Chairman's Report

A Message From Headquarters

June 2009

By Rear Admiral [Ret.] James J. Carey
TFGON National Chairman

We begin the summer in 2009 by finally breaking the 2000 membership mark of Flag & General Officers on our roster and with great plans for the future of TFGON.

One of our efforts for the past year has been to fill all 5 of TFGON’s Service Section Leadership positions, and I am particularly pleased that we have now accomplished that goal and all five are in place and doing a great job for OUR organization. Their names, photos, and e-mail addresses are on the homepage of our website and their bio’s are available by clicking on their names. Feel free to communicate with any of them regarding efforts and activities and projects in your service section. Having these positions filled is particularly important to the growth of TFGON, as well as spreading and sharing the leadership workload as we continue to grow larger each month. We’re already seeing significant progress through TFGON being in contact and in comms with each service’s leadership, and we’re now reaching out to both the newly promoted to O-7 selectees as well as those flag/g.o.’s transitioning from ACDU to CIVLANT/PAC through their flag/G.O. briefing packets that contain a one-pager on TFGON, who we are, what we’re doing, and how they can join. All these initiatives can only help TFGON to grow even faster. And to be clear, we seek not to have EVERY Flag & General Officer on our TFGON Membership Rolls, but rather to ensure that EVERY Flag & General Officer be aware of who we are and what we’re doing and has the opportunity to join if they so desire. Thus far, over 2,000 have done so, and that’s a pretty darn good indicator in my opinion that we’re on the right track.

In case you haven’t noticed it, we’ve begun to transition to being an “official” war veterans organization. There are particular advantages in doing so, both with regard to being tax-exempt and also in expanding the number and kind of activities and events in which we can be involved. Plus it’s something we readily qualify for, since EVERY FLAG & GENERAL OFFICER serves for 30+ years and thus, by IRS definition [at least as defined by the IRS in their 501.c.19 requirements and as spelled out on our web site], 100% of our membership fully qualifies. TFGON is now incorporated in the Commonwealth of Virginia as The Flag & General Officers’ Network, Inc. and our application as a war veterans organization [501.c.19] was filed with the IRS in February of this year. Once we receive the IRS approval letter, we’ll make that known to the membership via the TFGON Newsletter.

As many of you know, in part because we hoist a glass and toast him at each of our Quarterly Networking Receptions, our TFGON co-founder was Rear Admiral [Ret.] Chuck McGrail, now deceased. Chuck was a truly great naval aviator and also did some very fine work after he retired as a Member of the Defense Science Board. Some of you have approached me regarding our setting up a scholarship or internship within TFGON in Chuck’s memory, and I want to let everyone know that I’m VERY MUCH in favor of such effort and in fact will be one of the first to donate to it. That said, my plan is to wait until the IRS has approved TFGON as a 501.c.19 tax-exempt war veterans organization so there is total clarity that any donations to such an effort are clearly tax-deductible and we don’t get into any flails with the IRS in that regard. So that’s the current plan, and we’ll keep everyone posted.

This completes my Chairman’s Report for June 2009. My thanks to everyone for all that you do to make TFGON exactly what we were formed to be------ an organization OF Flag & General Officers HELPING Flag & General Officers to stay connected with each other and to stay involved in matters in which we choose to participate. Special thanks to Major General [Ret.] Jim Kelly, U. S. Army, Major General [Ret.] Gordon Nash, USMC, Rear Admiral [Ret.] Steve Kunkle, U. S. Navy, Major General [Ret.] Dan Dick, USAF, and Rear Admiral [Ret.] Norm Saunders, USCG, our FIVE Service Section Leaders, for their leadership, commitment, and good work. Together, we can do much for each other as we all “continue to serve”.

With all good wishes,

/S/

Rear Admiral [Ret.] Jim Carey, Chairman
THE FLAG & GENERAL OFFICERS’ NETWORK, Inc.

JJC:nbb