Executive Director's Report
by CAPT J.R. Davis, USN(Ret)
by CAPT J.R. Davis, USN(Ret)
Tailhook Association Ready Rooms are active in eight areas of the country.
• San Diego Tailhook Ready Room: CAPT Tim “Spike” Prendergast, USN(Ret), timothy.prendergast@lmco.com; Dave “Possum” Cully, cully_david@bah.com; James “Slug” Kidrick, jkidrick@sdasm.org.
• Washington D.C.’s National Capitol Region Tailhook Ready Room: CAPT Charlie de Gruy, USN(Ret), cdegruy@wbbinc.com, (703) 448-6081
• The San Francisco Bay Area Tailhook Ready Room: CAPT Craig Thomas, USN(Ret), CHT0912@aol.com, (415) 454-1275
• The Tidewater Tailhook Ready Room: CAPT Phil Grandfield, USN(Ret), FilthyF14@yahoo.com, (757) 213-8170;
CAPT Jim Flaherty, USN(Ret), jflaherty@wbbinc.com, (757) 213-8170
• Omaha Ready Room: CDR Bill “Reavbo” Reavey, USN, reaveyg@stratcom.mil; LCDR Gary “Patsy” Patenaude, USN, gpatenaude@msn.com
• China Lake Ready Room: CAPT Wade Tallman, USN(Ret), wtallman@csc.com
• Dallas/Fort Worth Ready Room: Lou “Sparks” Seldon, lseldon@att.net, (817) 337-1920 or cell (954) 610-5121
• Honolulu Ready Room: CAPT Larry Osborne, USN(Ret) (808) 831-6666; CAPT Rich Jaeger, USN(Ret), (808) 474-2034; CDR Mark “Fingers” Brooks, USN, (808) 477-6716
If you are interested in standing up a ready room in your area of the country, contact the Tailhook staff at (800) 322-4665 for information.
The Tailhook Association marks a major milestone this year as we gather in Reno in September for the 50th annual reunion and symposium. We are inviting the original plankowners to attend as our guests. If you attended the original Tailhook gathering in Rosarito Beach, Baja California, please call the Tailhook headquarters and ask for CAPT Marc Ostertag, (800) 322-4665.
This year we expect many more attendees than in past years, and Tailhook is proud to welcome the following reunion groups.
• NavCad Class 38-53: Billy Lineberry, billy_debbie@earthlink.net
• VA-164: Dick Hamon (910) 295-7278, djhamon@earthlink.net
• VAH-2: Frank Curcio, (530) 550-8103, FACeast@erols.com
• VT-23: Donna Sherman (401) 828-8218, donnasherman02@aol.com
• VF-74: Dave “Fly” Svajda, (913) 599-3282, dsvajda@hotmail.com
• Attack Community — A-4 Skyhawk and A-6 Intruder: Jack Woodul, rancho@bacavalley.com
• VF-51: Don Bouchoux, dbouchous@wbbinc.com
Other reunion groups will be holding events in conjunction with the Tailhook Reunion, so check the Tailhook Web site for additional contact information. The Thursday evening welcoming reception, open to everyone, will salute the reunion groups.
At this year’s convention your name tag will be your ticket to enter all symposium events. Tickets will be collected at the door for all “ticket required” events, so please bring your tickets to each event. We expect more than 3,000 attendees, and the entire exhibit area will be filled with 102 exhibitors. As of mid-July, the Nugget hotel is completely full for Friday and Saturday night. We have blocked rooms at the nearby Silver Club ((800) 905-7774) and the Quality Inn ((800) 548-5798).
This is the Golden Anniversary Tailhook Convention. See you at the 50th Annual Tailhook Reunion in Reno, 7-10 September 2006.
We have added three new shirts to our inventory.
The 50th Anniversary Hawaiian-print shirt is made of 100 percent cotton poplin for breathable comfort and sand-washed. You’ll feel as though you’re sitting on the beach the moment you put it on. A Unisex Pullover shirt is made of 100 percent polyester fleece. It is sized for men and is black with contrasting embroidery. This 13-oz. anti-pill soft fleece features a quarter zipper front, top-stitched side seam pockets, elastic cuffs and waist. It’s a great cool-evening cover-up. The Waikiki floral-print shirt is made of 100 percent sand-washed silk. The women’s shirt has a delicate drape, shell buttons and vented tail. The men’s shirt has a chest pocket, coconut buttons and vented tail.
Sixty-one members have joined as or converted to life membership this year. Our program is strong and the endowment setup to support life memberships continues to grow. Life membership offers many benefits. In addition to long-term support for your Association, there are fewer checks to write. You will have a permanent card showing your life membership, a life member certificate and a lapel pin all with less cost to you. The total cost of a life membership is $705 and can be paid as a $105 down payment with four payments of $150 over 15 months, or over four years for active-duty members. There is a reduced rate for members over 59 years old. Please call for information about the reduced payment schedule.
Hook 2006 Reunion Coordinator (Marc Ostertag): (800) 322-4665
Tailhook Educational Foundation (CFC #2965): (800) 269-8267
The Tailhook Ship's Store: (800) 322-4665
Tailhook Web site: http://www.tailhook.org or http://www.tailhook.net
e-mail: thookassn@aol.com