Happy April everyone!  We hope you had a very enjoyable Easter and Spring Break wherever you are. With spring here, it is also Award Season for the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) and Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) programs in our area.  Your Executive Committee (EXCOM) is very busy working with National to provide awards for the Panther Battalion at The Florida Institute of Technology (FIT) in Melbourne and the Eagle Battalion at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach. We also have about 14 JROTC units in high schools from Volusia to Okeechobee County that we support with AUSA Leadership Awards that come with a medal and certificate. Each year, we ask for volunteers present the awards to the recipients and represent the Chapter.

It is truly a rewarding experience to meet with the instructors and get to know the various programs, and what the students achieve in the academic year is amazing! If any member would like to consider representing the Chapter at an event this spring, please let me know at pressc@ausa.org, and we’ll get in contact with you.

You may recall that we asked for nominations for the offices of Chapter President and Executive Vice President. We have received several nominations and you should soon receive notification for you to vote. I ask each of you to please take the time to cast a ballot for the offices. The best way for us to expand our services to the membership and our community is through your voice.  After you cast your ballot, we ask that you continue to stay engaged and let us know how you believe we can improve our service to the community.

Very soon we will be providing information regarding our celebration of the 249th Army Birthday event that will be combined with our next General Membership Meeting (GMM) on Friday, 14 June 2024. We’re also working to do other events in the communities, but we hope that you’ll join us for this specific event that will be planned in the evening.

Again, you are cordially invited to come join us at the monthly EXCOM Meeting that will be held at the Veterans Memorial Center on Merritt Island, on Thursday, 18 April 2024, at 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. Feel free to bring your dinner with you as we discuss current and upcoming activities. Your participation means a lot to us and we hope to see you there.

I’m always interested to hear from our members.  You can always reach out to me at pressc@ausa.org or call me at 321.591.9826 with questions or other inputs for the Chapter’s activities.  Remember that your Chapter can only be as active in the community based upon as the participation of our Chapter members.

Thank you all for your support!  I know that for both myself and our Executive Committee are looking to hear from our members on supporting our local community.

Sincerely,

Vincent “Kip” Mathias

AUSA Space Coast Chapter

Interim President