Inside this issue:

President’s Column Combat Breakfast Birdies for Charity

Passing of a legend AEF Year in Review

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Alamo Chapter #234 Officers

President: Al Swaim

Vice President: Tom Arko

Secretary: Tom Peterson

Treasurer: Alan Beaty

Alamo Chapter Aerospace

Education Foundation Officers

President: Dave Pope

Vice President: Terry Ross

Secretary: Brent Boller

Treasurer: Joe Peltier

Happy New Year! I hope each of you enjoyed the best of the holiday

season and gave thoughts and prayers up for those deployed Airmen who

couldn’t be home with friends and family.

We had a challenging year in 2012, with much uncertainty. With the

elections behind us, some of the mist will clear, but tough decisions on

budget are certainly waiting for our Air Force.

Our chapter has geared up with our strategy for 2013. One item signifi-

cantly missing this year is our sponsorship, paired with the AETC Sym-

posium, for an exposition. As a result, I’m asking our leadership to craft

three more traditional fundraisers for the year to offset some of our expenses. The first event

should occur in April and I hope to tie the final event to Joint Base San Antonio’s air show near

the end of the year. If any of you have skills and capacity to help, please send your name to the

chapter.

Some updates from our new national leadership are worth highlighting. Like all organizations,

we need to appeal to the full range of age groups who serve and support the Air Force. The

under-40 membership needs regular encouragement. Our leaders will be crafting a plan sometime

in February to drive membership and participation from this age group. A second important focus

area will be to find ways to help the Air Force support families, particularly as funding becomes

more constrained. There are important questions which the AFA will strive to work through:

Where can AFA step in to assist and fill in the gaps on what the AF is providing today to support

Air Force families? What should our role be? Who can we partner with? And what level of ef-

fort can we provide?

Despite uncertainty with how the Air Force will transform and adjust, the new year offers oppor-

tunity for us to be a more helpful and durable organization. I appreciate your continued member-

ship and look forward to seeing you and working with you in 2013.

President’s Column—Happy New Year 2013! - Al Swaim

If you are receiving this mail-out, but not getting the electronic editions:

1. Locate your AFA member number, usually on the address block of your Air Force Maga-

zine, just above the name. Go to the AFA website, www.afa.org and select “Members Ar-

ea.”

2. Click on “Provide an address or other record change, enter updated info and hit “submit.”

Update your info

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A double ace flies west

Retired Col. Ralph Sherman Parr Jr., the only

American pilot to receive both the Distin-

guished Service Cross and the Air Force Cross,

died Dec. 7 at an assisted living facility in New

Braunfels, Texas. He was 88. Parr was the

12th Tactical Fighter Wing commander from

1970-71 and namesake of the Parr Officers’

Club at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph. Parr

was a Korean War double ace and an active

member of the local Red River Valley Fighter

Pilots Association chapter — the Ralph Parr

River Rats. He was interred at the Fort Sam

Houston National Cemetery on Dec. 17, follow-

ing a funeral service at JBSA-Randolph.

Combat Breakfast gets three-star treatment

Lt. Gen. Douglas H. Owens, vice commander, Air Education and

Training Command (standing), was the keynote speaker at the Alamo

Chapter’s Combat Breakfast on Nov. 7 at the Kendrick Club on Joint

Base San Antonio-Randolph. The Combat Breakfast is held every

year as one of San Antonio’s annual Celebrate America’s Military

events. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Hillary Stonemetz)

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Aerospace Education Foundation Year in Review By Foundation President David Pope

Fellow Alamo Chapter members, this has been an ex-

citing and busy year. The Foundation serves the Chap-

ter to help with the larger AFA mission that seeks to

promote a dominant Air Force, a strong national de-

fense and to honor Airmen and our Air Force heritage.

