Page 2 - DFCS News Magazine Winter 2014

PAGE 2 THE DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSS NEWS
President’s Message
Our 2014 Convention at the beautiful Sher- aton Sand Key Resort was very success- ful and, I would like to thank everyone involved for making it a fun event. I’m sorry that many of you missed it but, hopefully, you will make the next one in 2016. Those who attended had a wonderful time and, we proudly honored eight wonderful WWII and Korean War mem- bers at the banquet. There is an extensive ar- ticle describing the convention elsewhere in this magazine. The Silent Auction had some fantastic and unusual items that enabled us to raise $2,350 for the scholarship fund.
Speaking of the scholarship fund, I have writ- ten several articles about our greatest bene- factor, Ed Gouveia, who donated
$72,000.00 to the scholarship fund,
book fund and operating fund over the
years. He was a shy man, and he be-
lieved very strongly in the mission and
goals of the DFC Society, especially
the education of the youth of America.
He hoped that other members would
follow his example, but that hasn’t
happened. Our donations are very
flat. I realize that you are deluged
with requests for donations, especially
at this time of the year, but please
consider a donation to the Society. The follow- ing subject is tough to bring up, but I am ask- ing you to include the DFC Society in your will or trust, as it would help the Society immense- ly, especially the scholarship fund. We are working on ways to make this easier to accom- plish but, in the meantime, please consider do- ing this.
Another area that is also flat is new member- ships. We get some from recipients viewing our website, but the greatest number come from chapters and individual members. I’m asking all of you to recruit new members from your peers, friends, and active duty folks
whom you meet and notice a DFC ribbon on their uniform. Writing an article for the local newspaper or military base newspaper will al- so help. I have found that the most successful recruiting tool is wearing the DFCS shirt, hat, or tie, as that opens up a dialog with people. Please notice an article in this magazine about our new beautiful challenge coins, which pre- sents another avenue to advertise the Society.
The status of obtaining a sponsor for the DFC Society Documentary is ongoing. We have some definite possibilities but still haven’t signed anyone up yet. We need a contact at the highest level of prospective corporations; so if you have a friend or relative that fits in
this category, please let us know.
As a result of the recent election, there are two new Board directors, E. Allen Nuss and Patrick Owen; three directors, Bruce Huffman, Tony Ventura and Greg MacNeil, were approved for another three-year term and John Appel will be step- ping down after nine years due to term limits. On behalf of the Board of Directors and the general member- ship, I would like to take this oppor- tunity to thank John for his dedicated
service to the Society.
In closing, I thank you for your support and wish you a Very Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Happy Hanukkah.
Chuck Sweeney President & CEO