NWSA President

From Don Cruz: "We seriously require a relief NWSA Historian. My relocation to Ashby Ponds retirement community is being > delayed by turnover requirements."

From J. E. Kerr: "We all wish Don a graceful withdrawal from being the Historian. Surely someone can pick up where he left off and can continue with the good work of our past!"

Source: Aerograph, February, 2010

Reunion 36 will not only be an opportunity for us to see and visit with shipmates, past and present; there will be some definite opportunities to adjust our organization. There is activity going on to make changes to NWSA so that the programs that have been in existence for many years will continue into the future.

First, Don Cruse will present a change to the By-laws to restore having the “New” President take over at the second Executive Meeting. This will give the new person an opportunity to get important new committees appointments filled without having to resort to having to using “E” mail and the Aerograph.

Next, there will be a discussion and hopefully resolution to a proposed change to the By-laws where by our current Scholarship fund will be transferred to a reputable organization, to continue the goal of promoting Environment Science, when NWSA is no longer viable. Currently, all funds are slated to be transferred to Navy Relief upon termination of NWSA. There can be no question as to the how well Navy Relief has provided support to needy Navy families through the years. However, most of the money going into our Scholarship fund is for a specific purpose. There are at least three organizations, Navy Institute, American Meteorological Society and Military Officers Association who can set up Scholarships in our name and with the same objective of promoting Science. Getting agreement on which way to proceed would be a noble goal of the Dallas Reunion.

Mike Gilroy has asked that each chapter have people who can give the scholarship committee a hand for applications within the chapter’s sphere of influence. Given the territory to be covered, it would of course be great if there were individual volunteers from some of the less populated areas within these United States .

Lastly, the Lone Star Chapter is busy working on the Dallas Reunion. This year there are three different registrations required – the DFW Wyndham Airport North hotel, the Military Reunion Planners for events and the Lone Star Chapter beverage tickets and the like. Most events require a minimum number of participants and thus registration for your preferences would be most welcome in order to insure that there is sufficient number to actually hold the event. A whole section of this Volume is devoted to the Reunion . It is time to contact all your acquaintances, whether they are NWSA members or not, and get a commitment for all to attend Reunion 36.

Thanks – Earl Kerr

Source: Aerograph, November 2009

We still have no volunteers for the Historian, which must be considered to be one of our more important responsibilities. Don is moving to a smaller household and he has certainly has earned this a second retirement. It would be a shame to have all his work boxed up and just put in some musty storage room. If anyone is interested or knows of someone who may like to have such a responsibility, then please do forward the name. At Dallas we will be discussing a number of changes but one very important topic will be what to do with the scholarship fund when we are no longer a viable organization. Other “senior” groups have had to face this problem and there are a number of long haul organizations that will continue to provide scholarships in our name long after we can no longer have a reunion. We also want to change the effective time to turn over the Presidency so that the new president will take charge over the second Executive Board meeting. Thus the new person could get started on whatever agenda that need immediate attention before everyone departs the respective reunion.

The cost of sending out the list of Navy Weather Service folks is increasing and we must look at ways to reduce those costs. One concept being talked about is to divide up the name list into regions and have communication literate people go down their respective lists to either verify the data or eliminate the entry. Libby has done a lot of work on the non-member lists and so dividing up the lists would be within the realm of possibility. Libby has done a lot of work with our finances and we are at this time in very good fiscal shape.

For a many of us this will be our last trip to Texas . Some of us will be making a stop in San Antonio after the reunion. For those of you, who may be interested, please contact me when you have the opportunity so that we can stay in the same lodging.

The most important item for this the November printing is to get the word out to the many non-members about both joining NWSA and/or attending the Reunion in Dallas . It is a real concern that many do not want to join NWSA. However, attending the reunion could be a real opportunity to meet former shipmates and others with whom they may have know for many years. There will be more information on the reunion in this publication. It is suggested that each of us try to include the Dallas data in our customary Christmas Letters in an attempt to maximize our attendance. The Lone Star Chapter has put a lot effort into making Reunion #36 a major event. Please do contact all your prospective former Weather Service type and urge them to plan on attending. Best of wishes to you all for the upcoming holidays.

Well we have returned from Reunion 35 and what a grand event it was. We want to thank all the Jacksonville folks but in particular the Johnson’s and the Corbett’s who put so much effort into making their reunion the success that it was. The singing ladies performed admirably at the banquet and were again effective in making a significant increase in 50/50 ticket sales.

One can’t say anything good about the weather in Jacksonville but neither our spirits nor the golf game were dampened by the rain. One of the notable things taking place at Reunion 35 was the verification that our finances are in good hands and that Libby O’Brien had the fiscal records in excellent condition for the annual audit. Bill Bowers made it clear that our Non-Profit status filing with the IRS will be done by Libby and will include all the chapters under a single filing. Much discussion was devoted to the cost of printing the Aerograph and postage. You are asked to contact Libby about receiving the publication via “E” mail for those of you who are on line in order to minimize the cost of postage. There were only two Scholarships presented and accepted this year. We hold some $180K in the Scholarship fund and the organization can sustain an annual payout of $10K for the foreseeable future. In this regard our current By-Laws state that upon the demise of NWSA, all remaining funds will be sent to the Navy Relief. While there is merit for such distribution, it remains that the majority of the Scholarship fund donors would probably consider such a dispersal as fraudulent. There are a number of other Scholarship funds for Meteorology/Oceanography that will no doubt exist way into the future. When we are in Dallas , we will discuss a change to the By-Laws, to transfer our scholarship funds to one or more of these organizations upon the disestablishment of NWSA. We have some changes to our Committees and were most pleased that Mahlon Trenz agreed to stay on as the Webmaster. The positions of Historian, Chaplin and Master-at-Arms all need volunteers before we meet in Dallas .

