gray06 Nov-Dec 2009_Gray01_Jan-Feb 2005.qxd.qxd - Korean War ...

From the President
The Board of
Directors and I
hope that you had a
very good Veterans
Day, Thanksgiving
Day and Christmas. Also, we wish you a
Happy New Year.
2009 is completed now, and we begin
our year during which the 60th
Anniversary of the start of the Korean
War will be foremost in our minds. We
will remember the struggles we endured
and look back on our time when we
were required to engage in a war against
communism and the threat to the United
States of a loss of a country that our
armed forces had liberated during World
War II.
The 2009 Annual Association
Membership Meeting was concluded,
and our updated Bylaws were approved
by the general membership. A tear-out
copy of those Bylaws is included in this
edition of our magazine for all to see
and follow. Also included are the minutes
of the Board of Directors Meeting
held on October 25, 2009. The minutes
for the General Membership Meeting
held on October 26, 2009 will be in the
January-February edition.
We also begin a fresh new year with
our required 501(c)19 Veterans
Organization having been declared
proper by the Internal Revenue Service
and our Incorporation within the New
York State also represented properly.
Both of these were found to be neglected
since 2004 for the Corporation and
2007 for the IRS Deductibility requirement.
It took a great amount of time and
an IRS Audit during the last half of 2008
and most of 2009 to finally solve all
these problems.
The Association played a role in the
Korean War Recognition Act which was
passed by congress and signed into law
on July 27, 2009. You can read about
this law on our website.
Your President and Ceremonies
Chairman, Tom McHugh, as well as the
Color Guards from Chapters 142 in
Maryland and 299 in Massachusetts,
have participated in Veterans Day and
Memorial Day ceremonies in
Washington, DC, so we are responding
as a Veterans Service Organization as
expected.
A Call for Elections for President, 1st
Vice President, 2nd Vice President and
four Directors is included in this issue. I
hope many of you will run for office.
Since this will also be the start of a
new year and especially the 60th
Anniversary of the beginning of the war
in Korea, you should make plans to
attend some of the events at our 2010
Annual Association Membership
Meeting which will be held in
Washington DC.
The Board of Directors and those
Korean War veterans in the Maryland
Area who have had a “Gathering“ for
Mini Recruiting and Membership Report (As of 11/23/2009)
Recruiting Results New Members* Last Year (11/21/2008)
This Month (October) 58 22
This Year To Date 688 758
*2008 Average: 71 New Members per Month
Total Membership Count (2009) Last Year (11/21/2008)
Active Members 17,725 16,883
535 Members reported deceased 2009 to date; 705 Members reported deceased in 2008
May they rest in peace.
William Mac Swain
A Call for Elections for President, 1st Vice President, 2nd
Vice President and four Directors is included in this issue.
I hope many of you will run for office.
many years have joined forces so the
Annual Association Membership and
Board Meetings will be held in conjunction
with their plans. This will allow us
to have a great attendance.
We have already selected a group to
arrange for this great meeting and
arrange for the hotel and venues so we
can celebrate in 2010 while we are still
young at heart. I request that all of you
who might wish to attend send me an e-
mail or letter with an idea of what you
would like to visit once you are in the
Washington, DC area. There are many
things that might be of interest, and I
would welcome the thoughts of all.
Tentative dates are July 24 - 28,
2010. We will try to get a couple of days
before and after so you can explore the
Capitol area on your own with the same
lower negotiated hotel price. Normally,
there is always a program on July 27th
at the Korean War Monument and the
Bench near the Amphitheater in the
National Cemetery.
I informed you of a possible request
from Korea next year for the KWVA to
select some of our members’ grandchildren
to travel to Korea to be hosted during
their stay. There is a sign-up sheet in
this issue for you to copy and send in for
a drawing should we be invited to make
arrangements. This same sign-up sheet
will also be available on our website.
Remember, you must have a passport
for that grandchild before sending in the
sign-up sheet. So, get one very early, at
the beginning of the year if possible.
We also have additional numbers for
our members who are eligible for the
Korean revisit programs. You should
also make a decision to apply for one of
the revisit tours early.
William Mac Swain,
KWVA President
3
The Graybeards
November – December 2009