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Text Box: Greetings from Your President

Text Box: Shipmates…   Happy New Year and greetings from sunny San Diego!  Linda and I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and extend our best wishes for a most prosperous, happy and healthy 2005.   As I am writing this column for the newsletter I am in the midst of working with Dick Stewart, a close friend and fraternity brother from college, to coordinate some activities for our 40th college reunion.  Our fraternity, much like our ship, was a close-knit group, although the years have caused the friendships to grow apart and many of the memories to fade.    Several years ago Dick visited San Diego on business and called me.  We had not seen each other for about 20 years.  Our conversation quickly gravitated to the old days in school, some of the crazy things we did, they guys we were still in touch with, and, of course, wondering what had happened to some of the others whom we had not heard from for many years.  He asked me if I was planning to attend our 40th college reunion in 2005 and I said that I probably would not as I had been back to the school only once or twice since I graduated in 1965.  In fact, the only reunion I had ever been to, besides several Whetstone reunions, was my 40th high school reunion, and I remembered how much fun that had been.   As our conversation continued, however, we started thinking that it would be a great idea to see if we could get a bunch of the guys from the fraternity to attend our 40th reunion.  We thought it would be fun to renew our friendships, swap “sea stories”, and meet families.  Our hope was that we might be able to convince a few extra guys to attend, and if we accomplished this it would be a success.    We began the “recruiting” process about a month ago, sending emails first, then calling.  Our “target” was about 30 fraternity brothers from the classes of 1965 and 1966.  Well, the response has been overwhelming.  Of the approximately 30 guys we contacted, we have 22 committed as of today.  That’s about a 75% success rate and I’ll bet it will be even higher before we’re through.  And as part of the “recruiting” process I’ve had a chance to speak to a number of old friends on the phone, and the experience has been very rewarding.    So why am I babbling on about a college reunion?  Well, this has reminded me of the importance of our friendships and experiences, and how closely the two are connected.  When I think back upon my Whetstone days, I have nothing but fond memories.  Memories of good people, lots of hard work, outstanding teamwork, visiting some very interesting parts of the world that I’d never have seen had it not been for the Navy, and of course, sometimes playing too hard as well.   And as I get older and reflect on the current world situation, perhaps the most important aspect of my four-year navy experience was that I was privileged to serve our great country.  I’m sure all of you share that last sentiment with me as well.  These are things that can’t be taken away from us.   I’m struck by the similarities of school reunions and our Navy reunions.  We were all young, the experience lasted for about 3-4 years, and we formed lifelong friendships although, unfortunately, along the way we lost track of many of the people we were close to.  Certainly all of us reflect frequently on the good times we had back in the “old days” before we had to get serious about life.  Another common thread is the enjoyment we all have at these reunions, whether they are school or military related.  If you’ve never attended a Whetstone reunion, you’re missing something special.   In conclusion, I have two requests for the New Year.  First, start thinking about our Whetstone reunion in 2006 (it will be here before you know it).  Which of your old “liberty buddies” do you want to see?  Call them today to wish them a Happy New Year and start “recruiting” them to be with us in Corpus Christi in 2006.  Second, take some time to pray for the good people who are serving our country so bravely around the world.  They are truly doing a great job under very difficult circumstances and deserve our total support.   May 2005 be one of the best years ever for you and your families. Jim Dunn, President  (LT 1967-70)                 

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