I headed back to the massive Tropicana in Atlantic City this year for the annual NJ/NY Fraternal Convention. It was an excellent meeting filled with new information from actuaries, investment advisors and more. We spent some time talking about how fraternalism fits into our modern society. I was elected Second Vice President and am happy to continue on this board. I appreciate the opportunity to represent GBU in this region and to see things continue to grow. This year my family joined me, and they all enjoyed the boardwalk, museums and pool on an unseasonably warm day while I was at the convention.

October 22: Operation Reach Out Packing Day

Because our deployed service members need care packages all year, we have changed our once yearly Operation Reach Out packing day to four, quarterly packing days throughout the year. In October, we got together to pack up 750 hygiene, entertainment and snack kits that will be distributed, along with wish-list items, to units that are currently deployed. It has been great to get together with fellow GBU members for these fun packing days. We have been able to finish by lunch and enjoy some time together. My son also enjoys participating and "squishing" all of the cardboard boxes. Watch out for our packing days in 2023 if you are in the Home Office area and want to participate.

Cardigan Day is a Pittsburgh tradition, which honors the kindness and community service of Fred Rogers (Mister Rogers). At GBU, we celebrated by collecting donations for the Education Partnership, which ensures that all of our local schools have free access to much-needed classroom materials. We also enjoyed a little Cardigan Day comradery with cupcakes and photos! Watch out for next year's Cardigan Day announcement, so that you can plan your own GBU-supported act of kindness in your community! 

November 5: University of Pittsburgh Military Appreciation Game

As part of our community partnership with the University of Pittsburgh, GBU sponsored the Pitt vs. Syracuse game, which was Pitt's Military Appreciation Game. Our CMO Lesley Mann received the game ball and I presented a community service award to Ciara Ward who has volunteered with seven local organizations in Pittsburgh throughout her time as a student athlete at Pitt. The weather was an amazing 70 degrees, and the Panthers won the game. All-around it was a great day with our community partners.