As President of the National Guard Association of Tennessee, it is my pleasure to welcome you to our new web site.  We hope that you find the website appealing, informative and a guide for information about NGAT, NGAUS, and other relative information.  We have spent several weeks preparing this web site just to make sure that it is easy to navigate so that you can find the information you are looking for.  If there are improvements that you would like to see made to the site, please don’t hesitate to contact us and make your recommendations.  After all, it is your site and we want to make it as customer friendly as possible. 
Since I have taken over the reigns as President, we have been extremely busy planning for the National Conference in Baltimore and incorporating some changes on the local level. 
Let me start by talking about the local changes.

1. In the very near future, each member of NGAT will be receiving a 2008 membership key card.  Hopefully, each of you will be proud to display your membership with NGAT by attaching your “key card” to your key ring. 
2. I have asked the Executive Council to keep the same NGAT committees in place for two years.  In addition I would like to see these committees active throughout the year.  We have already met with the Public Affairs committee and they are diligently working on a new program book for the state conference in 2009.
3. The dates of the 2009 State Conference have been changed to March 13-15, 2009.  The February dates were conflicting with the Governors Conference, the TAG’s Conference and many of our contractors had requested the change.
4. NGAT is partnering with the Military Department to host an Officer Professional Development trip to Washington, D. C. , September 10-12, 2008.  This will give these recently deployed Company Grade Officers an opportunity to visit the Pentagon, National Guard Bureau, the NGAUS Headquarters and Museum, and to meet our legislative members of Congress and the Senate. 

The next thing on the agenda is our National Conference in Baltimore, Maryland, September 20-22, 2008.  We have a record turnout of members going.  As always, Tennessee will have the largest delegation attending.   Since this is an election year, we can expect to be honored by the presence of both Presidential Candidates.   Baltimore is a great place to visit and we expect an exciting and informative conference. 

In closing, I want to thank every member for your support.  We have been 100% for the past six years and that certainly gives us leverage when it comes to support from both NGAUS and our Legislative Group.  I would ask that you continue to support NGAT as you have in the past. 

COL Jeffrey Holmes, President
National Guard Association of Tennessee