Naval
Weather Service Association
President's
Report
Source: Aerograph, May 2008
Greetings Shipmates,
It is May, and what would normally be our reunion month is simply another month to get ready for our annual get together. I look forward to seeing the old faces, and hopefully many new faces, come September. I encourage all of you to check your Bellinger List to see if there are some old shipmates, you know personally, that might attend #34 with a little persuasion. A personal contact (phone, e-mail) with anyone who now resides in the Midwest might also prove to be worthwhile. For those of you who are entertaining the idea of joining us, please do. I look forward to seeing old shipmates, and since none of us are getting any younger, now is as good a time as any. Don't put off what you might not get to do in the future. Back in December, I suffered a heart attack. Thanks to some quick work by our local EMT's and the emergency staff at our local hospital, they discovered the problem (a blockage of what they called the widow-maker artery) and in less than 2 hours had the artery roto-rootered and two stints put in place. I feel very fortunate to be here today, and I'd like to be around for many more reunions. More importantly, I'd like to see you at this year's reunion. This year, we're entering unknown territory. This will be our first attempt at having someone other than a local chapter put on our reunion. Armed Forces Reunions Inc. (AFRI) is the company we've hired to handle this. Even with AFRI handling what would be the responsibility of a local chapter, there is still a great deal of work that is being conducted by our reunion committee and members of the Potomac Chapter. I take my hat off to all these folks. They're putting in the extra time it takes to make sure everything is ready when the rest of us arrive on scene.
I know we wouldn't even have considered Waukesha if it hadn't been for Bill Ziebell, our on-scene representative. He did the initial leg work in finding our hotel and making the necessary contacts we needed in order to get the ball rolling. I know Peter Weigand is working very closely with our AFRI representative, and Don Cruse is overlooking everything. My thanks to all of you. Back in October, the wife (Libby) and I went up to Waukesha for a look around. We stopped off at Rantoul, Illinois, where I was the Senior Enlisted Advisor for the Navy Detachment aboard Chanute AFB from 1983 to 1985. The Air Base is closed and the land is now apart of greater Rantoul. Many of the buildings are still there, but they have deteriorated severely, and many have been torn down and replaced with public housing. I tried locating the building that housed the Detachment offices and AG Schools but had no luck. Chanute was home to AG Schools from the late 70's to the late 80's. We contacted Bill Ziebell on our way through Chicago and were invited to his home for dinner. Libby and I were made to feel right at home. We had a lovely evening visiting with Bill and his wife Myrna. On leaving the Ziebells, we headed to the Great Lakes Naval Station. Nothing I saw there reminded me of my boot camp days in 1962. We spent the night at the Navy Lodge, and the next morning we headed to Waukesha. Our hotel for the reunion, The Country Springs, is very nice. I think all of you who attend #34 will be impressed by it. It is on the outskirts of the city and sits just off Interstate 94. It features a 45,000 square foot watermark, an indoor pool, a fitness center with a whirlpool, the Wildflowers Restaurant, and Coppers' Pub and Grill.
The staff was extremely cordial and helpful. The Willow Run Golf Club is located beside the hotel. It looks like you can walk over there from the hotel, but it's not advisable. By car, it's a little over a mile to the parking lot. The course manager told us he didn't feel there would be any problem getting our golfers on the course while we are there. He did mention that the owners had discussed selling the property, but even if that happens, there are many other courses nearby. There was a lot of road construction taking place between Chicago and Milwaukee while we were there, and I hope by the time September rolls around the construction crews will have moved on to bigger and better things far from us. If you plan on driving from home, or from an airport up there, I recommend you check with Triple AAA before leaving home. If you are flying into Gen. Mitchell International Airport, the hotel recommends "Airport Connection" taxi service. Advance reservations are possible. From Gen. Mitchell to the hotel is approximately 20 miles. The distance from the Country Springs Hotel to the downtown section of Waukesha is about 6 miles. It's a quick trip down Interstate 94. We also took the time to go into Milwaukee which is about 20 miles from the hotel. The trip took us about 35 minutes. On the way into town, we went right by the Brewers' new stadium. Seeing a Brewers' game however, will be difficult. They play Cincinnati at 1:05 PM on Wednesday the 10th and leave that evening for Philadelphia. The Cubbies are also on the road, but the White Sox are home to Toronto and Detroit while we're in Waukesha. The drive to Chicago will take the better part of two hours. In Milwaukee, we had drinks at the revolving restaurant atop the Hyatt. We were there at night, but the view was still spectacular. There are many fine restaurants in Milwaukee, and we opted for a very famous, old German restaurant named Maders. It was recommended by Bill and Myrna Ziebell, and I will add mine to that. The food and service were excellent, the walls are filled with photographs of famous people who have dined there, and they had more Hummel's than you could shake a stick at. As I said earlier, we were there in October. The weather was beautiful, and fall foliage was just beginning to take on the hues of autumn. I'm not going to predict the weather for Sept. 10-14 of this year, but I will predict a good time will be had by all who attend.
