This past year has been challenging for our chapter and other organizations as we navigate through the COVID-19 obstacles and roadblocks placed along our path. However, we have come up with new and creative ways to meet our chapter’s goals and mission as a result. We have continued to support the caregivers and veterans at Tut Fann Veterans Home with pizza dinners and enhancing their technology and family communication needs with new iPads. We have also started a new high school student transitioning to college scholarship program. I am proud to say we will be growing that program even further in 2022! 

Recently, our Veterans Week committee had to make a tough call regarding the events we would typically host in a “non” COVID-19 environment. Out of an abundance of caution, we have followed the guidance of local and state health officials along with guidance from AUSA National and will focus on our Veterans Day Parade which is one of the largest parades in the country each year. It was a tough call to make to cancel the events where food would be served indoors, but it was the right call to make to protect our most vulnerable members of the population. 

We look forward to the annual Global Force Symposium in March of 2022, with plans already underway, and all the various events between now and then, which you will find on our new planning calendar included in this issue. We have beefed up our communication methods on our website and social media too! 

If you would like to become more involved and volunteer for an event, just send us a note and we will get you added to the famous Chapter Brigade Support Team! 

In closing, I leave you with one of my favorite quotes: “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected and handed on for them to do the same.” – Ronald Reagan.

Thank you for all each of you do as members of the Redstone-Huntsville Chapter of AUSA! HOOAH!

Rhonda Sutton