Challenges for this year - President's Message

As I write this article, the ROA/ROAL convention of 2003 in New Orleans, La., has come to a close. I want to thank everyone from the New Orleans host committee for the wonderful job they did and for showing all of us a great time. The luncheon at the Metairie County Club was excellent.

One item of great importance was the approval of the Strategic Plan. Now that the members have approved the plan, the committee can move forward, make suggestions to the membership and allow the door to be opened to the future of ROAL.

For me, the last day of convention was exciting. 1 had the honor of presenting Teri Barnes with her past president's pin and receiving from her the president's pin. I was filled with pride to accept the responsibility of this once and I will do the best I can for you

A big thank-you to Teri for an excellent year. The evening of the banquet, COL David Davenport, outgoing ROA national president, asked me to make a presentation to Teri Barnes. An anonymous donor had a star named after Teri in ROAL's name. (This can be done through the International Star Registry.) It was a fabulous gift and I was glad I had the opportunity to present the certificate of authenticity to our outgoing president

This year the outgoing ROAL president and spouse and the incoming ROAL president and spouse sat at the head table during the banquet. I want to thank Colonel Davenport and MG Bob McIntosh for recognizing ROAL in this manner. Our hard work has made inroads to a new cooperation between ROA and ROAD I have charged the members of ROAL and its 2003 2004 officers to be aggressive. By this I mean don't give up on possible new members.

Be ready and willing to recruit. Maintain contact with departments and clubs. Know what they are doing and pass this information on. Don't take "no" for an answer. We cannot hesitate when deciding important issues. Be aggressive, be precise, and be part of the future of this organization. Have a great year and keep in touch. I will publish my e-mail address (sjjm4d@msn.com) with each issue. I want to hear from you.

ROAL PLAYS A PART IN USO LOUNGES

On 22 May, a group of Seattle ROAL and ROA members toured the USO lounge at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and honored Ms. Doris Brunner, an ROAL Associate Member. Doris Brunner has served 1,500 hours as a volunteer in the past four years, and has ably represented ROAL's efforts here. National President Teri Barnes was present, with LTC Chad and Barbara Stoddard, LTC Robert and Marci Duncan, LTC Ken Bergstrom and Ms Srae Alberts, COL Jack Ellison, Mrs Jane Halver, and COL Ted and Eileen Robinson. All are active members of ROA/ROAL who help support the USO here.

ROAL has long supported the USO (United Service Organization), which operates two lounges at airports in Washington. One lounge is at McChord AFB and the other is at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The Sea-Tac lounge is operated 24-hours seven days a week and is staffed by volunteers doing four-hour shifts. A few of the volunteers are members of ROA and/or ROAL.

The volunteers check in visitors on a computer, ensure that baggage is stored in a lobby area, offer a variety of refreshments (all free to the visitor) and arrange for usage of the showers and bunk beds for those anticipating an overnight stay. Some of the guests are dependents and some of have small children with them. This lounge is a real lifesaver to many young service people and their spouses. The Sea-Tec lounge has won awards for its outstanding service and many visitors have written comments about the good treatment they received here.

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