The Retired Army Finance Organization “Keeping the Finance Family Together”

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Retirement Eligible Active Duty, Reserve, National Guard Finance Soldiers

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The Mission of The Retired U.S. Army Finance Organization (RAFINO)

  • Maintain a member website that includes member profiles, reunion event information, Governance policy, TAPS information about deceased RAFINO members, land a bulletin board to post additional information about member and RAFINO activities.  Our goal is to facilitate the continuation of good fellowship and camaraderie among the retired Officer and NCO members.
  • Maintain a current web page on the Internet to provide current information to the members and facilitate the exchange of information between members, with appropriate links for the convenience of members, prospective members, or legitimate researchers, having access to the internet
  • Conduct biennial reunions on even years to great destinations with multiple activities to include local excursions and a member business meeting to install the new Board for the upcoming term. 
  • Enable members to access a RAFINO membership spreadsheet on the website to facilitate the continuation of good fellowship and share information among retired members
  • • Publish a periodic copy of the RAFINO newsletter on the website and provide for download of the document.
  • • Maintain a current web site on the Internet to provide current information to the members and facilitate the exchange of information between members, with appropriate links for the convenience of members, prospective members, or legitimate researchers.  
  • o RAFINO hosts this web site for its members. The site is maintained by volunteer members and carries news of members and announcements of upcoming events.
  • o If you have any non-commercial/political information appropriate to share with our members, please feel free to post your information on the RAFINO Bulletin Board.

The officers (elected and appointed) of The RAFINO as follows (you must be logged in to see their email addresses:

  • President : COL (RET) MICHAEL D. KELLY
  • Vice-President: 1SG (RET) JOHN D. VEAL
  • Secretary/Treasurer: COL (RET) MICHAEL D. KELLY
  • Assistant Treasurer: LTC (RET) IMRE VOLGYI
  • Assistant Secretary: LTC (RET) RICHARD R ROBSON
  • Web Master/Data Master: COL (RET) MICHAEL D. KELLY

The Retired U.S. Army FINance Organization (RAFINO) RAFINO is recognized by the IRS as a non-profit organization under Section 501(c) (19) of the IRS Code. As a fraternal/social Veterans' organization RAFINO put together and run entirely for the enjoyment of retired soldiers who spent at least a large part of their Army life as Financial Management soldiers.

The original By-Laws were unanimously approved by the officers of RAFINO on the 31st of August 1987. The vote was based on mail replies of charter members, the great majority of whom approved such formation of this Society and the necessary steps to make it a non-profit veteran's organization. The mission above may be summarized in one word: fellowship.

On 15 October 2016, the previous sister NCO finance veteran's organization, RAFINCO, merged its membership and assets into RAFINO, making the RAFINO the single place for all ranks of retired army finance soldiers from all of the Army components: Active Army, Army Reserve, and National Guard.

RAFINO’s purposes are set forth in detail in its by-laws. However, simply stated, its major purposes are: (1) to maintain and distribute a roster of members, (2) to issue a periodic newsletter, (3) to maintain a current web site on the Internet, and (4) conduct periodic reunions (currently biennial)


  • THE RETIRED U.S. ARMY FINANCE ORGANIZATION

BYLAWS
(As of 23 May 2023)

ARTICLE I – NAME

The name of this organization shall be: The Retired U.S. Army Finance Organization (RAFINO).

ARTICLE II – PURPOSES

The purposes of this patriotic, non-profit [IRC501c(19)], non-political, veterans' organization are:

  1. To foster and preserve good fellowship relations among the soon-to-be or already retired members of the U.S. Army Finance Corps/Financial Management Community, and their surviving spouses, by providing the following for distribution to the members:
    1. A central roster of names, addresses, and telephone numbers of members, and
    2. a periodic newsletter and website containing items of interest to the membership.
  2. To organize and conduct periodic reunions of the membership. 

ARTICLE III – MEMBERSHIP   

  1. Membership Types:
    1. Active.  Such membership requires that the member be in official military service retired or retirement-eligible status in commissioned, non-commissioned, or warrant officer grade and have served in a Financial Management role for a significant part (greater than 50%) of their military career.

      Good Standing: A member in "good standing" is an active Lifetime Dues member and also referred to herein as a voting member.

