Dear Operation North State’s Friends and Supporters:

It’s a pleasure to announce Operation North State’s (ONS) Second Annual NCCARES Charity Auction. Mark your calendar, tell your friends and share on Facebook.  Operation North State (ONS) welcomes your support in providing a little extra “Christmas Joy” to North Carolina’s deployed troops this coming December.

This fun-filled family event will be held Saturday, August 4, 2012 from 12 – until at the Sports Page Food & Spirits in Mooresville (Lake Norman).  The NCCARES Charity Auction will feature both silent and live auctions with over 240+ North Carolina-related products, services, events and gifts. Additionally, music, entertainment, special guest appearances, kids’ activities, great food and beverages, exhibits, etc. will round out the festivities.  All proceeds from the auction will be used to fund ONS’ Christmas Gift Box Project whereby we are shipping 1500 gift boxes filled with North Carolina products, goodies and messages of thanks and support to North Carolina’s deployed troops this coming December.

The Sports Page at Lake Norman has graciously offered their facility and to host the event. The goal of the auction is to secure 240+ of North Carolina’s best, most unique and enjoyable products and services to be auctioned with all proceeds from the event going to fund the 2012 Christmas Gift Box Project. Our financial goal for the NCCARES Charity Auction is to raise $20,000.

For more information, click here.

Thanks for your help!

Mecklenburg County, coordinated through Community Area Resource Team for Troops (CARTT), presents the First Annual Military Awareness Week from May 13-19. Events will be held throughout the week, culminating in a large celebration on May 19th at Marshall Park.

For additional information, email CARTT at militaryawarenessweek@gmail.com or visit www.cartnc.org

On May 5^th Soldiers from 694^th Maintenance Company in Snow Hill participated in Greene County’s 14^th annual Relay for Life Event. This event raises money for cancer cure and promotes awareness within communities. Detachment Soldiers have been participating in this event for the past 5 years by escorting the Torch of Hope from the Greene County Courthouse to Greene County High School for a total distance of 1.5 mile.

This year’s torch run was particularly important for the Soldiers of Det 1 694^th Maintenance Company, because one of their own has been fighting cancer for the past year. SPC Kyle Boyer, 22 from Asheville NC, who is a member of the 694^th Maintenance Company, was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. SPC Boyer has been undergoing treatments for the past year and has recently been told by physicians that the cancer is now in remission.

With Soldiers from the 694^th Maintenance Company and Veterans marching behind him, SPC Boyer carried the Torch of Hope on its ceremonial lap around Greene Central’s High School track with the song God Bless the USA in the background. SPC Boyer stated “The Torch symbolizes the hope to keep going. It (cancer) wasn’t going to beat me. All it takes is hope and we can find a cure.”

Below is the April Membership Summary Report. If you have any questions, or would like the complete report, call our office at 1-800-821-6159.

]]> http://ncnga.org/2012/05/10/april-2012-membership-summary-report/feed/ 0 http://ncnga.org/2012/05/08/veterans-retraining-assistance-program-vrap/ http://ncnga.org/2012/05/08/veterans-retraining-assistance-program-vrap/#comments Tue, 08 May 2012 18:31:58 +0000 Kathy Ford http://ncnga.org/?p=5526

I would ask everyone if they had a good time at our 51st NCNGA Annual Convention but how could you not have enjoyed our event.  Let me explain, we were away from work, had great fellowship, great hospitality rooms, we were at the beach and we accomplished important Association business.  With that said, let us hear from you, I am very interested in your input and especially how we can improve.

I would like to recognize all who ran for Office this year.  This is not an easy decision to make and one that I truly recognize.  Let’s be honest here, you put your name on the ballot because you cared enough to put your personal concerns aside and your North Carolina National Guard Association appreciates your service before self attitude.   It’s what makes our Association so great.

So, what are our goals for this coming year?  I have shared a detailed account with our incoming and existing Executive Council, what was discussed this time last year, concerning our goals.  With the invitation to review and make suggestions of where we are now, and where we want to be this time next year, these are our goals.

Junior Enlisted Council (JEC)
Support and Develop a plan of action for our JEC to work on the issues and address the concerns of our younger force.  Now that the Junior Members have a seat at our table, I am even more excited about the direction and possibilities of our Association.

Membership
Some would say that we are doing very well, and we should be satisfied with 82% membership. Our Membership is what gives us the voice that is heard by our Legislators. The larger the membership, the louder OUR VOICE. This is why we need everyone to belong to not only our State Association but our National Associations, EANGUS and NGAUS.

Finance
We must continue the course of financial security and at the same time allow our Association to prosper and grow. This is of course a long term plan of action, but one that we have begun and must continue to travel for the sake of all our Soldiers and Airmen.

