Executive Director’s Report
by CAPT J.R. Davis, USN(Ret)
by CAPT J.R. Davis, USN(Ret)
The wildfires that blew through Scripps Ranch and other parts of San Diego in October passed about 100 yards south of the Tailhook headquarters building. We’re lucky on two counts — the winds were favorable and we’re located in a small industrial and light-manufacturing park where there isn’t much undergrowth to supply fuel. Having escaped a close call, but with the threat of fires in the future a reality, we plan to have the fire department conduct a risk assessment that will allow us to take additional steps to protect against fire. If you are interested in a demonstration of the fire’s terrible strength, we have published some photographs of the Scripps Ranch fire on our Web site (www.Tailhook.org).
Several new items are making an appearance in our ship’s store, and you are invited to view them on our Web site. This year we are selling the 2004 Tailhook reunion shirt early. We have also added Tailhook tie bars, available in both gold and silver tone with white stripes, as a replacement for the older Tailhook tie bar design. We’re sure you’ll want a Tailhook logo item for yourself or as a gift for a family member or a friend. Not only are they a beautiful and unique way to declare your loyalty to Tailhook, but also the income from sales is used to improve the quality of The Hook magazine.
We are continually reviewing our inventory of Tailhook merchandise and are doing our best to respond to the desires of our members. If you feel we need to add a special item to inventory, and we find that it has the potential to be popular with other Tailhookers, we will gladly add it to our ship’s store inventory.
Click here to visit our ship's store to view the latest additions to our custom stock.
One of our more important objectives for the coming years is to increase the size of our membership, and your help is critical to the success of this project. All we’re asking you to do is to recruit one new member or encourage a former Tailhooker to renew his membership in the Tailhook Association. As of December 2003, our membership is 11,611, and our goal is to reach a total of 13,000 members by 2005.
Also critical to our future is a growing list of individual and corporate membership. Our corporate membership remains at 24, and our Board of Directors is actively canvassing a list of potential sponsors to add to our current list.
Tailhook 2004 is coming soon, and those who attend will notice several improvements to make the experience more rewarding. If you are part of a reunion group, please consider the advantages of staging your reunion activities at Tailhook 2004 in Reno. Many reunion organizations have done so in the past and report that it’s “the only way to go.” The Intruder Association is already making plans to join us at the Tailhook reunion, and other reunion groups are contacting us with questions concerning their own plans. If you’re part of a squadron that stages reunions, encourage your planners to arrange for your group to join us during Hook 2004. Contact our reunion coordinator, CAPT Jack Davis, for further details.
Arrangements have been completed for Hook ’06 and Hook ’07, both of which will be staged at John Ascuaga’s Nugget. John and his fine staff have hosted our Hook reunions since 1995, and John’s hospitality, facilities and the professionalism of his staff guarantee a memorable gathering.
See you in Reno.