 From
the Association President
 Our
third annual reunion was held at the Sandcastle Resort Hotel,
Virginia Beach, VA. The hotel provided a great hospitality room
for our use twenty-four hours a day. Check-in on Sunday was
followed by a reception. Thirty-four shipmates and guests attended
the reception. Captain John Frost, commissioning XO, and
Captain Bill Rentz, CO 74-75, attended the reception. Captain
Rentz also attended the banquet and auction.
Monday tours included a walking tour of Colonial
Williamsburg followed by free time for shopping and lunch and a
visit to Jamestown Island. Enroute to Jamestown Island, we
rode along the scenic Colonial Parkway. Jamestown is the
original site of the first permanent English settlement.
Jamestown was settled in 1607. Archeological digs are
ongoing and were observed by many of our attendees.
Tuesday morning our bus tour included the Norfolk Naval
station and the city of Norfolk. The afternoon tours
included a visit to the National Maritime Center (NAUTICUS) and
the battle ship WISCONSIN (BB-64).
Wednesday September 11 was our free day. Pat
Taylor led a short memorial service at 0900, remembering the
sacrifices made the year before. Many members watched
special TV reports in the hospitality room.
After the ceremony, many of the ladies took advantage
of the time for shopping. Shipmates enjoyed the day fishing,
sightseeing and just relaxing in the hospitality room and catching
up on “sea stories”.
During the business meeting Wednesday evening, it was
decided to have the 2003 reunion with the TIN CAN SAILORS.
The reunion will be in Portland, Oregon August 24-28, 2003. Watch
the web site for further information.
Election results:
President, Chuck Artis
Vice-President, Pat Taylor
Secretary/Treasurer, Jack Maguire
Thursday was a very full day. We visited the General
MacArthur Memorial. The tour begins with a short film on the
General’s career. The memorial includes a museum, gift shop, and
the General’s final resting place. Lunch cruise on the “Spirit
of Norfolk” included a delicious buffet, entertainment, and a
harbor tour. The harbor tour took us along the waterfront
where we saw many sights including numerous NAVY ships at the
Naval Station.
On Thursday evening, the banquet began with the Pledge
of Allegiance led by Chip Chapin, a moment of silence, and reading
of the names of deceased SHIPMATES by Jim Haag. The caterer
provided a sumptuous buffet for our banquet. Captain
Rentz was our speaker for the evening.
Our auctioneer, Pat Taylor, once again, not only
provided great entertainment, but also raised over $1,800 for the
association.
PERSONAL NOTE:
I want to personally thank Tom Weaver for his
leadership and many hours devoted to making this association a
success. From the first day in November 1999 when he and I met in
Las Vegas and scribbled a few notes on a cocktail napkin, he
eagerly began doing what needed to be done to organize our first
reunion. His guidance and contributions contributed
significantly to the development of our association by-laws.
Without the leadership and direction he provided, we would not
enjoy the success we have today. Thanks Tom “BZ”
Chuck Artis |
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