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JOIN OUR CHAPTER

COL Edward Cross Chapter

The New Hampshire Chapter of AUSA

Chapter General Membership Newsletter – May 2018

Follow us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/Colonel-Edward-Cross-Chapter-the-New-Hampshire-

Chapter-of-AUSA-1350333641697702/

A Note from the Chapter President

Hi everyone. April was a very busy month, but it was all good. We also have several

activities coming up so please read through the newsletter to find those.

A big welcome to our new Corporate/Community Member, Wapack Labs/Trusted

Internet, LLC (https://trustedinternet.io/). A great company and we are very grateful to

have them as part of our Chapter! A big thank you as well to L-3 Warrior

Systems/Insight Operations for their recent renewal as members of our Chapter.

Our Chapter recently became a member of the New Hampshire Aerospace and

Defense Export Consortium (NHADEC - https://nhadec.com/), which many corporations

and businesses in our State are also a member. This will help our Chapter work with

potential Community partners and give them support from our Chapter.

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We also congratulate Colonel Bill Conway, one of our Chapter members and the

Director of the Joint Staff of the New Hampshire National Guard, on his promotion on

the 5th of May to Brigadier General!! Bill and I served in the same Battalion many, many

years ago and I like to think that despite knowing me…he has done pretty good!!

Congratulations COL (and soon to be, BG) Conway!!!!

April Recap

Annual Chapter Dinner: Our Chapter Annual Meeting and Dinner on the 19th was a

huge success. I thank everyone who was able to attend as you made the night

enjoyable. We had one of the largest attendance for our Chapter, which made the event

even better. A special thanks to MG Kok who gave a very inspiring speech, tasking all

of us to work and help the Recruiters get more young people into the military because

our national security depends on it. Also, congratulations to the Soldiers we awarded

that night. They are:

• National Guard Noncommissioned Officer of the Year, SGT Seth Eastman

• National Guard Soldier of the Year, SPC Jack Settele

• National Guard Recruiter of the Year, SFC Nicholas J. Barone

• Army Recruiter of the Year, SSG Jeffrie Walker

Thank you to Optics1 for Army-Navy Baseball Game: Recently, the baseball teams

of West Point and the Naval Academy played at Fenway Park. It was a great game

(despite Army losing) and a great time was had by all. A special thanks to our

Corporate/Community Partner Optics1 who provided transportation from their facility in

Bedford, NH to the stadium and back. It saved a lot of time and aggravation for all of us

who attended the game as we did not have to deal with traffic or parking. They also

were able to accommodate one of our members who was physically challenged by

going “above and beyond” to pick him up at his apartment, bring him to the game with

all of us, and then back to his apartment when we were done. A great service to our

Chapter and we cannot thank Optics1 enough for all they did and continue to do for our

Chapter!

JROTC Award Ceremony at Fall Mountain Regional High School, 7 April: Our

Chapter attended the Fall Mountain Regional High School JROTC Award Ceremony

and presented one award and two scholarships to their top JROTC Cadets. A great

evening and wonderful to see such a great program for these High School students.

Later this month, we will attend the White Mountain Regional High School JROTC

Award Ceremony and hand out awards and scholarships there as well.

Veterans with the ROTC Cadets: Chapter member Tom Needham was the Guest

Speaker this month for the final session with the Cadets. Tom was very engaging with

the Cadets and all had a great time. We look forward to the next academic year when

we can do this series again. To all the graduating Cadets, congratulations and

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Godspeed on your journey with the Army. Thank you for your continued commitment

and service to our country!

University of New Hampshire (UNH) Awards Ceremony: On 27 April, I had the

pleasure of attending the UNH Army ROTC Awards Ceremony where I awarded two

Cadets with AUSA sponsored awards. Numerous organizations presented awards, but I

noted that several other members of our Chapter were representing other organizations

as well and presented awards. It shows how well our membership is supporting the

Army family and the Veteran Community. I am also very proud to tell you that Cadet

Jacob Remick, who is on our Chapter Executive Committee, was the UNH ROTC

Battalion Commander this past year and received an award for his outstanding

leadership in that position. Congratulations Jacob! Also, Cadet Carley Rotenberg,

another Chapter member, was the UNH Student Body President this past year. Quite an

honor and distinction and we thank Carley for being a great example of what service

means and how skills learned in military training can carry-over into other parts of our

lives. Great job Carley and congratulations as well!!

“Adopt-a-Recruit” Event: On the 28th of April, we participated in our first “Adopt-a-

Recruit” event. This program initiated by our former Chapter President, Chris Ager, is

our opportunity to help the new Recruits entering the Army by defraying some of the

cost to purchase items they bring to Basic Training. Each recruit, whether they are

entering the Active Army, Army Reserves, or the Army National Guard, will receive a

bag with the AUSA logo on it and filled with the toiletries and a few other sundry items

they would otherwise have to purchase on their own. Our fund-raising efforts throughout

the year help to fund this program so I thank all of you for your membership, which also

helps to provide funds, so we can do this for the Recruits. On the 28th, the New

Hampshire Recruiting Company had the “Future Soldiers” attend a training session, and

afterwards, they had a BBQ hosted by “Team Red, White and Blue (RWB).” A great

event and we plan to continue this program.

Gold Star Family Luncheon: I had the pleasure and honor to attend the luncheon to

honor our Gold Star families from New Hampshire and to witness the presentation of

the “Honor and Remember” flag to each of the families that had not received one yet. A

special thanks to those who organized the luncheon, especially Sue Peterson and Mike

Coutu. A wonderful event that we help sponsor each year and will continue to do so.

