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To: ACAMC Membership                                                                                March 16, 2010

Subject: ACAMC Meeting Minutes

1.  Date, Time, Location:  March 13, 2010, 1:15 pm (1315 hours), 1 FW Munitions Flight Administrative Facility, Langley AFB, VA.

2.  Purpose:  General membership meeting. 

3.  Attendees:  A quorum was present (10 of 19 voting members including 2 proxies).

PRESENT    

Michael Gavin (President)

Mike Robertson – (Vice President)                                                                                                               

Wilbur McCullough – (Secretary/Treasurer)

Richard Pennington

John Matthews (Proxy)

Tom McConnell

Ed Weisheit

Dan Munro

Rick Follett

Phil Kennedy (Proxy)

ASSOCIATES

John Usefara

4.  The following Agenda Items were discussed:

a.  Mike Gavin welcomed our new members to the group:  Dan Munro and Rick Follett were at the meeting and Ken Jackson joined but could not make it to Langley.

b.  The Secretary presented the minutes from the December 12, 2009 meeting.

i.            Motion to accept – Rich Pennington

          ii.            Seconded – Mike Robertson

          iii.            Unanimously approved.

c.  The Treasurer provided a detailed fiscal update (attached).  Our current balance of $662.45 was supported by coin sales and membership dues.  Since the December meeting, we disbursed awards to base-level Ammo troops ($150.00), donated to the CMSgt Richard Gauvin Scholarship Fund ($250.00), and assisted Ammo troops in need during the Christmas holiday period ($400.00).  Mike Robertson asked if we had anything in writing regarding reimbursement of dues if a member leaves the area.  There is nothing in our by-laws.  Bill mentioned we had contacted Dan Fri when he was about to leave the area and he told us to keep the dues.  We’ll approach this the same way with other departing members.

5.  Old Business:

a.  Awards Committee:  We had no annual winners announced in January.  We are awaiting word on the 1^st quarter winners.

b.  Membership:  With the recent addition of Rick Follett, Dan Munro, and Ken Jackson, our active Ammo Chief membership roll is up to 19 plus 3 Associate members.

c.  Fundraising:  The coins sales continue to do well and we expect to have a spike in sales due to the upcoming ANG (Apr) and CAF (May) conferences.  Mike Gavin will have the yard sale at his house on June 19 and was accepting donated items after the meeting.  Further details on what type of help he will need will be sent out as the time nears.  Tom McConnell stated the beer mugs go for about $4.00 and we can sell them for a good profit.  He wasn’t able to get any information on the gilded glasses from Incirlik similar to the ones given away at the ACA reunion held at Hampton, VA.  During the meeting we collected $8.00 for coin sales, $20.00 for shirt sales, $75.00 for ACAMC dues, and $75.00 for ACA dues.  Rick Follett mentioned coins may be cheaper from Turkey.  The quality issue was discussed and LENAJ set some high standards.  However, the set-up fee is high so it is best we not alter designs too often.  The use of raffles to raise funds was discussed.  There were concerns about the legal issues on a military installation.  Additionally, there was discussion about risk in selecting a prize that would reach a broad spectrum of people and not create a debt for the chapter.

d.  Sunset Committee:  Gen Leo Marquez is going through chemo and perceives he is doing better.  The Ammo community lost TSgt Jeffery Culp, SrA Sean McGinnis, and MSgt Wali Lanier. 

e.  Participation in ACAMC meetings:  Overall attendance has been up.  Weather issues along the  east coast prevented some members from attending.  Hopefully, June will yield a better turnout.

f.  Update on the Langley AFB (December 11^th) dinner honoring the 50^th Anniversary of the rank of CMSgt.  No information provided by the Langley Chiefs or in the base paper.  Item closed.

g.  Virginia license plate with active duty Air Force recognition.  Phil Kennedy was not present to discuss status.  Because 300 or so people need to commit to the purchase of the plate, it was deemed to be out of our purview.  Another group on Langley should lead this effort. 

h.  Marble bench recognizing Ammo community by Wright-Patterson AFB museum.  Rich gave the group an update.  The ACA is acquiring two plaques from a company in Dayton, OH.  One will be at this museum and the other will go to the Air Armament Museum at Eglin AFB.  The goal is to dedicate the plaque at Eglin during the ACA reunion.

i.  ACA reunion update.  The dates for the reunion are 4-7 November and it will be held at the Sunrise Holiday Inn in Ft. Walton beach.  The off-season room cost should be about $65.00 plus tax.  The ACA is looking for inputs on the extracurricular activities.

j.  Etching of current inventory of gold ACAMC coins.  Mike Gavin will have Jeff Purdy do a test at the Armament Shop to ascertain if it can be done, and how to best etch the numbers.