I look forward to seeing you there.
Sincerely, P.J. O'Brien, President NWSA
Source: Aerograph, November,
2007
Well, by the time you will be reading this I will have been
on the job for about six months, and the Association is still afloat.
And to think someone told me the Presidents job was just that of a
figurehead. Not quite.
Whew!!! Now, if I can
manage to keep things together until next Sept., I'll be ecstatic. Time
flies when you're having fun so the next ten months should fly.
After reading the August Aerograph I noticed I made a huge
omission in my initial comments. I
failed to recognize the
One issue I have had to deal with since taking office is with
the scholarship awards for the coming year.
Since our reunion in 2008 is in Sept., vice May/June, I have had to
determine how we will handle the upcoming awards.
A May/June reunion allows for the executive committee to vote on
the individuals recommended by the scholarship committee and the finance
committee to recommend an amount to be awarded.
Then the general membership (reunion attendees) votes on whether or
not to accept the awards.
When this is done, the secretary/treasurer then has enough
time to contact sponsors with the results, withdraw the necessary funds,
and mail out the checks to the selectees' colleges.
Checks are normally mailed out in August.
With our upcoming Sept. reunion, the scholarship committee
can still present their selections to the executive board in May or June
via phone, e-mail, or other means. The
finance committee can do the same. The
problem we had is with the next step in the procedure; presenting the
results to the general membership and getting their approval.
I thought if we waited until the Sept. reunion to get the vote,
everything would get pushed back, and the scholarship selectees would
receive their award later than is normally the case.
I queried our secretary/treasurer on this, and he says he will be
able to finish everything on his return home from #34 and have the checks
in the mail by the end of Sept. It
looks as if the selectees' colleges and universities will receive their
check, at the most, two months later than normal.
The scholarship committee will have to ensure all applicants are
aware of the timeframe for the receipt of
their award.
Another area of concern the terms in office of the current
officers and that of the incoming officers in 2008.
The normal term is one year, and it runs from reunion to reunion.
Since our 2008 reunion is in Sept., the terms of those currently
serving will exceed the one-year timeframe.
We will be in office three to four months longer than the norm, and
if the 2009 reunion takes place in May/June, the incoming officers will
have their terms shortened to eight or nine months.
As I see it, we
option is for
those of us currently in office to continue until Sept. and the incoming
officers for 2008-2009 to serve shortened terms.
This has yet to be resolved, but all should be worked out by the
next issue of the Aerograph.
One other bit of business was appointing members to our
executive council. The council
is tasked with making decisions on behalf of
the executive board. I
have requested that Don Cruse, Moon Mullen, Tom Miovas, and Norm Macomber
join with Bill Bowers, Earl Kerr and myself to make up the council.
The reunion in
Until the next issue, may you be blessed with following winds and a smooth sea. OBie
Source: Aerograph, August,
2007
Wow! It's an honor to have been
selected President of
this fine organization. I look forward to the challenge of serving in
this capacity for the next year. One of the most endearing things about
being in the Navy weather community is the fact that we have always been a
very small group that has tried to maintain some form of contact over the
years. At Christmas, cards from units near and far would list names, and
sometimes contain faces, of shipmates within our community. I remember
looking at those cards trying to find the names of individuals I knew.
