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April 2018

Special Points

of Interest

Inside this Issue

Army Strong—First Militia Strong

Volume 36

From The President

General Membership Dinner Meeting

Individual Membership

How To Join FMC/AUSA

Upcoming Events

GMM & Dinner information

Corporate Sponsors

FL NG Foundation Golf Tournament

BG Mike Canzoneri greets our GMM speaker Judge

Howard McGillin, Jr, COL USA (ret)

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THOUGHTS FROM THE PRESIDENT: Hello First Militia Chapter! The chapter continues to grow in mem-bership! I am extremely proud of our growth, we have some great officers and members. What I want to try and bridge is getting our attendance up at our Gen-eral Membership meetings. We have over 600 members but only average about 50-70 at our meetings. If we are to reach into the community, have an impact on the Army and sell the Army's story, we need momentum. The Army is in transition right now, growing in numbers, growing in modernization, growing in lethality. I ask you to reach out to me or any chapter officer if you are not getting our emails and communica-tions. In our May meeting we have General Ham from AUSA National coming to be our guest speaker, would really like to have strong showing and be able to show-case what our chapters accomplishments were the past year. You, the backbone of our chapter do a lot for the Army and our community, want to get your story out, you should be proud of what you do to make the community, the state, our nation great. Thank you. Vr BG Canzoneri

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Army Strong—First Militia

General Membership Dinner Meeting

The third quarter general membership meeting was

held on Thursday, February 15th at the Mark Lance Ar-

mory. The night started with a social followed by intro-

ductions of corporate sponsors. Special thanks MAJ (R)

Diane Haynie for the flower center pieces for each table

and Jerry Stalvey’s BBQ for the catered meal of ribs,

chicken, green beans, roasted potatoes, and strawberry

shortcake. Dinner was followed by chapter reports from

the president who has expressed appreciation for the

growth of chapter membership, but also concern regard-

ing the RSVPs for the General Membership Meetings.

CSM (R) Quinn, LTC Dohmann, CPT Quinn, and CPT

Locklear followed with briefings on Veteran Affairs,

corporate sponsorship, Young Professionals activities,

and the current status of FMC Scholarships. Headquar-

ters and Headquarters Detachment Joint Force Head-

quarters Florida presented the First Militia Chapter a

certificate of appreciation for support the Florida Army

National Guard’s annual holiday party. The speaker for

the evening was Judge Howard McGillin who serves as

a Judge in the Seventh Judicial Circuit. Judge McGillin

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Army Strong—First Militia

grew up in an Army family and attended West Point in

1981. Later serving as a field artillery officer in the

82nd Airborne Division during Operation Urgent Fury.

After graduating from the University of Florida’s Law

Program, he transferred to the Judge Advocate General

Corps later retiring in 2005 as a Colonel. Judge

McGillin provided a detailed briefing on the Veterans

Treatment Court’s approach to reducing the recidivism

for minor charges while providing mental health and as-

sistance to our nation’s veterans. Although still in its in-

fancy in St. Johns and surrounding counties, the pro-

gram has proven to be highly successful in many other

areas. The meeting concluded with a reminder of up-

coming events. We ask that you continue to spread the

word regarding each AUSA event until all of our mem-

bers contact information is updated. Additionally, we

ask that you RSVP in advance so we can ensure the ca-

tering contract covers sufficient food for all attending.

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Army Strong—First Militia

1 LTC Dohmann VP

Corporate Sponsorship

CPT Locklear VP

Scholarships

CPT Quinn VP Young

Professionals

From left: SFC Rake, in middle 1SG

Reid HHD JFHQ, Training NCO,

BG Canzoneri FMC President

BG Canzoneri congratulates Judge McGillin, COL, USA, (ret), on

his Veterans Treatment Court presentation.

MC SGM Ray Quinn, USA

(ret) VP of Veterans and Retir-

ee Affairs

Judge Howard McGillin,

COL USA (ret)

Veterans Treatment Court

BG Canzoneri FMC

President

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INDIVIDUAL membership

Membership at a Glance

2018 is proving to be productive year and we

would like to thank each of you! As we progress

into the year, our current membership is 650 mem-

bers, which is progressing towards a new goal of

700 Individual Chapter members. Your support is

instrumental in helping the organization reach this

goal. Please continue to honor the organization by

attending Quarterly Dinner and Meetings, renew-

ing your membership, and referring new mem-

bers. Contact 1LT Talesha Montfort, individual

membership representative for further infor-

mation and/or assistance at:

talesha.r.montfort.mil@mail.mil To apply

online, please visit the membership section on

www.ausa.org. Our Chapter Number is C3205 or

First Militia Chapter.

