Navy League
Names its Outstanding Councils for 2003
By Peter E. Atkinson
Deputy Editor
Ten Councils Cited As ‘Outstanding,’
14 Others Earn ‘Meritorious,’ ‘Honorable’ Nods
The Navy League’s Council Awards Committee has selected 10 councils
as “Outstanding Councils” for 2003. Ten other councils were
chosen as “Meritorious Councils,” with four others given “Honorable
Mentions.”
Awards are given based on a review of council annual reports, which are
due in by March 1, and other documentation. Committee members grade council
activities — community education, legislative affairs, working with
local sea-service units and personnel, membership recruitment and retention,
youth activities and work with Sea Cadet programs, establishing relationships
with local businesses and industry — performed on behalf of the
Navy League throughout the previous year.
“I congratulate this year’s outstanding councils for their
achievements,” said Navy League National President Sheila M. McNeill.
“Their list of accomplishments on behalf of the Navy League’s
mission of education and support for the sea services is truly impressive,
as are their inventive and engaging programs and activities.
“I applaud all of the Navy League councils for their work. They
continue to be a vital link to the public and the sea services. Across
the country, and around the world, they are the foundation upon which
we build and the key to our success.”
The selected councils will receive plaques and recognition at the Navy
League National Convention in San Diego. The following councils (presidents’
names are in parentheses) were selected:
Outstanding Council
National Capital, Washington, D.C. (Mack C. Gaston); Hampton Roads,
Va. (Owen B. Pickett); Seattle (Thomas E. Jaffa); San Diego County Women
(Sandra Berman); Savannah, Ga. (Hugh L. Robinson); Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
(Larry Koontz); San Diego (John A. Pettitt); Newport County, R.I. (Shirley
A. Hill); Oak Harbor, Wash. (Beth M. Munns); Golden Isles, Ga. (Hubert
W. Lang III).
Meritorious Council
Mayport, Fla. (Robert Lowenthal); Richmond, Va. (Joseph A. Moschetti);
Lake Washington, Wash. (Roger W. Ponto); Massachusetts Bay, Mass. (Irving
X. Gorman); Clearwater, Fla. (Joseph J. Daigneault Jr.); Annapolis, Md.
(James F. Morgan); Hilton Head Island, S.C. (James W. Smith); Stockton,
Calif. (James R. Dyke); Monterey Peninsula, Calif. (Clarence L. Lambing);
Broward County, Fla. (Don S. Bannister).
Honorable Mention
Alameda, Calif. (Barbara A. Price); Bakersfield, Calif. (Catherine A.
Hansen); Charleston, S.C. (William E. Cook Jr.); Placer County, Calif.
(David W. Giblin).
The Outstanding Council awards will be presented during the convention’s
opening ceremony June 9. The Meritorious and Honorable Mention councils
will be recognized at a ceremony later in the convention, when membership
sponsor (top recruiters), public affairs and Sea Cadets awards also are
presented.
Mariners Salute Navy League; Local Councils
Celebrate Naval Station Everett’s 10th
It was a busy 24 hours for Navy Leaguers from the Puget Sound area of
Washington in early April.
The Navy League was recognized and featured during the Seattle Mariners’
“Salute to Armed Forces Night,” April 7, at Safeco Field.
The activities took place prior to the Mariners’ second home game
of the season, against the Anaheim Angels, and before more than 35,000
fans, plus the local television audience, according to Lake Washington
Council President Roger W. Ponto.
Ponto, Seattle Council President Thomas E. Jaffa and Navy League Area
President Ron Testa participated in the event, which included on-field
introduction of all three and special salute to the Navy League on the
stadium’s Diamond-Vision screen.
The next day, Navy Leaguers from the Seattle, Lake Washington and Everett
Councils took part in the 10th anniversary celebration for Naval Station
Everett. President James Sketchley and National Director Niles Fowler
from the Everett Council, Ponto and National Director John Lockwood from
Lake Washington, and Jaffa from Seattle were in attendance.
The April 8 anniversary luncheon featured Assistant Secretary of the
Navy Dionel M. Aviles as guest speaker, with remarks from Washington Gov.
Gary Locke, U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., and Everett Mayor Ray Stephanson.
The program included recognition of the naval station “plank owners”
who were responsible for building the base by former Commanding Officer
Rear Adm. Annette Brown, presentation of a commemorative anniversary coin
by Mayor Stephanson, and presentation of an anniversary memory book by
Steve Gilmore, chairman of the Everett Area Chamber of Commerce.
