®
Phoenix Sail and Power Squadron
A Unit of United States Power Squadrons® - District 28
Sail and Power Boating
Boating is fun..We'll show you how
Phoenix Sail and Power Squadron
A Unit of United States Power Squadrons® - District 28
Sail and Power Boating
Boating is fun..We'll show you how
®It seems most strange to be writing this, my last Commander’s Report. It certainly doesn’t seem to be two years ago that we were all sitting there at the Change of Watch when the call for a nomination to fill the Commander’s chair went out to the floor and Terry Gray called my name. My most distinct memory of that moment was a chorus of whispers “who is that?” filling the room. A rookie. A single Merit Mark and just one advanced grade. The very minimum qualification allowed.
If it had not been for the experience and unerring help of so many people, it may have all ended very soon after that night when I was rambling about the “King’s shilling” to an audience of bemused faces, most of whom I had never even met before that night. To my Bridge Officers and Committee Chairs over these past two years I thank you for your support. To Bob Schloeman, Lee Whitehead and David Allocco, I thank you for keeping me ‘honest’ at ExComm. To Bill and Connie Johnson, I could never possibly have done this job without you. To all of you who have helped guide me through unfamiliar waters and have supported me, I thank you.
It will soon be Rob Anderson’s turn to pen these words, and I hope he has as much support as I have had during my term. He will be a fine Commander and he doesn’t “talk funny”, so it may be easier to understand him at all the meetings he is destined to run.As I look back on the two years at the helm, I have seen so many wonderful things happen to the squadron. The year before last, we had a wonderful year of attracting new membership and we embarked on a plan that brought us a record number of educational events on 2011. I was able to take advantage of all these opportunities to move myself up another couple of grades, and am now looking at my uniform jacket as I get it out ready for next week’s Change of Watch, realizing that I should have been changing out the grade and merit mark badges to show what all of you, the squadron members, have given me in the past two years.
I may as well wait now until after Rob Anderson takes over to ‘fiddle’ with the uniform badges. There will, after all, be another change that I’ll need to be making. No more Golden Tridents …. They need to be silver now. Then what about the next advanced grades .. should I wait to see if I decide to go for the Navigation series that is in plan for this year?? Maybe Velcro is the best idea … we just have little Velcro patches on our uniforms, and then the Merit Mark and Grade badges can be easily ‘swapped out’ as we advance through our squadron life. Certainly far easier than sewing! I bet there’s a rule somewhere that would cover that eventuality! Oh, how I envy the SN’s out there … no more unpicking of YOUR badges of honor!! Just the occasional Merit Mark to add, and for so many of you, nobody would notice if your count was off by one or two. I really must get a couple more to sew on mine, though … that single MM on the sleeve of my uniform jacket will always bring a smile to my face as I remember the day when you all put your faith in me to take the helm of this squadron. I hope I haven’t let you down.
My two years here have also had their share of sadness as we have said ‘goodbye’ to members who cast off for the last time and sailed into the sunset of life. I was not able to make it to the memorial service, but I know we had representation at Gobi Johnson’s farewell, and my thoughts and prayers were with him and his family.
As I look forward to this year, there are more changes on the horizon. June and I are making plans to move to California, so all the contacts we have made during these past two years will be so welcome as we ‘set up shop’, probably in Oceanside or Carlsbad. At least we will still be in District 28!! Miss M will have to get used to the taste of salt water again as I get the chance to put all the new skills gained in the Piloting and Advanced Piloting classes to good use.
Change is inevitable. Change is vital to advancement. Life would be unfulfilled without change. As I prepare for next week, I realize that I have been fortunate by being entrusted by you all to be the agent of change for the squadron for the past two years. I’m not going to just fade away, though. I will be serving on the Nominating Committee and will be working to help identify and encourage new faces on the Bridge and in the Committee Chairs as we move forward. We have a fine new Bridge ready to steer our squadron into 2012 and beyond.
For all who have served, you already know the joy and satisfaction that is the reward for your efforts. If you haven’t had the chance to serve, please think about it … call me or talk to me at a meeting .. I’ll try to put into words what my term has helped me achieve, not only in terms of what effect it has had on the squadron, but what it has done for me as a person. June tells me that it has made me a better person as well. Where else can you get back so much more than you give out ???
I hope we can continue to grow our squadron over the years. It was my honor to host the 50th Anniversary Party. We had a great turnout and a memorable evening. I just wish that I could be a ‘fly on the wall’ when the Phoenix Sail and Power Squadron celebrates their Centenary!
It has been an honor to serve as your Commander for the past two years. I will always remember the trust you put in me and all the ‘memorable moments’ since the day that I met Bill Johnson at the Boat Show in 2009 and signed up for the public boating safety class. Nobody would have been able to convince me that I would be sitting here today writing this report !!
And I still have no idea when I will get around to sewing on more patches to my uniform jacket!Happy Boating and thank you all again for your support and encouragement!.
The highest reward for a man’s toil. Is not what he gets for it, But what he becomes by it. Johan Ruskin
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