Greetings from the Officers of your Council!

Some 24 years ago a small group of Marines and supporters from across the state had the honor of organizing and hosting a breakfast for then Commandant of the Marine Corps General Jim Jones.  Beginning with that core group, they began the effort to form a statewide organization that would allow Marines from across the state an opportunity to gather in celebration of the Marine Corps Birthday, develop friendships and support the varies Marine entities around Oklahoma.

This effort eventually led to the creation of the Marine Corps Coordinating Council of Oklahoma, with 75 charter members in May of 2002.  The Charter of the council was focused on not trying to replace any Marine or Veteran organization, but rather to create an additional resource to augment the capabilities of the already existing relationships between Marine units and those organizations.  The mission was (and remains), to ensure that the needs of the Marines in Oklahoma were fulfilled, and this has taken many forms since the council’s creation.

Throughout the years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, as our Marine reserve units were called upon to deploy, the Council assisted in funding “Family Days” prior to and after these deployments as a small token of appreciating for these Marines (and their family) for their service to our nation; and we still support several family events each year and routinely help units to reduce the costs of their Birthday Balls.  The Council continues to sponsor Shooting events and Drill Competitions for our JROTC programs, and we continue to sponsor various awards to recognize superior performance such as the Community Service awards for members of our reserve units, Marine and NCO of the year, and recognition awards for our top recruiters in the state.

Sometimes the councils efforts are even more focused, like when the council has provided funds for Marines coming home on emergency leave to visit ailing family members, or assisted in provided legal assistance to Marines needing various issues to be resolved, or when the council provided much needed support to a Lieutenant from Fort Sill, who was bitten by a rattlesnake and was transferred to OU Medical Center where the council (working with the MARDET and the Recruiting Station) was able to assist his family who had traveled from the east coast and who stayed for the duration of their son’s treatment. 

Without our members, and our donors and sponsors, these and the other support activities would not be possible.  Thank you all who have financially support us over the years and continue to support the council.   While a monetary donation is not required for membership, we greatly appreciate an annual contribution of at least one hundred dollars and hope that we can count on your continued support this year. A brief description of the Council Donor/Sponsorship program is included in this letter.

Since the beginning, many of the Charter Members have provided the leadership the council requires. As we begin this year, we are transitioning some of these leadership responsibilities to other (dare I say, younger) members of the council. You should have received an email announcing that our Secretary, Pete Sawin, is stepping down at the end of this year. Pete has done an outstanding job since the Council’s formation and will be greatly missed. Josh Miller has graciously accepted the role of Vice President for Communications, to replace some of the duties Pete performs, but we are still looking for a few motivated folks that could take on some of Pete's tasks. Pete has graciously volunteered to assist our new secretary(ies) through the process, and as the professional Marine he is, has his “turnover binder and check list” ready.   

If you are interested in serving on the council or could help in this area, please contact myself, or one of the officers for more information. Again, thank you for your support.

 

Semper Fidelis,

Anthony J. (AJ) Johnson, Colonel USMC (Ret)
President, US Marine Corps Coordinating Council of Oklahoma, Inc.