Centerline - AFA Thunderbird Chapter

Centerline
Quarterly Newsletter
January - February - March
AFA Web Sites
VOLUME 30, ISSUE 1, 2016
“Let the Games Begin”
National: www.AFA.org
Chapter: www.afalasvegas.org
In This Issue
Wounded Warrior Trials
President’s Remarks
Honor the Honor Guard
Community Partners
Annual Golf Tournament
Members Out & About
Upcoming Events
April 11, 2016 - Community Partner Mixer, Las Vegas Country Club
May 20, 2016 - Annual Golf Tournement, Las Vegas Country
Club
June3, 2016 - SW Regional
Conference, Old Town ABQ, NM
Note: All events Nellis AFB unless otherwise noted.
TSgt Brian Williams, Team USA Invictus Games competitor, lights the Air
Force Wounded Warrior cauldron during the opening ceremonies of the 2016
U.S. Air Force trials at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., Feb. 26.
The Air Force Trials are an adaptive sports event designed to promote the
mental and physical well-being of seriously wounded, ill and injured military
members and veterans. More than 100 wounded, ill or injured service men and
women from around the country will compete for a spot on the 2016 Warrior
Games Team which will represent the Air Force at the U.S. Military Academy at
West Point in June.
As host chapter for the Air Force Wounded Warrior Trials, the Thunderbird
Chapter provided over 100 cases of bottled water thanks to our Community
Partners who made our support a reality: Homewood Suites Las Vegas Airport,
Pillar Hotels, OneNevada Credit Union, the Cosmopolitan Las Vegas, Marriot
Hotels and Cactus Springs LLC.
The chapter also contributed $1400 to provide fresh fruits and energy foods for
the warriors during the duration of the competition.
Bobi, Pete, Susan and Terry attended.
Thunderbird Chapter
AFA Officers
President
Dennis Littrell 702-606-9456
dennis.r.littrell@lmco.com
Vice President
Roberta Oates 702-651-0253
boates4616@aol.com
Secretary
Bob Hale 702-896-3230
bobhale@cox.net
Treasurer
Pete Gillespie 702-452-9522
peterglv@aol.com
VP Membership
J.D. Lyles 702-399-6452
jdlyles@centurylink.net
VP Airman and Family Programs
Susan Sullivan 702-303-1920
susan.sullivan@me.com
VP Communications
Jo Ellen Braner 702-407-0075 ext. 504
jo.ellen.braner@hilton.com
VP Veteran Affairs
Roberta Oates 702-651-0253
boates4616@aol.com
VP Community Partners/
Government Relations
Robert Sullivan 702 270-2118
robert.sullivan35@yahoo.com
VP Aerospace Education/J/ROTC
Robert Hale 702-896-3230
bobhale@cox.net
Newsletter Editor
Pete Gillespie
President’s Remarks
I would like to thank Bob Cunningham and Jimmy Clark for their superb leadership.
Bobi and I have some big shoes to fill but I promise, along with our new executive
committee members, we will do our absolute best to take our Chapter to the next
level. It is an honor and a privilege to work for you and serve as President of the
Thunderbird Chapter and I thank you for the opportunity.
As with last year, we have a very busy and challenging year ahead of us. We started
out in February supporting the AF Trials at Nellis Air Force Base. Our sincere thanks
to our Community Partners who made our support a reality: Homewood Suites Las
Vegas Airport, Pillar Hotels, OneNevada Credit Union, The Cosmopolitan, Marriott
Hotels, Cactus Springs.
We quickly followed the Trials with our annual Honor the Honor Guard luncheon,
March 17th. This annual event recognizes the work of the Nellis Honor Guard who
perform honors for over 400 retirees and veterans at funerals in the local area. This is
in addition to over 360 color guard details for both military and civilian events. The
following airmen, selected by their peers, were recognized: Senior Airman Jessica
Thomas, Airman of the Year; Airman First Class Levi Schafer, Rookie of the Year;
Airman First Class Ryan Pemberton, Trainer of the Year; and Airman First Class
Matthew Reske, Member of the Year.
As we look to the next few months, our Spring Community Partner Mixer will be
held at the Las Vegas Country Club, April 11th, and we will follow the mixer with
our annual golf tournament, also at the Las Vegas Country Club May 20th.
