ITO

Initial Tasking Order for 2021 Marine Corps Ball Season

LOI

Letter of Instruction for 2021 Marine Corps Ball Season

Marine Corps Ball 2021 Calendar

MCCS Food & Hospitality, along with your hosting Marine Corps Ball club manager, provides a Marine Corps Ball program for each ball attendee. Programs typically include a single insert with the Guest of Honor’s (GOH) photo and biography. As long as requisite deadlines are met, 45 days prior to your unit's ball, MCCS Food & Hospitality will ensure the program is printed and delivered to the venue for your unit to place at each seat.

Instructions for Guest of Honor Biography and Photo submission:

• All GOH biographies should follow the Department of Defense Style Guide, issued March 30, 2013. (See Sample GOH below)
• Guest of Honor biographies and photos are due no later than 45 days prior to your unit’s ball. MCCS will not produce Guest of Honor inserts if submitted past the 45 day deadline. 
• Keep the word count between 300 and 500 words.
• Please ensure the biographies reflect the Guest of Honor’s current billet and rank. If your GOH is a civilian, please include their current occupational title and city of residence.
• MCCS Marketing cannot edit acronyms, awards, battles or campaigns, other than ensuring spelling and grammar are correct. Proper nomenclature is the unit POC’s responsibility. Acronyms will be used as submitted. 
• Use a vertical photo that is a high resolution (300 dpi).
• The photo must be free of any text and/or borders. (No command board photos please).
• Submit biographies and photos to both email addresses: andrew.menges@okinawa.usmc-mccs.org and MarketingAccounts@okinawa.usmc-mccs.org. You may copy and paste the biography and photo in an email, or attach the biography/photo as a word doc.
  

Please note: deadline and biography and photo specifications will be enforced.

If you miss your unit’s Guest of Honor deadline, this template is available for you to create your own GOH insert. 

2021 Guest of Honor Template

For samples of military biographies, please visit the Manpower & Reserve Affairs Biographies Page. 
2016 Sample Guest of Honor Insert

Marine Corps Birthday Ball Entertainment Plan

1. INFORMATION

Marine Corps Community Services (MCCS) will provide a Disc Jockey (DJ) for all Birthday Balls held at the assigned MCCS facilities at no cost to the unit. If a Birthday Ball is held outside of an assigned MCCS facility the unit will borne the DJ expense.

If a unit wishes to request a live band and if the type of band requested is available, the requesting unit will borne the cost of the entertainment. The request for a band must be submitted 30 days prior to the date of the Birthday Ball. To make a request, contact the Entertainment Program Manager at telephone number 645-5821 or send an email.

2. ACTION

I. Entertainment Branch.

a. Ensure Entertainment is contracted and scheduled to support each of the balls, and be prepared to accommodate additional support as may be directed by the MCCS Chief (e.g., a live band vice a disc jockey).

b. Ensure that adequate DJ sound equipment is available to support the entertainment requirement for each of the scheduled Marine Corps Balls.

3. COORDINATING INSTRUCTIONS

A listing of the names of the disc jockeys identified to support each of the respective balls will be published by Entertainment; under separate cover. Care will be taken to ensure that the genre of music played will be variety, so that all genres are covered during the Birthday Balls.

All facility managers hosting a ball should make direct liaison with the unit representatives for each scheduled ball to determine any special requirements necessary to support their ball (e.g., podium, special lighting).

DJs will have all of their equipment in place, conducted sound checks, and be ready for operations no later than 1700 on the evenings they are scheduled to provide such services.

Unless otherwise directed by Entertainment, the DJ will be prepared to provide services from the completion of the dinner service to the scheduled end of the respective balls.

Marine Corps Birthday Ball Photography Services Plan

There will be an assigned photographer at each Ball. You do not need to make a request, if your ball is on the calendar. Birthday Ball photography packages will be available for sale via the internet at http://mccsphotography.enjoyphotos.com. No cash transactions will take place on site. 

Download and complete the request form, here:

Band Request Form

Band Request Form (Word document)

Or click this link: https://www.iiimef.marines.mil/Band/Request-Forms/

**Please be advised submissions of a band request does not automatically guarantee band support for your event.

Child and Youth Programs will provide childcare for Units requesting services, charged to the Unit requesting childcare.  Please review the attached instructions on how to secure childcare for your MC Ball.

