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ROCKY MOUNT
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Year 2005 OverviewI was elected the thirty-fourth Commander. Our squadron participated with D/27 in hosting the USPS® Governing Board Meeting in June at Charlotte by providing a web site promoting the event and providing photography of the activities and meetings. Our boating activities appeared to be doomed by bad weather and gas shortages, however, successful outings were held at Belhaven, Dismal Swamp, Ocracoke, and Oriental. Lt Greg Zolas kept us very busy with two nautical CoOp Charting events, one at McCotter’s Marina and the other at Holiday Island. The squadron and eight members made the Coop Charting Honor Roll. Lt/C Lorraine Ryan did an excellent job of arranging a variety of interesting Family Nights each month, except October, which featured the Past Commander’s Pig Picking. The Educational Department held two boating courses and one seminar at Edgecombe Community College. Four members completed Seamanship, seven Cruise Planning, five Instructor Development, and three Operations Training. We have twelve Certified Instructors for 2006. The biggest challenge for the year was hosting the D/27 Fall Conference/Council Meeting in September. This event was held at Nash Community College, was well attended and turned out very well. Our five Vessel Examiners performed a record 54 Vessel Safety Checks. RMPS was recognized for our 26th Educational Fund Award and the Bowsprit Award. The RMPS Coastal Plains Signal received the 2005 Distinction in Journalism Award. P/C James Dugan earned his Life Member Award. Our Annual Meeting / Christmas Party and our Change of Watch was held at Something Different Café in Wilson where the food and entertainment was enjoyed by all. MONTHLY COMMANDER'S MESSAGESFebruary 2006Now that the holidays have passed and a new year is upon us, it is time to adjust to the new goals and challenges we have set for ourselves for 2006. I am personally looking forward to a new role that will let me spend more time on squadron activities and less on District and National demands. As I reflect on the activities of the past year, I did enjoy participating in the National Spring Board Meeting held in Charlotte and the three district meetings, one of which we hosted in Rocky Mount, but they don’t provide the level of satisfaction that one gets from the squadron outings. My intentions for the coming year are to spend more time doing depth surveys and other on the water activities. Some of our planned outings this past year were disrupted by bad weather, and conditions related to the hurricanes that hit Louisiana. We did have successful outings, including the Dismal Swamp, Oriental, and Ocracoke Cruises and two cooperative charting outings that resulted in nine individuals earning enough points to make the honor roll. There is still time for people to earn coop-charting points and anyone interested or needing assistance can contact me anytime. Many thanks to the 2005 Bridge officers who supported me this past year. They were a dedicated and hard working group. Several continue in the new year. P/C James F. Dugan III, SN, earned his Life Membership by attaining his 25th merit mark in 2005. Jim is a very special individual who has packed 100 years of service into a short 25 years. In addition to being our newsletter editor and webmaster, he actively participates in the bridge meetings and keeps the rest of us straight on the rules. He is also a certified Vessel Examiner, our VSC chair, and a Certified Instructor. He is a constant advisor to all of us and I know of no one more deserving of this special recognition. January 2006The USPS® (National) Annual Meeting is in Orlando from 4 to 8 January. If anyone is on vacation and planning to go to Florida, it is a great way to learn more about USPS®. V/C Ernest G. Marshburn, SN, of the Tar River Squadron will be installed as the new Chief Commander and Orlando is a great place to visit or vacation. If you are planning to be there, please let me know. The Christmas Party at Something Different was outstanding. We had 36 members attend and the food was excellent. It was a treat to see Lou Vann and we can all be thankful for the progress she is making towards an excellent recovery. I give my thanks to Bob Glaser and the members of the Nominating Committee for putting together a terrific slate of candidates. During the Annual Meeting, the slate was unanimously elected for which I am very grateful. I am looking forward to spending more time in the coming year doing those things I really enjoy, which includes more time on the water doing depth surveys. Our Change of Watch, which will be held at Something Different Café (with a different menu) is scheduled to begin at 1830, Saturday, 28 January. P/R/C U. Glenn Daughtridge, AP, has agreed to be our Master of Ceremonies. D/C Benjamin F. Reed, JN, will install our new officers. During the holidays, we have many people to think of, our troops overseas that can’t celebrate with their families, the hurricane victims in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Florida, many of whom are still without a permanent home. Please pray for all those less fortunate than ourselves. Sally and I wish all of you a Prosperous and Happy New Year. Happy New Year!December 2005At the Past Commander’s Pig Pickin it was my honor to present Co-op Charting “Honor Roll” certificates to 26 members. Rocky Mount had 33 participants for 