Of course, there would always be a card from a command with guys and gals standing in their bathing suits on some tropical isle, while I was freezing my buns off up north. Was I envious? You bet!! I'm not really sure if our units exchange Christmas cards any longer. Maybe one of our active duty members will let us know if the tradition continues. As an organization whose members still want to maintain contact with those who have shared our past, we publish the Aerograph and Bellinger List, maintain a website, and continue to hold annual reunions. Next year's reunion will be held in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Bill Zeibel laid the ground work for us, and we have contracted Armed Forces Reunion Inc. to set it up. I hope we have a great turn out. It is my sincere desire to get more of our members to participate in our annual reunions beginning with NWSA 34. Make plans now to attend. If you're planning to be there, use the Bellinger List and contact some old shipmates and personally invite them to join you. We can plan and organize these get togethers each year, but without participation, they will go away. That would be a shame. Take care and God bless all of you. OBie
Source: Aerograph
May,
2007
It has been my pleasure to represent such a
fine group of men and women. I mean that sincerely. My tenure as your
president is coming to an end in about 50 days, as I write this article in
early April 2007. I would like to share one thing that came up on my watch
at the helm. There continues to be a great deal of talk about the loss of
Aerographer Mate billets in the Navy. This will clearly limit our ability
to recruit new members unless we consider the other branches of service.
Our current membership is getting too old to continue on our present
course. If NWSA needs a course correction, let us make that correction.
Let us not come to a dead stop in the water. Our active duty counterparts
have undergone a reduction in force the past two fiscal years as our
products and data collection become more automated.
Now ask, “What have I/we done to recruit these AGs?” Tom Miovas had a
suggestion last year! He offered that those of us that live close to a
Naval Weather Office; stop in now and then and say HI. Do a little talking
to the active duty sailor and let them know that we are thinking of them.
When the opportunity presents itself; talk a little about NWSA. To our
active duty members, talk to your shipmates and fill them in on this fine
organization you belong to, NWSA. I would like to make a suggestion to the
active duty sailors. Become a life member. The initial out of pocket money
may be a bit much, but in the long run it will pay off in spades. I became
a life member back in 86, that’s 1986. If you do the math, it is very
inexpensive when amortized over 21 years, along with not needing to worry
about paying dues each year. It works! We are an organization worth
keeping.
Now onto Everett: As we all know our 33rd annual reunion is just ahead. It
is not too late to make plans to join us in Washington State. The program
is coming together nicely. As of 4 April, we have received 75
registrations. Take a look at the itinerary in this addition of THE
AEROGRAPH you will soon see we have a nice set of events taking place,
culminating with the grand ball Saturday night, May 19th, 2007. The
deadline for scholarship applicants has passed and we will select some
outstanding students again next month.
As discussed above about correcting our course, one of the course
corrections we are trying for our 33rd reunion is how we setup the
reunion. Two other corrections are how do we maintain the hospitality room
and registration desk? On the bottom of the registration form are two
blocks asking for volunteers. Any support that you provide would be great.
Don’t worry if you have already sent in your registration form without
placing an X in a box, we will forgive you and be more than happy to
receive your X upon arrival.
For those members that have never attended one of these reunions, you are
cheating yourself out of a great deal of scuttlebutt and friendship. This
is your chance to make up for missing all the fun. See you in Everett!
Submitted by NWSA President CDR Peter Weigand USNR RET
Source: Aerograph February 2007
Marcia and I hope that all had a good holiday season, and that this year will be better for us all. Winter started out colder and wetter than normal for Washington State while it has been warmer and drier in Washington D.C. We had no snow or freezing temperatures for Christmas and the temperature for New Years was in the low 60s.
