BUNKER BRIEFING
FEBRUARY 2024
From the Executive Director
Michael Horton, EdD (USAF)
Greetings to all Coffee Bunker friends and supporters! I trust your January and February of 2024 have been kind to you as we engage a new year with all the challenges and opportunities it affords.
As the Coffee Bunker takes on these challenges and opportunities, we know that some are ones we can “make happen” while others are those we must “let happen.” Managing this tension is the work of our staff, board of directors, and volunteer leaders.
I like to characterize the Bunker as a continuous improvement organization. We look for ways to improve our processes, our system of work, relationships, and the facility every day. We are determined manage our work with the best of stewardship, maximizing all the resources with which we are blessed.
The Coffee Bunker Staff
The stewardship of resources starts with the Bunker staff. Please take some time in the near future to drop by and meet:
- Dr. Michael Horton (USAF), Executive Director
- Dr. Robby Hedrick (USAF, USA), Transition Services Director
- Marcia Graham, Administration and Donor Relations
- Mike Atwell, Operations Manager
- Debbie Drain (USAF), Community Relations
- Mia Navarro (USAF), Front Desk and Appointments Scheduling
- Donna Rogers, Education Coordinator
“I Just Don’t Want to Mess with It”
I hear this especially from IRA owners who are required to take a minimum distribution (RMD) annually. What they are talking about is the little bit of time and effort to lower their tax burden by using a portion of the RMD to make a charitable donation. There are numerous tax advantages to IRA owners who are over 70.5 years of age who make a charitable donation directly from their IRA. This donation is called a Qualified Charitable Distribution.
The QCD is nontaxable to IRA owners when given directly to a qualified nonprofit 501(c)(3) like the Coffee Bunker. Donating to the Bunker from your IRA can be a very meaningful because it supports all our work with veterans and their families. It takes just a little time and effort to direct your IRA custodian to make the distribution. Many IRA owners do not do this because they “don’t want to mess with it.”
Good news! The Coffee Bunker will help you. It need not feel like a “mess” at all. Many donors to the Bunker, including myself, take advantage of this opportunity.
Please call Marcia at 918.637.3878 or email marcia@coffeebunker.org.
Bunker Breakaway
Our first Bunker Breakaway to Honolulu was a success! Fifteen veterans, family members, friends, and staff joined us on an amazing journey through Oahu. Our military history focus made Pearl Harbor a great first excursion.
We spent Tuesday exploring the island and some of our group members visited the U.S. Army Museum of Hawaii, housed inside Battery Randolph, which was the first line of defense against an enemy naval attack on the south shore of Oahu. Did you know that when the guns were placed here, they were the largest in the Pacific?
Wednesday was the big day! We got a personal tour of Hickham Airforce Base, and one of the highlights was visiting the Pilot House of USS Decatur, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer. It was an unforgettable experience.
We also visited the National Parks Visitors Center Pearl Harbor Nation Memorial, the Submarine Museum, and the USS Arizona Memorial. The group felt it was a very moving experience. Some of us also visited the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, where approximately 53,000 veterans and their dependents have been interred since the cemetery's dedication in 1949.
The rest of the week was equally amazing with visits to pineapple plantations, Macadamia nut farms, beaches, volcanoes, and whale-watching tours. Stay tuned for information regarding our next Breakaway!
Community Relations
We live in a community that is said to be veteran-friendly and we are finding that to be true for the most part. Because the veteran population in Tulsa alone is approximately 60,000, we find the need to reach out, not only to as many veterans as we are able, but to other non-profits that serve them, along with companies that hire them.
Vet Fest was held the last weekend of February. Almost 150 veterans stopped by the Coffee Bunker table to receive this information. Three volunteers assisted in this event. Pictured below are, from left, Deborah Drain, Community Relations Coordinator, Jeremiah Schoff and Chris Hotella. Not pictured: Candy Madison.
Community Relations also includes reaching out to veterans involved in Veterans Treatment Court, an alternative court proceeding specifically for veterans finding themselves in legal situation. At times a veteran might be required to participate in court mandated community service. The Coffee Bunker is one option from which they can choose to fulfill that obligation. Attending the weekly court proceedings allows direct contact with each veteran, providing them with Coffee Bunker information.
Vet Links is off to a strong start. This monthly social is in partnership with the Veterans Administration (VA). In addition to a delicious meal provided by Dope Soul Catering, representatives from various VA functions attend and provide information to veterans attending. Come for a meal and meet Persis the Comfort Dog!
Future events are planned and will include volunteers, as well. In March, we will be participating in Shamrock the Rose, an annual event that benefits A Soldier’s Wish and the quarterly Tinker AFB Job Club, open to active duty members, their families and Department of Defense civilians.