    2. Associate.  Such membership is available to surviving spouses of deceased Active members. Associate members may attend meetings and reunions, and may vote on matters directly pertaining to reunion and/or cruise planning and scheduling.
    3. Honorary.  Such membership may be granted, upon unanimous vote of the elected officers of the Organization, to a select few persons who have rendered highly singular services to the Organization, and who are deemed by the Organization to be deserving of such recognition.
  2. Dues.
    1. A one-time, "Lifetime” dues shall be required of Active members. The amount of “Lifetime” dues shall be set from time to time by the Board and active membership in good standing.

    2. Payment of dues is not required of Associate or Honorary members. Members who have paid a one-time, age-indexed Lifetime membership fee will not be required to make any further dues payments and will remain in good standing for the rest of their lives.
    3. Donations or voluntary overpayments of annual dues shall be accepted.

ARTICLE IV—OFFICERS AND COMMITTEES

1.     The following shall be the elected and/or appointed officers:

 a. The organization shall have an elected President.

 b. The organization shall have an elected First Vice President

 c. The organization shall have an elected Treasurer

d. The President shall appoint a Secretary to record RAFINO meeting Minutes and to issue the quarterly RAFINO Reporter.

e. 2nd Vice President: The President may appoint an additional 2nd Vice President (for reunions) should conditions require such appointment. The President may appoint an additional, 2nd Vice-president for Membership should conditions require such appointment. The President may appoint a 2nd Vice-president for Information Services VP to manage RAFINO Website operations.

f. The President may appoint an Assistant Treasurer should conditions require such appointment.

g. The President may appoint an Assistant Secretary should conditions require such appointment.

  1. The heads and members of committees, standing or ad hoc, shall be appointed by the President as required to accomplish the business of the Organization.
  2. In the event that any of the elected officers should be unable to complete his or her term of office, the highest remaining officer (in the order of President, First Vice-President, Treasurer) shall identify and nominate one or more candidates for the vacated office, said nomination to be presented to the voting membership via email for purposes of electing the replacement to fill the remaining term of the office. The candidate (s) for filling a vacated office may come from, but are not limited to, the losing candidate(s), if any, in the most recent election for that office. 

ARTICLE V—ELECTIONS

  1. Elections shall be held on a bi-annual basis no later than the Business Meeting scheduled in each Reunion. Elections shall be by vote of the members in good standing via published ballot, delivered by email, or by where necessary, mail, or in person at the Business Meeting.
  2. Voting Members: Active members of the Organization (in good standing) only shall have the right to nominate and vote for officers.
  3. Nominations.  A nominating committee chairperson shall be appointed by the President, no later than three months before an election. The chairperson is then free to select at least 2 other members to serve on the Nominating Committee.
  4. The report of the nominating committee, containing the recommended slate of nominees, shall be made to the President, with copy to the Secretary/Treasurer, so as to be received by them no later than one month prior to the first day of the reunion session. In the event no reunion is scheduled for that year, it shall be submitted to them no later than one month prior to the scheduled date of the publication and distribution of the newsletter for that year—normally in the Fall of the year—in which case a mail /E-Mail ballot shall be the method of election for that year.
  5. Quorum. For purposes of voting for election of officers, amendment of the Bylaws, or such other actions as the board may determine, the President may call for a meeting of voting members and/or a ballot of all voting members. In either event, no vote will be deemed official unless there is a quorum consisting of at least 36 voting members.

ARTICLE VI—TERM AND DUTIES OF OFFICERS


  1. Term of Office.  Officers shall be elected/appointed to serve for a period of approximately two years, specifically from the time of their installation until the installation of new officers, normally at the business meeting of a reunion.  If the election is not held in conjunction with a reunion, installation shall consist of mail/E-Mail notification of election by the President holding office immediately prior to the election.
  2.  Duties of Officers.

a. The President (elected) shall:

                           I.   Preside at all meetings of the officers or membership;

                         II.    Appoint committee heads and members as required..

                       III.   Authorize in advance all contract awards or proposed expenditures from the treasury in the amount of $300.00 or more;

                      IV.    Provide for the bi-annual inspection or audit, as appropriate, of the accounts of the Treasurer.

       b. The First Vice President (elected) shall perform the duties of the President in his absence, serve as RAFINO contracting officer, and such other duties as assigned by the President.

       c. The Treasurer (elected) shall:

                           I. Maintain the membership records of the Organization.

                         II. Have charge of all funds and physical assets of the Organization;

                                 III  Maintain on a fiscal year basis (ending on September 30th) auditable records of funds and other assets of the Organization;

                                          IV.   Submit an annual financial report to the membership to be published on the RAFINO website no later than the end of the calendar year;

                                    V.  Submit to the President a financial accounting of funds collected and disbursed, accounts receivable and/or payable, specifically pertaining to a reunion or similar undertaking.

