It’s become obvious that summer is turning the corner when we see coffee companies bringing out their fall collection that includes “pumpkin bread with cream cheese flavoring” and our grocery stores are propping up their collection of yummy snack food items to eat while watching College Football games! I’m hoping that everyone has returned from holidays away, and ready to catch-up with each other at our September 9th MOAA luncheon at the DoubleTree UCF. We have a terrific guest speaker, Army veteran Mike Kepner, the Director UCF Military Veterans and Student Success Office. Out of the 69,818 enrolled UCF students, there are well over 2,000+ veterans and family members who are enrolled in this Fall Semester. There is every reason to believe some of the veterans will re-enter military service and become our future leaders in uniform! Not a MOAA Member? We encourage anyone who is interested to attend this luncheon and connect with a huge resource for our local veterans in Central Florida. If you are eligible to join our MOAA Chapter, the first lunch is on the Chapter if you join!

Please give pause and remember the souls we lost, and the families left behind on September 11th as it marks the 24th anniversary of the tragic attack on the New York City World Trade Center Towers, the Pentagon in Washington D.C. and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where one of the hijacked planes crashed.

I encourage everyone to come out and attend the City of Orlando’s September 19th, 2025, POW/MIA Recognition Ceremony that honors United States military prisoners of war and those still missing in action as part of national POW/MIA Day. Join Mayor Dyer at 10:30am in the Devos Family Room at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, and hear from special guest speaker, Army Private First-Class Jessica Lynch, the first successful rescue of an American POW since World War II. See below for additional information.

I thank MOAA members Angela Hong, who is the President of Central Florida Korean Association, and her husband MAJ (ret) Ron Navratil for their continued efforts to raise awareness and honor our veterans. On August 16th, in support of the 80th anniversary of the National Liberation Day of the Republic of Korea (ROK), the Association highlighted the service of Lake Nona Community Living Center Korean Veteran Tech Sergeant Richard Decker. Several members from the Chapter can attest that the events honor our veterans with colorful entertainment, commodore, and delicious, authentic food that makes the events even more meaningful. Mark your calendar for their next event on October 4th; see below for more information>

We are excited to announce our Healing Through Expression is hosting a Veteran Artist Showing on October 11th from 4pm-8pm at the DoubleTree Orlando East – UCF Area. The DoubleTree is located at 12125 High Tech Ave. Orlando. Typical with a high-end art showing, we will be showing off our veteran’s artwork and hearing stories about how unleashing their artistic abilities has brought to their lives. Like what you see? Support our veterans by offering to purchase their artwork! If you are looking for a great date night, along with live music, appetizers and a drink coupon will be offered to each attendee. This is also a perfect venue to bring along someone to meet our MOAA Chapter members and artists, and if eligible, become a Chapter member. Please come out and support this first of a kind event to honor the efforts of our local veteran artists!

AN APPEAL: Our current Board of Directors Secretary is Joanie Fiebrandt and she has done an outstanding job keeping our Board Minutes straight. Joanie has taken on more responsibilities in other areas to help her community, and family, and we are looking for an immediate replacement for her. It’s not a time-consuming position, but an important one that requires a presence on a Zoom Board Meeting when we have them (about every two months). The Board Members are given a detailed agenda, and the Zoom is recorded. Please give Joanie a call (954-695-5222) or email jfiebrandt@yahoo.com to gain more information – I would like to make this happen sooner rather than later to free up Joanie! And it goes without saying that I’m not disappearing from our MOAA Chapter I now sit on 10 different Veteran Councils as the MOAA representative and this is mutually exclusive from being the President. I will continue to sit on the councils, and like all organizations, we need new blood at the helm as the MOAA President for our Central Florida Chapter!!

Cheers, Lorraine

I hope you all are enjoying your summer vacation and enjoying time with your family and friends! For those of you that have been away, welcome home, and for those of you still seeking relief in cooler places, I can’t fault you for being away!

Just a reminder that our next Chapter luncheon is September 9th.

I am the MOAA representative on 8 different veteran related councils in Florida, and I’m fortunate to have a close friendship with our VA Lake Nona Outreach Coordinator Harold Borrero (he spoke at a previous luncheon). The VA continues to seek out veterans who are not enrolled and asks that we encourage them to consider doing so. VA.gov offers a wealth of information for not only the veteran, but families and surviving spouses. I’ve put together “Cliff Notes” with a few links in this newsletter and a VA Welcome Kit is attached to the email to pique your interest. Our VA is funded based on the number of enrolled veterans. You served your country, and this is one of your earned benefits.

Looks like scammers haven’t taken the summer off and are up to their old tricks to deceive our members. Please be wary of opening emails that ask you to purchase gift cards; we have a Treasurer that controls our chapter funds, and rest assured no one from our chapter will ask you to make a purchase.

Please give thought to joining our Chapter Board of Directors. We are long overdue to having new faces represent our chapter. We especially need a Secretary to record the minutes when we have a Board Meeting. I produce a detailed agenda and the meeting is recorded. We learned at our last luncheon that COL (ret) Kin LaFate has decided to relocate, so that leaves a vacancy for our Chapter Vice President. And it goes without saying that for many years now I’ve asked to have new blood at the helm as our Chapter President. I’m not going anywhere, as I’m deeply entrenched in our Veteran Councils and will remain so as the MOAA representative. Being the Chapter President is a very rewarding position and if you are looking to add another layer of purpose and meaning to your life, I can’t think of a better opportunity!

Cheers, Lorraine

Quote: “We on this continent should never forget that men first crossed the Atlantic not to find soil for their ploughs but to secure liberty for their souls. “ – Robert J. McCracken
Cheers, Lorraine