Puerto Vallarta Rolls Out Welcome Mat At Mexico, Caribbean Regional Meeting

By PETER ATKINSON, Deputy Editor

Programs Focus On Building Relations With Local Community

The Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, Council played host to Navy Leaguers from Mexico and the Caribbean Feb. 18-19 during the region’s annual meeting. The two-day program focused on the common idea that local Navy Leagues should continue leading the way in building productive relationships within the community, according to council member Peter Gray.

To that end, 25 local nonprofit, charitable organizations were invited to share in a seminar on improved management skills on the first meeting day. Those in attendance included representatives from the International Friendship Club, Salvation Army, New Life Mexico, Make-A-Wish, Vallarta Contra SIDA and others. The subjects tackled were all designed to help nonprofit organizations become more effective and included discussions on how to achieve better leadership, how to run more efficient meetings, the art of delegation, making effective presentations and strategic planning.

William Waylett, the Navy League’s regional activities director, and St. Maarten Council member Dr. Jackson Stevens, a retired college professor and consultant who serves on the Navy League’s Strategic Planning Committee, led the discussion.

On the second day, an interactive workshop explored ways Navy League councils could expand their service to the Navy and the community. This part of the program was led by Navy League National Directors Carol Ann and Cole Hackley from Stockton, Calif.

Adm. Jose Luis Betancourt, commander of the Navy’s Southwest District, gave the keynote address at the conference, providing insight into how the U.S. Navy is responding to the challenges of the post-9/11 world. The Puerto Vallarta Council relies heavily on the San Diego Naval Base for assistance in moving donated supplies to Puerto Vallarta for distribution to local hospitals, schools, orphanages and organizations such as those helping the disabled, according to Gray.

Supporting the event were Adms. Mariano Saynez and Juan Ignacio Brahms of the Mexican Navy, which plays an important role in enabling the smooth receipt of shipments from San Diego. Also participating was Capt. Eric Nelson, naval attaché at the American Embassy in Mexico City. He is a key figure in coordinating ship movements with the local Navy League, Gray said.

At the end of the first day, the President of Navy League Mexico, Jerry Lafferty, and his wife Ann, hosted a dinner party at their home for around 175 guests, including visiting Navy Leaguers from Acapulco, Mexico City, Chapala and the United States.

On the final evening, the Mexican Naval Base hosted a “Hawaiian Luau.” Everyone came together just to have a good time, Gray said.

Nine women from the local “hula school” put on a display of Hawaiian dancing and — as is customary — invited several men to join them on stage to compete for the “best dancer” title.

The recently elected President of the Puerto Vallarta Navy League Council, Jeff Miltenberger, presented special merit plaques to Adm. Brahms and all personnel of the Navy base for the armada’s support of the Navy League and Toys for Tots.

Rome Navy Leaguers Welcome Mount Whitney, New Skipper to Italy

More than a dozen Navy Leaguers from the Rome Council were treated to a day of pomp and ceremony Feb. 25 aboard the Military Sealift Command ship USS Mount Whitney and amphibious transport dock ship USS La Salle as change of command and change of flagship ceremonies were held in Gaeta, Italy.

The La Salle was relieved by the Mount Whitney as the command ship for Commander Sixth Fleet/Commander Joint Command, Lisbon, and NATO Striking Fleet. Vice Adm. Harry Ulrich, commander, U.S. Sixth Fleet, transferred his flag from the La Salle to Mount Whitney in a ceremony aboard both ships. The La Salle was to return to Norfolk, Va., for decommissioning May 27.

The Mount Whitney arrived in its new homeport of Gaeta on Feb. 1 from Norfolk, where it served as the U.S. Second Fleet flagship until late last year. The Mount Whitney carries a military crew of about 170 and another 140 civilian mariners for many of its day-to-day operations. Chief Mate William McCarthy is in charge of the civilian portion of the crew.

Following the change of flagship ceremony, Capt. C. Ladd Wheeler relieved Capt. Christopher M. Wode as commander of the Sixth Fleet flagship. To welcome him to Gaeta, Rome Council President Laila Volpe presented Wheeler with a book about Rome and a personal invitation to the crew to visit the “eternal city.”

Former National President Jack Fisher Dies at 80

Former Navy League National President John R. (Jack) Fisher died March 28 at his home in Arizona from complications related to Pick’s disease. He was 80.