Childcare Guidance

Childcare Registration Form 

Childcare After Hours Service Contract for Units

Sincerely,
CYP, Team Resource and Referral
645-4062/4117

Please submit Transportation Request Forms to MCCS Motor Transportation via  email no later than TWO WEEKS or 14 calendar days prior to your scheduled ball.  Faxed and hand delivered requests will not be accepted.

A single Point of Contact (POC) is required to ensure efficient, accurate and precise fulfilment of the request is attained.  If for any reason the POC has been reassigned, please ensure MCCS Motor Transportation is provided the new POC’s information as soon as possible.

Please ensure to provide a Staff or Senior NCO on each bus to maintain order, discipline, and passenger safety at all times while in transit.

Balls being held at MCCS facilities take priority over Balls being held elsewhere. Additionally, Balls being held outside of MCCS facilities will incur a $50 per hour Charter Fee per bus with a minimum 3-hour start-up fee.

In the event your unit does not require or no longer requires bus transportation, please submit an email informing Motor Transportation that services are not required and/or of cancellation.

Download the Transportation Request Form 2021.

Marine Corps Ball Fundraising Accounts

Point of Contact

Jasmin Kube: MCCS Installation Finance Office, Unit Funds Administrator - 645-6776
Email: unitfunds@okinawa.usmc-mccs.org 
Building 5966, 2nd Floor, Camp Foster 

Fundraising Activities

Questions regarding Fundraising Activities should be directed to the SJA office located in Bldg. 1, Camp Foster, 645-7461/7462. All fundraising requests are now processed through SJA.

Unit Funds Account Access

The Commanding Officer must assign a Designee to be responsible for their Marine Corps Ball Account. The MCCS Installation Finance Office will only discuss the account balance or process payments/withdrawals/transfers with the Commanding Officer or the Designee; however anyone can deposit funds to the account. A new Marine Corps Ball Funds Delegation Letter must be submitted each year.

Fundraising Deposits

Money will be deposited, by appointment only, at MCCS Installation Finance Office on Camp Foster or at one of the clubs below, and held for use of the Unit’s Marine Corps Ball. Checks must have DOD# listed to be deposited at MCCS.

Camp Schwab – BeachHead
Camp Hansen – The Palms
Camp Courtney – Hashmarks SNCO Club
Camp Kinser – Surfside

Using the MCCS Okinawa Deposit Form be sure to list your Unit Funds Account ID# on the deposit form. If you do not know the ID# please contact Installation Finance Office or the club in which your ball is being held. Also indicate if the funds being deposited are from Birthday Ball Ticket Sales or from a Fundraising Event, include a brief description of the event.

Two individuals from your unit must count the money and sign MCCS Deposit Form in agreement of the amount listed. A Financial Technician at MCCS will count the money and sign Deposit Form in agreement of the amount received. A copy of completed form will be given to the depositor along with a deposit receipt from the cash cage.

If a deposit is made at Installation Finance Office, and the depositor is the Fund Designee, a Fundraiser Summary Sheet can be requested after the deposit has been made. The summary sheet shows all account activity. If the depositor is not the Fund Designee the summary sheet will not be available. MCCS Clubs do not have access to the Unit accounts and are not able to provide a summary sheet. At any time the Fund Designee can request a summary sheet via email.

Requesting Money for the Marine Corps Ball

In order to release funds to a club to purchase ball tickets, or to release funds for other ball related expenses a completed form NAVMC11652, Expenditure Request/Reimbursement For Unit & family Readiness Funds, must first be submitted to unitfunds@okinawa.usmc-mccs.org. MCCS Installation Finance Office will issue checks or transfer funds to a club as requested. Check Requests submitted by 1400 Monday will be available for pick-up that Thursday at 1300. A transfer of funds to a club will be available two business days after the date of request.

If a check is issued (to purchase items other than tickets, i.e. decorations) the payee must reconcile with the Installation Finance Office within 5 working days of the first purchase. Schedule an appointment with the MCCS Installation Finance Office to turn in receipts with 3rd party signatures and return any unused funds. 3rd Party Signatures should contain printed name, signature and date of an individual other than the person who received the funds confirming receipt of the items for the event.

FORMS
MC Ball Delegation Letter Sample

MCCS Deposit Form

MC Ball Ticket Purchases & Deposits

MCCS Expenditure Request

REFERENCES
MCO 7040.11A Marine Corps Birthday Ball Funding
MCBJO 5340.1C Fundraising Aboard USMC Installation
MCO P1700.27B MCCS Policy Manual
DOD 5500.7 Standards of Conduct