Tim Brown, Commanding Officer
At our meeting in January, I noticed a number of non-members who joined us to listen to the briefing on the F-15 by LtCol Dan Delane. I am really hoping that we see some of those folks again and that they join us as members. I cannot always take the time to meet and greet these guests but maybe you can do that in my place. Make them feel at home, and welcome. Find out how they learned of the meeting, were they in the military, whether they have a particular interest in Naval Aviation and anything else that might show that we would like to return. That constitutes “recruiting” and it is not that hard. Get to it and be welcoming when you see new folks in the room.
Well, we are into the New Year and we have some new blood on the staff, at least in the background. Joy LeCompte, the lovely wife of Ray LeCompte, is going to assist our Treasurer, Dolores Hardy, with some of the bookkeeping chores. Yes, Dolores continues to indicate that she wants to “retire” from the job. However, she wants to stay on at the “pay desk” so she can continue to greet our members when they show up at the luncheons. This is where Joy comes in…she will handle the “behind the scenes” jobs that are normally handled by the Treasurer. Thank you Joy, for stepping up! And thank you Dolores, for not really quitting.
What about the rest of you. Don’t you want to help out? We still need to get more volunteers to help with setting up for the meetings (to help Ray); to help Sel Ramsay with the SOQ program now that George Del Gaudio has retired; to help Hal edit the OP-Plan, and maybe replace him one day; and/or to help Dick Fields with photography for the OpPlan and editorial when it comes to writing the columns describing the content of our speaker’s briefing. Oh, it would also be nice if somebody took over for me in the near future.
I want to thank Andy Benjock and Ed Mason for manning the table next to Dolores. Without heir continuing efforts our treasury would be pretty sad about now. The efforts of Andy and Ed raise money that goes with the donations of the Great Guys to support the SOQ program. Thanks, guys. Thank you to Eric Page of USAA who arranged for us to get plaques and commemorative coins to award to the SOQs and SOYs. Eric has moved on to another job assignment for USAA but he assures me that his replacement, another retired Force CMC will carry on for him. I also wish to thank H&R Block for their support of the program.
And finally, I want to again thank the restaurant owners and managers who continue to provide gift certificates that we award to the SOQs. Our long-time supporters include The Crab Cooker in Tustin and Newport Beach; and a number of establishments in Seal Beach such as, Beachwood BBQ, O’Malley’s, Yucatan Grill, Athens West, The Hangout, and Hennessey’s. If you are ever in Seal Beach, please stop by one of these establishments and mention your appreciation for the owner’s and manager’s support of the SOQ program.
