May 20 - June 2 Tour this yea. We can accommodate up to forty and a full subscription will keep the costs down. Anyone interested should contact Paul Guthrie at paulguthrie@qx.net. List of Branch Officials and Directors. The list I sent out in Christmas cards had a number of minor errors primarily in telephone numbers and ZIP codes. An updated and corrected copy of the list is attached. Best regards and Happy New Year. The US Branch will conduct its 2007 trip beginning May 18 at the Brussels Airport Holiday Inn and end June 2 at Charles DeGaulle airport Paris. The trip is being conducted by Flanders Tours , the first half will be centered in Mons and the subject Mons and the retreat with one night in Ailette on the Aisne. The second half will be centered in Verdun and will concentrate on the American battles in the Meuse Argonne and St Mihiel sectors. The probable cost is L1176 with a single supplement of L215. The dollar cost will likely be about twice those amounts. To reserve a place contact Paul Guthrie at (859) 233-1426 paulguthrie@qx.net or Teddy Noyes tntnoyes@aol.com. Board of Directors: I am pleased to report that the following four Branch members have been elected or reelected to the Board of Directors for three year terms expiring in November 2009. New members: David Beer and Steve Suddaby Reelected members: Sheila Swigert and Paul Cora Congratulations to David, Steve, Sheila, and Paul. Thanks to Sal Compagno and Jeffrey Lamonica agreeing to place themselves on the ballot. And grateful thanks to Sal Compagno and Eric Miller who are completing their three year terms as members of the Board of Directors. Editor-Publisher: The search is still on for a member who will volunteer to serve as the Branch Editor-Publisher. Pat Keefe has served as interim Editor-Publisher since September 2005. He will complete his time in the job with the November issue of Camaraderie. Please let me know if any of you know of anyone who might be willing to take the job. To meet our publishing schedules in 2007 we need an individual in place by the first of the year. Survey: I am in the process of compiling the data from the member survey. I will advise the Board of the results in December to assist in planning events in 2007. Regional Seminars: The Great Lakes and East Coast Chapters conducted successful and informative seminars in in the past few weeks in Cleveland and Baltimore. The New England-New York Chapter will host a seminar in Hartford on Saturday, November 11. Information on these and on our scheduled events in 2007 is available on the website at www.wfa-usa.org/ Financial reports: Branch and Chapter financial reports are required by the bylaws. Chapter Chairs are requested to submit their financial reports to Secretary-Treasurer Joe Liggera not later than November 30 so that these reports may be included in the annual Branch financial report. Membership renewal forms and ballots. Membership renewals are now being received by Secretary / Treasurer Joe Liggera. Ballots to elect four new members of the Board Directors are now being returned to my address. Chapter Chairs are requested to encourage both past and current members to mail renewals as soon as practical, and also to encourage members to complete ballots and the questionnaire on the back of each ballot and mail the page to me. Chapter Chairs please advise both Joe and me of any errors in addresses, changes of address, or members who did not receive either a renewal form or a ballot. Joe maintains the list of dues paying members while I maintain the mailing list. We are coordinating to develop an accurate list. Membership cards. I am mailing a membership card to each member who renews. Each membership card is numbered. Members are requested to fill in their names. Chapter organization and reports. Article X - REGIONAL CHAPTERS of the Branch bylaws discusses provisions for the eight Regional Chapters. Basically, Chapters are operationally, financially, and logistically independent entities within the Branch. The bylaws state that Chapter "organizational structure and procedures may be scaled to meet their needs. However, Regional Chapters shall submit an annual financial report to the Branch Treasurer at the end of the fiscal year for incorporation into the Branch annual financial report." The fiscal year for the Branch commences on 1 December and ends on 30 November. Chapter Chairs are requested to submit their annual financial reports to the Secretary/Treasurer not later than 30 November. For administrative and record keeping purposes Chapter Chairs are further requested to provide the Secretary/ Treasurer with a list of Chapter officers. Great War Society Seminar. The Great War Society will hold its 15th annual Seminar 27-29 April 2007 in San Francisco. The theme of the Seminar is World War 1 in the Air and at Sea." Details on the Seminar are posted at www.worldwar1.com/tgws/acty.htm. Assistance for a member. Chapter Chairs please pass the following to your members. The August 2006 issue of Camaraderie includes a letter from long time member Jim Hartman. His home in Melanie, LA was heavily damaged by Hurricane Katrina. His father fought in the 58th Regiment in the 4th Division. Both of Jim's copies of "The 58th Regiment in the World War, 1917, 1918, 1919" were