The second half of the year will be just as busy as the first. Starting out in June,
Bobi Oates, our Vice President, will represent our Chapter at the Southwest Region
conference and we will once again, co-host with the USAF Warfare Center, the Annual
Silver State Warfighter Symposium September 23rd and I hope to see everyone at
the Air Force Ball, September 24th at the South Point Hotel Casino.
Nellis will celebrate its 75th birthday with an airshow November 12-13 and we
will wrap up the year, as we always do, supporting Operation Warm Heart. This
wonderful organization ensures that Nellis/Creech families in need of a little extra
assistance during the holidays will receive that help.
In closing, National is now under the leadership of General (ret) Larry O Spencer,
USAF. He has charged us to increase our membership so we can continue to help
Airmen and their families, support Airmen professional development, and continue
to promote Air and Space power. As General Spencer stated “be a better informed
airman, physicians have the AMA, attorneys have the ABA, and Airmen have the
AFA”, so now is the time to engage the young airmen. There are four reasons to
belong to the AFA, 1) AFA advocates, educates, and supports the Air Force on
Capitol Hill and in the public domain to keep our Air Force strong, 2) AFA provides
professional development through a variety of means, including the daily report and
monthly Air Force magazine, 3) AFA sponsors initiatives that promote Air and Space
power such as CyberPatriot, Mitchell Institute, and conferences and symposia, and 4)
AFA helps airmen and their families through scholarships and programs such as the
Wounded Airman Program. The AFA is the voice for our Air Force, its Active Duty,
Guard, Reserve, Civil Air Patrol, cadets, civilians, veterans, and retired members,
and for those who support and sustain them. Therefore, this year we will focus our
sponsorship and dedicate our efforts to local activities that meet the core values set
forth by General Jimmy Doolittle in his initial membership push in 1947.
For 70 years the AFA has served as the “Force Behind the Force” and over the
last 5 years your support has helped to fund over $1M in scholarships - presented to
cadets, airmen and their families to pursue college degrees and $190K+ in support
of wounded Airmen - you are making a difference in the lives of wounded Airmen
and their families by helping them get their lives back on track. In addition, your
support also helps to develop initiatives that educate the public on the critical need
for unmatched aerospace power and a technically superior workforce to ensure US
national security through programs such as CyberPatriot which reaches over 12,000
students annually. As we celebrate this birthday, we thank the dedicated members
who have contributed to AFA’s mission and participated in all that the AFA has
accomplished.
Honor the Honor Guard
Appreciation Day
The chapter celebrated the Annual Honor Guard Appreciation Lunch, March 17
at the Nellis Club. This event is held to show our appreciation for the Nellis Honor
Guard and the outstanding service it provides to the community, the Air Force and
most importantly to the families of our departed comrades. They perform honors for
over 400 retirees and veterans of all military services. In addition they have performed
over 300 color guard details as well as flag folding, sword cordons and parades. Each
and every one of these details was performed with extraordinary precision, dignity
and class.
The honor guard selects four of its fellow peers for special recognition.
This year’s awardees were: SRA Jessica Thomas, Airman of the year: A1C Levi
Shafer, Rookie of the Year: A1C Ryan Pemberton, Trainer of the Year and A1C
Matthew Reske, Member of the Year.
The Thunderbird Chapter presented the four winners plus the Honor Guard NCOIC,
TSgt Merriam, with complimentary AFA memberships.
2016 Air Force Association Golf Tournament
Las-Vegas-CC-flowers.jpgLas-Vegas-CC-flowers.jpgLV_Country_Club.jpg
Las Vegas Country Club
3000 Joe W Brown Dr
Las Vegas, NV 89109
Friday, 20 May
1200 Shotgun Start
AFA is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt
organization. We promote a
dominant United States Air
Force and a strong national
defense, and to honor Airmen
and our Air Force Heritage. To
accomplish this, we:
•EDUCATE the public on the critical
need for unmatched aerospace
power and a technically superior
workforce to ensure U.S. national
security.
•ADVOCATE for aerospace power
and STEM education.
•SUPPORT the total Air Force
family, and promote aerospace
education.