62.26% of the membership participating. RMPS ended up 4th in the district and 12th in the national rankings. Congratulations to all of you. Thanks for participating. We have much work to do to even come close to the statistics generated in 2004. However, we have a good beginning with the outing that took place on 29 October. Reports have already been submitted from that event and the outing on 19 November at Holiday Island. As some of you begin to winterize your boats, it is time to think about hunting for geodetic markers. We have 4 months remaining to earn points, which is plenty of time to earn enough to make the honor roll again. The magic number to make the honor roll is 112 points. On a personal note, the first and second launchings of the Sallbe II have occurred. They haven’t been perfect launches and we still have some work to do, but she is going to be a fine boat. We may not get many hours on her this year but I am already anticipating a lot of fun next year. This year has been rather busy for me and it doesn’t want to slow down, even for the coming holidays. I have been busy working on merit mark recommendations and I am happy to report that they have been submitted a few days early. The nominating committee has finished their work and we are now preparing for the Christmas Party/Annual Meeting. This event will be held in Wilson at ‘Something Different’. This is the same place we had the Change of Watch earlier this year and the food was excellent. It’s only $20 per person, so get your reservations in. See you there! The USPS® Annual Meeting is in Orlando from 4 to 8 January. If anyone is on vacation and planning to go to Florida, it is a great way to learn more about USPS®. Orlando is a great place to visit and vacation. If you plan to go, please let me know. Have a Merry Christmas!November 2005October, I can hardly believe how fast the year is slipping away. September disappeared too fast. The D27 Fall Council was a great success and many thanks to
My daughter’s wedding went on as planned and it was nice to see so many Power Squadron members there. I am sure Betsy and Ryan will continue to be members of the squadron and enjoy your friendship in the years to come. Our Fall Boating Class began 20 September and, although it is a small class, they are benefiting from some great material and instructors. The Squadron Boating CourseSM materials are some of the best I have seen and certainly easier to present than what we had been using. Anyone interested in assisting or seeing the materials can contact Suzanne or just show up on any Tuesday evening. One of the areas we need to improve on this year is our
Cooperative Charting efforts. At this time we have one participant with 90
points. This is compared to the 33 we had last year with 27 making the honor
roll. We can make up this deficit by participating in the upcoming events Greg
Zolas has planned at Have a Safe Month October 2005All of us have been touched by the disaster of Hurricane Katrina. The direct and indirect consequences of this disaster will be felt for many months to come. It has taken nearly six years for North Carolina to recover from Floyd and some of the changes that resulted have become permanent. As you can imagine, Louisiana and Mississippi will feel the effects of this storm for a long time. Please support the recovery efforts as much as you can. Our loss of a trip to Holden Beach is a minor impact relative to the needs of those who have lost their homes and in some cases their lives. To give you an idea of the impact on my personal life:
Note: none of this compares to the suffering of the people that lived in the impacted areas. On the bright side: The beautiful weather we had on Labor Day weekend afforded me extra time to work on my boat. I am targeting for a launch the first week of October. The rest of September will be devoted to finalizing wedding plans. Our Boating Class begins 20 September. 1/Lt Suzanne Zolas, S, is still looking for volunteers to help teach some chapters. We will be presenting the Squadron Boating Course this time (not the ABC class). The classes will be held at Edgecombe Community College on Tuesdays at 1900 (7:00 pm). We are still planning the Cruise to Beaufort in October. Please contact Bob Glaser if you are planning to participate. The Past Commanders, led by the one in training, Chris, are planning another “Pig Pickin” to be held 16 October. This is an event you won’t want to miss. Planning to see you there. Have a Safe Month September 2005What a wonderful start to August with a fascinating presentation by Richard A. Olson of the Aurora Fossil Museum. Those of you that missed the meeting should make it a point to visit the museum in Aurora. Those of us that were at the meeting will undoubtedly include it in our future plans. Our new squadron computer will be delivered this week and be available for the September boating class. It is a great addition to our arsenal of educational tools and should be great for the materials being developed by the National Education Committees. The National Education Department’s web pages are loaded with information and educational tools. You could spend several hours exploring all the information available. Links to the District and National web pages are available on the Rocky Mount web site at www.usps.org/localusps/rockymount . Arrangements for the District 27 Fall Council Meeting are coming along. We are receiving reservations for the activities and expect a good turnout. If you have time