To accomplish this we focus on the following:

EDUCATE the public on the critical need for un-

matched aerospace power and a technically supe-

rior workforce to ensure U.S. national security

ADVOCATE for aerospace power and STEM

education

SUPPORT the total Air Force family and sup-

port aerospace education

In 2012, the Foundation spent nearly $35,000 in a vari-

ety of ways. This is a short listing of key areas we

supported:

Education Awards for Air Force spouses and children

of both active and retired Airmen

Arnold Air Society support for Air Force ROTC de-

tachments at Texas State and UTSA

Earl North Parker Essay Contest Award winner in

San Antonio

Teacher of the Year Award

Money for scholarships for ROTC cadets at An-

gelo State, Texas A&M, University of Texas, Tex-

as State and UTSA

Sponsor one highly competitive student for

flight solo program with Daedalian Flight Program

Lead supporter for Cyber Patriot IV’s Mayor’s Cup

where we present the Dr. Kay Biggar Award for the best

cyber high school team in the area

For the future, the Foundation will look forward to sup-

porting these programs and others.

Finally, best wishes for a healthy and prosperous 2013!

Birdies for Charity The Valero Texas Open is scheduled for April 4-7, 2013. One way Alamo Chapter #234 supports the Air Force ROTC programs at

UTSA is through Birdies for Charity. Last year there were 1,954 birdies made by the professionals from Wednesday’s Pro-Am

through the end of the tournament. How many will they make this year? You may make your donation online or by writing a check.

If writing a check, make it out to the “San Antonio Children’s Foundation” using the form below. Don’t forget to mark your “guess”

for how many birdies will be made. Winner gets a new car! If you donate online, go to the Valero BFC Pledge website at http://

tiny.cc/dpwgow and follow the instructions. When it comes to the “Donate” box, click on the drop-down box. Select the fourth

choice, Alamo Chapter #234 AFA. All of the proceeds, checks or online credit card contributions go directly to the “San Antonio

Children’s Foundation.” One-hundred-percent of the money designated to the Alamo AFA Chapter #234 is returned to us to dis-

tribute to UTSA ROTC Detachment 842.

Donation Form: Insert your check payable to the San Antonio Children’s Foundation in envelope and follow mailing instructions.

Name:

Address:

Telephone: EMAIL:

Donate to: Alamo Chapter #234 AFA

Amount: Guess number of birdies:

Make Checks Payable to: San Antonio Children’s Foundation

Mail Check To: David Pope, President, Alamo Chapter #234 Aerospace Education Foundation Suite 100 8514 Fairway Green Drive, Fair Oaks Ranch, TX 78015

Alamo Chapter AFA Community Partners

Air Force Association

www.alamoafa.org

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We wish to thank our community partners who continue to support the AFA and make our programs possible.

We could not do it without you! For information on our community partner program and how to join, see our Web site, www.alamo.afa.org. Our VP for Community

Partners is Paul Weseloh.

NONPROFIT ORG

US POSTAGE PAID

SAN ANTONIO, TX

PERMIT NO. 3062

Alamo Chapter AFA

P.O. Box 34261

San Antonio, TX

78265-4261

Accenture

Air Force FCU

Air Force Village

Ancira Enterprises

Apollo Gate Operators

Applied Research Associates

ARINC Engineering Services

Bank of America

Banker Associates

Beldon Roofing Company

Booz Allen Hamilton

Boudro’s—a Texas Bistro

Brite Blinds of Texas

Chromalloy Component Services

City Public Service

Crown Trophy

Decypher Technologies Ltd

Denim Group

Diligent Consulting

Eisenhower National Bank

Emerging Technologies

Group

Fisher House

Four L Ranch

Frost Bank

Greater SA Chamber of

Commerce

Habina Manufacturing

Hallmark College

Hawker Beechcraft

Home Care Dimensions

Jacobs Technology/ESGC

Joel’s Images

KGS Inc.

L-3 Link Simulation and

Training

Lingualistek, Inc

LMI

Lockheed Martin Corporation

Main Street Garage

Medallion Homes

Military Medals & Displays

Navy Federal Credit Union

NCI Information Systems

Northrop Grumman

Pipes Dreams

Randolph Brooks FCU

Republic of Texas Restaurant

RK Group

San Antonio FCU

Secureinfo Corporation

Securitas Security Services USA

Security Service FCU

SGIS

Smith Associates

Southwest Research Insti-

tute

Specpro Incorporated

Springs Deer Farms

Standard Aero

SWBC

TEK Systems Govern-

ment Services

Terrahealth Incorporated

The Boeing Company

Thomas Instrument

Tobyhanna Army Depot

Trofholz Technologies,

Inc.

URS Corporation

USAA

Walker Advertising

Wells Fargo Worldwide

Military Banking