Chapter POCs – please remember to send your annual report by 31 December or your chapter will become inactive. If you did not receive the link to the reporting form, reach out to chapters@signalcorps.org
A note from our National Director, Amy Tuschen
It is our pleasure to update our members on activities happening within the SCRA (Signal Corps Regimental Association). We will routinely send out these newsletters to keep you informed. Please tell us if you have feedback or other information you want on the site or receive updates about. Chapters can provide short updates, either for this newsletter or for our social media sites, of interest to their chapter and other members.
As we celebrate Veterans Day this week, I want to share with you some nuggets of interest around this holiday.
- Armistice Day was recast as Veterans Day in 1954. Today we know the day as “Veterans Day,” but until 1954 it was known as Armistice Day, officially recognizing the armistice agreement that ended WWI on Nov. 11, 1918. Even though WWI was hopefully termed “the war to end all wars,” it was anything but. By 1954 Americans had served in both WWII and the Korean War. Armistice Day was changed to Veterans Day on June 1, 1954.
- Veterans Day was previously celebrated on the fourth Monday of October instead of November 11. In the late 1960s, Congress passed a law intended to stimulate the economy by adding more three-day weekends. They thought it would help encourage travel and other recreation. The “Uniform Monday Holiday Act” made Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Columbus Day, and Veterans Day all Mondays. However, Veterans Day was designated as November 11 – 11th month, 11th day, 11th hour – for historic reasons. So, in Sept. 1975, President Gerald Ford signed a law returning Veterans Day to Nov. 11 starting in 1978.
- It is “Veterans Day,” not “Veteran’s Day.” The Department of Veterans Affairs notes that Veterans Day is a day for recognizing the veterans with us right now. “Veteran’s Day” with an apostrophe would instead be a day that belongs to veterans.
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Upcoming Events/Chapter News:
National Team – Augusta, GA
We continue hosting in-person professional development events on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month. These are open to any SCRA members who want to network or learn about the topics. These vary from the SCCC CPT panel for the SBOLC students; to learning about military service from numerous Signal retirees in the Augusta area, specific topics like networking, obtaining certifications, and financial readiness. We also have partnered recently with the Augusta AUSA (Association of the United States Army) and AFCEA chapters that provided professional development speakers every other month.
If you want to be a presenter for a future session, reach out to us at events@signalcorps.org If you want to see what events are upcoming, find us on Facebook at SCRASignalSchool and SCRA.National
PVT Morgan D Lane Chapter – Germany
Membership Drive – 06 December 2023 to 20 January 2024. Sign up or Renew from your local chapter page to contribute to your chapter’s fundraiser. https://signalcorps.org/scra-chapters/pvt-lane-chapter/
Have any upcoming events or news for your chapter? Please contact chapters@signalcorps.org and we can share your information in the next newsletter!
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Chapters:
We sent out a request last month to all active chapters with a link to submit an annual report due on 31 DEC ensuring that the minimum criterion for a chapter is met. If you did not receive this email, and are a POC or Officer of a chapter, please reach out to chapters@signalcorps.org for the link. Any Chapter that does not submit its report by the end of the calendar year will be considered “INACTIVE.”
We hope to initiate these changes to be consistent across all chapters and potentially provide some financial support through a rebate program for chapters as we have been able to do in the past. Be sure to update your chapter affiliation to help your chapter with their reporting!
We are working on a Chapter Officer’s Handbook and updating forms and reporting requirements for all chapters. Expect to see this soon on the Chapter Requirements page
We are starting an incentive for any chapter that encourages a corporate partner to sign up, that chapter will receive a finder’s fee for their role in getting them to sign up. For more information, see the section below on Corporate Partnerships.
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Store:
As a special in honor of our Signal Veterans, use the coupon code: “veterans2023hat” between now and the end of December for a discount on either the khaki or black cap. Add the cap to your cart and enter the code at checkout.
We recently added a special gunmetal grey pocketknife to our online store. This is custom engraved for the SCRA and conveniently on a key ring. Check it out here!
We are also asking for input on what you would like to see in the store, please take a moment to fill out this form!
If you know of a vendor or know of a specific item you want in the store, please email us. store@signalcorps.org Preference is given to veteran-owned companies.
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Corporate Partnerships:
If your organization is interested in partnering with the SCRA, we have a partnership program in place that allows them to get recognition and includes some job postings in the SCRA Careers Center.
Depending on the level, Gold, Silver, or Bronze, they also receive some individual memberships and recognition at National and Chapter events. For more info see the Corporate Partnerships Webpage
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Awards:
Learn about all the SCRA awards here: SCRA Awards
So far this year, we have recognized individuals for supporting the Association and the Regiment!
140 Bronze Order of Mercury Awardees
22 Bronze Wahatchee Awardees
2 Silver Wahatchee Awardee
19 Brevet Colonel Awardees
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FAQs & Articles:
We have created and will continue adding to our FAQs page which can be found on our site homepage!
This Month’s FAQ: Can an award be approved and submitted by the same person? Check out the FAQ Page for our response.
Articles that members can find useful from the past, as well as posts shared on our social media, can now be published on our website!
Additionally, these newsletters will be shared on the website! Are you still reading this newsletter via email? Find this on the site and leave a comment with the name of the chapter nearest you for a chance at $10 off in our store! While you are at it, assign yourself to that chapter in your profile!
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Memberships:
561 New Members and 196 Renewals to the SCRA so far in 2023! Our current members total is 6154.
Please mention these newsletters to anyone who is a member that may not have checked in recently! They may not receive our emails and need to update their contact info. Keep in mind that .mil email addresses do not receive notifications from the site. Members should use a personal/commercial email address.
Need info regarding chapters, our store, careers, or other SCRA topics? Visit our Contact Us page and send us an email!
Memberships:
514 New Members and 185 Renewals to the SCRA so far in 2023! Our current members total is 6130.
Please mention these newsletters to anyone who is a member that may not have checked in recently! They may not receive our emails and need to update their contact info. Keep in mind that .mil email addresses do not receive notifications from the site. Members should use a personal/commercial email address.
Need info regarding chapters, our store, careers, or other SCRA topics? Visit our Contact Us page and send us an email!