EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR UPDATE... Summer 2007
Bob Anderson
Summer in Pensacola is like many of you remember. We are now looking at temperatures in the 90's and humidity to match. Folks in Florida are pretty much accustomed to the climate and also watching the weather channel. Although he is probably a nice person, no one likes to see Jim Cantore show up at the airport between June and November.
Now having opened with those statements we have a great place to go to at the end of the summer. I had the pleasure of attending the New England chapters spring outing in Saratoga Springs, New York in May. We rented a car in Albany for a short 30 mile drive up to Saratoga Springs. There is easy access to the Interstate from the airport and a short drive north to the Saratoga Springs exit. Al St. Onge and his crew have a great event planned for us for the 2007 National reunion. Saratoga Springs is a typical upstate New York small town. The primary hotel, the Holiday Inn is on the "main drag" coming into town. The first backup hotel, the Hilton Garden Inn is on the same "main drag" about a ½ mile away. The third backup hotel is the Court Yard by Mariott about ¾ of mile down the same street. Al has set up shuttle service back and forth to the primary hotel. Restaurants abound, including fast foods, all around the hotels. They are very hospitable and reasonable in prices. If you're into harness horse racing you will be in the foremost spot in the country. They have regular events at the track close to town. There are many tours available and a great golf course for those that are planning on the NCVA tournament. Our NCVA NE-Chapter has been working very hard on this reunion and it should prove to be equally as successful as the last one that they ran in the northeast at Boston.
We have had many sad events in our membership over the past year. The passing of long time members has also had another effect on the Association. Many folks have donated to our Scholarship fund in the name of our departed members. We have received numerous donations in memory of Ralph Cox, Wayne Mrachek and Tom Finley. Significant is the fact that some of the donors are not even members of NCVA. The donors include: V. Costello, M. Wilson, R. Witmer, D. Schuster, R. Veronneau, R. Cooper, N. Graving, P. Foster, J. Nelson and J. Warren. We also have a very significant donation from an anonymous individual that participates yearly in donating to the scholarship fund. The families of our shipmates that have passed on can be very proud that these donations will go to a very worthy cause.
Have you been looking for a NCVA Directory? One will be published after the annual reunion in Saratoga Springs and will include a draft of the updated By-laws for NCVA. The updated draft will also be available at the annual reunion. The current by-laws specify that revisions and updates will be voted on by the membership at the annual reunion. By publishing the draft in the Directory all members will have an opportunity to comment and the vote by the general membership will be held at the St. Louis reunion in 2008.
NCVA Archivist position will be vacated at the end of June 2007. Volunteers for the position should e-mail or USPS your willingness to serve to me as soon as possible. Bill Lockert, who has been in that position since 1996, has indicated that he would like to retire. He has done an extremely fine job in not only NCVA archives position but also as curator of the Naval Security Groups Command Display in Pensacola. I suspect that we will see Bill around the Display frequently but he will be missed none-the-less.
I thoroughly enjoy the "Letters to the Editor" section. This issue has a letter from CTMCM Ron Rich, USN (Ret), that states "once a CT always a CT". I could not agree more. Good show Ron.
The Florida Chapter has it all together. The article on page 15 is by retired Force Master Chief Mary Ann Floyd and it describes the honors placed on NIOC Orlando's Sailor of the Year, CTT1 Micah Coleman. Good job Florida Chapter. Similar efforts are underway by other local NCVA chapters. It is the right thing to do.
The 2007-2008 Calendar is finished and is available from the ship's store. As usual, Jay Browne has done a great job of putting the calendar together. Early bird orders from the ships store have been packaged and shipped. The next calendar (2008-2009) is already in the works and will be in honor of the NCVA's 30th anniversary.
Archived Executive Director Updates:
Fall 2007
Summer 2007
Summer 2004
Spring 2004
Last Modified: Saturday, 27-Oct-2007 12:04:55 EDT