President's Update

1. Communications:

a. Division Telecom: The division is hosting a telecom with all Chapter Presidents and Division Executive Council members on 28 January. The telecom will cover the state of AFSA, chapter officer training, and other important issues. The time and dial-in number will be sent the week prior to the telecom. If the Chapter President is unable to attend please ensure someone the chapter can dial-in.

b. Chapter Officer Training Modules: If you are new to AFSA or a newly elected chapter officer it is recommended that everyone learn how AFSA works. Click here to learn more.

c. Facebook: Help us grow the number of “Likes” our division’s page has. Ensure your chapter’s page is following our page.

d. Live Streaming: Has your chapter considered Live Streaming your chapter meetings or other events on Facebook? This is a great method to leverage social media to showcase your chapter.

2. Fraternity:

a. 2017 AFSA Scholarship Program: Applications for the upcoming academic year are available between January 1 and March 31. Completed application packages with all required documents can be sent to AFSA Headquarters NLT March 31. After March 31 applications are ineligible for consideration.

b. 2017 Family Focused Scholarship: CSEG is proud to support the AFSA Gives Back program through the Family Focused Scholarship. The Family Focused Scholarship is open to all AFSA members in the family member category. The scholarship will cover up to $17,100 in one online degree program (associate, bachelor or master) at either Columbia Southern University or Waldorf University. The scholarship will be directly applied to the recipient’s tuition for up to 60 semester hours or 24 consecutive months in the selected online degree program, whichever comes first. This scholarship covers tuition only. Textbooks and fees are the responsibility of the scholarship recipient. The goal of the Family Focused Scholarship is to provide AFSA family members an affordable method to achieve their academic goals and aspirations. The scholarship application will open on January 1, 2017. All applications/scholarship essays must be received no later than 11:59 p.m. on June 1, 2017. The selection process will end on June 30, 2017. Please visit CSEGroup.com/FFS for application materials and additional information. If you have questions or would like to learn more about the educational opportunities available through Columbia Southern Education Group, please call 888.520.5836.

3. Legislation:

a. AFSA's Legislative Program: The Legislative Platform serves as the blueprint for AFSA's testimony and lobbying efforts, in addition to responses dictated by day-to-day events. The Platform is focused on issues that affect enlisted Airmen and their families, AFSA regularly meets with members of Congress and Air Force and government senior leaders to advocate for fair and equitable benefits that matter to today’s Total Force Airmen and their families, and to our Veterans who have served proudly in the past. Pay raises, tuition assistance, healthcare, COLA adjustments, transition programs, care for survivors, and education benefits are just a few things on AFSA’s legislative scope.

b. The Legislative Process: Each year the United States Congress considers about 5,000 bills and resolutions, but of those only about 4% will become law. Congress works in two-year legislative sessions tied to the elections. The current session is called the 115th Congress and it began on Jan 3, 2017. All bills not enacted by the end of the session on Jan 3, 2019 die, and Congress will start over. Click here to learn about the Legislative Process.

4. Membership:

a. ALS/USAA Gradsuccess Program: When AFSA implemented the program there were a few things that we (Team AFSA) had to promote. One being, the program was not a recruiting program. In fact, the program is established to recognize a person’s successful completion of Enlisted Professional Education. The second being, the program was not established to exclude the chapters from requesting time on the ALS stage or at lunch time or non-academic hour to talk about the value of AFSA. Chapters must be active with their ALS programs to ensure the success of this program. For 2016, there were about 1,236 Airmen that completed the process and became a one year member (complements of USAA). For 2017, the intent is to expand the program to the NCOA.

b. Membership Application: Download a member application.

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