Legislative
Our goal here is to continue to inform and gain support for our NCNGA State Legislative Action Plan.  We also need a greater support of all Legislative alerts from EANGUS and NGAUS.  To make this happen we must encourage our Soldiers, Airman as well as our friends and family to contact their state and federal Legislators.  I would first ask you to find out who your Legislators are for where you LIVE and where you DRILL. It does not require a whole lot of conversation, only that you are a constituent within their district and a member of the North Carolina National Guard, and you would like their support.  You will find that they want to hear about your experiences as a Guard member and anything they can do to help.  Please go to our website ncnga.org and click on LEGISLATIVE ISSUES.

I am very honored to lead our Association for a second term.  I promise to keep our Association moving in a direction that is beneficial for all our members.  If you ever have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to let me know.

You’re invited to the Camp Lejeune, NC Military Career Expo on May 16th, 2012.

Top companies such as Northrop Grumman, USAA, Lockheed Martin, ManTech and more want your military experience. Click on the link above and register to attend now!

The 2012 version of this golf tournament is over, and the winner, once again, is:  the NCNGA Education Foundation.  We raised over $4000.00 for this organization to give out in scholarships.

The tournament was held Black Bear Golf Club in Longs, South Carolina on April 19, 2012.  We had 80 golfers that made up 20 teams.  The weather was slightly chilly, but nothing our golfers couldn’t handle.

There were prizes for the winning teams, and individual prizes for closest to the pin and longest drive.  Additionally, there were numerous door prizes, so just about everyone won something.

This tournament would not have been nearly so successful without the support of the various sponsors we were able to coordinate.  As you come into contact with any of them, please let them know how much we appreciate their support.

Here is a list of sponsors:

A very special thank you goes out to Harris Teeter for their continued support of this event, and to Stanley Vidmar for the donation of the tool box for a raffle.

Also, we had 10 hole sponsors that added to both the success of the tournament, and the funds raised for the foundation.  Let them know your thanks, also.  Here is a list of these people/organizations:

 NCNGA STANDING COMMITTEES-2012-2013

To give you a better understanding of what each NCNGA committee is responsible for, we have devised a brief synopsis of each, which is listed below:

• Articles & By-Laws Committee – To counsel the President and Executive Council on all matters pertaining to the constitutional documents of the Association. To review any proposed amendments to the By-Laws and prepare such amendments in the proper language.
  

• Benefits Committee – To develop, devise, and recommend new benefit programs for the members of the Association.

• Communication Committee- To recommend policies and programs with respect to editorial, business, advertising, circulation and promotional aspects of the magazine. Committee is also responsible for web site.

• EANGUS Liaison Committee – To coordinate activities between the Enlisted Association National Guard of the United States and its members in the NCNGA. Encourage and solicit membership in EANGUS.

• Finance Committee – To counsel the Executive Council on all matters pertaining to the finances of the Association. Prepare and recommend the budget of the Association in sections relating to general administration.

• Headquarters & Employees Committee- To oversee and supervise all matters pertaining to the headquarters and employee benefit programs. Also responsible for the proper management of the headquarters building.

• Legislative & Resolutions Committee – To develop and recommend to the Executive Council the legislative policy of the Association and to draft proposed legislative bills as appropriate.

• Membership Committee – To manage a continuing membership drive for the purpose of enlarging and expanding the membership of the Association.

• Nominating & Credentials Committee – To actively recruit qualified nominees for the various vacancies on the Executive Council. Rule on the credentials of each delegate attending the annual meeting and cause official ballots to be prepared/counted and report the results to the delegation at the request of the President.

• Time & Place Committee – To counsel the Executive Council on matters pertaining to time and place of the annual meeting of the Association and submit to the Association at its annual meetings, its recommendation as to time and place of the annual meeting three years following the meeting at which the report is made.
  

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Several committees have mandatory requirements for committee membership and all committees require that you attend a majority of all duly called meetings in order to remain an active member of that committee. Budget restrictions dictate limiting the number of members on each committee; therefore, we are unable to place every member that wants to serve on a committee. However, every effort will be made to accommodate your request.

The majority of all called meetings are usually held at the NCNGA Headquarters in Raleigh. These meetings are held during the day, usually at 12:30 p.m. and last one to three hours, depending upon the amount of work to be done. Members are reimbursed for meals and mileage from their HOR to the meeting site and return.

If you are interested in participating on a committee this year, please fill out the following information below and forward to the NCNGA Headquarters, 74l0 Chapel Hill Road, Raleigh, NC 27607, no later than 30 April 2012.

 APPLICATION FOR APPOINTMENT-NCNGA STANDING COMMITTEES