to help with these activities please let a bridge member know. We need plenty of help. We can also use contributions for gift bags and door prizes. If you know of a business willing to contribute items, we will promote their name as contributors on a list to be included with the gift bags. We have commitments from some area businesses, but could use much more. Summer seems to be slipping away as the school buses are back on the road again. Please, be conscious of the children along the streets waiting. It can be a dangerous time as their attention is often diverted from their surroundings. Thanks to Al Paetzell and Bobby Brown for participating in the Rocky Mount Night Out Against Crime. They gave out lots of safety literature and promoted the upcoming boating class during the event. It gave us an opportunity to put our name before the public. I received a nice thank you letter from the police department and an invitation to return next year. Have a Safe Month August 2005The new membership year started 1 June. We had a total of 64 renewals [94%]. Of our four non-renewals, two were members moving away from the area. Thank you all for continuing to support the Rocky Mount Power Squadron. The District 27 Spring Council Meeting was held in Fayetteville on 27 June. The Fayetteville Squadron did an outstanding job of hosting this event. There was a lot of discussion concerning HQAB (Headquarters Annual Billing). This program is intended to streamline the process of collecting annual dues and provide additional options for individuals to pay their dues, including credit cards. It would also make dues payable on a member’s anniversary date, eliminating the need to prorate dues for new members. District 27 plans to implement this program. Although not required for squadrons, many of the commanders at the meeting indicated their squadrons would participate. The next District 27 meeting will held in Rocky Mount. Details of the arrangements for this meeting are in this newsletter, on our website, and will be in the upcoming issue of the D/27 Carolina BITTS. We have started to receive reservations and want to put on a good show. The committee working on this event is seeking contributions of items that could be included in gift bags or used for door prizes. If you know of a business that would be willing to contribute any items, we will promote their name as contributors on a list to be included with the gift bags. We have already had commitments from some area businesses, but could use many more. It seems time has slowed a little in July (maybe it’s just the heat getting to me). Things are sure to speed up in the coming month. As for me, I will continue working on my project boat, which I plan to put in the water before summer ends. Hope to see you soon! Safe Boating July 2005The National Governing Board meeting held in Charlotte was a very successful event hosted by District 27. All the activities were well attended. I was there for 3 days and spent several hours taking pictures on the Checkered Flag Tour, at Discovery Place, during the Saturday meeting and at the evening banquet. Bill Bodmer and his team did a terrific job of making all these activities happen in a timely and efficient manner. Although I was proud to represent Rocky Mount at this meeting it saddened me to vote to dissolve two squadrons that just couldn’t make it any more. On the bright side there are five new squadrons developing. V/C Ernest G. Marshburn, SN, of the Tar River Squadron was recognized under the “Power of One” program with a jacket for bringing 10 new members to the power squadron. He challenged the rest of the bridge to do likewise. All of us should take this as an example of what can be done and earn our own “Power of One” rewards. There were 648 members present at the meeting with an impressive number traveling a long way for the event. The next meeting will be in Portland, Oregon in the fall. Our own District meeting was held this past Saturday, where there was a lot of discussion about the Headquarters Anniversary Billing (HQAB) program. Although there were no official actions taken on this topic, it will be one of those programs that we will hear more about in the future. Its design is to bill members for their dues on the anniversary of their membership date. This eliminates the need to ever pro rate dues for a partial year and would eventually eliminate the crunch on 31 May. For the near future we would continue to have the crunch on 31 May as that is the anniversary date for all the current members. The major difference is that dues would be paid directly to National instead of our local treasurer. If you would like to know more about this program or have concerns about it feel free to call or send me an e-mail and I will assure your concerns are passed on to our district representatives. The service at JoLee’s certainly could have been better,
but the presentation by Captain Jan Robinson at our most recent Family Night was
excellent. I now own a couple more cook books and who knows what else my wife
took home. Our bridge meeting was lightly attended, but the food at Mama’s was
excellent. We set 28 June as the
date for our next committee meeting on the Fall Council Meeting. For those of
you who don’t know, Rocky Mount will be hosting the District 27 Fall Council
meeting in September. Jim Dugan has already posted details of this event on the
web site. Anyone interested in helping with this event should contact Cathy,
Mary, Lorraine, or me for details.
