Schedule of events

April 1630 Happy Hour

27 APR 21- 1630 Happy Hour at the Gateway Lounge on 26 JAN. It is a social gathering with casual conversation while taking full advantage of the free popcorn at the Gateway Lounge. We meet at 1630 until around 1800 and the Gateway Lounge is located at 3408 S. Gateway BLVD, SF, SD 57106.

MAY MEETING

April 1630 Happy Hour

11 MAY 21 - Dr. Schorn is coming in for his annual update on world affairs. This is one of our most interesting speakers. You don't want to miss this one!

Plan to arrive at 1130, order lunch and the meeting will start at noon. The address is: 1600 W. Russell St., Sioux Falls, SD 57104. Visit their web site at http://www.southdakotaalliance.org

JUNE 2021 Meeting

April 1630 Happy Hour

JUNE 2021 Meeting

8 JUN 21 - The June meeting will be out at the Wings of Valor Lodge in Parker, SD. We will put out info on transportation prior to the meeting. Lunch is provided! Go to www.wingsofvalorlodge.org for more info on the location and what they do for Veterans and more specifically, disabled Veterans.

About Us

MOAA Great Plains Chapter

The MOAA, Great Plains Chapter is comprised of former and Active Duty Veteran Officers from all the services. Eligibility is open to all former and currently serving officers. We are part of the National MOAA organization which has a significant role in helping to keep benefits in place for Service Members and Veterans. We meet the 2nd Tuesday of the month for our regular meeting with stimulating and dynamic speakers and every 4th Tuesday for a 1630 Happy Hour.

MOAA, Great Plains Chapter Mission

Our mission has changed a bit over the years. We are mostly a social organization. We meet twice a month, once formally and once informally. We try to live by MOAAs catch phrase, "NEVER STOP SERVING". We are active in gifting scholarships to ROTC Cadets at SDSU and USD and with providing initial sets of Gold Bars for commissioning ceremonies. We are also active members of the Sioux Falls Veterans Counsel.

Great plains chapter OFFICERS AND BOARD MEMBERS

CURRENT OFFICERS

PRESIDENT - SCOTT W. REDD, LTC, U.S. ARMY (RET) - (605) 212-0712

1ST VP PROGRAMS - DENISE ROTERT, U.S. ARMY (RET) - (605) 321-3764

1ST VP PROGRAMS (ASSISTANT) - DOUG HANIFY, U.S. ARMY (RET) (563) 370-6390

2ND VP MEMBERSHIP - DAVE NORDLAND, U.S. MARINES (RET) (605) 366-0797

SEC/TREAS - ROBERT BLACK , U.S. AIR FORCE (RET) (605) 759-8671

LEGISLATIVE LEASION - JAY MANNING, U.S. ARMY (RET) (605)

Board Member at Large - Randy Kirkvold - (605) 789-0389

Learn More

If you are an Active Duty Officer, National Guard or Reserve Officer or a Veteran who served as an officer in any of the services, we welcome you to our MOAA Chapter. Please contact Bob Black at (605) 759-8671 or blackroberte@sio.midco.net to discuss membership options. "Never Stop Serving"

Meeting Minutes

GREAT PLAINS CHAPTER MILITARY OFFICERS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA

1600 West Russell Street

Sioux Falls, SD 57104 www.greatplainschapter.org

Minutes of Meeting, 13 Apr 2021

At about 1130, the members gathered at the Military Heritage Alliance Center and caravanned to the South Dakota Veterans Cemetery where we were greeted by Brian Voges, the Cemetery Representative for the South Dakota Veterans Cemetery. Inside the administrative office, he provided an overview of the cemetery and answered members’ questions. The cemetery broke ground on September of 2019 on about 60 acres of land. The formal ribbon cutting will be on Memorial Day; the first interments will be in early June. Following the introduction, the group moved to the committal service shelter on a hill overlooking much of the cemetery. There he explained the areas we could see and the burial procedures at the cemetery. Following the talks, we adjourned about 1250 and motored back to the MHAC where several of the members lunched at the Patriot Café.

Mr. Voges is a 26 year Air Force/Air National Guard veteran/retiree. He has been employed by the South Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs for 2 years. He spent 1 1⁄2 years as a Veteran Service Officer before accepting the position as the Cemetery Representative for the South Dakota Veterans Cemetery in Feb 2021. He is responsible for processing all required paperwork for the pre-application and burial process, along with scheduling date/time for all burials.

Financial Statement: As of 31 Mar, we had $8,844.71 our checking account with income of $705.68 and expenses of $297.89 during March. We have $14, 638.86 in our CD giving us a total of $23,483.57.

Upcoming events include some interesting meeting speakers and some fun and tasty beer calls. Mark your calendars!

April 27th—Beer call at Gateway Lounge
May 11th meeting—Dr. Schorn, USD Professor of Political Science May 25th—Beer call at Gateway Lounge
June 8th meeting—Field trip to Wings of Valor hunting lodge
June 29th—Beer call at Gateway Lounge
July 27th—Beer call at Gateway Lounge
Aug 24th—Beer call at Gateway Lounge

Robert Black
Secretary/Treasurer - Great Plains Chapter – MOAA