“It was a great program — and I was delighted to be on hand
to represent the Navy League of the U.S.,” said Jaffa in a note
to Capt. Dan Squires, the naval station’s current commanding officer.
“Your attendance at both Everett Council and Seattle Council events
is greatly appreciated. … Your presence always helps in my efforts
to generate enthusiasm.”
Sacramento Council Hails Namesake Ship For 40
Years of Service
The Sacramento, Calif., Council saluted the ship that carries the capital
city’s namesake on the anniversary of its 40th year of service in
March. The USS Sacramento, an adopted ship of the council, is the fourth
oldest ship in the fleet. The lead ship of the Sacramento class, it was
the first ship in the Navy to combine the functions of three logistic
support ships — fleet oiler, ammunition ship and refrigerated stores
ship — in one hull.
On March 18, while the ship was underway, Commanding Officer Capt. Mike
Manizir led the officers and crew in an anniversary celebration in the
ship’s mess decks, according to Phelps Hobart, Sacramento Council
vice president of public/military affairs.
Three resolutions were mailed to the ship and commended the Sacramento,
its officers and crew for its service to the nation and the cause of freedom,
Hobart said. The resolutions were from the California State Assembly/Senate,
drafted by Sacramento County’s three state Senators and three Assembly
Members; Sacramento City Council, signed by Mayor Heather Fargo and the
eight other council members; and the Sacramento Council, signed by President
Barry Whittlesey.
The council resolution stated simply: “Whereas for 40 years our
‘adopted unit,’ the USS Sacramento, has admirably performed
all assigned tasks, the Sacramento Council, Navy League of the United
States, hereby commends her officers and crew! Bravo Zulu.”
“The resolutions were very well received and are now hanging proudly
on our mess decks for all to view,” said Command Master Chief Lloyd
Long. “We sincerely appreciate the camaraderie with the city of
Sacramento and the Navy League of Sacramento.”
The Sacramento’s 40th year of service will be its last as the ship,
which is homeported at Bremerton Naval Station, is scheduled for decommissioning
in October.
Mayport Council Honors CG Person of the Year
Rear Adm. Jay Carmichael was guest speaker at the April dinner meeting
of the Mayport, Fla., Council, April 15, a fitting occasion as it was
the evening when the council honored its “Coast Guard Person of
the Year,” Second Class Storekeeper Leanna J. Beard.
Dick O’Rourke, the council’s Coast Guard liaison, presented
Beard with a plaque to commemorate the occasion. Beard had been selected
to represent U.S. Coast Guard Group Mayport as “Enlisted Person
of the Year for 2003” and was nominated to compete as “U.S.
Coast Guard District Seven’s Enlisted Person of the Year,”
according to Mayport Council publicity chairwoman Pat Pumphrey.
Beard has been assigned to Coast Guard Group Mayport since January 2000,
previously having served aboard USCGC Polar Sea in Seattle and at Coast
Guard Air Station Clearwater, Fla. She is due for transfer to the USCGC
Maria Bray in June. Her husband, James B. Beard, also is active duty Coast
Guard, stationed at Coast Guard Maritime Safety and Security Team 911-08
in St. Mary’s, Ga.
Lake Washington Council, USCGC Healy Trade Visits
The Lake Washington, Wash., Council and its adopted ship, USCGC Healy,
traded visits recently while the ship was in port preparing for a six-month
deployment to the Arctic. Healy officers and crew joined the council at
the third annual “Honor the Healy” dinner meeting March 10.
The council hosted 28 Healy crewmembers and spouses at the dinner, said
council President Roger W. Ponto. All of the ship’s commanding officers
also were in attendance — original CO Rear Adm. Jeffery Garrett;
retired Coast Guard Capt. David Visneski, immediate past CO and a life
member of Lake Washington Council; and the current CO, Capt. Dan Oliver.
Garrett was guest speaker at the event. The Healy was commissioned in
August 2000, just a few months prior to the council’s chartering
on Jan. 1, 2001. It adopted the ship in December 2001.
On April 3, more than 50 council members and guests participated in an
all-day Puget Sound cruise aboard the Arctic research vessel, according
to Ponto. Among the guests were 10 Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training
Corps cadets from Liberty High School in Renton, Wash., another adopted
unit of the council.
