The Support the Sandhills State Veterans Cemetery Fund recently received a substantial donation from one of our chapter members, LTC (Ret) Dean Russell and his wife Ginny.

In July, the NC General Assembly appropriated $125,000 to upgrade the committal structure at the Veterans Cemetery at Spring Lake with the stipulation that the community was to raise a matching $125,000 in donations.

At the 8 December 2013 Community Concerts screening of the documentary “Honor Flight” at the Crown Arena, Dean and Ginny Russell were publicly recognized for their personal donation of a matching $125,000. Governor Pat McCrory was present to sign a ceremonial $125,000 check to honor his commitment.

The Friends of the Sandhills State Veterans Cemetery are pursuing the funding to provide a place of dignity for veterans and their families to have funeral services for their loved ones at the cemetery in Spring Lake. When attending funerals at that site, families are sometimes exposed to inclement weather.

No one knows that better than Dean Russell who is also the Commander of the Cape Fear Chapter Honor Guard. The Honor Guard was established to pay respects and provide support to the families of deceased chapter members upon request. The Honor Guard provides sentries at the casket or urn during the visitation, and serves as honorary pall bearers at the funeral service. Dean’s membership in MOAA and his role as commander of the Cape Fear Chapter Honor Guard were highlighted during his introduction.

The Russell’s unwavering support of our community and specifically our veterans is worthy of the highest esteem. The awareness of our chapter and MOAA in general they fashioned as a result of their benevolence is priceless. Thank you Dean and Ginny!

Effective October 7, 2013, DMV began offering the opportunity for veterans to request a veteran designation to be placed on their driver licenses and identification cards. This service can be obtained at any driver license office throughout the State.

The decal is affixed when the license is produced and all licenses are produced in Raleigh. There is a $10.00 charge for this license as it is considered a duplicate license.

For procedures on how to obtain the designation, click on link below.

The first event of the new year is the Installation Dinner when we celebrate the official installation of a new Board of Directors. While this is normally a biennial event it will be four years since our last one because of the Covid pandemic.

Barring an unexpected Covid flareup, this year’s event will take place on Saturday, 14 January 2023 in the Iron Mike Conference Center starting at 5:00 PM.

We ask every chapter member who can attend to please do so as a show of appreciation and respect for fellow members who have volunteered to taken on the responsibility of leading our chapter forward for the next two years.

The guest speaker for the event will be Retired US Navy Captain Frank J. Michael, MOAA’s Program Director for Council and Chapter Affairs. Captain Michael will also administer the oath of office to the new officers. We expect Captain Michael to give us a comprehensive report on National MOAA and specifically how local chapters contribute to the effectiveness and success of our National organization. To access Capt. Michael's biography click on download bar above.

Part of the agenda will include a free drawing for some neat prizes. Each attendee will be provided with a ticket at the registration table.

For reservations and details download event flier below. Please RSVP without delay!