In 2018, the AUSA membership team will travel on a World Tour.

The association’s national staff will visit one chapter in each of AUSA’s nine regions.

The chapter to be visited in each region will be selected by the region president, determined by having the most membership potential.

Once selected, national staff members will work with the selected chapter and plan a member recruitment event and travel to the chapter to assist the chapter in executing the event.

On March 29, the national team went on the first of these trips to Lawton, Okla., the home of Fort Sill, to visit AUSA’s Fires Chapter, led by its president Karen Bailey.

Karen and her team of volunteer leaders worked with the AUSA staff and planned two concurrent events – a Community Partner Recognition Reception and Mentor Minutes, a speed-networking event.

At Mentor Minutes, more than 70 individuals, community leaders and members of the Young Professionals of Lawton, attended this session that allowed younger members of the community to meet with successful individuals for five minutes to ask questions. When the bell rang, it was time to move on to the next mentor.

The event was covered by the local news, and those who attended – both mentors and mentees – found it very beneficial.

This session allowed the Fires Chapter to partner with the Young Professionals of Lawton, a relatively new and fast-growing organization with a mutual interest in mentoring and in the local community.

During the two-day trip, retired Lt. Gen. Patricia McQuistion, AUSA vice president for membership and meetings, spoke to the graduating classes of at Fort Sill’s Advanced Individual Training (AIT) course and the Basic Combat Training (BCT) course. She also visited with leaders from the Field Artillery Association and the Lawton Constitution Editorial Board.

McQuistion, along with AUSA staff members and the chapter executive board, were briefed by Jervis Jackson from the Southwest Oklahoma Continuum of Care (SWOKCOC), an organization working to end veteran homelessness in the Lawton area.

Assisting homeless veterans in Lawton has been a long-time initiative and goal of the Fires Chapter.

For more information on the SWOKCOC program, visit swokcoc.org.

For information on the Fires Chapter’s programs and projects and what our AUSA chapter members are doing to support the Army, its soldiers and families, visit ausa.org/chapters/fires-chapter.