The question of a name change is now pretty well off the table as most people agree with Master Chief Burton that changing our name now would have no positive effect on our declining membership. There was much discussion, as there usually is, regarding how each of us can make an effort to get the word out to those former Naval Weather Service personnel who have not shown an interest in joining NWSA. The sands of time are running out and the “Remembrance” notices in the Aerograph are beginning to rival the remainder of each edition. What I have found when making calls to folks is that medical problems with either the member or the spouse are becoming increasingly frequent and thus preventing both from attending a reunion. Still there are many things each of us can do to encourage our shipmates to join NWSA. One other new item that will be addressed at Dallas will be when a “New” President shall take the reign. In the beginning, the change over was after the election so that the New President would conduct the second Executive Board meeting. The current practice of waiting until the banquet to make the change puts the New President at some disadvantage and has to resort to using the Aerograph and “E” mails to get new volunteers and such. The restoration of the original Presidential turn over will be presented in Dallas by Don Cruse.

The Dallas reunion will take place, April 28^th to May 2’d 2010 at the DFW Wyndham – see the Reunion article for details. The Lone Star Chapter has been very effective in locating former NWS people within their region to support NWSA and attend their reunion. We all owe it to them to get the word out to the people we know or have served with to join us in Dallas and make Reunion 36 an event to remember. Thanks to all – Earl Kerr

May, 2009

I have a little over one month left as President of NWSA, but in the short five months of my term, we have accomplished quite a bit. Our new Secretary/Treasurer has been working hard at bringing our books up to date, renewing CDs, and updating the Bellinger List. Libby O’Brien has been a blessing in disguise. She has been and will continue to be a great asset to the association.

We had a new member volunteer to serve on the Scholarship Committee, and we are looking for one more person to serve on that committee beginning at the completion of Reunion #35. AGCM Pat O’Brien had agreed to serve an extra year and will be stepping down after this reunion. So don’t be bashful, it is a very rewarding position helping bright young scholars attain their ambition of higher education. Notify me that you will be happy to serve on the Scholarship Committee.

Several members have answered the call to help us clean up the Bellinger List, but we still have a long way to go. I encourage all of you to check both the member and non-member lists and send me any changes that we need to make to bring the B-List up to date.

I want to thank Earl & Lynne Kerr and Pat & Libby O’Brien for making Jacksonville a side trip on the spring vacations to talk to Bobby Johnson of the Southeast Chapter and provide their assistance/advice on reunion planning. We appreciate their efforts to help make #35 a success.

We are also looking for ways to increase our membership and need any suggestions that will help us to this. Lloyd Corbett of the Southeast Chapter submitted recommendations that will be looked at during the Executive Board meetings in Jacksonville. We need concerned members like Lloyd to help the association officers and boards in their duties.

You might have noticed some problems in the past with our WEB Site. AGC Mahlon Trenz has agreed to continue to be our Webmaster and has made some changes to update and improve the site. I want to thank Mahlon for his desire to keep the site up-to-date and viable.

If you receive this issue by mail it is probably too late to encourage you to attend Reunion #35 in Jacksonville. But if you receive it via email – I strongly encourage you to join us for a good time and help us keep the association moving forward. There will be a special ceremony on Sunday mornings to celebrate and remember our members who have gone on before us.

I thank you for the opportunity to serve as your president for the past six months. I hope I have done the association well, and will continue to serve when and wherever I can.

Here we are half way through my tenure and I am happy to say that everything is going well.

In my last article the first order of business was the transfer of the Secretary/Treasurer’s responsibilities from Jim Stone to Libby O’Brien. I am happy to say that Libby jumped in with both feet and is doing an excellent job of getting our financial records in order. She has been working closely with the Finance Committee to ensure that our assets are being managed in accordance with NWSA policies.

In the administrative area, we need your help in making sure the Aerograph is as up-to-date as possible. I would like each member to go through the member and non-member sections of Bellinger List and let me know of any changes that should be made to bring the list up to date. I personally know of several changes that need to be made. Getting started on this now will give us plenty of time to make the changes before the November 2009 edition. Please email any information you have to me.

I mentioned that there was a lot of correspondence circulating about filing 990 tax forms with the IRS. Libby O’Brien sent me correspondence from the IRS that said in our filing status, subordinate groups of the organization did not have to file if they earned $25,000 or less in the filing period. Our Secretary/Treasurer files a 990 tax form that includes all our chapters. Since our fiscal year does not end till June 30, the report is not filed till that date. I sent an email to each chapter asking for specific information so the filing data can be updated to keep our records straight. If you haven’t responded to my email, please do so as soon as possible so I can inform our Secretary/Treasurer of any changes we need to make.

I also asked for a volunteer to serve on the Scholarship Committee. I am pleased to say the Ed Frandle, a new member in the Southeast Chapter, has answered the call and will serve for the next three years.

Enough business, now for some fun stuff. Reunion - #35 is just around the corner. The Southeast Chapter has been hard at work to make this a memorable affair. I have been privy to correspondence that Obie and Libby O’Brien and Earl and Lynne Kerr will be travelling in March and have offered to meet with Bob Johnson and the reunion committee in Jacksonville during their vacation time to extend their knowledge of putting on a reunion. This is the kind of support and friendship that makes the Naval Weather Service Association an organization to be proud of.

Now is the time to make your reservations for the reunion. I look forward to seeing ya’ll there.