The New River Chapter will host a regular monthly meeting in July by gathering for a social dining event at The Tavern in West Jefferson. The Tavern is once again offering outdoor dining on the patio, weather permitting of course, so we look to arrive early, e.g., 4:30 for ordering drinks and then follow with a meal of your choosing, and in that way we hopefully can be seated in close proximity to one another!

Mark your calendar and we hope to see you on the 14th!

* As COVID-19 continues to plague our world, the Chapter's planned social gathering on 14 July at 6 PM (1800 hours) at Winners Circle in Jefferson has had to be cancelled

* Winner's Circle owner, Linda made us aware that due to the changes in the NC Governor's re-opening plan, the dining out where we would have hoped to be able to stay socially segregated in groups of 10 people or less in order to be able to enjoy the camaraderie of each other has to be cancelled.

* Linda informed us that if anyone who would be in our planned group were to test positive, it would have resulted in the Winner's Circle having to be closed for deep cleaning and that would impact the restaurant being able to allow their ability to continue to provide take-out orders !

* It is unfortunate that, once again, our opportunity to meet as a Chapter has been delayed, BUT we WILL be looking to have our August Picnic at the lower pavilion in the Ashe County Park behind the library!

* See the below link for that announcement!

* Mr. Ilario Gregory Pantano, former United States Marine Corps second lieutenant, author, television commentator,and Wilmington, NC Deputy Sheriff is the Director, Division of North Carolina Veterans Affairs. Mr. Pantano was guest speaker at the July 21, 2015 regular meeting of the New River Chapter held at the Ashe County Arts Council building in West Jefferson, NC.

* Prior to the meeting, Mr. Pantano and several members of the Chapter met at the Ashe County Chamber of Commerce for a meeting with local media and are shown at the right (upper photo, L to R): CDR-Ret. Mac Hunt, USN, COL-Ret. Charles Knapp, USA 1st VP of the New River Chapter, Mr. Pantano, Darryl Vaughn, Ashe County VSO, COL-Ret. Jeri Graham, USA President, North Carolina Council of Chapters and CAPT-Ret. Doug Ehrhardt, USN President of the New River Chapter, MOAA.

* Shown in the lower photo are the Ashe County Honor Guard members who presented the colors at the evening event (L to R): Secretary/Treasurer of the Guard, Sandy Adams, James Ellis, Jr. Vice Commander and Everett Adams, Sr. Vice Commander. Special thanks to these members of the Honor Guard for their presentation of the colors at the event.

* Scroll over the thumbnail pictures to the right to see additional photographs from the event that was held at the Ashe County Arts Council in West Jefferson, NC.

* The evening event was attended by more than 60 local residents, chapter members, veterans and representatives from the DAV and MCL.

* During his presentation, Mr. Pantano referred attendees to open/read information that is contained in this newly minted NC4VETS Resource Guide that contains valuable information to assist or support veterans in our county; this electronic version on the North Carolina Council of Chapters website is downloadable and searchable.

* Col-Ret. Mike Hayden, USAF, National MOAA Legislative Liaison, was our guest speaker at the July regular membership meeting.

* Mike is also a regular contributor to MOAA's monthly Military Officer magazine where he keeps MOAA's 390,000 members knowledgeable on insuring that Congress is informed on issues related to pay and benefits.

* Mike shared his expertise for more than 1 1/2 hours at our regular membership meeting, and also provided answers to numerous questions posed by the more than 50 people who attended.

* The meeting was held at the Fellowship Hall of the Mount Jefferson Presbyterian Church due to a conflict with the location of the Ashe Arts Council as a primary voting site.

* Follow the below link to open and view photographs from the meeting.

* The regular membership meeting was held on July 16th at the Coffee House on the Backstreet.

* The program for the evening included a discussion about the new MOAA National membership program that was rolled out in 2013.

* Also, the Chapter officers and BOD shared information regarding the upcoming August 9, 2013 meeting at which time our chapter will co-host the 3rd Quarterly meeting of the North Carolina Council of Chapters. Everyone was encouraged to volunteer for a variety of activities that will be needed to ensure the meeting is successful.