                     VI. Make necessary Federal and State legal and tax filings, as required by law

d. The Secretary (elected) shall:


   I.    Record and report the minutes of all meetings of the officers and the Reunion meeting of the general membership.

  II.  Initiate correspondence with the membership via E-mail as required.

 III.  Respond to correspondence from members and others.

  IV.  Serve as Editor of the RAFINO Reporter.

 V Keep the RAFINO Officers informed of situations that may require their attention.

 VI. Coordinate with the Treasurer when membership or dues status is concerned.


e. The 2nd Vice President for Reunions (appointed) shall:                              


 I. Serve, when so instructed by the President, as the local point of contact for the Chairman of the Host Committee of the upcoming reunion; and                                                                                                                                                          II. Be responsible for administration and financial transactions of the reunion.                                                                                                                                III. Make an after-action report, to include a complete financial accounting, for the reunion.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     IV. Perform such other duties as assigned by the President.

f. The 2nd Vice-President for Membership (appointed) shall:

   I.     Receive and record payments of “Lifetime” membership dues and donations;

  II.    Advise the board on progress in increasing membership

III.     Coordinate on programs/efforts to increase membership in the organization.

IV.     Perform other duties as assigned by the President.

g.     The 2nd Vice-President for Information Services (appointed) shall:

   I.   Administrate and maintain the RAFINO Website

  II Serve as liaison with 3rd party contractors to maintain the connections and APIs required to operate the RAFINO Website. 

  III. Serve as the Customer Service/ Point of Contact with the RAFINO 3rd party website developer as required.

h.     The Assistant Treasurer(appointed) shall:

   I.    Assist the Treasurer in the performance of Treasurer functions, as required.

 II.   Provide backup and other support in the Treasurer position should the elected Treasurer be unable to perform the duties of the position.

i.      The Assistant Secretary(appointed) shall:                                                                                                                                                                                               I.    Assist the Secretary in the performance of Secretary functions, as required.

 II.   Provide backup and other support in the Secretary position should the elected Treasurer be unable to perform the duties of the position. 

ARTICLE VII--AUDITS OF TREASURY

  1. There shall be an audit or inspection, as appropriate, of the financial and physical asset accounts of the Organization no less often than every 2 years. In any case, as soon after change of President or Treasurer as is possible.  
  2. The results of audits or inspections of the financial and physical asset accounts of the Organization shall be published on the website and in the issue of the newsletter immediately following completion of the audit or inspection.

ARTICLE VIII—DISSOLUTION OF THE Organization

In the event of dissolution of the Organization, remaining assets after satisfaction of all lawful obligations of the Organization shall be distributed in accordance with the provisions of Internal Revenue Code 501(c)(19), as changed

Article IX - Amendment of By-laws

  1. For purposes of this article, the term "voting member" means any member entitled to vote in elections of officers of the organization.
  2. Any voting member may propose an amendment to these bylaws.
  3. Proposed amendments must be approved by a majority vote of the board of officers
  4. Upon approval by the board, the proposed amendment(s) will be submitted to the voting members for approval via a mailed or electronically communicated ballot explaining the changes and requesting approval of the changes.
  5. Following approval of proposed amendment by a simple majority of members entitled to vote in elections, the amendments will be incorporated into and published as the new bylaws of the organization. The Secretary shall maintain record copies of proposed amendments, ballots, and ballot voting results.

Bylaws and Amendment History

The original Bylaws were unanimously approved by the officers of this Organization on the 31st of August 1987.  The vote was based on mail replies of charter members the great majority of whom approved such formation of this Organization and the necessary steps to make it a non-profit veterans organization.  Amendments were approved by membership in a properly constituted meeting of the membership, a quorum being present, on 4 October 1990.  SIGNED THIS 31ST DAY OF JANUARY 1991: LOUIS A. CECCHINI, Secretary/Treasurer.