destroyed. He is interested in purchasing a copy of the regimental history. Anyone who has or who knows someone who has a copy of the regimental history to sell should contact Jim at 4916 Jule Drive, Panora, IA, 50216, telephone (641) 755-2074, email jhartman17@netins.net. (Note: the email in his letter in Camaraderie is incorrect.) An Executive Committee of the members of the Board of Directors in attendance met on May 20 during the National Seminar in Aurora, Colorado. The Board of Directors subsequently approved the following actions and decisions of the Executive Committee. Nominations and balloting for positions on the he Board of Directors. The terms of four members of the Board will end in November. The following Branch members have been nominated to fill these positions: David Beer, Steve Suddaby, Jeffrey Lamonica, Sheila Swigert, Paul Cora, and Sal Compagno. Ballots will be mailed to the membership in August. The four candidates receiving the most votes will serve on the Board of Directors. National Seminars. The National Seminar in 2007 will be conducted at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island September 7 - 9. The theme of this Seminar will be "What We Fought Each Other For" and the presentation will center around the war time goals and objective of the major combatants on the western front - Germany, France, Britain, and the United States - at the outbreak of hostilities and at the termination of the war. Information on this Seminar is on the website at http://www.wfa-usa.org/new/newport07.htm. Marketing and Publicity. The Branch will discontinue its advertisements in the Military History Quarterly. The Marketing and Publicity effort will concentrate on publishing information locally for both National and Chapter events. The Marketing and Publicity Committee will provide funding and will coordinate publicity with the Chapter Chairs. The Branch website will be utilized as a primary means of communication for marketing, publicity, and advertising information for Branch members and for interested parties who are not members. Annual dues. Beginning in 2007 the annual dues for membership in the Branch will increase from $20.00 annually to $25.00 annually. This increase is necessary to cover the costs of printing, mailing, and publicity. The annual dues for those Branch members who are also members of the WFA UK will increase from $45.00 to $55.00. This increase is necessary to accommodate the fluctuating dollar - pound exchange ratio. Undergraduate Essay Prize. The amount of the annual Undergraduate Essay Prize will increase from $750.00 to $1000.00. The increase will be shared equally by Phi Alpha Theta and the Branch. High School Essay Prize. The Board approved a High School Essay Contest and the award of an annual $300.00 prize. A plan is being developed to publicize the prize in high schools, and to receive and judge essay entries. Membership. Our Branch membership has dropped to about 300 dues paying members. To facilitate renewals and to attract former members who did not renew in 2005 and 2006, individual renewal forms will be mailed in August to each member and former member on the mailing list. The return of these forms by October 31 will be requested. New Chapters. Two new chapters have been added to the Branch. The National World War I Museum Chapter chaired by George Thompson will be headquartered in Kansas City, the site of the World War I Museum. The West Coast Chapter chaired by Susan Neeson will be headquartered in San Francisco. Chapter organization. To provide a means for improved communications to and from the members of the Branch, the geographic organization of the Chapters has been refined so that each of the fifty states is included in a Chapter. New England/New York Chapter. Chapter Chair Lannie Liggera - gagin1@aol.com East Coast Chapter. Chapter Chair Paul Cora - pbcora@earthlink.net Florida - Gulf Coast Chapter. Chapter Chair Len Shurtleff - lshurtleff@aol.com Kentucky/Tennessee Chapter. Chapter Chair Mike Birdwell - birdie@tntech.edu Great Lakes Chapter Chapter Chair Doug Snyder - WDougSnyde@aol.com National World War I Museum Chapter. Chapter Chair George Thompson - thompson@everestkc.net Southwest Chapter. Chapter Chair David Beer - dbeer@mail.utexas.edu West Coast Chapter. Chapter Chair Susan Neeson - red_neeson@hotmail.com - Four of the Chapters have information sites on the Branch website. Members are encouraged to refer to these sites and to contact the Chapter Chairs to obtain information on regional events. - Attendance at National Events. Attendance at the National Seminars in 2004, 2005, and 2006 has been disappointing despite efforts by the seminar organizers to select appropriate locations and meaningful themes, to arrange accommodations and meals at reasonable rates, and to invite outstanding speakers. The Marketing and Publicity Committee is taking steps to publicize and advertise these events locally to attract both members and nonmembers. In addition to these efforts members of the Branch are strongly encouraged to publicize and to attend these events. This is our first published President's Report. Earlier reports will be kept in an Archives Section beginning with the next report filed by TJ. |
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