As we ended year 2010, our finances were in decent order; however,  our Membership seems to be in melt down.  We ended the year with 108 Regular Members and 36 Life Members for a total of 144 active members, however, our total of former and now inactive members total a disappointing 547.   We need all Members in Good Standing to step up and become recruiters, bring back former members and sign up new members.  An Association like ours should have a Membership in excess of 1000 as other carriers do.  At our very first reunion at the Lake Wright Resort, Norfolk, Virginia in 1998 we had an attendance of 160, and as the word went out in the Norfolk/Virginia Beach Area, by the time our reunion was over we had a total of 220 Members on board, compared to just 144 fourteen years later.

 

In spite of our low membership, our finances are in fairly good order.  Our half & half drawings at reunions, silent auctions and small profits from the “Pour Your Own Bars” have kept pace with the annual $2000 paid out to Scholarship Winners.   As of January 1, 2010 our bank total at the Naval Federal Credit Union was $12,063.95.  A small profit was realized at the Scottsdale Reunion in October:  Income: $2749.00, Expenses: $968.24, leaving a profit of $1760.76.   The payment of annual dues assists in keeping us solvent.  As our Treasurer, John Wilder is doing a great job in managing our finances.

 

    Those that have attended a reunion prior to Scottsdale know that our Saturday night banquet we always had a speaker with a well know name, e.g., a former Skipper.  At the suggestion of Secretary/Treasurer John Wilder, he recommend a former winner of two Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz Scholarships while a student at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, who was also a combat veteran of Iraq, and just happened to live in the Scottsdale area.  The Board agreed and she was well received at our Saturday night banquet.  To preserve this speech for future members to enjoy, is it printed below for you to read.

 

Reunion 2010, Scottsdale, AZ:  Our Host and Hostess this year were Myrl “Wally” and Sharron Wallace.  They decided in lieu of a laundry list of “structured events”, this was to be our first, and proved to be a very successful, informal reunion.  This was also one of our most inexpensive reunions.  The owner of the huge Resort is an old friend of Wally, and we received the best of the best.  Our rooms were grouped in the back of the resort where we had almost exclusive use of a large pool, sheltered picnic pavilion for “swapping sea stories”, etc. etc.  Our room rate included a “cooked to order” breakfast and a free cocktail hour (more like two hours) adjacent to the Resort’s main swimming pool.  We gathered here everyday at 1700 for fun, frolic, free adult beverages, just getting acquainted again and getting to know first time attendees.  Groups ventured out to see local attractions, and the area is loaded, e.g., Sedona Red Rock Country (one of the most beautiful places in this great country), the Commemorative Air Force (a very large hanger loaded with vintage airplanes from a bi-wing Red Baron of WWI aircraft), a Navy F-4 and others, WWII bombers, etc., the Grand Canyon, Apache Trail and many others.  Our Saturday night banquet was a real hit.  

 

Attendees.  Myrl and Sharron Wallace (our Host and Hostess),  Ed and Phyllis Deats (our newly elected President),  Dave and Carol Wood (our Scholarship Chairman and Spouses Advocate), Rich and Eileen Galecki (our highly touted Five Star News Editor),  Ray and Patti Bigelow (our outgoing President), John Wilder (our Secretary/ Treasurer), Father Peter Norris (our always present Chaplain), Joe Murphy (our newly elected Vice President/Public Affairs Officer) Andy and Kaye Lewallen (our Host and Hostess for our 2013 Reunion, Savannah, GA),  John and Sonia Correira (wedded at the Reunion by Father Peter),  Henry and Rhonda Byrnside (attendants to the Bride and Groom), Frank Reusche, Timothy and Kathleen Gildea, Michael Hoover, Stephen Crabtree, Scotts Patterson and Father-in-Law Ronald Davis, Jim Disney, Leo and Dana Mrozek and your humble Historian Bill and Carolyn Paschall.

 

 

“Freedom has a flavor that the protected will never know.”