Amendments were approved by ballot contained in the fall 2000 RAFINO Report by a majority of those members voting.  Signed this 31st day of December 2000: Dave Mikkelson, Secretary/Treasurer

Amendments were approved by ballot contained in the fall 2006 RAFINO Report by a majority of those members voting.  Signed this 15th day of February 2007 by Jerry D Heard, President.

Bylaws were extensively amended to reflect the result from the board deliberations and membership vote in the first meeting of the merged RAFINO/RAFINCO, 15 OCT 2016. Signed 15 Oct 2016 by Richard R. Robson, interim president.

Bylaws were amended as a result of board deliberations and membership votes at the Business Meeting held on 13 October 2018. Signed 13 October 2018 by President Kevin Troller.

RAFINO is a fraternal/social Veterans' organization put together and run entirely for the enjoyment of soldiers who spent at least a large part of their Army life as Financial Management soldiers. Every Active Duty, Army Reserve, and National Guard Finance soldier who is eligible for retirement is eligible for membership in RAFINO.

Membership Categories: Membership, as defined in our by-laws is in three categories:

  • Active: Such membership requires that the member be in (or nearing) official military service retired status in commissioned, non-commissioned, or warrant officer grade. Active members are authorized to attend meetings and/or vote on all matters.
  • Associate: Such membership is available to surviving spouses of deceased Active members. Associate members may vote on Reunion proposals.
  • Honorary: Such membership may be granted, upon unanimous vote of the officers of RAFINO, to a select few people who have rendered highly singular services to the Organization, and who are deemed by the Organization to be deserving of such recognition. 

The organization offers a meaningful and productive way to stay in contact with your comrade in arms, your friends both old and new.  RAFINO also provides an opportunity to renew friendships with those whom you may have lost contact with over the years.

RAFINO members come together every two years for a festive reunion. Cities where the reunions have been held in the past include Washington, D.C., Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Ft. Jackson, Orlando, Williamsburg, Branson, Tacoma, San Antonio, Baton Rouge, Albuquerque, Charleston, and in 2026, Colorado Springs.

How to Apply: Application for membership in RAFINO is simple; simply go to the RAFINO Home Page and select the “Join Now” button at the center of the home page.  Follow the instructions contained in the subsequent Application process to submit your membership application to RAFINO.

Life Membership: Effective 1 JAN 2017, RAFINO implemented a new Lifetime dues structure, providing a one-and-done capability for members to take care of their dues responsibilities. Effective in 2025, all existing RAFINO members and new applicants are required to become Life Members.  RAFINO members who are already Life Members have no further requirement to pay dues. 

The age-based table below is used to determine the dues amount for a new Life Member to pay:

Age

Life Rate

less than or equal to 50

$200.00

51 to 60

$150.00

61 to 70

$125.00

71 to 80

$100.00

81 to 90

$75.00

91 and above

$0.00

 

If you are an existing annual dues member, you can pay your mandatory Life Member dues via check to the RAFINO Treasurer, COL (RET) Michael D. Kelly, at 11 BOLLING CIRCLE, PALMYRA, VIRGINIA 22963.


The original By-Laws were unanimously approved by the officers of RAFINO on the 31st of August 1987. The vote was based on mail replies of charter members, the great majority of whom approved such formation of this Society and the necessary steps to make it a non-profit veteran's organization. The mission above may be summarized in one word: fellowship.

On 15 October 2016, the previous sister NCO finance veteran's organization, RAFINCO, merged its membership and assets into RAFINO, making the RAFINO the single place for all ranks of retired army finance soldiers from all of the Army components: Active Army, Army Reserve, and National Guard.

RAFINO is a fraternal/social Veterans' organization put together and run entirely for the enjoyment of soldiers who spent at least a large part of their Army life as Financial Management soldiers. Every Active Duty, Army Reserve, and National Guard Finance soldier who is eligible for retirement is eligible for membership in RAFINO.

The organization offers a meaningful and productive way to stay in contact with your comrade in arms, your friends both old and new.  RAFINO also provides an opportunity to renew friendships with those whom you may have lost contact with over the years.

