State of the USMCCCA 2010
Happy New Year.
We have had what I would call an exceptional year. If you have read Tom Kerr’s most recent financial report and that of Foundation Treasurer John Dodd, both the Association and Foundation are in excellent financial condition. Our website www.usmccca.org continues to attract attention, both from former CCs expressing a desire to reunite with us and from outside sources requesting linkage and information. From the questions CCHQ receives from various sources, including the Commandant’s office, we are becoming known for our creditability.
We are making inroads in corporate advertising for our great Conference Journal. Hopefully, this will increase during 2011 to the extent that we can lessen our dependence on our membership without whose support we would not be where we are now. I would encourage each of you to find a corporate target – quite possibly with a connection to our Corps – and furnish CCHQ with a contact point. In the next week or so we will publish a new ad strategy that will incorporate a package concept involving both ads and possibility for corporate vendors. We learned at the Reno Conference that corporations working with Marine Corps Public Affairs and Combat Camera operations are more than willing to participate with us. Obviously, their continued participation will help us keep conference expenses to a minimum.
The Merit Awards program continues to grow both in categories of awards and in sponsorships. We will continue the cash awards for first place winners in all categories. Hopefully, we will be able to establish an award for Community Relations this year. We are seeing continued interest in the program from Combat Camera and can expect more entries in the 2011 program. Ideally, our corps of sponsors will remain with us.
We continue to slowly increase our scholarship program and the continued support of it by our energetic Florida chapter and many of our loyal supporters are making it possible for us to offer more and better scholarships to our members and their dependents than ever before.
Association membership is a puzzler. On one hand we are seeing many former 43s and 46s come back to us. On the other it seems like we have to drag some members kicking and screaming to renew. A major problem continues to be the member who moves and forgets to tell us. Through the strong efforts of the DINFOS staff we are signing up graduates. The key is to make sure they come back to us after their initial complimentary membership. I would hope we can come up with a tracking mechanism to remind them what they have received and what continued membership could mean to them.
The Chapter situation continues to be a major problem. Association President Don O’Neal has named this a definite priority this year and will visit certain existing chapters to bolster them and visit other commands to encourage either rejuvenation or establishment.
Hopefully our conference attendance will continue to flourish. Having the younger Marines in attendance with the senior leadership has to bode well for both the Marine Corps and our Association. The professional military education that we have incorporated into each conference for these young Marines should assure commands that our conferences are worthwhile. This becomes especially important in light of rumored military budget cuts.
Our relationships with both Division of Public Affairs and Combat Camera is at an all-time high. We have members of both organizations on our Association Board of Directors. Senior leaders of both are giving us cooperation at every turn and this is much appreciated.
Lastly, let me say how grateful I am for the cooperation that I receive from each of you.
— Semper Fidelis, Jack
JACK T. PAXTON,
Executive Director, USMCCCA