I am looking forward to the May 2007 reunion, in Everett, WA. I hope that most of our members are also gearing up for the reunion. Over the last few years our reunion attendees have been declining. If this trend continues, in a few years there will be but a few of us holding down the bridge (hospitality room). I am looking forward to seeing more than a few friendly faces and a few new ones also.
We will hold our first Executive Board Meeting at 1400 on Wednesday 16 May 2007. Distribution of scholarship funds and membership are always on the agenda. Board members; please come armed to answer this question! I am sure that other subjects will be discussed at the meeting. If possible, I would appreciate if you would e-mail me anything you would like to bring up at the meeting. If I receive a listing of subjects, I will have a hand out of said subjects at the meeting.
Speaking of Board Members, it would be great if we had one member from each chapter sitting on the board at this reunion. Although this reunion is being run by a chapter, we will need a few volunteers to help run the hospitality room and registration desk. We suggested to the Everett Reunion team that they include a line at the bottom of the registration form for what you would like to volunteer for. See you all in Everett! It will be fun as always.
Doug Maxwell, AGCM USN Retired is currently the chairman of the NWSA scholarship committee. Our normal cut-off for scholarships is usually in time for our committee members to assess scholarship applicants and select those most deserving. This period is usually 4-5 weeks in length due to compilation of data and time for meaningful evaluation. With that in mind it will be necessary to set this year's cutoff date earlier than in year's past. With the reunion planned for May I'm asking that all scholarship applications be submitted by April 1, 2007. This will allow Jim a few days to collocate the material and forward it to the committee members. I should be able to have the committee members review the submitted packages and provide the results to the general membership meeting on or about May 17, 2007.Our newest regional chapter, to be known as the Lone Star Chapter was established this past October. The attendees enthusiastically gathered in the Memorial Garden behind Nimitz Museum in Fredericksburg TX on Saturday, 10/21/06. We will hear more about them at the reunion.
Source: Aerograph
November 2006
Summer is gone as I write this report. It seems that all is well with
NWSA. Reunion #33 is taking shape in Everett, Washington from 15 to 20
May 2007. Also, preliminary plans for Reunion #34 have been made
for Waukesha, Wisconsin from 9 to 14 September 2008. The Country
Springs Hotel Water Park Conference Center is our location thanks to AGCS
Bill Ziebell, USN RET (Midwest). Lastly, the Southeast Chapter has
contacted NWSA with respect to hosting Reunion #35 in 2009. Tentative
plans are looking into the 13 to 17 May 2009 timeframe. The SE Chapter
will submit a letter to the Jacksonville & the Beaches Convention and
Visitor Bureau requesting that they contact their local area hotels at
this time to provide for at least 100 rooms nights for NWSA members over a
4 day period.
One of the major changes to our Reunion criteria at Everett is that
NWSA will have is an open invitation to all of our previous acquaintances
to join with us at Everett even if they have never belonged to NWSA.
Each chapter is being asked to do their part in getting the word out about
the Everett Reunion. Activities in work include: Shopping at the Antique
Mall in the Historic City of Snohomish; Tour of Boeing's $23 million
dollar Future of Flight Aviation Center and Everett wide-body
manufacturing plant; Leavenworth, Washington’s very own Bavarian village,
and Steven's Pass Scenic trip; Whale watching boat trip from Anacortes;
Wine Tasting trip to the Woodinville area that boasts over 20 different
wineries and includes the Chateau St. Michelle; Washington’s largest
casino (Tulalip Casino) and Sports Fishing. Naval Base Everett and
associated commissary/main exchange at Smokey Point Facility. There is
clearly plenty of activity at this reunion to find something fun to do.
There are many things to do in Washington before, during and after the
Reunion. Check out the "http://experiencewashington.com/"
web site for more information. Also, you can use this site to request a
Washington State Visitors' Guide to be sent to your address.