6.  New Business:

a.  Fund-raising proposal; already discussed in paragraph 5c.

b.  The CAF conference will be held 2-7 May at a hotel in the Langley area.  No funds are needed to support the CAF.  There is an opportunity to sell some coins and socialize  with fellow Ammo troops at the conference.

c.  The floor was opened for new business.

a).  Mike Gavin brought up John Cecere’s proposal for establishing lifetime dues for ACAMC members.  The group discussed the idea and determined that our limited membership size and unpredictable flow of new members prevents us from cutting off guaranteed funds. 

i.  Motion to keep annual dues – Rich Pennington

ii.  Seconded – Bill McCullough

iii.  Unanimously approved.

b).  Mike Gavin brought up deleting the “Sharp Troop” award.  This was discussed based upon all of the monies that went out for other award programs.  It was determined the award would be kept as a way to recognize young Ammo troops and was good public relations for the ACAMC.

c).  Rich mentioned the AMRAAM award submittals are due.  The ACAMC supports winners in our area of responsibility.

d).  Due to new information, Rich asked for an updated 2010 calendar of events (attached).

7.  The meeting was adjourned at 2:21pm (1421 hours).

i.            Motion to adjourn – Mike Gavin.

ii.            Seconded – Rich Pennington.

iii.            Adjourned by unanimous decision. 

8.  The next meeting is planned for June 19, 2010 after the yard sale at Mike Gavin’s house.

 9.  The group socialized for awhile and feasted on sandwiches, chips, and beverages provided by Mike Gavin.  We then went out and loaded up Mike’s truck with yard sale items.

 //signed//

Wilbur C. McCullough III

To:      ACAMC Membership                                                                                                        23 February 2010

Subj:  ACAMC Meeting Agenda

1. Date, Time, Location:  March 13, 2010 1300 hours, 1FW Munitions Flight Admin Facility, Langley AFB, VA.

2. Purpose:  To announce meeting of the general membership and solicit agenda topics.  Send additional topics to:

Mike Gavin, E-mail: gavinm2@verizon.netor Michael.Gavin@langley.af.mil

Wilbur McCullough, E-mail: Wilbur.McCullough_contractor@dtra.mil or

Wilbner@aol.com

3.         Standard Agenda Items:

a.  Review and approval of minutes from December 12, 2009 meeting.

b.  Financial Status:  Our beginning balance was $865.45.  Since the last meeting, the chapter collected $450.00 in members’ dues and $72.00 in coins sales.  We dispersed $150.00 in awards and donated $650.00 to worthy causes (Rich Gauvin Scholarship Fund and Holiday Airmen-in-Need programs).  Our current balance is $737.45 as of 23 Feb 10.  The actual breakdown and most recent accounting is under separate cover.

4.         Old Business:

a. Awards Committee:  OPR: Mike Gavin, Bill McCullough.  Seymour-Johnson AFB’s MSgt Lindsey and SSgt Taylor won the 4^th Quarter ACC-level awards.  Packages generated and sent to Chief Munro.

b.  Membership Status:  Sixteen Chiefs and three Associate Members.

c.   Fundraising:

• Status: Coin, pen, and shirt sales.  Coins seem to be going well.  Shirts can be sold at a discounted rate to close out our inventory.
• 2010 Chapter dues are due! You may pay at the meeting or send them to:  AMMO Chiefs Association Mid-Atlantic Chapter, P.O. Box 65944, Hampton, VA  23665-5499.
• Yard sale to be held before 19 Jun meeting.

d.  Sunset Committee:  No news on Gen Marquez as of late.

e.  ACAMC participation and membership at meetings. 

f.  Update on Langley AFB December 11dinner in honor of the 50^thAnniversary of the CMSgt rank.

g.  Update on USAF license plates in Virginia (Phil).

h.  Update on marble bench at Wright-Patterson Air Force Museum marble bench (via ACA).

i.  ACA reunion update.

j.  For annual submitters, ACA dues are due.  You may pay the Chapter or forward a check/money order to:  Ammo Chiefs Association (Attn: Treasurer), 6046 SW 98 Loop, Ocala, FL 34476.

k.  Etching of old ACAVC coins to reflect current chapter membership number.

5.  New Business:

a.  Fund-raising proposal.

b.  CAF conference.

c.  Open floor for  new business.

6.         Next Meeting: June 19, 2010 (location TBD).

              //SIGNED//

Wilbur C. McCullough III

ACAMC Secretary-Treasurer 

The U.S. Air Force is accessing Prior Service AMMO Troops (2W0XX) with Specific Years of Completed Service.  This is being done to fill gaps in experience in the workforce that cannot be satisfied through normal accessions and workforce sustaining actions (Category 2 AFSC).  The chart below identifies the completed years of service required to be eligible and the number of prior service 2W0XX the USAF is seeking to bring back in to the active ranks. 

For Example in the chart below: The Air Force is accessing 33 prior 2W0XX troops with 10 years of completed service and 65 troops with 15 years of completed service.  This is a hugh opportunity for troops that separated and are having second thoughts about their decision. 

