From the President

Welcome to the Florida Advisory Council on Military Education (FL-ACME).

We serve as an advisory council to study and seek solutions to issues that affect voluntary military education, not only in the State of Florida, but nationwide through our affiliation with the Council of Colleges and Military Education (CCME). We support and encourage educational institutions to be innovative and flexible in meeting the educational needs and special challenges of service members and their family members.

We have a group of dynamic members and an Executive Committee who are active in trying to making a difference in the lives of those we serve. As our Council Motto states – Serving those who serve! This includes not only active duty service members and family members, but also members and family members of the military Reserve elements, no matter what branch of service.

Currently, we have two standing committees to assist us in our endeavors; the By-Laws Committee and the Legislative Committee. The By-Laws Committee reviews our by-laws to incorporate any changes that may be necessary on an annual basis. The Legislative Committee looks at ways of increasing our visibility and influence with the state lawmakers. We also want to reach out to the surrounding states that do not have an active ACME organization. One of our primary goals is to expand our working committees to include a scholarship committee, a membership committee and a conference committee.

Of particular interest is our outreach to education service officers, military members (active, reserve, and retired), state legislators, public officials, as well as, public and private university and college officials. I invite all interested parties to join the Florida Advisory Council on Military Education and come to our annual conference each spring. Only by working together can we make a difference!

I look forward to serving our state’s military community and the members of the Florida ACME. Please contact me with any comments or suggestions you have concerning military voluntary education, our upcoming annual conference, or this website.

Charles L. Sidell, Ph.D.
Program Coordinator, Workforce Education & Development
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
P.O. Box 331218
Atlantic Beach, FL 32233-1218
(904) 246-4549
clsidell@siu.edu