Benefits

· Networking– Interaction with individuals from

various backgrounds through events held by the

Chapter

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First Militia Chapter.

· Professional Development– The opportunity to

learn from those who have been there.

· Incentive savings– Discounts on insurance, car

rentals, hotels and more.

· Access to various publications – Army Magazine

and other AUSA publications.

Who can join?

Regular Army National Guard

Reserve ROTC Cadets Retired Soldiers

Government Civilians Wounded Warriors

Veterans Concerned Citizens

Family Members

Membership Levels (2018)

2 Year Membership $ 40

5 Year Membership $ 75

Life Membership $ 400

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UPCOMING EVENTS

Please register now for the upcoming AUSA Golf Tournament being held at

Marsh Creek on 9 April. Your cost of to play includes breakfast, lunch, as well

as opportunities to compete for several tem/individual prizes. We are continuing

to look for sponsors for this event, so please forward sponsor forms and golf

tournament registration form to those that may be interested.

General Carter Ham will be our guest speaker for the 10 May AUSA First Mili-

tia Chapter General Membership Meeting. The meeting will start at 18:00 with a

social followed by dinner catered by Carrabbas of St. Augustine Please ensure

you RSVP as we expect a significant turnout. General Ham enlisted in 1973

serving in the 82nd Airborne Division prior to being commissioned as an Infan-

try Officer through ROTC while attending John Carroll University. He later at-

tended the Naval War College and the Air War College. His assignments includ-

ed tours at Fort Knox, Italy, Germany while in the infantry. He then went on to

serves as a recruiting area commander, assistant inspector general, Battalion

S3 and XO for the OPFOR at the National Training Center. Following assignment

to the U.S. Army Infantry School, he served as advisor to the Saudi Arabian Na-

tional Guard, commander 1/6th Infantry in Vilseck, Germany (in conjunction

with a six-month tour with the United Nations in Macedonia), Senior Observer

Controller CMTC Hohenfels, Germany, G3 and Chief of Staff 1st Infantry Divi-

sion, Commander 29th Infantry Regiment Fort Benning, GA, Deputy Director J-8

U.S. Central Command, and Deputy CG I CORPS. In 2004, he commanded Multi-

national Brigade North in Mosul, Iraq followed by assignments as the Deputy

Director for Regional Operations J-3 on the Joint Staff, Commander 1st Infantry

Division, Commanding General U.S. Army Europe, and Commanding General

U.S. Africa Command. General Ham retired in 2013 and currently

serves as the AUSA National President.

Remember, the new website for the FMC is: https://

www.ausa.org/first-militia or https://www.ausa.org/chapters/

first-militia-chapter

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UPCOMING EVENTS

(Mark Your Calendars):

All First Militia Chapter members are encouraged

to attend: First Tuesday of each month 12:00: EXCOM Meeting

AUSA First Militia Chapter Annual Golf Tournament,

Location: Marsh Creek Country Club Monday 9 May 2018 at 07:30

Fourth Quarter Meeting, 10 May 2018 at 18:00

Location: Mark Lance Armory St. Augustine, FL, Guest Speaker:

General Carter Ham, AUSA President

Thursday June 14, 2018: Army Birthday Celebration, Cedar

Room St. Francis Barracks, St. Augustine, FL & Post HQ Camp

Blanding, FL: Guest Speakers: TBD

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FIRST MILITIA CHAPTER CORPORATE SPONSORS

Community Hospice of NE Florida

Courtyard by Marriott, St. Augustine

Defenshield, Inc.

Drone Aviation Corp.

Elegant Events

Fidelity Bank

Greg T. Russell, DMD, PA

Herbie Wiles Insurance

KJ’s Products, LLC

Merrill Lynch

NCO Club St. Augustine

Optimize Consulting, Inc.

Army Strong—First Militia Strong

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FIRST MILITIA CHAPTER CORPORATE SPONSORS

Prices Barber Shop

Runk Properties, Inc.

Snowbird Environmental Systems Corp.

Solar Stik, Inc.

