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The Alamo Chapter
is the largest chapter in the Air Force Association with more than
3,600 members and 45 Community Partners. The chapter provides
support to a vast array of active duty Air Force organizations, ROTC
and JROTC programs, veteran organizations, retirees, and community
groups. Included are Randolph AFB, Lackland AFB, Brooks-City Base
and organizations including: Air Education and Training Command; Air
Force ISR Agency; 67th Network Warfare Wing (AIA); AF Personnel
Center: 59th Medical Wing/Wilford Hall Medical Center; 37th Training
Wing; 12th Flying Training Wing; 149th Fighter Wing (Texas ANG);
433rd Airlift Wing (AFRES); AF Recruiting Service and Air Force
Services Agency; The Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce; Air
Force Village; Joint University of Texas at San Antonio/Trinity
University AFROTC and Arnold Air Society members; and Texas State
University (San Marcos). To build strong community relations, the Alamo Chapter has established major partnerships with Air Education and Training Command (AETC) and The Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce (Chamber). In addition, strong relationships have been developed with each of the Air Force organizations that it supports and executes those through its vice president organizational structure. This approach ensures a monthly face-to-face interaction with unit representatives and requisite support for chapter initiatives. Further, the chapter has developed a strong Community Partner program which forms the basis for widespread local area business involvement in chapter activities and support of initiatives. As of this writing, 45 local area businesses participate as Alamo Chapter Community Partners. The partnership with AETC is a continuous activity that resulted in the first-ever Air Education & Training Symposium and AF 60th Anniversary Ball held in September 2007 jointly sponsored by the Alamo Chapter and AETC. It is discussed in detail below. The partnership with the Chamber is also year-long activity that culminates with a series of events during Celebrate America’s Military week held in November of each year. It is during this time when the Chamber leads a community-wide effort to recognize and thank the members of the nation’s military, particularly those in the San Antonio area. A representative from the Alamo Chapter serves on the Chamber planning committee throughout the year, and the chapter is responsible to organize or participate in four activities during this event: the Combat Breakfast; the Veteran’s Day Parade; the Randolph AFB Air Show; and the Wreath Laying Ceremony at Fort Sam Houston. The traditional Combat Breakfast was organized and hosted by the chapter this year to honor wounded veterans of the War on Terror, and was attended by civic leaders and military personnel alike. This year’s guest speaker was an Air Force wounded Veteran, Senior Airman Daniel E. Acosta II. A number of wounded veterans attended as honored guests of the chapter and each was provided a complimentary membership in the Air Force Association. The breakfast was held at 0700 hours on Tuesday, 6 November at the Randolph AFB Enlisted Club. Tickets were distributed by Unit Vice Presidents, the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce and the event Program Manager, AFA’s SMSgt Debra Westmoreland, and a total of 140 people attended. The Alamo Chapter plays a supporting role in the Veteran’s Day Parade, which was held on Saturday, 11 November. The chapter provided a Humvee with AFA personnel aboard, a Color Guard, and a military formation. The chapter also supports the Randolph AFA Air Show, which was held on 3 and 4 November, with a new booth, display and distribution of information materials. Finally, the chapter conducts the wreath-laying ceremony at the Fort Sam Houston cemetery to provide a fitting tribute to our nation’s military veterans. In addition to the Celebrate America’s Military events, the chapter also does a number of other community relations activities throughout the year. These include hosting a reception after the annual Tops in Blue performance for civic and military leaders, and a Defense Technology and Intelligence Career Day at Lackland AFB. This event allows AFA to facilitate interaction between government and industry employers/recruiters and potential employees with any security clearance or who have a background within intelligence areas. Further, the chapter provides sponsorship and financial support to a number of organizations for worthy causes during the course of the year. These include: AIA Sensor Olympics Banquet; Air Force Recruiting Service Operation Blue Suit; AETC Outstanding Airmen of the Year Program; Fiesta in Blue: AETC AF Band of the West concert; USO Thanksgiving Lunch for Lackland AFB basic trainees and other Air Force people; AETC Command Chiefs Conference; and various base-level professional development programs. As
previously indicated, the Alamo Chapter’s Aerospace Education
Foundation was established to permit a significant level of activity
in the area of aerospace education and numerous programs are
underway. These include: Student Scholarships; Family Member
Scholarships; Earle North Parker Essay Scholarship Program; Visions
of Exploration; Teacher of the Year; Pitsenbarger Awards; and the
newly established Air Force Funds Program.
The Earle North Parker High School Senior Essay Scholarship is designed to solicit essays on national security matters from high school seniors and is coordinated through local high school senior class English teachers. The chapter evaluates the essays that are submitted, selects the winner, and awards a $500.00 (increased to $1,000.00) scholarship to the student with the best essay. That student and essay are then nominated for competition at the state level where the prize for the best essay is a $3,000.00 scholarship. The Alamo Chapter also sponsors Visions classrooms at 30 area elementary schools and two area high schools, with a contribution of $3,620.00 this past year, and conducts a Teacher of the Year program annually with the recipient of this honor awarded a cash prize and a nomination for statewide competition, along with submission for the Christa McAuliffe Memorial Award at the national level. Chapter personnel also participate in the presentation of Pitsenbarger Awards at the Air Force bases in the San Antonio area.
In
addition, the chapter has initiated a trust fund in the amount of
$50,000.00 per year (The Biggar Fund) to make Alamo Chapter AFA
Scholarship and Educational Outreach programs self-sufficient in
future years.