By Megan Welter, 1LT, USAR

 

“It is such an honor to speak in front of you. My Granddaddy [Bill Paschall] told me that you usually have retired Admirals speak at these reunions, so I am truly humbled and blessed. I want to...thank you all for the two Scholarships you awarded me... These scholarships paid for my books for three years and helped me move into my first apartment my freshman year of college. Not only do I thank you, but my father does as well!  Like my grandfather said, after graduating I decided to join the military and serve as an officer.  Coming from a Navy family I initially wanted to join the Navy.  I went to basic training in Fort Jackson, SC and then two days later after graduation started Officer Candidate School...in wonderful Ft. Benning, commissioned a 2LT on 26 April 2007. My father read me the Oath of Office and I was fortunate enough to have my Grandfather there too.  After OCS I went to the Officer Basic Course II in Fort Sill, OK. I then went on to the Signal Officer Basic Course where I was branched a Signal Officer.  From there I received orders to the 11th Signal Brigade out of Fort Huachuca, AZ and deployed to Balad, Iraq in December 2007 with the 40th Signal Battalion. During my deployment I was the Network Infrastructure Officer in Charge on Joint Base Balad. We had the most advanced strategic network ever in the history of war. I like to tell everyone we were like the “Bell South or Comcast” of Iraq. We provided unclassified and classified phones and internet to the largest logistics base in Iraq. We had an attack almost every day...some days were worse than others and we had some close calls with buildings we were working in getting hit. I was blessed to bring every one of my soldiers home though.  I returned home from Iraq in March 2009. The tactical signal equipment the army has now enables us to deploy anywhere in the world and provide phone and internet services to the war fighter. Unlike my mission in Iraq, my soldiers now had transportable satellite systems that ran off of generator power. I decided to leave Active Duty Army in early 2010 and try my luck as a civilian. I signed to be an army reservist and to my surprise it is a lot more work than I ever thought. I am now the Headquarters and Headquarters Company Commander in a Signal Battalion here in Mesa. I love being a company commander and to be able to do what I do best… lead Soldiers. I will be on full time orders all of 2011 as the Officer in Charge of our Battalion equipment fielding.  For me, the military gives us a sense of pride. General MacArthur said it best in three words during his speech to West Point Graduates in 1962:  “Duty, Honor, Country.”  Those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be. They are your rallying points: to build courage when courage seems to fail; to regain faith when there seems to be little cause for faith; to create hope when hope becomes forlorn.”  The military also gives us camaraderie and a bond of undergoing hardships, pain, and without. There’s a saying that says,  “For those who fight to protect it, freedom has a flavor that the protected will never know.”  It is up to us, as veterans and service members to remind Americans of the freedoms they have. To remind them not to take what they have for granted and to appreciate the life, liberty and justice given to them at birth. It is up to us to remain humbled yet proud, a role model but not a celebrity, disciplined and committed to standing up for what is right and what we have fought for. I salute you all and all the veterans who have fought to protect our freedoms and the many men, women and close friends of mine that are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan now. God Bless and God Bless America. “   Thank you.

 

A Tour of Duty Ends.  Shipmate Raymond “BIGS” Bigelow completed his term as President and gave up the helm after doing a great job during his Presidency.   He stated that 2010 was a very busy and trying year, although not a lot was accomplished in growing the Association.  Between January 1st and the first day of our Scottsdale Reunion (October 16th), he received and answered a total of 482 e-mails in conjunction with his job as President of the Association.  We all owe BIGS a pat on the back for his efforts in keeping us “Steaming as Before,” and we look forward to his and Patti’s continued contributions to make us grow and be the best of the best in carrier associations.

 

The Tailhook Convention.  Ed Deats, our newly elected President at the Scottsdale Reunion, along with our newly elected Vice President/Public Affairs Officer Joe Murphy attended the annual Tailhook Convention in Reno, Nevada 9-12 November.  The only other carrier organization present was the USS Ranger Foundation; however, only the Nimitz Association actively recruited new members and were successful in bringing seven new members on board, including an Air Force Officer that made 20 traps on Nimitz in 2005.  Ed stated that many individuals visited the Nimitz Association Booth to talk about Nimitz and many young pilots, not yet graduated from flight school, stating they were looking forward to their first “trap” on the Nimitz Flight Deck.   In his talk with your humble Historian, Ed indicated he was very proud to have been elected Association President and stated….”The only wisdom I can pass is that I will uphold the office of Association President to the best of my abilities!”   I can state without reservation that Ed will indeed do that and he and wife Phyllis been two of our strongest members since we came into being.