Support to Chaplain’s Relief Fund: Our Chapter helped support the Souhegan

Chamber of Commerce fundraiser for the New Hampshire National Guard Chaplain’s

Relief Fund. The Chaplain’s Emergency Relief Fund is there to assist the families of

service personnel, regardless of branch and provides temporary financial assistance to

families in need. The Souhegan Chamber of Commerce hosted a wonderful event

where Stephon Gilmore and Dion Lewis from the New England Patriots were the

featured guests. Originally, Devin McCourty was supposed to attend but his wife went

into labor just a few hours before the event, so he asked his friend Stephon to step in for

him. Great to see these players supporting each other in order to support our Troops.

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Additionally, Devin made a video, shown at the event, apologizing for not being able to

attend and wishing everyone well. Certainly a class act by all these guys and we

appreciate what they did to make the event a success and the great work by the

Souhegan Chamber of Commerce. By the way, Mrs. McCourty had a baby boy.

Upcoming Events: Here is a quick list of happenings around the

State that you will see in the flyers in the latter part of the newsletter:

May 15: “Vetworking” Social at the new Murphy’s Taproom on Rt 101 in Bedford, NH

(www.murphystaproom.com/welcome-to-murphys-tap-room-bedford/), starting at 7 PM.

It is a “No Host” social. Those seeking jobs, networking and looking for employees are

encouraged to attend. Murphy’s has a Trivial Pursuit Contest that night so after you

network, plan on joining in the fun there as well…or keep networking. See flyer in this

newsletter.

June 14, Army Birthday Celebration: Noon on 14 June in the Governor’s Chambers

at the State House.

September 21: Chapter Annual Golf Tournament. We are in the early stages of this

event, but we have the date so please mark that on your calendars.

Please visit Our Facebook Page: Our Chapter’s Facebook page is called the “Colonel

Edward Cross Chapter, the New Hampshire Chapter of AUSA” and you can find it at

https://www.facebook.com/Colonel-Edward-Cross-Chapter-the-New-Hampshire-

Chapter-of-AUSA-1350333641697702/. Please visit the page and hit the Like button so

you can receive notifications when items are added. There you can see pictures from

our events as well as learn about upcoming events. If you want to add items to the

page, contact me and I can have them added. Pictures from events will be posted there

so please take the time to visit the page and hit the “Follow” button. Thanks!

Until next month...have a great May!

Well, that is all for this month. We are always looking to increase our membership, so, if

you have friends or businesses that support the Army, AUSA is the right organization for

them. If you work or own a company that does business with the Army, please consider

having your company join as a Corporate Member. Please contact me for more

information.

Thank you for your membership and I look forward to seeing you soon.

Greg

Greg d'Arbonne, Colonel Edward Cross Chapter President

C: 978-604-8835; E-mail: GDarbo6844@aol.com

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Announcements

White River Junction VA Hospital to Hold Town Hall and Listening Sessions

The White River Junction VA Medical Hospital will be holding Veteran Town Hall and Listening Sessions

for the next month. These Town Halls will include Outreach with subject matter experts from the

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center and Veterans Benefit Administration. The Outreach

aspect of the Town Hall will support information sharing regarding traditional services, health care, and

enrollment. Times and locations are as follows. All sessions are open to the public:

May 7, 1 to 2 PM, VFW Post 782, 176 S. Winooski Ave, Burlington, VT.

May 8, 5 to 6 PM, American Legion Post 22, 189 Mechanic St., Lebanon, NH.

June 4, 10 to 11 PM, VFW Post 1034, 40 Black Mountain Rd., Brattleboro, VT.

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AUSA Scholarship Announcement

AUSA NCO & Soldier Programs is proud to announce that the SMA Leon Van Autreve Scholarship

application period is now open. Each applicant must be an AUSA member or a dependent child of a

member. For application instructions and requirements click here: https://scholarship.ausa.org/

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Deadline for the SMA Leon Van Autreve Scholarship is July 31, 2018. Please forward the information

onto on Commands.

If you have any questions please email CSM Troy Welch, USA Retired, at VanAutreve@ausa.org

"What Does Democracy Look Like?" A Veteran Reading & Exhibit, May 23rd at

the Currier Museum

The Currier is coordinating with the NH Humanities Council on a program that will feature the work of

veterans who participated in the "To Tell What They Can't Say" March workshop led by Pulitzer Prize-

winning war correspondent David Wood and international photo journalist Andrea Bruce. Follow the link

below for more information and to reserve a ticket.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/what-does-democracy-look-like-a-veteran-reading-exhibit-tickets-

44795927826

Home Base to Honor Families of the Fallen at the 2018 Run to Home Base

Thank you to everyone that has joined us recently and has liked and shared our Facebook page (NH

Gold Star Families Memorial Project)! Keep it up! We appreciate all your support! We need all the

help and exposure we can get! If anyone works for or knows a business that would be interested in

partnering with us on this project, please let us know!! Keep checking back as we have some exciting

things coming!

Learn more at: http://homebase.org/news/home-base-red-sox-nation-honor-sacrifice-

fallen-soldiers-

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families/?utm_campaign=enews&utm_medium=email&utm_source=homebase-april-

2018-1804MGEMXXHB

If you're not already a member of AUSA, please click the link below to fill out an

application. As a member of our chapter, we'll keep you updated on upcoming

events, important news on the military, and ways you can get involved with

supporting service members.

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