In the summer of 1994, a group of retired officers reflected on the matter of driving several miles to attend MOAA chapter meetings. At that time, the Middle Tennessee Chapter was meeting at noon in Madison, Tennessee. The drive was time consuming and plagued with traffic.

All members of this group lived in Murfreesboro and realized that there were numerous retirees in the Murfreesboro area. Initially, telephone contact was made with known retired officers and a meeting was scheduled to discuss the possibility of a then TROA chapter in Rutherford County. This small group agreed to contact other eligible officers and to contact TROA for a potential roster of members.

Upon receipt of the roster of potential members, a plan was developed for contacting these people. It was soon learned that much of the contact information was outdated; however, those persons who were contacted were asked to spread the word. COL(R) William Benedict, COL(R) James Parks, and LTC(R) James Crietzberg were given as points of contact for those interested.

In early 1995 a meeting was held at which time all interested parties were invited. This meeting was attended by approximately fifteen people. This group was tasked with establishing contact with other eligible persons and inviting them to an organizational meeting to be held the following month. At the same time, it was decided that meetings would be held in the evenings to accommodate people who were employed during the day. By July meetings were being held at Shoney’s on Broad Street and were being attended by forty to fifty people. The meeting room at Shoney’s was inadequate for the number of attendees and a new venue was sought.

A final organizational meeting was held in August and a slate of officers was established. Cmdr. Kevin Malloy, USPHS, was chosen as the first chapter president. COL(R) Sara Haliburton as vice president, LTC(R) Jewel White, secretary, and COL(R) William Benedict, treasurer. The Charter meeting was scheduled for the following month. LTC(R) Dick Colby, President of the Tennessee Council of Chapters, was invited to attend and conduct the installation of officers. The chapter name was chosen during this meeting. COL(R) Parks suggested Stones River to make it inclusive of all of Rutherford County and the surrounding area. The name was voted on and adopted. It was, also, adopted to require chapter dues of $10 annually for all members.

Installation of chapter officers took place at the Smyrna Town Center on September 16, 1995, with fifty members. Spouses were invited and the total attendance at this meeting numbered approximately eighty-five. It was decided that subsequent meetings would be dinner meetings and spouses encouraged to participate.

Initially, meetings were held at various locations around Murfreesboro and Smyrna. This went on for approximately three years. An attempt was made to hold meetings at The Parthenon in Murfreesboro; however, the number of attendees soon outgrew the facility. There was a return to visiting various locations looking for a permanent meeting place. To inform members of the meeting location, a one-page newsletter was mailed to everyone. It included an RSVP in order that we could inform the facility of the number of people to set up for.

In the spring of 1998, arrangements were made by LTC(R) “Slick” Frazer for the chapter to meet at the Stones River Country Club. The club provided a suitable meeting place with adequate parking and was used for several years. We endured a couple of minor price increases over the period, however, when the club wanted to raise the price while at the same time decreasing the service, we began looking for a new venue. About 2008 we moved to Through the Grapevine and have continued to meet at that location.

One of the highlights of the chapter was the annual picnic. The first was held in one of the pavilions at Old Fort Park in June of 1996. LTC(R) “Slick” Frazer and his wife, Freda, barbequed meat and all the attendees provided covered dishes for the remainder of the meal. The two or three years the food was purchased from Whitt’s BarBQ. At the suggestion of someone, it was decided to purchase the food from The Slick Pig.

After having been rained on several times, in 2004 the picnic was moved to September. This schedule has been maintained. When the renovations at Old Fort Park began, the picnic was shifted to Through the Grapevine. In 2019 the picnic was moved to Siegel Soccer Complex and Mission Bar B Que provided the food.

The pandemic put a stop to all meetings for a couple of years. Then the picnic was resumed in 2021. In 2022 it was held at the home of CAPT(R) Royce Tayor and Susan. The picnic was replaced with an outing to Arnold Air Force Base in 2023.