	Completed Years of Service
AFSC	10	11	12	13	14	15	18
2W0X1	33	40	15	17	10	65	52

For more information and specific eligibility requirements, contact the Munitions Career Field Manager, Chief Scott Heisterkamp (AF/A4LW) at DSN: 225-0780 or Comm: (703) 695-0780, the Air Force Personnel Center, or the Air Force Recruiting Service.

 http://www.nwvawoundedwarrior.org/

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 Information Provided by: Rich Pennngton

AMMO Chief’s Association, Mid-Atlantic Chapter

2009 Annual Report

 December 31, 2009

 

 

The AMMO Chief’s Association, Mid-Atlantic Chapter (ACAMC) submits the following 2009 Annual Report to the ACA for review and filing in historical records.  We have also included a copy of our annual fiscal report for your review.  

As expected, 2009 proved to be another successful year for our Chapter.  The membership gathered four times to hold meetings, socialize, and plan for current and future events.  With the aid of proxy votes, we were able to have a quorum and conduct official business at all the scheduled meetings.  Our main efforts continue to be focused on working on implementing the personnel support initiatives such as, Airman Holiday Support program, recognition of Quarterly/Annual award winners.  In addition, we continue to stay visible and solicit new members into the Chapter.  To maximize participation we continue to float our meeting locations around to minimize travel on our regional members.  This year we meet at the 1^st FW Administrative facility (March), ACC Munitions Division Conference room (June), Mike Robertson’s home in Dumfries, VA (Sep) and finished out the year with our annual Holiday social/meeting at Bill McCullough’s home in Fredericksburg, VA (Dec).

Early in 2009 we appointed a By-Laws Committee which completed the Chapter Bi-Annual review and made required recommendations to the membership at the Mar meeting.  A line by line review of the By-Laws was completed and all suggested changes were ratified and the membership voted to accept the recommendations.  It should be noted the ACA Virginia Chapter name has changed to ACA Mid-Atlantic Chapter (ACAMC).  Copies of the newly signed By-Laws were sent to the ACA for review, approval and file (action complete).   

During the year, the Chapter membership grew with the addition of Yvonne Watts, Rick Bussell, Eddie Fuquay, Jerry Merichko, and most recently CMSgt Patrick Bowen.  We also sent CMSgt Kevin Lewis off to retirement in Florida with our thanks as an active member.  We are sure Kevin will stay in the AMMO business in some fashion and wish him the Best of Luck.  The current Chapter membership roll is 18 members and 3 associate members yielding $525 in annual dues.  Over the course of the year we disbursed $400 during the year for our Airman Support program, $250.00 to the CMSgt Richard Gauvin Memorial Fund at AFCOMAC and $200.00 to unit level award winners.  We solicited, but did not receive any unit level Ammo first-termer award packages.  The Chapter also recognized SSgt Chappell for his Outstanding Performance in the AMMO Career Field as the 2008 Annual AMRAMM award recipient.  Our chapter collected $419.00 in fundraisers from Chapter coins, hats, pens, and other opportunities.

In the ACAMC region from NC to PA the known possible membership base during 2009 was approx 30 Chiefs, representing all Chiefs in the surrounding states.  Of the 34, 18 are members in good standing and 12 are inactive.  We continue to pass ACAMC information to inactive Chiefs in email messages and information concerning Chapter events and gatherings in the hopes they will join the membership and participate in our Chapter activities.  Our three Associate Members continue to provide outstanding assistance.  

A nomination committee was appointed in Sep to solicit names for the Chapter Vice President position.  Jack Miller has done an extremely good job for our Chapter, but his two year tour of duty is ending.  The election of a new VP was ratified at the 12 Dec meeting and Mike Robertson was elected to fill the VP position as of 1 Jan 2010.  

Due to the ACAMC membership being spread out over five states (VA, MD, PA, NJ, and NC) and the District of Columbia, it is difficult to gather in force at meetings and events, but we plan for another active agenda in 2010.  We have notionally set a Quarterly meeting schedule for 2010 beginning in Mar 09 at the 1^st FW Administrative Building.  We will continue to meet, socialize, and have fun while working towards enhancing the spirit and drive of the Munitions Community and to keep the AMMO Flame burning bright!!

//Signed, mrg, 24 Dec 2009//

MICHAEL R. GAVIN, President

AMMO Chief’s Association, Mid-Atlantic  Chapter (ACAMC)

2010

 ACAMC Calendar of Events

January 2:  Suspense for Richard Gauvin Memorial Fund donation

January 15:  Annual awards notification

January 15:  Annual Reports due to ACA

March 13:  Quarterly meeting (Langley AFB Ammo area – bring yard sale items)

May (TBD):  CAF Conference (Langley AFB)

June 19:  Yard Sale, Quarterly meeting (Langley AFB), Cookout

September 18:  Quarterly meeting/fall social (Mike Robertson’s house)

October (TBD):  ACA Reunion, Ft. Walton Beach, FL area

October 15:  Send out First Term Ammo Troop award request letters

November 15:  Send out requests for “Christmas Ammo Troop in Need” candidates

November 19:  Suspense for First Term Ammo Troop award inputs

December 4:  Quarterly meeting/Christmas social (Bill McCullough’s house)

December 20:  “Christmas Ammo Troop in Need” shopping completed by this date