WELCOME TO VIRGINIA

Welcome to the Virginia Federation of Chapters (VFC) website, www.vanarfe.org. I hope that the information contained on this website answers your questions or provides additional information about the VFC and the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association (NARFE).

The VFC was founded in 1921 to represent the members of NARFE Chapters in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The function of the VFC is to ensure that the issues and concerns of NARFE members within Virginia are adequately addressed, that NARFE Chapters’ officers and chairs fully understand their roles and responsibilities, and that activities of the Chapters within the Commonwealth are coordinated and encouraged. Currently there are 58 NARFE Chapters within the Commonwealth of Virginia with more than 16,000 members, including current and retired federal employees and their annuitants. The Board of the VFC consists of both elected and appointed members drawn from the Chapters within Virginia. The elected positions are the President, the First Vice President, the Second Vice President, the Secretary, the Treasurer, ten Area Vice Presidents, and the Nominating Committee. The appointed positions include the National Legislation Committee, the State Legislation Committee, the Public Relations Committee, the Membership Committee, the Alzheimer’s Committee, the Federal Employee Education and Assistance Committee, the Constitution & Bylaws Committee, the Parliamentarian, the Chaplain, the Newsletter Editor, the Webmaster, and the Sergeant-at-Arms. In addition, the immediate past President sits on the Board as an advisor. Some of the appointed committees consist of one person and some consist of more than one person. A complete current directory of the holders of the VFC Board is available on this website; and the functions and responsibilities of each position is described in the VFC Constitution and Bylaws and the VFC Organizational Handbook, also available on this website. Also included on this website is a listing of important dates for meetings and activities of the VFC Board for the current 12 month period.

Although the VFC Board operates on a fiscal year basis (beginning on 1 July and ending on 30 June of the following calendar year), elections and appointments to the Board are made at the annual VFC Convention; and these elections and appointments continue to the next annual VFC Convention. The last VFC Convention was held in Richmond, Virginia, on April 13 – 16, 2014; and the next annual VFC Convention will be held at the Fredericksburg Expo and Convention Center in Fredericksburg, Virginia, on April 12 – 15, 2015.

At each VFC Convention, a theme for the Virginia Federation is selected for the following 12 month period. The theme for this current 12-month period is “NARFE – Your Bridge Over Uncertain Roads”. That theme certainly seems to fit the current times. Not only do we need to be concerned and vigilant of budget and employment changes being considered by the U.S. Congress and the President, but we also need to be concerned about changes in the organization and structure of NARFE being considered by NARFE Headquarters. In addition, we also need to maintain the viability and vitality of the NARFE Chapters within Virginia. If NARFE is to survive, the short term, intermediate term, and long term effects of these issues need to be carefully addressed; and brash decisions will certainly hurt. These will certainly be a time of “Uncertain Roads”.

I ask each and every NARFE member within the Virginia Federation to assist the VFC and NARFE chart a reasonable course in these scary times. We need to maintain a reasonable and strong NARFE structure, both for now and the future. That will include speaking up at the upcoming biennial NARFE National Convention in Orlando, Florida, on August 23 – 28, 2014, about the recommendations made by the NARFE “Future of NARFE” (FON) committee and changes implemented by the NARFE National office.

We are all in this together. Now is not the time to step back and assume that someone else will carry the load.

Richard Giangerelli

VFC President 2014 - 2015