St. Augustine Officer’s Club

St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce

St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office

Steve Chapman’s All American A.C.

Trusted Advisors Flagler, LLC

Watson Realty Corp. on the Beach

Army Strong—First Militia Strong

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DID YOU KNOW?

Army Strong—First Militia Strong

If you are receiving this newsletter by mail and you have an e-mail ad-

dress, AUSA and First Militia Chapter would like to have your e-mail ad-

dress to keep you informed of Chapter events and save on postage. There

are three ways to change or update your e-mail address. 1) Go to

www.ausa.org and update your Membership information; 2) you may

contact us at www.firstmilitia.org or call 3) Secretary CW4 Karen

Smith, 904-823-0654, or email Karen.m.smith1@mail.mil

There are many benefits that come with your AUSA membership that in-

clude the following (see the back of your card for contact numbers); this

is not a complete listing. Discounts with the following Companies and

Services: Apple Computers, GEICO Auto Insurance, Army Times, Rent-

al Cars (Hertz, Avis, National, Alamo and Budget,) Health, Dental and

Long Term Care, AUSA Bank, and Choice Hotels International.

Get a 10% discount at Home Improvement Stores at “Home Depot” or

“Lowes” by simply showing your Military ID Card. They don’t ask, just

show your ID and request the discount. Big savings on big projects.

DO YOU HAVE AN E-MAIL ADDRESS?

Social Media Presence

Facebook Web address: www.facebook.com/FirstMilitiaChapterAusa LinkedIn Web address: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/First-Militia-Chapter-Association-United-8194968

FMC AUSA Web address: firstmilitia.org

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About Us

The First Militia Chapter, Association of the United States Army, was established in November 1994 in St. Augustine, Florida – our nation’s oldest city. Our chapter represents the northeast Florida area, which includes the counties of Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Dixie, Duval, Flagler, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Lafayette, Levy, Nassau, Putnam, St. Johns, Suwan-nee, and Union. The Chapter also serves parts of Madison, Mari-on and Volusia Counties with other Florida AUSA Chapters.

As an AUSA chapter our focus is to support AUSA initiatives, represent our Army service members, retirees, and their families, and to support our communities. Our primary service programs include providing annual scholarships to deserving college stu-dents, annually recognizing the Army JROTC programs in our region, and supporting soldiers and their families in our region. To ensure we are able to support our service programs we annu-ally host a chapter golf tournament, which has proven to be a great success. And finally, to ensure involvement and camarade-rie within our organization we hold a quarterly dinner and gen-eral membership meeting that any and all are welcome to attend.

The Association of the United States Army was established in 1950 as a private non-profit organization that works to support all components of the United States Army, which includes the active, National Guard, and Reserve components. The focus of AUSA is to serve as a voice of the United States Army, to pro-mote public awareness and support the Army’s role in our na-tion’s security effort, to provide education and information to promote a better understanding of our Army’s issues and activi-ties, and to provide service and support to our soldiers, their families, and our communities.

As a chapter of the Association of the United States Army we stand proud and ready to serve our nation, state and community. We welcome all who are interested in becoming a member and getting involved in our organization. To become a member of AUSA, First Militia Chapter simply go to www.ausa.org and click on “Become an AUSA member”. For information concern-ing the First Militia Chapter please click on the “Leadership” tab and either call or email the respective point of contact.

First Militia Chapter

AUSA St. Augustine

Leadership: Chapter Officers

BG Mike Canzoneri, President

COL Bill Temple, First VP

CPT TJ Coleman, Vice President

SGM (Ret) Ray A Quinn, VP Veterans and

Retiree Affairs

CPT Ryan Quinn, VP Public Affairs

2LT Talesha Montfort, VP Individual Membership

CPT Kimberly Quinn, VP Corp Membership

2LT Alexander Kemp, VP Young Professionals

CW4 Karen Smith, Secretary

LTC Patrick Pelletier, Treasurer

CPT Roye Locklear, Scholarships

CPT Melissa Schuster, JROTC/ Family Programs

Michael Rothfeld, Newsletter Editor Chapter Board of Advisors

BG (Ret) Richard Capps, President

MG (Ret) James L. Snyder

COL (Ret) Carlton Smith

COL (Ret) Don Workman

LTC (Ret) Doug Wiles

SGM (Ret) Robert Carroll

SGM (Ret) Ray Quinn

Army Strong—First Militia Strong