Florida’s Gold Coast Chapter is preparing to host the 2014 Florida State Convention from July 25-27 at the Embassy Suites in West Palm Beach. There, AFA members and guests will mark the 50th anniversary of the chartering of AFA’s Florida State organization. Celebrating the 50-year achievement will be the thrust of the convention. Former Florida State President Tommy Harrison will be the keynote speaker on the evening of July 26 to take the convention audience through the past 50 years. The state organization received its charter on Nov. 21, 1964, under the leadership of then-President Marty Harris. According to current Florida State President Dann Mattiza, there were already five active AFA chapters in the Sunshine State at that time: Cape Canaveral, Central Florida, Holiday Highlands (today’s Florida Highlands), Miami, and West Coast (today’s Waterman-Twining). Today, Florida has 14 chapters in addition to the state organization.
The U.S. and Sweden signed a bilateral Defense Cooperation Agreement on Dec. 5 that will strengthen military ties between them and likely lead to U.S. troops and prepositioned gear on Swedish soil. Swedish Defense minister Pal Jonson said the war in Ukraine prompted Sweden's joining NATO and he laid out…