We will need volunteers to help welcome visitors and direct traffic during the
event. It will also be a great opportunity for many of you to attend a district
meeting without having to travel. We are looking for contributions for gift bags
and/or door prizes for this event. If you know of anyone or any business that
would be willing to contribute to this cause we will certainly promote their
name at the event. If you are planning to attend the District Rendezvous in July, please contact Bob Glaser and make sure you make your reservations by 30 June. I understand room reservations are getting scarce. There are many interesting and entertaining events planned. On a personal note, as if June wasn’t already busy enough, I have had the pleasure of having my granddaughter visit for the last 3 weeks, I sold my boat, bought another boat and learned my boss at work is leaving to teach school. Don’t you just love summer? June 2005Although the weather didn't cooperate for our first outing in Belhaven, I am sure it will improve soon. The Little Circle Cruise is nearly upon us and for any who haven't participated in the past, you should consider it this year. It is a lot of fun and very educational. The routine of passing through a lock or waiting on a bridge was a new experience for us last year. I am looking forward to seeing the Navy ships in Norfolk again and perhaps a tour of the USS Wisconsin. You never know what this group might do. Don't forget Vessel Safety Check Mega Weeks from 21 May to 10 July. If you have not had your boat inspected yet, do it soon. Any of our qualified Vessel Examiners will be glad to check your vessel. Check out the calendar for June. It is a busy month beginning with the national Governing Board meeting in Charlotte and then a presentation on "Cooking Aboard". There is also a squadron cruise to Ocracoke and the District meeting in Fayetteville. Looks like all the fun we could ask for. Speaking of fun, it is a requirement for it to be fun in order to serve as an officer on the Bridge. The time required is sometimes more than one can give even when one wants to. I believe Wayne Bell wanted to give his time to the squadron, but found himself in a position where he could not. He asked me to accept his resignation and look for a replacement. Even after this he continued to attend the bridge meetings and visit the boating classes when he could. Many thanks for his efforts and willingness to support the squadron. At the last bridge meeting the Executive Committee elected a replacement, Cathy Payne. Cathy is a five year member who has served as Secretary and Treasurer. She has attended numerous district functions and is familiar with the inner workings of USPS® and RMPS. Please give her your support as we continue to move forward and promote boating safety for all. Now, a plea for money. Please pay your dues! And as you write that check, remember all the benefits of being a member of USPS® and RMPS. Some of these benefits are obvious direct benefits of belonging, but the most important benefit of all is for your own safety. Every boater that we teach, every boat we inspect, and every chart we help correct make the water safer for ourselves. Please continue to support this effort. Safe Boating May 2005April started a very busy boating season. It began with Family Night at the Western Sizzlin’, where we were informed about Waterway Security and how to go about reporting suspicious activities you may observe along our coastal waterways. This was presented by Senior Petty Officer Ray Jaklitsch, who has 21 years in the US Coast Guard Reserve and is currently assigned to the Wilmington, Marine Safety Office. We also inducted two new members, Dave and Kelly Bock – see inside for meeting photos. Our latest Boating Safety Class is being taught at Nash Community College and we have 9 enthusiastic students. Thanks to all those who have volunteered their time to assist with these classes. We have several people who have signed up for the Instructor Development Class. There is still time to enroll in this class and the Operations Training class. We need you! Our first Coop Charting outing of the year was 23 April. We met at Belhaven and did depth surveys in the Pungo River area. Everyone should be proud of our Coop Charting results from last year and this could be the beginning of an even better year. There are several changes to the rules this year, which should help us to be even more competitive. These include the elimination of aeronautical reports (which I hadn't figured out how to do anyway) and the changes in mileage rules for geodetic markers. One change that effects us in a negative way is that NOAA no longer wants us to report aids to navigation "correct as charted". They do want us to report any ATON's that are in need of repair or out of position. Since I am on one of my favorite topics, did you know how we finished last year? We were 4th in the district in total points, 1st in the district in number of participants and percentage participation. We were 12th in the nation in total points and 2nd in percentage participation. A great job, and many thanks to those 33 participants. As we prepare our boats for the new season make sure you
contact one of our Vessel Examiners for your Vessel Safety Check. RMPS will