 

Webmaster.  Our erstwhile Webmaster Leo Mrozek rolled out a “new look” to our web site in 2010, with some major improvement that should make it the number one web site of any military Association on the World Wide Web.  The site has found a “new home” on a server and Leo has taken over full control.   Leo has combined all facets of the database and recommends that the Special Assistant, Database Administrator be eliminated and included in the next change to the Association Constitution and By-Laws.  The Association owes Leo a large “Atta-Boy” for his hard work on behalf of the Association, and likely saved us thousands of dollars for a site that could not have afforded.

 

Our Ladies.  Carol Wood, our Spouses Advocate, had a very busy year participating in a constant stream of

e-mails to and from the wonderful ladies of our Association that complement the Association and keep us steaming ahead.  Some e-mails consisted of prayer chains regarding our military and up-to-date health issues regarding Association families and other events in their lives.  Six months prior to the beginning of the Scottsdale Reunion, Carol hit the air ways with e-mails encouraging Reunion attendance, and asking them to reach out to other Nimitz families and encourage them to attend.  At the Reunion, Association ladies threw a bridal shower for Sonia prior to her wedding later on at the Reunion to Shipmate John Correira, officiated by our own Chaplain Father Peter Norris, and conducted at a local Catholic Church.  The ladies presented Sonia with a Creative Memories Photo Album with all the accoutrements, plus a reception after the wedding, including a wedding cake.  John and Sonia are two of our strongest supporters.  I received an e-mail from John after we all returned home indicating that the Association was his and Sonia’s Family, and I could not agree more.  Sonia is the life of the party at every Reunion.

 

Scholarship.  Dave Wood, Chairman of our Scholarship Committee stated that 2010 was a very successful year with regard to the scholarship program, and thanks every Association Member who contributed to the program.  He indicated we had two outstanding candidates (where we should have at least 10 or more to enhance competition).  The selection process is conducted in total secret.  The name of each candidate’s application package is removed and an arbitrary number assigned to ensure there can be no conflict of interest in the selection process.  The candidates were Eric Kelsey from Peru, Indiana and Hannah Hudson from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania.  The Winner of the 2010 Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz Scholarship was Hannah Hudson.  Hannah will be attending the California University in Pennsylvania where she will major in English with a concentration in Literature.  She will be receiving the scholarship award of $2000 to assist in her educational endeavors.  Hannah’s winning essay follows:

 

“In my mind, the word patriotism makes me envision myself as a young child surround by food, family and fireworks. We would all go up to a park near where I lived (along with everyone else in the neighborhood) and have the best picnic of the summer. There was nothing better than watching fireworks explode in the night sky while eating red, white and blue snow cones. I treasured these moments dearly, but I never once thought to question the meaning behind what we were celebrating.  Now that I am older and have cousins and uncles fighting over seas, it is obvious that the reason for celebration is our freedom. America is the great country it is today because of the men and women that fight to keep us free. Our traditional celebration on patriotic holidays has a much deeper meaning than my childhood memories. We celebrate to show that we are thankful for everything we have fought hard to gain. American is a great country filled with opportunity and freedom. I am proud to say that I live in a land with so many opportunities that I can be who ever I want and have any career I choose.  Next Fourth of July, instead of just watching fireworks, I will be sure to think of how far this amazing country has come.”

 

The topic of discussion as we wrapped up Reunion 2010 in Scottsdale, Arizona was getting together again 26-29 October 2011 in Pensacola to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Naval Aviation.   Many of our Members will be visiting the National Naval Air Museum for the very first time.  Our Saturday night banquet (29 October) will be held in the Museum Atrium, surrounded on two sides with 5 story high glass windows, with four Navy A4s painted in the Blue Angles traditional colors of Navy Blue and Gold suspended from the over head.  We will be honored to have New York Times best selling author Stephen Coonts as guest speaker.   Stephen served in NIMITZ as Landing Signals and Catapult Officer.  The majority of his books center around Navy Officer Jack Grafton, and every one is a page turner of mystery and adventure.

 

Our quarters are reserved, and it is our hope that every suite (75 reserved) will be taken and we will have to add more.   A lot of activities are being planned and it is hoped that this will be our largest attended reunion since our inception.