EANGUS Committee Update

The Committees of EANGUS are working hard for you. Once a quarter, they have a committee meeting with all the Committee Chairs to discuss what is going on in their committees. All of the committees are doing their part for EANGUS.

The Legislative Committee is pushing hard to get all the legislative initiatives completed and pushed to the House and Congress. They want to make sure everything that you as a member are asking for, gets pushed to those that can make a difference. We need you to keep pushing those thoughts that can make a difference for every member of the National Guard. The only way we can make a difference is if you as members think of something that can make change.

The Ways and Means Committee are working to help us bring in more revenue. They have reviewed and are trying to revamp what we sell on the EANGUS store which is online on the EANGUS web page. Go out and get your EANGUS “swag” now or let us know what you think we should have in the EANGUS store.

The Time and Place Committee is working to review submissions of packets that have been submitted for National Conferences over the next few years. We have one that needs to be discussed at the National Conference for the year 2025.

The Membership Committee has been brainstorming and coming up with ideas on how to bring in more members. Ultimately, it is up to each state to go out and bring in new members and each state has been doing great on increasing membership. To assist with these membership challenges, a Bylaws change was submitted by the National Guard Association of Michigan. This proposed change is one of two proposals which will be reviewed by the Bylaws Committee during conference. The Michigan proposal recommends that EANGUS establish a new Membership Category that provides a complimentary oneyear membership for new accessions joining the National Guard. This proposal would provide a sustained annual population of new National Guard enlisted members who State Associations can offer a free membership to, without the obligation to pay any annual dues to EANGUS for that member. These new National Guard members will be eager to learn about their new service and we believe that becoming a member of the only professional association that supports enlisted members of the Army and Air National Guard will be appealing to them.

Additionally, by educating and exposing these new National Guard members to what our State Associations and EANGUS does for them, there is a strong possibility that a percentage of these members will elect to renew their membership on their own upon reaching the end of their complimentary membership. Membership also drives our finances. The membership dues that each State Association submits to EANGUS are a substantial part of our annual budget and projected revenue. The national dues we receive help pay the salaries of our National Office staff, the services that they provide to each member, our legislative efforts on Capitol Hill, and publication of the “New Patriot Magazine.”

With increasing costs nationwide and recent supply chain issues, it should be no surprise that our overall cost of doing business has increased over the last few years. To help address this, the Hawaii National Guard Enlisted Association submitted a Bylaws change that proposes a $2 increase in national dues (from $11 to $13) to be effective 1 January 2023. We have found that most professional associations review/update their dues every three-five years. The last EANGUS dues increase was passed 12 years ago during the 2010 National Conference in St. Louis, MO, with an effective date of 1 January 2012.

Although statistics regarding inflation provided by the U.S. Department of Labor would support an even higher dues increase, we understand that our State Associations also utilize the dues they collect to support their local activities.

The Special Committee on Fitness has done a great job getting people involved and getting them to get out and work out. They have also worked with the Arkansas Guard to host a 5K walk/run during the conference.

The Junior Enlisted Committee (JEC) is looking for assistance in their committee. The JEC is requesting someone from Texas to be a part of their committee. This is one of the committees that we really need to get going. If we cannot get Junior Enlisted involved, our Association will not continue. WE NEED to keep them involved.

Please keep looking through your ranks to find those that will be the next Area Director, or at least someone that will work hard for EANGUS. For information on participating on a EANGUS Committee contact the NGAT Membership Director at membership@ngat.org or 512-454-7300. Let’s keep working to take care of and look out for National Guard Soldiers and Airmen. H

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