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ROA Convention Wrap Up
ROA held its 91st Annual Convention 21-23 July, 2017, at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Crystal City, Virginia. There were 158 attendees at the meeting. Of those, 98 were accredited delegates, representing 33 departments. Representation allowed based on association membership was 47 departments, with a total of 317 delegates with 634 votes.
Photos
As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. Here are three sites where you can find photos of the events.
http://www.roa.org/page/2017ConventionWrapup
https://www.flickr.com/photos/heplimack
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/vutzywu01gg05fv/AAB8eDl1g1QuAn5WgYMIqQPUa?dl=0
Memorial Breakfast
Saturday, 22 July began bright an early with a breakfast memorializing those members who died in the past year. ROA National Chaplain, Col. Sherman Reed was joined by ROAL and other members as they read poems, excerpts from the Bible, and paid tribute to the deceased.
General Assemblies
The general assemblies of the convention witnessed the presentation of awards, heard the State of the Association address by Executive Director Jeff Phillips and enjoyed a legislation briefing by ROA Legislation and Military Policy Director Susan Lukas. The keynote was a panel discussion with the RC Chiefs. Participating in the panel discussion were Lt. Gen. Maryanne Miller, Chief, Air Force Reserve; Lt. Gen. Daniel Hokanson, Vice Chief, National Guard Bureau; Rear Adm. Andrew McKinley, Director, Reserve and Military Personnel, USCG; Rear Adm. Thomas Luscher, Commander, Navy Reserve Forces Command; and Mr. Stephen Austin, Assistant Chief, Army Reserve.
Click here for a copy of the Executive Director's "State of the Association" briefing slides.
Each member received a copy of the FY2017 Annual Report in their registration packet.
View/download the Executive Director's FY2017 Annual Report to members (pdf)
Business Meeting
Resolutions
Resolutions for review and renewal were presented by Col. Alfred M. Diaz, USA (Ret.), committee chairman. The National Resolutions Committee recommended 14 resolutions to the convention for renewal in addition to seven new resolutions for approval. View resolutions here. All of them were passed by the convention delegates.
Constitution and Bylaws Amendments
Five proposed amendments to the Constitution and Bylaws were presented by Constitution and Bylaws Committee chairman, Lt. Col. Richard Spencer, USA (Ret.). Of the five motions, one was passed, three failed, and one was postponed indefinitely. View proposed amendments here.
Elections
Twelve new members were elected for two-year terms on the Executive Committee and president-elect, Col. Donald L. Stockton, USAF (Ret.) was sworn in as the new National President. View full list of newly-elected officers.
Banquet
ROA and the ROA STARs Foundation combined forces to host a formal banquet and ball on Saturday evening. After a beautiful reception with views of Washington, DC, attendees moved to the ballroom for dinner. A color guard and 5-piece brass band presented the colors and played the national anthem, followed by a medley of service songs. As attendees enjoyed their Chocolate Charlotte for dessert, they were introduced to six individuals who were spotlighted for their excellence in service. To read more about the spotlights, click here. Also presented were the President’s Award, Nathan Hale Award, and Twice the Citizen award. See below for details.
Awards
During the convention ROA recognized journalists, serving members of the Reserves and Reserve Component units, and corporations, whose excellent performance has set them apart.
· ROA National Awards
o Nathan Hale Award – Brian L. Roberts, Chairman and CEO of Comcast Corporation
Awarded for Outstanding Service to the Reserve Community
o Twice the Citizen Award – Dr. John M. Mateczun, President and Chief Executive Officer of UnitedHealthcare Military & Veterans
Awarded for the faithful and tireless work toward a strong national security and efforts on behalf of Reservists, their families and ROA
o ROA President’s Award – Mr. David Nokes, Office of the Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs
o Chaplain of the Year – CH (CPT) Doug Daspit, USAR
o Chief Warrant Officer 4 Michael J. Novosel Award – Chief Warrant Officer 2 Cynthia Oliver, Coast Guard Base Miami
o Col. Thomas F. Royals National Minuteman Media Award
Alex Horton was recognized for his fair, balanced, and informative writing on the use by the military of 12304b mobilization authority to involuntarily deploy Reserve and National Guard members. His November 25, 2016, Stars and Stripes article, “Pentagon holds GI Bill benefits for reservists,” revealed that deployments under 12304b do not earn key benefits otherwise awarded mobilized service members. His identification of this discrepancy to the public and the nation’s lawmakers has helped move law and policy toward equity for America’s Reserve Components. Horton is now with The Washington Post.
