Jerome “Jerry” Waterman established the first AFA Chapter in the Tampa area, initially called the Florida West Coast Chapter, and renamed the Jerry Waterman Chapter in 1970. Jerry was instrumental in helping secure the use of MacDill Field and Drew Field (now Tampa International Airport) for use by the Air Corps prior to WWII. You can click on his biography below. Jerry was a member of an influential Tampa family, the Mass Brothers, which founded a department store in Tampa. The Maas Brothers history is also shown below and expounds on Jerry Waterman’s influence in the Tampa area.
The John C. Meyer Chapter originally included northern Pinellas County plus Pasco, Hernando, Citrus, and Sumter County areas. In 2008, the Meyer Chapter closed, and Chapter members were reassigned to several Chapters, including the Gen. Nathan F. Twining Chapter (southern Pinellas County) and the Jerry Waterman Chapter (Hillsborough County).
The Twining Chapter was named after General Nathan F. Twining, who entered the Army Air Corps in 1915 and then served in the Air Force from 1947 – 1960. He was the third Air Force Chief of Staff and served two terms as the Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff. In 2012, the Twining Chapter merged with the Waterman Chapter to officially become the Waterman-Twining Chapter. As of June 2022, The Waterman-Twining Chapter has over 1100 members, stretching through Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Citrus, and Hernando counties.