11 September 2024
Dear USAWOA Members:
September is a busy month for our HQ staff as we are just over a month away from this year’s 52nd Annual Meeting of the Members (AMM) in downtown, Augusta, Georgia. AMM registration numbers tend to be light until September when we will see a continuous climb in overall numbers. With the local host Masters Chapter itself having more than 200 members, we anticipate many of these members will register and lead to a sizeable number of overall participants. Online registration for the AMM will close on 10 October 2024 and anyone seeking to register after that date must do so directly with the host Masters Chapter. We expect to have a few walk-up registrations when the AMM starts, and while the chapter is prepared to support these last-minute additions, it is preferable that members register ahead of time and do not wait until the start of the meetings. This allows the chapter to plan accordingly.
It is important to point out that effective 1 October 2024, the official per diem rate for Augusta, GA increases to $125/night, to coincide with the start of the new fiscal year. While our original agreement with the host Marriott hotel had a rate of $117, it is entirely the prerogative of hotels to change their rates to meet established per diem rates. If you have already made your lodging reservations for the AMM at the Marriott, the hotel has already adjusted the room rate, and members will be charged the new per diem rate of $125 and not the previous amount of $117. All AMM information, to include registration and lodging information can be found at https://amm.usawoa.org.
As far as the AMM agenda, I'm happy to report that we’ve locked in the Army Senior Leaders who will deliver comments to the members. Day one will start with GEN George, 41st Chief of Staff of the Army (CSA), Day two is MG Ryan Janovic, Commanding General, Cyber Center of Excellence and Fort Eisenhower, and Day three will be LTG Heidi Hoyle, Deputy Chief of Staff, G4. We’ll also have multiple WO Professional Development panels where CW5 Aaron Anderson, Chief Warrant Officer of the Army, will help moderate topics and discussions regarding WO roles, functions and expectations as we all support the CSA’s established Army priorities.
I believe the best part of the AMM is Day three when we announce and recognize our Chapter, Region, and National Award winners. Many may wonder how we identify these winners, and the answer is twofold. First is following the established guidelines and criteria as provided in USAWOA Awards Manual 500-1 (https://docs.usawoa.org/awards/awards.html). This manual is a must-read for all chapter leaders and informative for other chapter members. Second, and without a doubt the most important, is the information gleaned from reviewing every chapter’s submitted meeting minutes. From 1 July to 30 June every year, members of the USAWOA Awards Committee meticulously review every chapter’s submitted meeting minutes to evaluate and award the Outstanding Region/Chapter, Community Affairs efforts, WO recruiting (Chapter/Region), and Chapter Secretary of the Year, just to name a few.
On behalf of the committee, I wanted to provide additional feedback to all members in the hope that your chapter’s hard work and accomplishments can be better captured and recognized. We know our chapters are doing many good things in their local areas however, we’ve found these events are often never fully captured in the meeting minutes. We continue to see mentioning of a planned chapter activity then in the subsequent meeting minutes, it’s never noted if the event occurred. Some comments and recommendations by the committee include:
- Many minutes lack a coherent flow and were hard to follow.
- Events are mentioned without noting the number of hours USAWOA members volunteered.
- If a chapter votes to donate funds, the minutes must state when the payment took place.
- Dates in the minutes must include more than just an overall agenda and need to correspond within the time frame of the minutes, not months or years later.
- Minutes MUST include the chapter secretary’s name in order for the secretary to be considered for Secretary of the Year.
- There was an overall lack of chapter submitted minutes. Chapter secretaries should be providing copies of their minutes to their Region Director as well as national headquarters.
Appendix F of USAWOAM 500-1 provides a simple template for chapter minutes and our Region Directors are always ready to assist by answering questions you may have. As a mentor once told me, “If it isn’t in writing, it never happened.” I encourage everyone to assist your chapter leadership, because we want to ensure credit is given to all who are helping promote USAWOA and our mission.
In closing, this week Americans will reflect on the 23rd anniversary of 9/11, a seminal and defining moment in our history. I ask that in your own way, each of us remembers friends, families, and loved ones who perished on this day. For our members who joined the Army after 9/11, I, and the entire national leadership team, thank you for your sacrifices and selfless service to the United States Army.
CW5 Michael D. Dye
National President
“The Quiet Professionals ®”
