cwoa presidential update

Dear CWOA Members,

I hope this message finds you all doing well and that you’ve had an enjoyable summer. As we transition into the fall season, I wanted to take a moment to share some important updates and remind you of upcoming events.

Health & Safety Reminder:
Please ensure you’re passing this along to your members: the Coast Guard is reporting a rising number of Coasties testing positive for COVID-19 again. Safety remains a top priority, so let’s all do our part to stay healthy and vigilant.

By-Laws Voting:
A quick reminder that voting for the By-Laws changes is currently ongoing. The deadline to cast your vote is September 15th, so if you haven’t done so yet, please make sure to participate.

Upcoming Meetings:
We have our next Quarterly Meeting with the Executive Committee scheduled for September 25th at 12:00 PM Eastern via Zoom. Chapter Presidents, your participation is vital, so please mark your calendars.

For those who can’t attend in person, our next Quarterly General Membership Meeting is set for September 30th at 12:00 PM Eastern via Zoom. If you’re able to join us in person, we’ll be meeting at McGillin’s Olde Ale House in Philadelphia. The venue will be open for networking from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM, with the hybrid portion of our meeting going live on Zoom at noon.

Membership Drive:
Membership is the lifeblood of our organization, and I’m pleased to see the great numbers joining through CWOPD, with 18-20 new members per class. However, we need our chapters to step up and help recruit more CWOs within your Areas of Responsibility (AOR). Let’s collaborate to identify what we can do better as an organization to bring more members into the fold.

We are excited to introduce a new initiative. We’ll be developing a limited edition challenge coin, and for every member who successfully recruits a new member, you will receive one of these exclusive coins. The design will be unveiled at our General Membership Meeting, so keep an eye out for this and other new swag!

Other Updates:

I’m looking forward to our upcoming Quarterly Meeting in late September with the Independence Chapter! I sincerely appreciate all the hard work the committees have been putting in over the last few months. I’ve had the privilege of sitting in on many great conversations filled with ideas and proposals, and I’m eager to hear updates from all our committees at the next meeting.

It has been a pleasure visiting with the CWOPD classes over the summer. I’ve attended welcome dinners, formal lunches, and graduations, thanks to my proximity here in Boston. I’ve heard many excellent ideas from our new Warrant Officers. We’ve shared some sea stories and discussed ways forward for our organization.

Recently, I was asked by the MCPO-CG Office to create a comprehensive distribution list for all active and reserve members. I manually entered over 1,800 members into EDMS. Our Assignment Officers and Specialty Managers are also owners of this new distribution group.

I encourage any of our members to reach out to me directly with any concerns, especially regarding current jobs affected by AY24 or rumored to be affected by AY25. Please feel free to resend any invites to your committee meetings.

Stay involved in your local chapters! Collaborate with your CPOA chapters for larger events! Continue to demonstrate our value to the Coast Guard. Stay relevant and be a strong asset to your units.

Very Respectfully,
CWO4 Rob Resendes
President, Chief Warrant Officers Association
[email protected]