August 2006 President's Corner

Steve Frederick '72, USNAAA Atlanta Chapter President

The “dog days of summer” are here at the end of July and in less than two weeks the kids will be back in school. It’s hard to believe that the summer is almost over, but time marches on, and time, tide and noon meal formation wait for no one.

Our monthly luncheon in July was a well attended event, most probably because we had a great speaker, Fred Tollison, former CEO of the Institute of Nuclear Operators (INPO). Fred is a neighbor of Paul Hurst ’62, and retired early this year. Paul asked him to come speak to our group, and Fred provided us with a comprehensive insider’s look at the nuclear power industry, and his ideas of its future. Once again, Bob Schultz ’71 has provided a complete and accurate synopsis of Fred’s presentation on our website.

Our July luncheon also saw the unanimous election of the 2006/2007 slate of officers for our Chapter. Elected were: President – Steve Frederick ’72 (second term), Vice President – Mitch Rowland ’71 (second term), Treasurer – Pete Knoetgen ’77 (first term), Secretary – Paul Borer ’70 (second term), Directors (General) Ples Bruce ’77 (second term), Stew Caldwell ’65 (second term), Terry McElroy ’86 (second term), Mary McElroy ’87 (second term), and Eric Busko ’88 (first term). Once again, we have a great team of officers who are each committed to the Chapter and to providing quality service to the members. If you ever have a suggestion for improvement to the way we do business or how we conduct an event, please let one of the officers know. We try very hard to provide our membership with what can arguably be called the best Chapter in the nation, and your feedback and suggestions are critical to our continued success.

Attendees at the July luncheon included: George O’Connell ’35 (SOPA), James Ravenel ’45, John Stark ’51, Perry Stephens ’51, Bill Rentz ’55, Reggie Vachon ’58, Frank Roescher ’59, Clint Johnson ’60, Ed Hux ’61, Hal Morrison ’61, Paul Hurst ’62, Lorie Moore ’64, Bill Holmes ’64, Jon Barton ’66, Paul Borer ’70, Mitch Rowland ’71, Bob Schulz ’71, Lee Whitfield ’71, Steve Frederick ’72, Ples Bruce ’77, Pete Knoetgen ’77, Paul Wright ’79.

By the time you read this you should have received your dues mailer for 2006. We know that it is a bit late but our printer threw us a curve this year, and we had to start from scratch a few months ago. Late or not, please take the time to respond, either on line or through the mail. Your payment of dues serves two critical purposes to our Chapter. First, the dues are our primary source of revenue, and allow us to fund events like the lobster fest and the Dark Ages Party prior to collecting fees from all attendees, and to keep event costs down. Secondly, dues paying members who are also members of the national association count in the membership count at the end of the year that determines the size of our Chapter, and subsequently, whether we are represented by our own Trustee. At the last count we were determined to be the seventh largest chapter, and the nine largest are currently represented by Trustees. Our Trustee is Carl McCallum ’60 who does a great job representing us, and supporting the National Association. I worry sometimes that we take the privilege of direct representation for granted. It is an honor and an advantage to have our own rep onsite when the Board of Trustees discusses matters that affect our organization, from the national to the local level. Keep this in mind when you receive your dues mailer. (For those of you who have already paid online, if you received a dues mailer it is because of the lag time inherent in that system. Please be sure that you paid, and if so, ignore the mailer.)

Watch the website for information regarding football game viewing at Jocks and Jills in Brookhaven during the coming season. There are some very high expectations regarding the coming campaign, and a winning season is much more fun when witnessed while it unfolds rather than simply monitoring it via ESPN scores. And it’s always more fun watching Navy football with a room of appreciative alumni.

We have some great speakers for our luncheons in the coming months, although admittedly, many are tentative at this point. However, Mary McElroy ’87 has arranged for us to have Pete Hermann, the former Navy basketball coach speak at our September luncheon. Mark that one on your calendars, and watch the website for more information.

See you on the 18^th at Jocks and Jills, and Beat Army.

BEAT ARMY!

Steve Frederick ’72
Chapter President