|
Greetings Shipmates,
The 2011 Sennet Reunion is now in the history books. John and Billie McMichael did a great job of putting together a great program , and
I thank them a bunch.
- Sunday was check in day, and you might know that we brought some rain with us when we checked in. Galveston and West Texas hadn’t seen any
appreciable amounts of rain in over 7 months. Well, we took care of that!
- Monday turned out to be a really nice day. A little rain before sunrise, but, after sunrise the rain quit and the rest of the day was beautiful. We had
a tour of the Houston Space Center, and many of us were amazed at the actual size of the equipment on display. I could see that a submarine sailor could
have a lot of fun in one of those capsules.
- Tuesday most of us went to see the Lone Star Air Museum and Moody Gardens, while David Woodall and 5 others went to do the Sennet Reunion Golf Tournament.
The Lone Star Air Museum had a good number of vintage WWII aircraft on display that are still in flying condition. Many of these aircraft fly to air shows
all over the U.S. Moody Gardens has 2 parts. One is an outstanding Aquarium, and the other a very nice Rain Forest with various animals and plants
displayed. Between the Air Museum and Moody Gardens we had an inclusive lunch at a McAlister’s Deli.
- Wednsday was a busy day.
- We started the day with our Memorial Service at Seawolf Park for all of our Sennet Shipmates on Eternal Patrol along with all departed Submariners.
David Hardy led us in prayer with the invocation and benediction. Seawolf Park is the location for the USS Cavalla SS-244 and the USS Stewart DE-238.
This park is managed by John McMichael and the Galveston Park Board.
- Following the Memorial Service we conducted the Business Meeting.
- I offered the checking account to be examined by any member wanting to do so. No one stepped forward, so, I assume everyone
trusts my adding and subtracting. I’ll include here while on the dollars and cents that all bills are paid. Once again, as we have done in the past, a check
for $1,000.00 has been sent to USSVI(United States Submarine Veterans, Inc.) Scholarship and Brotherhood funds. You can find details of this organization
and the funds by going to www.ussvi.org. If you don’t have a computer, you can go to most libraries and they will show you how to bring it up for your viewing.
Our balance for starting the 2013 Reunion will be approx. $2500.00. This money will be used for the various deposits on activities and also to replenish
our merchandise we sell. Donations of any amount are always appreciated and acknowledged.
- Nominations and voting took place for the 2013 Reunion. Nominated were Myrtle Beach, SC and Charleston, SC. Charleston won the vote, however, there
were a few scoundrels that tried to rig the vote for Myrtle Beach. Far be it for me to point a finger at anyone, BUT, Doug "Crazy" McCarthy, Dale
Cross and David Woodall tried raising both hands during the voting and then were wanting a recount.! Ya gotta keep a sharp eye on these guys.
- Following the Business Meeting John and Billie had arranged a Bar-B-Q. The weather was outstanding so that we could eat out on the plaza between
the Cavalla and Stewart. Some ventured over to the Cavalla for a walk thru and discovered that they don’t fit thru the watertight doors as easily as they did
40-50 years ago. The Stewart was much easier to navigate thru.
- Wednesday evening was our Banquet held at the Holiday Inn. A buffet was set up with a very good selection of fine food with many choices for various
diets.
- We had a couple of Special Crew Members present. Capt. John Holt, the last CO of Sennet, and Charlie Weller our Senior Crew Member.
Charlie served aboard Sennet as a Seaman 1st Class during the years 1945-1946. Charlie also made 4 war patrols during WWII.
- Golf trophies were awarded to the winners of the Sennet Golf Tournament. 1st Place went to Joe Wilderman, 2nd place to John Holt and 3rd Place to
Delbert Hale.
- Dick Wiley won the 50/50 drawing taking home $195.
- Entertainment for the evening was an Elvis Presley Impersonator. He sang and we danced to a large variety of songs that Elvis made popular.
The Impersonator flirted with the ladies and the ladies flirted right back.
We all had a really great time.
Jim and Yvonne Vernon took a bunch of pictures during the entire reunion. These pictures have been sent to our WebMaster,
Stan Pollard, to be posted on our WebSite www.sennet.org . If you have pictures you’d like to have posted, send them to Stan. He’ll make copies
and send the originals back to you.
As mentioned above, the next Reunion will be held in Charleston, SC in 2013. The exact dates will be determined later on in 2012,
and you will be notified by Newsletter either by email or snail mail. Please, If you change your email or physical address drop us a line and let us know.
Researching you takes up a lot of time. Also, if you find s Sennet Shipmate steer him to us or let us know and we’ll cast them a line.
We have shirts (golf & T’s), caps and ship’s patches for sale to help generate funds for our reunions. &nsp; All proceeds go directly into the
reunion fund. Contact me, Ralph Luther, for details and costs.
Again, thanks to John & Billie for a job well done.
We’ll be looking for y’all in Charleston in 2013.
Stay well and keep your powder dry.
Ralph
|