RAFINO members come together every two years for a festive reunion. Cities where the reunions have been held in the past include Washington, D.C., Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Ft. Jackson, Orlando, Williamsburg, Branson, Tacoma, San Antonio, Baton Rouge, Albuquerque, Charleston, and in 2026, Colorado Springs. 

Colonel (R) Hank Neil, Finance Corps, President Emeritus, reminiscences on how RAFINO got its start.

My best guess is that RAFINO got its start around 1984 or 1985 after the thought was planted in his mind during his many trips to visit with other Army Finance retirees. I say that because I think Chick Cecchini completed his trips around the USA in 1984. Since the many visits he made during that trip led to him to decide to form a Society, I suspect it (RAFINO) was formed shortly thereafter. Chick was not one to sit around and do nothing after he got an idea. He once told me that when he and Sjelja returned from that trip he sent a letter to all the folks they visited expressing appreciation for the hospitality received and asking them to send some money.   I think it was $3.00 each ... and he would mail a roster and a newsletter to all who responded. As I remember his story he also asked all he visited on the trip to go through their personal lists of Finance Corps officer friends and send him any names and addresses they could gather from that effort. He then had a roster of many (most?) of the retired FC officers. He wrote a little newsletter and mailed it out as he got news for it. He told me his list grew rapidly but then quickly began to shrink as most on the list were older, i. e., World War II, retirees.

With the numbers in the new RAFINO shrinking, he got the idea to hold a reunion and the first one was held at Fort Ben Harrison in 1988. BG Virgil Richard was in the Finance Center at the time and I was Commandant/Chief of the Corps. When Vigil was contacted concerning this reunion, he asked me to help him develop a program and conduct briefings on the recently formed FC Regiment, the status of the Corps (i. e., strength, training, etc,). The reunion was a two day event held in the auditorium of the Finance Center with a nice evening banquet. It was a great success and the RAFINO officers decided to hold another one in 1990, again at Fort Harrison.

I retired from the Army on 1 July 1989 and shortly thereafter got a call from Chick asking me to meet with him and COL Russ Chapin. When I met with them they told me how the group was losing members due to age and they wanted a younger person to head it up. They told me I was just about the only younger one they knew because of my involvement with the 1988 reunion. I said OK and then they told me my mission was to make the association grow. Well, I ended up as President for six years but did have some success in growing the society as I had been in both MILPERCEN and the schoolhouse which exposed me to almost all of the Corps' officers. I found there was a great deal of interest in developing a strong society. Of course, I tapped Jerry Heard and Russ Dowden to talk it up when they were Commandants and Virgil Richard assisted greatly when he got the idea to hold a retired FC banquet in the DC area. Consequently, we had access to the two largest clusters of retired Finance officers, Indianapolis and Washington.

After the second reunion at Fort Harrison (1990), we held reunions in San Antonio (1992), Orlando (1994) and Nashville (1996). It was during the Orlando Reunion that I was discussing things with Chick Cecchini when told him that our slogan, Keeping the Finance Family Together, was a good one but was concerned that we were missing a large part of or family, i. e., the NCOs. We then proposed to our membership that we take a small amount, $2,000, if I remember correctly, to provide seed money to the Finance NCOs to get an association started for them. I called a few NCOs ... I think SGM John Medley was the first I called ... and they expressed interest. So, with the help of John and few others RAFINCO was formed. Chick got with SGM Dan South who volunteered to be the NCOs admin. guy and soon they were up and running as a society. Their numbers also grew fast as, clearly, many retired NCOs were interested. After early discussions, the opinions of both the officers and the NCOs were that the two societies should be separate but mutually supporting. Later, it was decided to invite RAFINCO to to join us at a RAFINO Reunion but that each association would hold separate business meetings during the reunion. That arrangement continues to this day.

Then, the NCOs proposed that they run one of the reunions which they did for the first time in Tacoma (2010). That reunion was a great success and both societies decided to rotate the hosting of future reunions. I think this is a good arrangement as it eases the burden on any one society.

/S Hank Neill


RAFINO thrives today because of our late President Emeritus, Chick Cecchini. Chick had the vision of a vibrant, connected community of retired Regimental Finance Officers. We dedicate our information highway to President Emeritus, Chick Cecchini. Rest in Peace, Chick.