NERPA505 Update

Season's Greetings & Happy Holidays! I hope that each of you had a wonderful Christmas and that all will have a safe and happy New year! My Internet service was down all day yesterday, so please pardon the late update. Cadets, please print this update and ask your parents to read it so they can keep informed.

(1) We've had visitors to our squadron meeting lately, and three have committed to becoming members after the New Year. Let's try to be of encouragement to them, and remember that it can seem quite overwhelming during the first few meetings and achievements. Part of the CAP Cadet Pledge is to "advance my education and training rapidly to prepare myself to be of service to my community, state, and nation." Part of our mission is to help new recruits to learn to do all that CAP veterans take for granted, including advancement and education. Some of you experienced Cadets can expect to be assigned as mentors to new recruits.
(2) Tuesday, since it is a fifth Tuesday, will be an Emergency Services emphasis night. Our plan is to have all cadets and senior members fully signed off on their Ground Team Member 3 training records, except for the actual exercise portion, before the first training exercise of 09. A number of people get lost in the wilderness in our area every year, so we can add to their safety and survivability by being well trained and ready to offer our expertise in time of need. We all knew that it would take sacrifice of time, commitment, and effort to belong to CAP, and that we had something to offer as members when we joined. Emergency Services is where our squadron can truly shine, but we cannot shine brightly enough without participation in training and dedication to service. Don't forget to read and sign off on the Monthly Safety Briefing, posted on the bulletin board, if you have not already done so.
(3) Let's keep our emphasis on recruiting new members. We need at least 4 of 5 more committed senior members and 15 to 20 equally committed cadets. The law of large numbers teaches us that we have to introduce CAP to a large number of people to gain a few good members, and that probably only about 20% of those recruited will live up to their commitment. You can see that we cannot let up on recruiting efforts and that each of us who believes in the CAP mission needs to be involved! You can download reproducible literature online, or ask me for copies. I will also make a few business cards for each member who asks, and provide a master copy that can be copied onto card stock. Parents and caregivers, please consider joining CAP for a year to see what's in it for you! Adults can join at a couple of different levels, so please contact me or Lt. Hagberg if you are interested in learning more.
(4) Finally, let's all, cadets and senior members, work on advancement in CAP. Cadets will benefit from CAP training and activities at every level, but greater opportunities will open up to them only after reaching the Gen. Billy Mitchell Achievement. Senior members can benefit themselves, and most especially our cadets and community, by being dedicated to advancing their education and training as we encourage cadets do. CAP has some great opportunities for all of us! As unit Professional Development Officer, I'm here to help.

Semper Vigilans! See you at the next meeting!

Randall F. Matheny, 2 Lt.
Deputy Commander for Cadets
NERPA505
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kb3mom