The AFA Thunderbird Chapter
(Tax ID #88-6006890) uses golf
tournament proceeds to
support the local community in
Las Vegas, Nellis AFB, and
Creech AFB. Some examples:
•AF Wounded Warrior Program
•ROTC scholarships
•Honor the Honor Guard luncheon
•Las Vegas Rotary Club Awards
•Cyber Patriot
•Aviation Nation Air Show
•Teacher of the Year
•Base awards programs for Airmen
•”Adopt a Family” holiday support
ea
AFA Thunderbird Chapter
PO Box 9749
Nellis AFB, NV 89191
W e b s i t e : w w w . a f a l a s ve g a s . o r g
E-mail:
s e c r e t a r y @ a f a l a s ve g a s . o r g
Come join the AFA Thunderbird Chapter for our
annual fund raising event
Format: Four-person team “Shamble” format. Each person will tee off and the
team will select a drive, then each person will play out the hole with their own ball
from the selected drive location.
Entry Fee: The entry fee is $125 per person. You can put together a team or enter
as an individual. The entry fee includes green fee, cart, range balls, entry into
course events, tee prizes, and dinner following play. Lunch will be available for
purchase from the Las Vegas Country Club prior to golf.
Prizes!! Team prizes and individual prizes for long drive and closest to pin.
Raffle!! Tickets sold at event…many donated prizes!
Silent Auction!!
Sponsorship
“Platinum” - $2500
Includes up to 8 player spots, hole sponsorship with logo, lunch
sponsorship, 2016 AFA Community Partner dues, website recognition and
opportunity to place a table at the event.
“Gold” - $1000
Includes 4 player spots, hole sponsorship with logo, advertising recognition,
and 2016 AFA Community Partner dues.
The Thunderbird Chapter Proudly Salutes
Its Community Partners
AECOM
Aliante Casino, Hotel, and Spa
Arcata Associates
Armed Forces Bank
Arrowdata, LLC
Atomic Testing Museum
AVTECH Research Corp
Battlespace Flight Services
Booz Allen Hamilton
Bowhead
Buckley Group/Morgan Stanley
Catus Springs
CAE
DW&A
Fluor Corporation
General Atomics Aeronautical
Glenn Reider, Inc.
Global C2 Integrated Tech.
Global Robot & Drone Deployment
Homewood Suites
Integrated Xchange Media Gp
JT3
Las Vegas Country Club
Las Vegas Harley-Davidson
Lockheed Martin
LV 51s
Marriott Hotels
Mesa Beverage
Navy Federal CU
Nevada Business Aviation Association
Northrop Grumman
One Nevada CU
Pete Peterson
Pillar Hotels
Raytheon
Space Information Labs
Sue Sullivan
T3I Solutions LLC
The Boeing Company
The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas
The Radcliff Group
Thoroughbred Management
USO Las Vegas
VapeCO
Vberry Consulting, LLC
Wells Fargo Insurance
The AFA Thunderbird Chapter wishes to extend a big thank you to our Community Partners
for all of their support to the chapter. Without their help we would not be able to effectively
carry out the programs and events that help our local area military, especially at Nellis AFB and
Creech AFB. As our Community Partner membership expands we have been able to increase the
effectiveness of the different programs.
In an effort to show our appreciation to our Community Partners we will have a Community
Partner Mixer at the Las Vegas Country Club on Monday, April 11, 2016. It will give our
Community Partners a chance to meet the Chapter Executive Council members and give them a
chance to better know the Community Partners.
Hope to see you all there.
Members Out & About
“The VA hosted a great
concert at Green Valley
Ranch-Miracles for Heroes.
The room was packed and
several organizations had
tables to share information
with the Veterans. Jo,
Denny and Bobi manned
the AFA table touting the
AFA’s 70th anniversary
and spoke with several
veterans. A great time was
had by all.”
Nevada Military Support
Alliance 4th Annual Gala at
the MGM on March 19th.
Bobi Oates hosted the AFA
table and invited her fellow
Women Veterans, (Navy)
Amanda Cunningham and
friend also joined us.
Members Out & About
The Science Fair was Feb 6th
at Western High school. We
were able to speak with several
High School science teachers to
tell them about the wonderful
programs that are available to
them thru the AFA, Cyber Patriot
and StellarXplorers. Our way to
reach out to today’s youth.
Bobi and Floyd attended
Senator Heller’s Veterans
Roundtable discussion
March 18, Bobi attended.