John Donnelly, senior staff writer at Congressional Quarterly Roll Call, wrote an article that exposed the inequity in survivor benefits paid to families of a Reserve of Guard member who died while on inactive duty training orders. The article, “Some Survivors of the Fallen Are Shorted on Pentagon Benefits,” helped influence legislation signed into law last year, that corrected the inequity.
Bennett Hall, special projects editor for the Corvallis-Gazette Times, of Corvallis, Oregon, wrote an article about U.S. Marines deployed under 12304b involuntary mobilization authority who, because of the nature of that authority, did not get benefits received by active duty forces, such as the GI Bill. His article, “Reservists denied G.I. Bill,” helped influence efforts now underway to reform the law and add the benefits.
· Committee Awards
o Sword and Pen
Department of Golden West
Department of Michigan
Department of Missouri
Department of North Dakota
Department of Washington
Golden West - Chapter 057
Golden West - Chapter 063
Kentucky - BG Elmus S. Ussery Chapter 168
o Sword and Screen
Department of The Golden West
Department of Indiana
Department of Minnesota
Department of New York
Golden West - Santa Clara Chapter 063
Minnesota - Saint Paul Chapter 021
o Special Recognition
Cmdr. Art Curtis, USCG (Ret.), and Capt. Jerry Kromrey, USAF (Ret.), received special recognition for their years of service to the Communications Committee and to ROA.
· Army Section Awards
o Army Reserve Outstanding Junior Officer of the Year – 1st Lt. Christian Bionat, B Company, 338th Military Intelligence Battalion, 648th Regional Support Command, Fort Riley, Kansas
o Army Outstanding Large Unit award – 900th Quartermaster Company, El Paso, Texas
o Outstanding Company Size Unit Award – 342nd CBRN Company, of Urbana, Illinois
o Outstanding Small Unit Award – Detachment 5, EUCOM Army Reserve Element Joint Analysis Center, Patterson AFB, Ohio
· Air Force Section Awards
o Air Force Reserve Outstanding Junior Officer – Capt. Christopher Barnes, 26th Space Aggressor Squadron, Schriever, Colorado
o Maj. Gen. Tom E. Marchbanks, Jr., Award – 96th FTS Functional Check Flight Team, Laughlin AFB, Texas
o Outstanding Non-Flying Unit Award – 9th Combat Operations Squadron, Vandenberg, AFB, California
· Naval Section Awards
o Navy Reserve Outstanding Junior Officer of the Year – Lt. Cmdr. Thomas Hoskins, NR NORAD and NORTHCOM Headquarters
o NOAA Outstanding Junior Officer of the Year – Lt. Joseph Phillips, Technical Operations Coordination Meteorologist, Ocean Applications Branch, Ocean Prediction Center, at the University of Maryland College Park campus
o Coast Guard Outstanding Junior Officer of the Year – Lt. Benjamin Gross, Port Security Unit 309, Port Clinton, Ohio
o Coast Guard Outstanding Chief Warrant Officer of the Year – Chief Warrant Officer 2 Cynthia Oliver, Coast Guard Base Miami
o Rear Adm. Bud Sparks Award (Category 1) – Coast Guard Station, Fort Myers Beach, Florida.
o Rear Adm. Bud Sparks Award (Category 2) – Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
o Adm. Russell R. Waesche Award (Category 1) – Ninth Coast Guard District, Cleveland, Ohio
o Adm. Russell R. Waesche Award (Category 2) – Pacific Area Deployable Specialized Forces Support Branch (PAC-13), Alameda, California
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