Declining membership remains a concern as our Navy active duty forces
decline through reorganization. The Navy is in the midst of closing four
weather offices: Sigonella, Sicily; Rota, Spain; Naples, Italy; and Souda
Bay, Crete. The Navy is shutting down its weather offices in Europe and
sending forecasters to Sembach Annex in Germany to join the Air Force’s
21st Operational Weather Squadron. Navy and Air Force forecasters will
form a joint unit to serve the U.S. European Command’s area of operations,
which stretches from the Azores, south into Africa and as far west as
Turkey. The organization, which will make up the Naval Aviation Forecast
Detachment and 21st Operational Weather Squadron, will provide
meteorological and oceanography data for military units operating in an
area six times the size of the continental United States.
I am saddened to report that Potomac Chapter's Thomas Palmer (Skip)
Cline, 66 of Glen Burnie, MD, died suddenly on Tuesday, September 12,
2006 after suffering a massive heart attack at his home. Skip was very
active with many organizations including NWSA and kept everyone informed
of Naval, weather or retiree (VA) activity via the internet. His daily
messages constituted at least 50% of my home email account traffic. Skip
was a hard charger and he attained the rank of Master Chief within 12
years of joining the Navy. On Thursday, September 21, 2006, his family,
Shipmates, friends, my wife and I attended a Graveside Service with
Military Honors at the Glen Haven Memorial Park, followed by a Memorial
Service at VFW Post 160. In lieu of flowers, memorial donation checks may
be made out to: "Fleet Reserve Association (FRA) Disaster Relief Fund in
memory of Thomas P. Cline, Branch 212” and sent to: FRA, 125 N. West
Street, Alexandria, VA 22314. All donations will be acknowledged.
Peter J Weigand, President NWSA
Source: Aerograph
August 2006
A hearty “WELL DONE” to the Tom and Mary Ann Miovas, members of
the Potomac Chapter, and all who volunteered in the Hospitality Center
(HC), providing a fine NWSA 32nd reunion. Pittsburgh has changed
drastically since I was last here in 1984. With the disappearance of the
big steel and coal industries, the city is very tourist friendly with
plenty of activity and was more than it was advertised to be. Pittsburgh
has an excellent theater district and the Pirates were in town all week.
As always a bunch of camaraderie took place in the HC. Pittsburgh's
exquisite view from the water provided a great atmosphere for the dinner
cruise. It was well worth the trip on the Gateway Clipper. You had to be
there!
At the Banquet we recognized the oldest and youngest members present:
Oldest xAG Vic Milford, USN REL, Youngest AGCM (AW/SW) Michael
Joern, USN.
Members who came the longest and shortest distance: longest LCDR J.
Earl Kerr USN RET, shortest AGCM Tom Miovas, USN RET.
Capt Dave Titley, CNMOC Chief Ops Officer briefed us on the transition to a new chain of command "Commander Fleet Forces Command" in lieu of their N096 Resource Sponsor. In support of this new leadership, CNMOC has reorganized into 9 different directorates that get their products from the two production centers (FNMOC and NAVO). The overall direction is to automate what you can and any CNMOC activity must be value-added. The entire Navy's cost of doing business including rating consolidations are being impacted by this paradigm shift.
We recognized the CNMOC shore and sea sailors of the year. We presented each sailor with a plaque, a NWSA coffee cup, a one year NWSA membership and a $100.00 check. Wish we could do more.
We were all a bit concerned when Chuck White was involved in a car accident last year. He is suffering from deep tissue trauma in his neck and upper back. As chairman of the Finance Committee, Chuck White was instrumental in converting our savings into a higher interest investment. He provided Jim Stone with all the info he needed to get the NWSA back into CDs as opposed to very low interest T-Bills. NWSA agreed to add two alternates in case the Secretary-Treasurer becomes incapacitated during his term. They are the Finance Committee Chair and the NWSA President. Since the Pittsburgh reunion, Chuck has asked for a relief, but as always one of our members stepped up to take the challenge. As of June 22, 2006 CAPT Dave Sokol USN RET has replaced Chuck. Thanks Chuck for your excellent leadership this past year and we wish you a full recovery. Thank you Dave for stepping forward.