Further, an Alamo Chapter discretionary fund is being established in the amount of $25,000.00 to explore innovative and creative programs for additional scholarship, educational outreach, and recognition programs for officers, airmen, civilians, and their families. Foundation President Emeritus Biggar continues to provide continual oversight to the program. As indicated earlier, the Alamo Chapter conducts programs on an annual and quarterly basis throughout each year. Annual programs include: the AFA Combined Military and Civilian Awards Banquet held in March and featuring the Joe Kellogg Blue Suit Awards, which recognize the top 65 Air Force “blue suiters” in the local area, and the Charlotte and Carlton Loos Civilian Awards, which recognize the top 40 Air Force civilians in the local area; the AETC/Alamo AFA Symposium and AF Birthday Ball held in September; and the Combat Breakfast and related Celebrate America’s Military activities held in November. Quarterly programs are held periodically to gather the general membership together and provide information of interest. For example, recent programs include a presentation by the AF Personnel Center Commander on Force Shaping, and another concerning the impact of the 2006 BRAC on Military Medical Care in San Antonio, with the Commanders of Wilford Hall Medical Center, Brooke Army Medical Center, and the Joint Military Medical Training Center at Fort Sam Houston all partcipating. The Combined Awards Banquet was held on 28 March at Mitchell Hall on Lackland
AFB. This was the first
time the chapter hosted a single banquet to present these awards. In
the past, separate banquets were held, one for the military awards
and one for the civilian awards. In an effort to improve the awards
process and make it easier for AFA members and the AF units, a
single banquet approach was created and worked very well such that
t In addition, this venue is used to present aerospace education awards and scholarships such as the winner of the Earle Parker Senior Essay contest, “Chapter Awards” and the Teacher of the Year Contest. etc, if they are not selected to be made as a “stand alone” event. In past years, the Alamo Chapter has hosted an AF Birthday Ball, but this year AETC and the chapter partnered to expand the birthday ball concept and couple an aerospace education symposium with it to provide a valuable professional military education experience to military, civilian, and industry personnel and to generate revenue for the Alamo Chapter Aerospace Education Foundation to support scholarship and educational outreach activities. The result was an overwhelming success. Chapter personnel worked with AETC personnel for the better part of the year planning the event, which was modeled after other AFA similar events held nationally and at selected chapter locations. Dr, Biggar oversaw these events. The activities included a sold out fundraiser golf event and social held on 5 September at Pecan Valley Golf Club with 76 participants; an AFA hosted Executive Dinner also on 5 September which included senior level Air Force and AFA leaders, as well as captains of industry; the symposium itself which was held on 6 and 7 September; an industry/military exposition held in conjunction with the symposium; and the AF 60th Anniversary Ball held on 7 September. (See Photos)
The symposium featured opening and
closing presentations by General Looney, AETC Commander, keynote
addresses by Lt Gen Steve Lorenz and Lt Gen Gary North, a General
Officers Panel, a Civilian Executive Panel, and 50 separate
break-out sessions focusing on professional military education
matters. An astounding 2,500 people attended the symposium,
including AFA National Chairman of the Board Bob Largent, who
described the event as “among the very best I have ever seen”. Ed
Garland, National AFA Director, also attended and described the
event as “a world-class event that is unique in Air Force
Association circles”. The exposition featured
The Alamo Chapter maintains
communications with its large membership and the community at large
in four ways: the chapter newsletter; the chapter website; the vice
president organizational structure; and the monthly, quarterly, and
annual |
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his method is planned to be used in the future. The Alamo Chapter
manages the overall program and coordinates with local AF units to
provide award criteria and administrative information concerning the
selection process. Awards are then presented to military and
civilian top performers representing 13 major AF units in the San
Antonio area and this year was attended by 415 people. 
displays and
partnership arrangements with industry sponsors, including companies
like Accenture, Northrup-Grumman, General Electric, Lockheed Martin,
Pratt & Whitney, Boeing, Bearing Point, and a host of others.
Combined with military organizations that participated in the
exposition, 80 exhibits were on display during two-day event. The AF
60th Anniversary Ball was as successful as the other
events held during the week with a sold out crowd of more than 1,000
people in attendance. Secretary of the Air Force Michael W. Wynne
was the keynote speaker, the AF Strolling Strings provided
entertainment, and a highlight of the evening was a presentation of
a check from the Alamo Chapter AEF by Secretary Wynne and Chairman
Largent to the Center for the Intrepid, AF Enlisted Widow’s Village,
and the AF Village Fellowship Fund. Many hundreds of volunteers from
AETC, the Alamo Chapter, and AFA’s Paul Revere Chapter supported the
various activities held during the week and made the entire event a
huge success in what is the chapter’s, and perhaps all of AFA’s,
Best Single Program of the year. Due to the significant impact the
event has had from both an educational and financial standpoint,
AETC and the Alamo Chapter plan to make this an annual affair and
schedule it in January of subsequent years in order to deconflict it
with other national and chapter level AFA events that are similar in
nature.
meetings and events. The newsletter, named
Defender,
is published by Dr. Biggar in color on a quarterly basis three or
four times per year, mailed to every chapter member and posted on
the website. The Defender
contains a cover page highlighting recent or upcoming major events,
a President’s Page which provides information about pertinent
matters directly from the chapter president, a page summarizing
chapter activities, and a page recognizing the chapter’s Community
Partners and identifying the chapter officers. The chapter website,
found at