A life member of the Navy League, Fisher served as national president from 1999-2001, succeeding Jack M. Kennedy. During his more than two decades as a member, Fisher held various leadership positions including national director and national vice president for sea services, and was a member of the youth activities and scholarship committees.

For his service in the Navy League, Fisher received the Secretary of Navy’s Meritorious Service and Superior Public Service Awards in 1995 and 1997, respectively.

Fisher served in the Navy for more than 30 years, retiring as a rear admiral in 1977. His service included Atlantic Fleet sea duty on the aircraft carrier USS Kearsarge and the minesweeper USS Plover. As an engineering officer, he served in assignments in all parts of the globe.

He commanded the 8,000 Seabees of the 30th Regiment in Vietnam in support of the Marines in I Corps and was responsible for the closeout of U.S. programs in Southeast Asia. He also commanded all Pacific Fleet Seabees and was responsible for construction of the U.S. naval base at Diego Garcia. His military decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal and two Legions of Merit with Combat “V.”

A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Fisher also earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, attended the Armed Forces Staff College and the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program.

After leaving the Navy, he joined the engineering/construction firm Raymond International Inc., overseeing its worldwide construction operations for 10 years. He later served as president of CHAMA Inc., a corporation that owns and manages a chain of hospitals.

Fisher is survived by his wife, Kitson, who is also a Navy League member, a son, Scott, and daughter, Lani Browning, four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

A memorial service was held April 3 in Scottsdale, Ariz. A service will be held later this spring at the Fort Myer Chapel in Arlington, Va., prior to Fisher’s burial with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery. The family has asked that in lieu of flowers, contributions be made to the Navy League in Fisher’s honor.

McNeill Address AFL-CIO Maritime Trades Meeting

Navy League National President Sheila M. McNeill was given a ship’s wheel by the AFL-CIO Maritime Trades Department at the organization’s executive board meeting Feb. 25.

AFL-CIO Maritime Trades Department President Michael Sacco presented the wheel to McNeill following her remarks at the meeting, which was held at Bally’s in Las Vegas. The role of the U.S.-flag merchant fleet in America’s military, humanitarian and economic efforts was the focus of discussion at the Feb. 24-25 session.

McNeill was one of a number of distinguished speakers at the event, including Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta and AFL-CIO President John Sweeney. A contingent from the U.S. House of Representatives that featured Shelley Berkley, D-Nev.; Bennie Thompson, D-Miss.; Norman Dicks, D-Wash.; William Jefferson, D-La.; and Loretta Sanchez, D-Calif., offered remarks.

Gen. John W. Handy, commander, U.S. Transportation Command; Steven Blust, chairman, Federal Maritime Commission; and John Jamian, acting administrator, U.S Maritime Administration, also spoke.

The Maritime Trades Department, AFL-CIO is composed on 28 international unions and 24 port maritime councils in the United States and Canada representing 7 million men and women.

Short Bursts

Central Coast, Calif., Council Navy Leaguers heard about some of the Navy’s major fleet and force projection efforts from Capt. Vic Mercado, commodore of Destroyer Squadron 21. Mercado’s San Diego-based squadron is made up of five Pacific Ocean-based destroyers. He was the guest speaker at the council’s recent meeting, held at the Edgewater Motel in Pismo Beach.

The Daytona Beach Area, Fla., Council heard a harrowing story of survival from Dr. Giles McCoy at its March 17 luncheon. Then-Pfc. Giles was part of a 39-man Marine detachment aboard the ill-fated USS Indianapolis, which was torpedoed and sunk by a Japanese submarine between Guam and Leyte Gulf July 30, 1945, after having delivered the components for the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima. Of the approximately 900 men who survived the ship’s sinking, only about 300 lived to be plucked from the shark-infested waters when they were spotted four days later.

McCoy, who now resides in Palm Coast, is a founder of the USS Indianapolis Survivors Organization that was established in 1960 primarily to clear the name of the ship’s captain, Charles McVay III, who was court-martialed and convicted as a result of the sinking.

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Peter Atkinson, Deputy Editor
Seapower/Navy League News
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Arlington, VA 22201-3308
E-mail: patkinson@navyleague.org