The Great Lakes Region (GLR) is comprised of four states, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, and Ohio. We currently have 18 chapters -- six in Indiana, two in Kentucky, five in Michigan, and five in Ohio. Total membership is over 7,900.
Many of the other chapters are located near Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Installations and focus their efforts in supporting their operations. Indiana works closely with Indiana Air Guard Headquarters each year to jointly sponsor a chalet at the Indianapolis Air Show. Many of our Chapter and State leaders come from their local guard and reserve units.
Regional Programs 2016 Regional Meeting You are cordially invited to attend this year’s Air Force Association (AFA) GLR Meeting on Friday, August 26th and Saturday, August 27 in Dayton, Ohio. This event will serve as an excellent opportunity to meet AFA members from Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio while gaining National, Regional and State perspectives of our organization. I’m excited to announce that our AFA President, General Larry Spencer, USAF (Ret.) has accepted our invitation to serve as our Key Note Speaker at our Friday evening banquet. We are also fortunate to gain Chuck Heflebower’s insight during our business meeting on Saturday. You might recall that we helped elect Chuck to serve as an AFA National Director at our AFA Convention last year. Chuck is a retired Air Force Lt. General and currently serves as the Chairman of our AFA Membership Committee. We’ve asked him to specifically address our need to recruit Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve members. Friday. Our banquet will be held at the Pentagon Tower (3500 Pentagon Blvd, Beavercreek, OH). The Pentagon Tower is right next to the Hilton Garden Inn. Attire for Friday evening is coat and tie or AF service dress uniform (Class A). The attachments provide the tentative agenda, cost and lodging details. Out of town visitors might want to arrive early on Friday for a Behind the Scenes Tour of the Air Force Museum. Saturday. Please note our business meeting on Saturday is about a 30 minute drive from the hotel to the VA Medical Center in Downtown Dayton. The address is 4100 West 3rd Street, Dayton, OH. Attire for Saturday is business casual. Polo shirt is acceptable.
Fund Raising Opportunities. The GLR plans on giving two donations this year: One donation will be to the AFA Wounded Airman Program, where every penny raised directly helps our wounded airmen. The second donation will be to help build a $6 million Fisher House on the Dayton VA Medical Center complex. The Wright Memorial AFA Chapter supports the Dayton VA and this donation will be yet another way for our GLR to support our veterans. Please consider giving to one or both of these deserving needs. As always, donations are not expected and are purely optional.
Finally, I hope to see you at the Friday and/or Saturday portions of our GLR meeting. Please feel free to call me at (260) 402-5886 if you have any questions. Paul Lyons
2015 Regional Meeting Last year’s Air Force Association (AFA) GLR Meeting on Friday, August 21st and Saturday, August 22nd, 2015 at Fort Harrison in Indianapolis. This meeting l served as an excellent opportunity to meet AFA members from Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio while gaining National, Regional and State perspectives of our organization. Major General Mark A. Barrett, USAF (Ret.) has agreed to serve as our Friday evening guest speaker. Mark most recently served as the Chief of Staff, U.S. European Command in Stuttgart, Germany. He became the AFA Executive Vice President in September of last year and he readily accepted my invitation during his first two weeks on the job! We are also fortunate to gain Kari Hahn’s insight on Saturday morning. Kari serves as the AFA Vice President of Member and Field Relations and she is responsible for virtually every program of interest to the field. Friday. The Friday evening banquet will be held at the Fort Harrison State Park Inn at 5830 N. Post Road, Indianapolis, IN. Attire for Friday evening is coat and tie or AF service dress uniform (Class A). The two attachments provide agenda, cost and lodging details. Saturday. The business meeting on Saturday will be held at the nearby Garrison, 6002 N. Post Road, Indianapolis, IN. Attire for Saturday is business casual. Polo shirt is acceptable. I promise to have everyone back on the road by 2:00pm. Wounded Airman Program. The GLR will give a donation to the AFA Wounded Airman Program on Friday evening and contributions to this very worthwhile cause would be greatly appreciated. AFA takes pride in covering all administrative costs for the Wounded Airman Program, so our donations will directly help our wounded airmen. Please note that while appreciated, donations are not expected and are purely optional.
Friday, August 21, 2015 (Fort Harrison Inn) 1745 - 1845 Cocktail Hour (cash bar) 1845 - 1900 Pledge of Allegiance, POW/MIA Table, Invocation, Introductions 1900 - 2000 Dinner 2000 - 2045 Guest Speaker: AFA Executive Vice President, Mark Barrett 2045 - 2100 Closing Remarks and Adjournment
Saturday, August 22, 2015 (the Garrison at Fort Harrison) 0830 – 0900 Continental breakfast (coffee, juice and pastries) 0900 – 0930 Great Lakes Region President Comments 0930 – 1045 Kari Hahn, AFA Vice President Member & Field Relations 1045 – 1115 AFA National Director, Bill Grider 1115 – 1145 State Presidents’ Comments 1145 - 1150 Closing Remarks 1150 – 1300 Buffett Lunch 1300 - 1400 State Conventions if desired
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