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