From left to right are CMC President Chuck Vaughan along with computer recipients Javier Duron, Joe Chlebowki, and Edward Gonzales. (Photo by Suzanne Bond)
Former Lt. William Myers, CEC, USN
Although the monthly meetings of the Catalina Mountains Chapter (CMC) of the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) are currently on hiatus, CMC’s leadership has been busy supporting veterans and their families who are clients of Esperanza En Escalante (Esperanza). Esperanza’s housing facilities are located at 3700 S. Calle Polar, near Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson.
In February 2023, CMC applied to the national MOAA Foundation for a grant; the grant funding would benefit Esperanza clients who are working hard to move from Esperanza’s housing facilities to their own housing.
In accordance with the grant requirements, CMC purchased four laptop computers. The computer purchases had been suggested by Suzanne Bond, Esperanza’s new executive director. On Aug. 15, these computers were given to four Esperanza-selected clients who will soon move from Esperanza housing. CMC added some minor additional funds to cover the full cost of the computers. The Esperanza-selected clients did not have their own computers and had previously relied on the computer laboratory at Esperanza.
CMC President Chuck Vaughan, along with computer recipients Javier Duron, Joe Chlebowki, and Edward Gonzales all attended an Aug. 15 CMC-sponsored luncheon to recognize their achievements. Daniel Williams was unable to attend the formal presentation; Suzanne Bond presented his computer later that day.
In April, CMC’s members also donated funds to CMC to support Esperanza. CMC matched these personal donations. The purpose of these donations is to give several of the children at Esperanza a week-long “day camp” experience. CMC is working with Suzanne Bond to identify the day camp dates and location.
Our next CMC membership luncheon meeting will be held on Oct. 21 at the SaddleBrooke Ranch Grill beginning at 11:30 a.m. The speaker will be retired Major General J.T. Whitehead, U.S. Air Force. Maj. Gen. Whitehead is a former U-2 pilot.
Maj. Gen. Whitehead’s presentation will focus on the 18 years of cooperative efforts by the United States and the People’s Republic of China to memorialize the famous WWII Flying Tigers. In WWII, China and the United States were allies. The Flying Tigers were executing missions against the Empire of Japan. The result of this cooperative effort is the Flying Tiger Guilin Heritage Park in China.
If you are a former or present officer of the uniformed services interested in joining our organization, please contact Membership Chair retired Lt. Col. Donald Timian, U.S. Army, by email at [email protected] or by telephone at 571-216-3679.
The membership of CMC encompasses the areas of Catalina, Oracle, parts of Marana and Oro Valley, SaddleBrooke, SaddleBrooke Ranch, San Manuel, and Sun City. For additional information, please visit our website at catalinamountainsmoaa.org.
The CMC and MOAA are nonprofit, Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(19) tax-exempt veterans’ organizations dedicated to maintaining a strong national defense and preserving the earned entitlements of members of the uniformed services and their families.