The cruise covered much of the length of Puget Sound, from Port Angeles
at the Northwestern part of Puget Sound to the Coast Guard Base at Seattle,
Ponto said. During much of the cruise, dolphins rode the bow wave.
The 420-foot Healy, the longest cutter in the Coast Guard fleet, is homeported
in Seattle. The ship was set to embark on its Arctic deployment at the
end of April.
Hampton Roads Council Dedicates Week to Honor
2004 Sailors of the Year
The Hampton Roads, Va., Council dedicated a week in mid-April to pay
tribute to the U.S. Atlantic Fleet Sea and Shore “Sailors of the
Year” for 2004. On April 19, the Sailor of the Year candidates and
their spouses received a welcome reception hosted by the community and
corporate sponsors. A luncheon for spouses as well as evening social events
were held during the week, according to council Executive Director Mary
Ellen Baldwin, while candidates underwent final interviews and panel evaluations.
The week culminated April 22 with the “Sailor of the Year Banquet,”
where the selections were announced by Adm. William J. Fallon, Commander,
U.S. Fleet Forces Command, to a Navy League audience of 350 at the Sheraton
Oceanfront Hotel in Virginia Beach.
The “2004 Sea Sailor of the Year” is Petty Officer 1st Class
Charles S. Bryant, an aviation ordnanceman assigned to Explosive Ordnance
Disposal Mobile Unit 2 at the Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base. Bryant
will be advanced to the next pay grade as a result of the honor and serve
a two-year tour as the special assistant to the Fleet Master Chief.
The “2004 Shore Sailor of the Year” is Petty Officer 1st
Class William J. Volk, an aviation warfare systems operator assigned to
the Joint Maritime Facility, St. Mawgan, near Cornwall, United Kingdom.
He traveled to Virginia Beach for the presentation. Volk also will advance
to the next pay grade, and continue on to the “Chief of Naval Operations
Shore Sailor of the Year” competition in Washington, D.C., May 24-28.
The “Sailor of the Year” program recognizes the best all-around
sailor from the E-4, E-5, and E-6 pay grades. Sustained superior performance,
type of duty, leadership, self-improvement, personal appearance, and command
and community involvement are all key factors of the selection process.
Short Bursts
John Kaljee was honored recently for his nearly half-century of service
as an artist and designer with the Navy League, Sea Power magazine and
the Almanac of Sea Power. He received a letter of appreciation from Navy
League National President Sheila M. McNeill April 5 prior to the Sea-Air-Space
(SAS) Exposition in Washington, D.C. The letter was signed by Secretary
of the Navy Gordon R. England, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Vern Clark
and Commandant of the Marine Corps Michael W. Hagee.
The letter of appreciation was presented in a framed plaque that included
a Sea Power magazine cover that was one of the many to feature Kaljee’s
original paintings. Kaljee’s contributions to Sea Power date back
to Vol. 1, No. 1, in 1958. A partner in the firm Artwork Unlimited for
35 years, he became a full-time member of the Navy League staff in 1987.
Kaljee’s artwork has graced many Navy League publications and posters
for SAS. He retired in December from his post as art director of Sea Power.
The USS Carney has been making the rounds around Florida recently, taking
part in a number of Navy League council events along the way. Most recently,
the Daytona Council held a lunch to introduce the Arleigh Burke-class
ship’s new captain, Cmdr. Joe Chiaravallotti April 8. Chiaravallotti
and executive officer, Lt. Cmdr. Sam Hancock were welcomed by council
President Phil Harman and a contingent of council members. The Carney
is the Daytona Council’s adopted ship.
The ship played host to the Clearwater, Sarasota and Tampa Councils,
along with crew from the USS Taylor, at a reception while the ships were
in port in Tampa March 2-5. Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio welcomed both ships
with keys to the city, after which she was given a Tampa Council Presidential
Coin by President Skip Witunski. Several months earlier, Fort Lauderdale
Council members were on hand to greet and visit the Carney when the ship
and USCGC Gannet escorted the Queen Mary 2 into port at Port Everglades.
Items for “Council Digest” should be sent to:
Peter E. Atkinson
Sea Power/Navy League News
2300 Wilson Blvd.
Arlington, VA 22201-3308
E-mail: patkinson@navyleague.org
Council news items and photos (prints or high-resolution jpegs) are not
returnable and will be published at the editors’ discretion. |