As we all know, over the past few years it has been harder and harder for the chapters to volunteer to sponsor a reunion. In Pittsburgh, Tom Miovas set-up a volunteer roster for members to signup for the Hospitality Center duties. We actually had more volunteers than required and I would strongly recommend that we continue this practice. The Reunion Committee is two thirds of the way through their tasking for investigating 2006-2008 reunion sites. This committee has contacted professional reunion businesses and Chamber of Commerce representatives for the 2007 and 2008 reunions. The committee consists of the NWSA President, west coast, east coast, and mid-continental members. Reunion Committee members are West – LCDR J. Earl Kerr, USN RET; East – CDR Marty Nemcosky, USN RET; Mid – AGCS Bill Ziebell, USN RET.
The formation of said committee did not preclude any NWSA chapter from sponsoring a reunion. The NW chapter bid for Everett WA was accepted for next year. The reunion for 2007 will be held at Everett, WA and is being set-up by LCDR J. Earl Kerr of the North-West Chapter. The goal for 2008 is to use a professional reunion planner. AGCS Ziebell is looking into a 2008 mid continent USA reunion in either Minneapolis or Milwaukee area. NE Florida Chapter is considering a 2009 bid but has not formally submitted it to the general membership. Speaking of Everett, WA, block the following dates tomeet in the NW WA, May 15 – 20 2007. Look to the WEB site for more details and the November 2006 Aerograph for the registration form.
Source: Aerograph May 2006
As I sat in front of my keyboard and computer
screen contemplating this early spring, I reflected back on the last year
as your president. It is a pleasure to represent such a fine group of men
and women. I say that sincerely. My pleasure as your president is coming
to an end in a few months, as I write this article in early April 2006. I
would like to share one thing that comes up on my watch at the helm. There
continues to be a great deal of talk about the loss of membership in NWSA.
Some have stated that our members are getting too old to continue on our
present course. There is something in this train of thought. None of
us are getting younger by the day. I refuse to believe that we are getting
so old that we should sit in our easy chairs at home and wait for the
ultimate experience. Something that we all will succumb to, sometime
in the future. If nothing else is true, it is a fact that none of us will
get out of this world alive. If NWSA needs a course correction let us make
that correction. Let us not come to a dead stop in the water. We far too
often talk about the lack of active duty participation in NWSA. Now
ask, “What have I/we done to improve this situation?” The young sailors of
today are indeed a bit different then those of us who are on the outside
now. I believe they are first and foremost sailors, as we all are. I
believe they are AGs, meteorologists, oceanographers, as we all are. I
will guarantee that the camaraderie is as strong today with our young
sailors as it was when you were in their place. The young sailors have
always had some rouble relating to older/retired sailors. I will bet a
donut to a dollar we have more in common than either of us will ever know.
So here is my suggestion! Those of us that live close to a Naval Weather
Office, stop in now and then and say HI. Do a little talking to the active
duty sailor and let them know that we are thinking of them. When the
opportunity presents itself talk a little about NWSA. To our active duty
members, talk to your shipmates and fill them in on this fine organization
you belong to, NWSA. I would like to make a suggestion to the active duty
sailors. Become a life member. The initial out of pocket money may be a
bit much, but in the long run it will pay off in spades. I became a life
member back in 85, that’s 1985. If you do the math, I have made out like a
mink, along with not needing to worry about paying dues each year. It
works! We are an organization worth keeping.
Now onto the fun stuff: As we all know our 32nd annual reunion is just
ahead. It is not too late to make plans to join us in PITTSBURGH, PA. The
program is coming together nicely. If you take a look at the itinerary in
this addition of THE AEROGRAPH you will soon see we have a nice set of
events taking place, colligating in the grand ball Saturday night, June
17, 2006. For those of you that have never been in Pittsburgh, you don’t
know what you are missing. For those of you who remember the days of smoke
stacks and smoky skies have a big surprise coming to you. We have not been
voted in the top 25 most livable cities for nothing! The cost for all this
fun is minimal. Just remember when telling sea stories in the hospitality
room, the first liar never stands a chance.