kick-off VSC Mega Weeks and Safe Boating Week with Vessel Safety Checks and a
VSC Display from 1000-1400, Saturday, 21 May, at the Riverside Boat Ramp,
Tarboro. Safe Boating!April 2005We had a great family night this past month with Eddie Jones speaking. His lighter side of many of the experiences we have all had and his "10 Commandments" were very entertaining. My message this month is of a rather serious nature. One of the Power Squadrons most important functions is that of education. We have some wonderful instructors and I want to thank them for their investment of time and willingness to share their vast knowledge. Over the last two years Clay Helm, has taught Sail, Seamanship, and Piloting, Glenn Daughtridge, has made Operations Training fun and entertaining, and James Dugan taught the GPS Seminar and Sail. They are just some examples of those of you who have made the past couple years a very rewarding experience for others and me. We have many others like them, though there is not enough space here to discuss them all. Many thanks to all for your contributions. USPS® has adopted a new policy regarding the qualifications of instructors who teach boating classes to the public. This change was prompted by many states requiring boating classes be certified by the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators. NASBLA will require that instructors be certified beginning in January 2006. We will need to comply with these requirements. To become certified is a relatively easy thing to do. Those of you who have been instructors through the IQ or IT/IA classes in previous years need only take the short version of Instructor Development. Those of you who have not had any previous instructor qualification need to take the longer version, but it is still only 6 to 8 hours. The exam is a common sense exam that has fewer questions than most of the exams you have taken in other classes. Mary Sitton is planning to provide opportunities to complete this requirement several times over the next few months. I encourage all of you to take advantage of the opportunity. I know many of you have earned merit marks by assisting in teaching boating classes to the public and the new requirement will not impact your efforts this year. However, in looking ahead to 2006, we will need to expand our pool of certified instructors and I urge you to make yourself available. For details on upcoming opportunities contact Mary Sitton or Suzanne Zolas and they will be glad to sign you up. Safe Boating!March 2005We have started another Power Squadron year. Your new bridge has already been hard at work planning an exciting agenda. Lt/C Lorraine Ryan, S, has planned a full schedule of family nights, beginning this month with Eddie Jones, author of Hard Aground with Eddie Jones. Eddie Jones is very entertaining as he shares his real life experiences. Our Coop Charting Chair, 1/Lt Greg Zolas, S, has planned an outing in Belhaven for this month. It will include doing depth surveys in the Pungo River area and a Rendezvous at River Forest Marina. The Cooperative Charting Year continues until 31 March, so we still have time to increase our level of participation and boost our national ranking. Our squadron is currently ranked 12th in the nation and could readily make the top 10 with this one event. P/C Bob Glaser, JN, and his Boating Activities Committee have planned a full season of activities far enough in advance for everyone to include them in their summer shedule, so mark these outings on your calendar! We hope to see you there. Lt/C Mary Sitton, P, and her new assistant, 1/Lt Suzanne Zolas, S, have planned a busy schedule of classes. Our Spring boating class will be held at Nash Community College as part of their Continuing Education Program. We hope this new approach will increase our exposure to the community and increase participation in the classes. The classes begin Wednesday, 6 April. Mary and Suzanne are looking for volunteers to instruct and others to support the students. Please give whatever time you can afford to help with this very important part of our organization's program. It's also time to prepare your boats for the boating season. All of our Vessel Examiners have the new 2005 decals. As part of your boat preparations, call on our Examiners for your VSC. I encourage all of our members to attend the District Change of Watch and Annual Meeting on 18-20 March at the Sheraton Four Seasons in Greensboro. Most of the sessions will take place on Saturday and the Change of Watch Banquet will be that evening. This will be an event worthy of your time. I thank P/C Chris Payne, S, and his bridge for a wonderful 2004. They did a commendable job and have laid the foundation for our new year. I sincerely hope we can do as well and have even more fun in 2005. Safe Boating!Details of all these activities are presented in articles throughout this website and in our monthly newsletter, The Coastal Plains Signal. Page updated 09 February 2006. |
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Please send comments to P/C James F. Dugan III, SN, Webmaster, at: rmps@duganotero.com Copyright © 1997 - 2007 Rocky Mount Power Squadron, Inc. ® All Rights Reserved.
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