President’s Message
Greetings everyone!
Summer is flying by too fast. I’m doing my best to make the most of the beautiful weather we’ve been having. It’s been a busy few months since our last meeting.
On June 14th we had a wonderful combined event with the Joshua Chamberlain Chapter of the Association of the United States Army and the Maine Army National Guard to commemorate the 250th birthday of the United States Army. The event took place at the historic Fort Western in Augusta, where we were treated to a tour of the original Fort, great music by the 196th Army Band and some really interesting speeches and remarks by our Maine Adjutant General BG Diane Dunn and the Maine National Guard Historian MAJ Jonathan Bratten. A heartfelt thanks to all our members who made this event a big success!
On July 23rd we hosted our major fund-raiser of the year at Dunegrass Golf Club in Old Orchard Beach. The annual golf tournament is how we fund our ROTC scholarships and other veterans support programs. Final calculations are still being made, but we had a record number of teams and sponsors. A new twist this year was a ball drop of 300 golf balls from an Old Orchard Beach Fire Department ladder truck onto the practice putting green. One lucky winner whose ball was closest to the hole won a week’s vacation at an Interval International site. A HUGE shout out and thank you to Jack Fay and Mike Delia for their time, passion and execution in making this event such an outstanding success for our organization.
Our next meeting will be September 13th at the Maine Military Museum in South Portland. I spoke to curator Lee Humiston this week and he said he has added a lot of new exhibits since our March meeting! LCDR Michael Card from NOAA to be our speaker at the September meeting. He is currently stationed at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. Mark your calendars now for our September 13th luncheon! Reservations Form
Finally, as you will see below, in December we will install our new board of officers for 2026. I will be stepping down from the President’s position but will remain on the board as the Immediate Past President and plan on continuing to be an active member of our chapter! It has been a true honor and privilege to serve as your president for the last 6 years.
Your’s in Service,
Brenda Pennels
President, Southern Maine Chapter, MOAA
Proposed New Officers and Members of the Board of Directors
Our Chapter By-Laws require us to nominate a new slate of officers and members of the Board of Directors for consideration by our members in advance of the September quarterly meeting each year. The Nominating Committee has proposed the following, which will be voted upon at the September Quarterly Chapter Meeting on September 13th:
Proposed Officer Slate for 2026
President: BG Paul Loiselle, USAF (207) 205-3792 loisellepc@outlook.com
1st Vice President: CDR David A. Patch, USN (207) 633-3659 dapatch@maine.rr.com
2nd Vice President: COL Mike D. Delia USAF (207) 967-4571 deliamdd1@gmail.com
Secretary: LT (jg) John J. Fay, USN (207)883-6447 jfay0001@maine.rr.com
Treasurer: COL Stephen Broughall, USA (207) 833-0983 broughall.stephen@gmail.com
Immediate Past Pres.: LTC Brenda Pennels, USA (207) 671-1262 Brenda.Pennels@martinspoint.org
Directors 2025 – 2027
COL Arthur R. Wickham, USA (207) 799-4115 arthur.wickham@yahoo.com
LTC John T. Ham, USA (207) 883-5982 johnandsueham@maine.rr.com
COL Robert P. McAleer, USMC (207) 833-5574 rmcaleer04079@gmailcom
Welcome Aboard
The Chapter would like to extend a warm Welcome Aboard to the following new member:
LTC Peter Ogden USA/ARNG (Ret) and his wife Mary-Lou from Waterville, ME
We look forward to seeing you at one of our upcoming meetings.
Newsletter Format
When we publish our quarterly Newsletter, we have almost 90 Members that receive a hard copy version through the mail. The cost to publish and mail these Newsletter begins to add up. If you would like to receive an electronic copy via email and help us avoid these costs, please just send me a quick email and I will make a notation in our database. If you prefer to continue receiving a hard copy there is no action for you to take. Email: rmcaleer04079@gmail.com
Sat, Oct 4th Mid Coast Navy Birthday Ball 250th!, St John’s Community Ctr, Brunswick.
FMI: James “Rusty” Robertson, CDR, US Navy (Ret) Casco Bay Council, Navy League of the US.
Email: 207robertson@gmail.com
Sat, Dec 6th Last General Membership Meeting Luncheon for 2025
Southern Maine Chapter, MOAA September 2025
2025 Chapter Golf Tournament Summary – Jack Fay
Our annual golf tournament had the most sponsors and the most teams in our history. Mike Delia and his family took first place and Brenda Pennels won the longest drive contest for the ladies. Fun was the name of the game that day and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.
Special thanks to the volunteers who made it possible: Paul Loiselle, Connie Harrison, Stephen and Margaret Broughall, Frank Toderico, and Mark Patrick. The Old Orchard Beach Fire Department came with a ladder truck and dropped 300 golf balls on the practice green, a sight that everyone was impressed by.
Planning for next year’s event starts now! We are looking for new committee members. Contact me (883-
6447) or Mike Delia (967-4571).
300 balls dropped by the OOB ladder truck.
The Winners! Dan Hendrickson, Michael Delia, Jaxson Delia and MOAA Member Mike Delia. Lucky winners got a week’s vacation at an RCI Resort,
Mark Patrick observes the ball drop from the check-in patio. The golf carts are ready!
Bob Wood, Mark Patrick and Frank Toderico man the closest-to-the hole contest.
A beautiful day for golfing in ME.
Chapter Event Pictures
July 3, I visited two of our members at the Scarborough Maine Veterans Home. The Army Band was doing a concert on the patio, so I took the opportunity to recognize Bob Wood who is a permanent resident there and Jim Born (He was at our March meeting) who is there for rehab following hip surgery. I had a really nice chat with Bob in his room; he showed me all his Army stuff and I was pleased to see his MOAA hat hanging on the wall. Before the concert started, I went back to my house to get a MOAA hat for Jim so I could get a picture with them in their MOAA caps. I also presented each with a MOAA National coin as I assumed they already had a chapter coin. Bob wasn’t aware that Jim was also at the facility as they are in different wings. Bob also told me that he and Jim wrote our chapter by-laws together many years ago. It was really great to see them both! – Brenda Pennels
Army 250th Celebration at Old Fort Western.
Joy Asuncion presents General Dunn’s women’s Military Memorial Living Legend Award
General Dunn cuts the Birthday Cake
Annual Clambake
In Memoriam
Lieutenant Colonel David Gardner, USA (Ret)
Sanford, ME
May 10, 2025
“We are grateful for your loyal service to the Nation…”