As discussed above about correcting our course, one of the course
corrections we are trying for our 32nd reunion is how we setup the
reunion. Two other corrections are how do we maintain the hospitality room
and registration desk? On the bottom of the registration form are
two blocks asking for volunteers. An hour here and there would be great.
Don’t worry if you have already sent in your registration form without
placing an X in a box, we will forgive you and be more than happy to
receive your X upon arrival.
For those members that have never attended one of these reunions, you are
cheating yourself out of a great deal of scuttlebutt and friendship. This
is your chance to make up for missing all the fun.
SEE YOU IN PITTSBURGH
AGCM Tom Miovas
President, NWSA
Source: Aerograph
February 2006
Well here is wishing that all had a good
holiday season, and hoping that this year will be better for us all.
Winter started out colder than normal in Pittsburgh. Two days before
Christmas the temperature went up and the rain came down, both are running
above normal now. That has pretty much been the wx scan for the last
month. Oh well!
I am now looking forward to June 2006 reunion, in Pittsburgh, PA. I am
hoping that most of our members are also gearing up for the reunion. Over
the last few years our reunion attendees have been declining. If this
trend continues, in a few years there will be but a few of us holding down
the bridge (hospitality room). I am looking forward to seeing more than a
few friendly faces and a few new ones also.
We will hold our first Executive Board Meeting at 1400 on Wednesday 14
June 2006. One hot topic for the Board will be the distribution of
scholarship funds, on a yearly bases. How much a year? How much to hold in
reserve? This question has been brought to my attention, once again. Some
of our members are concerned if our membership numbers continue to
dwindle; soon we will have few members and a large fund to distribute.
Question, should we began to distribute more per year? Board members
please come armed to answer this question! I am sure that other subjects
will be discussed at the meeting. If possible, I would appreciate if you
would e-mail me anything you would like to bring up at the meeting. If I
receive a listing of subjects, I will have a hand out of said subjects at
the meeting.
Speaking of Board Members, it would be great if we had one member from
each chapter sitting on the board at this reunion.
As a reminder, this reunion is not being run by a chapter. Therefore, we
will need a few volunteers to help run the hospitality room and
registration desk. At the bottom of the registration form is a line for
what you would like to volunteer for. Now I know we were always told not
to volunteer while on active-duty, but remember we are no longer on
active-duty, at least some of us.
See you all in Pittsburgh! It will be fun as always.
Source: Aerograph
November 2005
I sat down to write a little bit of scuttle butt about three weeks ago and then KATRINA took my
mind off of it. When I got back to this scuttle butt, I found it a bit hard to just do small talk. I, like many of you, kept
thinking of what our shipmates, friends, relatives, and members are going through in the after mass of this
great storm. I have also been thinking of our shipmates in the Pensacola area. Let us all remember that
they had a devastating experience with two hurricanes the previous year. It is rather ironic that such devastating
storms should have such a profound effect on so many people that have been in the business of watching such
storms for so many years. I was in contact with several of our shipmates wondering if there is anything we can
or should do to help our shipmates/members as an organization. It was felt that to single out any one or
several ones would be a bit difficult, particularly since so many were affected. I recommend that we/they
contribute to a charity that is aiding those in need. I feel donating to organizations like Navy Relief or NFCU or
any fund that is directly aiding shipmates of ours would be a help. Then there was RITA. We all held our
collective breaths, once again. After RITA was done doing her best to destroy more of the Gulf Coast we all
let go with a sigh of relief. We were thankful that RITA was not as bad as it could have been, even though it will
cost billions of dollars to rebuild. I find the human psyche a bit amazing!
By the time this Aerograph reaches each of us several months will have passed. KATRINA and RITA will be
fading from our conscience minds and we will be concentrating on the upcoming holidays. I am sure by
now the media has moved on to bigger and better or more current story lines also. So therefore let me
remind each of us that our shipmates and fellow country men and woman, in the gulf area, are no doubt still
hurting. Let us keep them in our prayers and reach deep into our pockets and give them a gift of caring this
coming season. Once again, I encourage everyone to donate to a charity that is directly involved with helping
our shipmates. To help in this effort, I am asking that the members in the gulf area send us a few pictures to be
placed on our web site to help remind us of the devastation.
