RICHMOND, Va. – The Virginia National Guard Association’s 61st Annual Conference and Business Meeting held Sept. 18, 2021, in Norfolk, Va. unanimously approved the proposed bylaws revisions, reelected officers and set the stage for a robust advocacy year in 2022.

“I want to personally thank the members of the former Executive Council for their hard work this past year getting us to the point where we can be more agile and flexible in meeting the needs of our formations,” said Maj. Andrew J. Czaplicki, VNGA president. “Our new ‘Board of Directors’ will continue to champion good governance and engaging programs that work to enhance the Guard experience.”

The approved bylaw changes reflect a major shift in organizational governance.

“The biggest change you’ll see is how the bylaws are organized,” Czaplicki said. “We moved from an older form of an alphabetical outline to organize each section of the bylaw to an easier to read and to change alphanumeric-based outline.”

The change ties each topic its own alphanumeric-based number rather than being separated by just alphabetical letters, Czaplicki explained. The changes mirror the organization of the association’s parent organization, the National Guard Association of the United States.

Another change is how the association refers to its governing body. Previously, the officers and committee chairs formed the association’s Executive Council. The term Executive Council traces its roots back to 1775 as a council constituted to advice or share in the functions of an executive. The recently approved bylaws change the Executive Council to a Board of Directors.

“It’s a small change, but it’s a lot easier to communicate with outside organizations when referring to our governance—Board of Directors is understood by a greater audience than Executive Council,” said Czaplicki.

Voting is made easier too. The previous bylaws required 51 percent of the executive council to be present to host a meeting and vote on anything of substance, the executive council also included 29 unit representatives. The new bylaws only require 51 percent of the officers, directors and committees to host a meeting and vote.  Amendments to the bylaws can be made with a two-thirds majority vote at a special meeting or the annual business meeting.

“While unit representatives have a vote and are encouraged to contribute, their absence no longer affects the degrades the board’s ability to govern,” said Czaplicki.

The most significant change is the terms of the officers. Previously, officers of the association were limited to one year terms from July-to-July and were elected at the association’s annual business meeting. The new change continues the one year terms from July-to-July but officers are now allowed to become reelected.

“No one is looking to become entrenched in their positions,” explained Czaplicki. “But it takes two-to-three years to get really good at this and we should afford officers who have the ability to lead this association, the chance to do it and not cut them off once they hit their stride.”

The association also held elections for a number of positions on the newly crafted Board of Directors. Maj. Eric Johnson, Operations Officer for the Petersburg-based 276th Engineer Battalion, was reelected as the Vice President – Army National Guard. Capt. Jason Dodge, Deputy Human Resourced Officer assigned to the Richmond-based Joint Force Headquarters, was elected as the Vice President – Air National Guard. Capt. Ulyana Pivovarova, Aide-De-Camp assigned to the Richmond-based Joint Force Headquarters, was elected as the Director of the Company-Grade Officer Caucus. Chief Warrant Officer 3 Lionel Blair, Automation Branch Chief assigned to the Richmond-based Joint Force Headquarters was reelected as the Director of the Warrant Officer Caucus. Col. (Ret.) Charles “Buddy” Faulconer was reelected as the Director of the Retiree & Affiliate Caucus.

“Congratulations to our new officers and directors,” Czaplicki said. “The past members of the Executive Council have done an exemplary job. I and the association’s board intent to keep the hard work going by supporting programs that make the Guard experience better.”

Part of that program is a robust set of advocacy priorities. Introduced at the business meeting the association is taking aim at a number of new benefits for Virginia’s Guard.

• Changing the Virginia code to authorize for a Museum of the Virginia National Guard; this is the number one priority in the 2022 legislative session.
• Adding a National Guard Pass to the Department of Conservation and Recreation which removes admittance and parking fees for currently serving Virginia National Guard Soldiers and Airmen.
• Refreshing existing state tax exemption allowances from $3,000 to $5,000 to account for 20 years of inflation; and removes the rank cap of O3 and expands to O8.
• Increasing State Employee’s Military Leave from 15-days to 21-days.
• Endorsement of the Dept. of Military Affairs’ Budget Request; which includes: the creation of the Referral Enlistment Program; the replacement or upgrades to equipment used during State Active Duty; establishment of a construction “umbrella” fund to capitalize on available Federal construction funding; and, various human resource actions.

“With our successes over the last two years, we had to get more aggressive,” said Czaplicki. “The Virginia National Guard Soldiers and Airmen do so much for the Commonwealth and we need to do more for them. This is the year we deliver and we need to deliver big.”

The association’s 61st Annual Conference and Business Meeting included a brief from Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Maria Kelly, the Director of Membership and Marketing for the National Guard Association of the United States, as well as a number of other committee reports detailing the work of the past year. The awards committee presented the recently approved association awards:

• Candice Bowen, assigned to the 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, was awarded the Brig. Gen. Bert W. Holmes, Jr. Award.
• Alena Thomas, assigned to the 192nd Medical Group, was awarded the Brig. Gen. William E. Haymes Award.
• Chief Warrant Officer 2 Matthew Carbaugh, assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 224th Aviation Regiment, was awarded the Chief Warrant Officer 3 Antoinette M. Kunka Award.
• Scott Wyatt, 97th District, House of Delegates, was awarded the Brig. Gen. Edward M. Hudgins Award.
• Col. (Ret.) Matthew Ritchie was awarded the association’s Distinguished Service Award
• Kevin Hoffman was awarded the association’s Meritorious Service Award
• The Virginia National Guard’s Public Affairs Office was presented with the association’s commendation.

“I’d say we had a very productive meeting,” Czaplicki said. “We hit everything we needed to and I am confident that our membership will benefit from the discussions had during this meeting.”

The 62nd Annual Conference and Business Meeting is held March 11-13, 2022, at the recently renovated Downtown Marriott in Richmond, Va. The conference will coincide with the Virginia National Guard’s Professional Development Weekend held during the same time. The capstone Military Ball will highlight the 2022 conference.

Established in 1960, The Virginia National Guard Association (“VNGA”) is a IRS-recognized 501(c)(19) non-profit veterans’ service organization representing over 10,000 Soldiers, Airmen and retirees of all ranks and status; enlisted, warrant and officer; traditional, active duty and retired. The VNGA is not endorsed by or legally affiliated with the Virginia National Guard, the National Guard, the U.S. Army, the U.S. Air Force, the Department of Defense, or the Commonwealth of Virginia.