usncsa-mag news

  This is a bitter-sweet time for my wife, Pat, and me, as our son, Willy, deploys for his second Iraq tour with the U.S. Army. Those Army tours are not short --- his first was 13 months, and this one is scheduled for 14 months (and, I thought my former WestPac tours of 6 and 8 months were long).
    Our membership numbers are holding steady (at over 4,000), although we typically “lose” between 400 and 600 members each year due to many reasons, not the least of which is the “age factor” (I don’t know of anyone getting any younger, do you?). However, fortunately for us, we have three gents comprising our membership committee who do an absolutely bang-up job of getting new members to replace those who can’t or don’t renew.
    Ron Maciejowski, one of our “Magnificent 7” founders heads up the committee, while Robert Kaplan and Ray Riedel provide critical support to him in the form of making up mailers and searching the internet for cruiser sailors. To see this well-oiled “machine of a team” in action is a sight to behold. I think these three gents could get blood out of a turnip, they’re so good. Without them, you can rest assured that our numbers would be going the route of many dwindling associations. Our hats off to you gents for your fine efforts in this regard.
    Our 2nd V.P., Jim Jenson, and I, in conjunction with a host of other officers, have been busy putting together a “Policies and Procedure Manual” outlining how our association conducts business. Most of us recognize that our organization has grown so large that we really should have something like this so that we’re not always “reinventing the wheel,” so to speak. Our By-Laws cover general formation and general duties of key officers, but the specifics of our jobs and how we conduct association business on a daily basis has never really heretofore been addressed in print. This manual will fill that gap. And, don’t worry --- it will still allow for plenty of “wiggle room” (as another of our Magnificent 7 founders, Jim Fernandes, has coined it) to be able to appropriately address individual situations as they arise.
    To this end, we want all the input from you we can get before adopting this manual. Copies of the manual “rough” will be made available to you at the upcoming reunion in May. We DO hope you’ll have a chance to peruse one of those copies, and give us any input you may have for our consideration.
    One of the items addressed in this manual is the formation and maintenance of individual USNCSA “chapters,” one of which our past president, John Fabian (1999-2000), has recently formed for our Phoenix area members and their guests. I’m looking forward to attending the luncheon he’s hosting for his chapter later this month, and will be driving out there from Oceanside to enjoy it. Chapter activities are reported in the pages of this fine magazine of ours that our editor, Ed August, and his able assistant, Burt Olson, so professionally produce each quarter.
    As I wrap this column up, I ask you to keep in your prayers the many of our shipmates suffering infirmities, including our own president, Bob Partrick (recovering from recent foot surgery and presently wheelchair bound), and his wife, Fran (recovering from heart surgery). I also ask for continued thoughts and prayers for our active duty military men and women, especially the troops who are still in harm’s way defending our freedom.
    May God continue to bless the U.S.A. as important elections loom on the horizon.