On behalf of the membership, I thank Joe McKinzie for the several years of an outstanding job as the editor of
The Aerograph, a hardy well done! Our new editor
is AGCM Charlie Jordan, USN RET. Charlie is residing in Abilene, TX. Let us give Charlie the support our editors
have become accustomed to.
Our reunion for 2006 will be held at the Holiday Inn Airport, Pittsburgh, PA from June 14 – 17, 2006. The
forms you will need to become familiar with are in The Aerograph.
With the upcoming holidays I wish each of you and our shipmates a reflectful
Thanksgiving, a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Especially to our
members and shipmates in the Gulf Coast area may Thanksgiving be plentiful, Christmas be giving, and may
the New Year bring all of you a brighter future.
Source: Aerograph August 2005
A hearty “WELL DONE” to the
members of the Potomac Chapter and all who
volunteered in the Hospitality Center(HC), providing a fine NWSA 31st reunion. Branson was all it
was advertised to be. Lots of entertainment in Branson,
and a bunch of camaraderie took place in the HC. As always the first liar never stood a chance! The dinner and
show on the Branson Belle cruise was for the dogs. You had to be there! The two Executive Board Meetings
were lively as usual. We who attended the reunion should thank Master Chief Bob Frazier for all the photos
he took. Bob shot several rolls (of film) at the Banquet. Then shortly after the fun ended he went out and had
those developed (double prints) and gave them away to all whom so desired them. At-a-boy Bob!
At the Banquet we recognized the oldest and youngest members present:
oldest LCDR Frank Ivie, USN RET, youngest AGCM
(AW/SW) Michael Joern, USN.
Members who came the longest and shortest distance: longest AGC James S. Black
USN RET, shortest AGC Don Savage, USN RET.
After the food was all gone and the various functions were over, some of the younger members present took the floor for a little light fandango with music provided by a DJ.
We recognized the CNMOC shore and sea sailors of the year and their spouses. We presented each sailor with a plaque and a $100.00 check. Wish we could do more.
The Association recognized CWO4 William Bowers, USN
RET for his many years as the editor of The Aerograph. Bill was presented with a duplicate plaque that The
Association placed on the wall at the Navy Memorial. This was long overdue. Speaking of editors, LCDR Joe
McKinzie, USN RET will gracefully bow out as the Editor of The Aerograph. Joe has been in that demanding
position for the past two years, and his last edition will be August 2005. Joe has followed the tradition of doing a
great job as editor. At-a-boy Joe!
We were all a bit concerned when Joe asked for a relief, but as always one
of our members stepped up to take the challenge. Our Editor as of September 2005 will be AGCM Charles
Jordan, USN RET. As we all know, The AEROGRAPH is the blood line of the Association. Thanks Charlie for
stepping forward.
A little new business. As we all know, over the past few years it has been harder and harder for the chapters to
volunteer to sponsor a reunion. We discussed this continuing dilemma at the First Executive Board Meeting.
It was recommended and approved that a Reunion Committee would be formed. This committee will
contact professional reunion businesses and set up the 2006 and 2007 reunions through these agencies. The
formation of said committee will not preclude any NWSA chapter from sponsoring a reunion. The
committee will consist of the NWSA President, west coast, east coast, and mid-continental member. Reunion
Committee members are West – Capt Dick Ward, USN RET; East – CDR Marty Nemcosky, USN RET; Mid –
AGCS Bill Ziebell. The reunion for 2006 will be held in Pittsburgh, PA. Capt Ward will do his best to set-up a
west coast reunion in 2007. If this new system for reunions is approved AGCS Ziebell will set-up a mid USA
reunion in 2008.
Speaking of Pittsburgh, PA, block the following dates to meet in the Burg, June 14 – 17 2006. We will meet at the
Holiday Inn, Pittsburgh Airport.
Look to the WEB site and the November 2005 Aerograph for registration form.
COME SEE THE SMOKELESS CITY
Tom Miovis
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