Reapers, I hope this message finds you well in 2025. I would like to provide a status update on the 13th Bomb Squadron Association and announce our Membership Drive and a call for Board Member volunteers. Please bear with me on the length of this update as we have quite a few topics to cover.
13th Bomb Squadron Association Bylaws Update
During the Sep 2024 reunion in Kansas City, the Board agreed that it was time to update the Association Bylaws and this effort was completed at the end of 2024. The bylaws can be referenced in their entirety CLICK HERE if you wish to review them, but the paragraph below provides a summary of significant bylaw changes:
“The Articles were amended following Board agreements at the San Antonio, TX reunion in April 2022 and the Kansas City, MO reunion in September 2024: 1) Significant changes made to Article IV introducing a tiered membership structure to define active membership, 2) Extensive changes made to Article V to modify the structure of the Board and eligibility to serve on the Board to compensate for waning participation in the Association in recent years; 3) Extensive changes made to Article VI to shift to a Bi-Annual reunion schedule and allow for virtual meetings between reunions to conduct Association business also due to waning participation in the Association and the related financial impacts; and, 4) General changes to the overall document to incorporate the introduction of technological advancements in conducting routine Association operations.”
Financial Updates
The Association account has $9K remaining following the reunion. We did raise $1,800 in donations through Neon CRM and reunion registration. The Association’s annual operating expenses are $3.5K to publish two Invaders per year and pay Neon CRM and website subscription fees. The recent reunion cost the Association $15K to fund transportation and subsidize reunion events to make the reunion more affordable for Reaper attendees. This means the Association can only operate for 2-3 more years and won’t have any funds remaining to subsidize the 2026 reunion. This is why the Board decided to adopt a tiered membership structure for active membership and why we are conducting a membership drive to raise funds to sustain the Association, but more on that shortly.
Reconstituting the Board of Directors
Since COVID-19, Bob Parks and I have conducted routine Association operations and reunion planning which is not a sustainable level of manpower moving forward. The plan set forth at the 2022 San Antonio reunion was to reconstitute the Board by June 2025. The updated bylaws streamline the Board consisting of a President, Secretary, Treasurer, Historian, and Korea/Vietnam/GWOT era representatives. The President will direct the overall vision and execution of board activities. The Secretary will manage the membership registry within Neon CRM. The Treasurer will manage Association finances through Neon Pay. The Historian will edit and publish future issues of the Invader. The GWOT era representative will help with recruiting and fundraising efforts through the website, Neon CRM, and social media. Finally, the Vietnam and Korean era representatives will be honorary board members with voting rights but no expectation to actively conduct Association business. As of now, Bob Parks and I agree to continue as board members, Don Henderson will continue as the Historian, Jim Cone volunteered to take on a board position, and Charles Cone volunteered to be the Korean era representative. This means that we only need two volunteers to round out the seven Board positions and a third volunteer to plan the 2026 reunion. Once we have Board volunteers, we will conduct an election to determine the positions which volunteers will serve for the next two years in accordance with the bylaws.
Membership Drive
The most significant change in the updated bylaws is that Active Association Membership will now be defined by a tiered membership structure as a necessity to raise the funds required to sustain the Association. The lowest tier is the Black Membership requiring a minimum of a $13 annual donation with the option to donate up to $49 annually. The middle tier is the Blue Membership requiring a minimum of a $50 annual donation with the option to donate up to $112 annually. And, the highest tier is the Red Membership is for members who donate $113 or more annually. Current Active-Duty Squadron Members and Honorary Members are not required to maintain a minimum membership tier to be considered Active Members. Full details on the new membership structure can be referenced in Article IV of the bylaws on the weblink below. Members who made donations in 2024-2025 will be grandfathered into the applicable membership tier for one year from the date of their donation. This update officially kicks off a fundraising campaign with the goal of raising $4K by June 2025 and you can expect to see periodic communications updating the membership on the progress of this fundraising campaign with additional reminders to donate if you are so inclined. Please visit the Membership page CLICK HERE if you are interested in becoming an Active Member.
Way Ahead
In short, the future of the 13th Bomb Squadron Association depends on reconstituting the Board of Directors and bolstering the active membership to sustain the Association. Over the next 113 days, we need to recruit two additional board members and one other volunteer to plan the 2026 reunion. Furthermore, the Association needs active members to donate $4K of revenue annually moving forward. If these efforts are successful, I am confident the Association will thrive and I look forward to instituting future initiatives to include quarterly newsletters between issues of the Invader, expanded social media presence on Instagram and LinkedIn, more frequent website updates, and active membership incentives. If these efforts are unsuccessful, then we will face the tough decision of dissolving the Association this summer. I sincerely appreciate those who have supported the Association over the years and I am hopeful we will have a resurgence of active members and Board volunteers who will help sustain the 13th Bomb Squadron Association in its mission to promote and preserve the heritage and history of the 13th Bomb Squadron. If you made it this far, I appreciate your time and consideration reading this lengthy update and can only assume you have a vested interest in the future of the Association. If you are interested in volunteering for a position on the Board of Directors or planning the 2026 reunion, please email me at brian.d.gallo@gmail.com.
Brian “Pico” Gallo, Colonel, USAF Retired
Interim President / GWOT Era Representative
13th Bomb Squadron Association