             Bill Sperberg - Secretary

PRESIDENT'S DESK		SECRETARY'S DESK
We have received several complaints recently regarding a perceived misuse of ship rosters sent to us for recruiting purposes. We have a strict policy that rosters are used only for recruiting purposes and that no distribution or sale is made outside of the USNCSA. Rosters are generally sent to Ron Maciejowski or Bob Kaplan. They both understand this policy and are very conscientious about conforming to it. I can personally guarantee that ship rosters are used only for the purpose the sender intends. I would be grateful if anyone who has a concern about this issue contact me directly (360) 387-2889. We are ready for our reunion in the Northbrook, Illinois/Great Lakes area this May. Detailed information and registration forms are in the middle of the last copy of the magazine (Winter 2008). If you can’t find this material, contact any association officer, and we’ll make sure you get the information you need. As I mentioned in the Winter issue of the magazine, we elect officers at the Business Meeting of each national reunion. Each office is open annually with the exception of Directors, who serve a three-year term. The more members who are nominated, or offer to run, the better selection the membership has to choose for your leadership. Bob Polanowski is Chairman of the Nominating Committee. Please notify him or myself if you wish to run for an open position. Most organizations, particularly veteran’s organizations, tend to age as time goes on. By that, I mean both the membership and leadership get older. This is a fact of life we can’t avoid. With that in mind, I want to encourage our younger members to seriously consider running for office. Eventually, our Association leadership must shift to Vietnam Era, Cold War, and eventually to cruiser sailors now at sea. Your participation is not only encouraged, but will be necessary for the continuation of the USNCSA. See you at Great Lakes Reunion. Bob and Fran Partrick TREASURER / EDITOR We start another year with our association in great shape. We ended the year with pretty close to a balanced budget. This year has started out with a large number of our membership renewing, and we are on schedule to maintain our membership status for another year. As always, our membership has again come through supporting our raffle with extra contributions, and we would like to thank each one of you. As of this date, we are about even with the contributions received last year, which means it looks like we will have the best year ever. This will enable us to maintain our support to our three museum ships, and our annual scholarship. I really would like to thank you for your support in helping the association maintain a CLASS organization. We will continue to try to keep the association’s reputation at a very high level. Thanks to all who continue to support our magazine by submitting interesting articles for us all to enjoy, because we certainly wouldn’t be able to do it without all your help. Ed August – Treasurer/Editor OPEN POSITIONS HELP WANTED Central District Director Ship’s Store Manager Delaware State Representative Louisiana State Representative North Carolina State Representative Public Affairs Chairman Contact President Bob Partrick		This is a bitter-sweet time for my wife, Pat, and me, as our son, Willy, deploys for his second Iraq tour with the U.S. Army. Those Army tours are not short --- his first was 13 months, and this one is scheduled for 14 months (and, I thought my former WestPac tours of 6 and 8 months were long). Our membership numbers are holding steady (at over 4,000), although we typically “lose” between 400 and 600 members each year due to many reasons, not the least of which is the “age factor” (I don’t know of anyone getting any younger, do you?). However, fortunately for us, we have three gents comprising our membership committee who do an absolutely bang-up job of getting new members to replace those who can’t or don’t renew. Ron Maciejowski, one of our “Magnificent 7” founders heads up the committee, while Robert Kaplan and Ray Riedel provide critical support to him in the form of making up mailers and searching the internet for cruiser sailors. To see this well-oiled “machine of a team” in action is a sight to behold. I think these three gents could get blood out of a turnip, they’re so good. Without them, you can rest assured that our numbers would be going the route of many dwindling associations. Our hats off to you gents for your fine efforts in this regard. Our 2nd V.P., Jim Jenson, and I, in conjunction with a host of other officers, have been busy putting together a “Policies and Procedure Manual” outlining how our association conducts business. Most of us recognize that our organization has grown so large that we really should have something like this so that we’re not always “reinventing the wheel,” so to speak. Our By-Laws cover general formation and general duties of key officers, but the specifics of our jobs and how we conduct association business on a daily basis has never really heretofore been addressed in print. This manual will fill that gap. And, don’t worry --- it will still allow for plenty of “wiggle room” (as another of our Magnificent 7 founders, Jim Fernandes, has coined it) to be able to appropriately address individual situations as they arise. To this end, we want all the input from you we can get before adopting this manual. Copies of the manual “rough” will be made available to you at the upcoming reunion in May. We DO hope you’ll have a chance to peruse one of those copies, and give us any input you may have for our consideration. One of the items addressed in this manual is the formation and maintenance of individual USNCSA “chapters,” one of which our past president, John Fabian (1999-2000), has recently formed for our Phoenix area members and their guests. I’m looking forward to attending the luncheon he’s hosting for his chapter later this month, and will be driving out there from Oceanside to enjoy it. Chapter activities are reported in the pages of this fine magazine of ours that our editor, Ed August, and his able assistant, Burt Olson, so professionally produce each quarter. As I wrap this column up, I ask you to keep in your prayers the many of our shipmates suffering infirmities, including our own president, Bob Partrick (recovering from recent foot surgery and presently wheelchair bound), and his wife, Fran (recovering from heart surgery). I also ask for continued thoughts and prayers for our active duty military men and women, especially the troops who are still in harm’s way defending our freedom. May God continue to bless the U.S.A. as important elections loom on the horizon. Bill Sperberg - Secretary




PROFILE		PROFILE
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	Excerpts from the Spring 2008 Issue