âOh GOd, yOur sea is sO larGe and my ship is sO smallâ
âOh GOd, yOur sea is sO larGe and my ship is sO smallâ
âOh GOd, yOur sea is sO larGe and my ship is sO smallâ
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a Word from thepresident/editorOur Nashville reunion was another great success!With our LSM friends there were over 300 in attendance. The fellow<strong>ship</strong> <strong>and</strong> camaraderie were as warm as ever <strong>and</strong>, along withenjoying seeing <strong>ship</strong>mates <strong>and</strong> their families again, we had some great sight-seeing experiences. The dinner cru<strong>is</strong>e aboard theriverboat SS Jackson gave us beautiful scenery, a fine meal <strong>and</strong> wonderful entertainment all in the ambiance of th<strong>is</strong> large replica ofthe steamboats that used to ply up <strong>and</strong> down the rivers of America. It was a bit of a dip into the past. And, of course, our v<strong>is</strong>it tothe Gr<strong>and</strong> Ole Opry was equally memorable. Some of us heard music we hadn’t heard for a long time! On Saturday our Chaplain,Mike Gatton, led us in an impressive memorial service <strong>and</strong> we topped it all off with a gr<strong>and</strong> banquet. You’ll see some pictures of itin th<strong>is</strong> <strong>is</strong>sue.Our relations with the LSM/LSMR Association could not have been better. After the reunion their President, Dave Miller, wrote: “Iwant to say thanks to you <strong>and</strong> all the other LCI members for another great reunion. The more we get together it seems that we havebeen doing th<strong>is</strong> for a long time.” Our members feel the same way about the LSMers.I want to share with you <strong>my</strong> optim<strong>is</strong>m about the future of our Association. Undoubtedly the most significant factor <strong>is</strong> the number ofenthusiastic, dedicated associate members who have taken leader<strong>ship</strong> roles: John France, Vice President; Steve Dudrow, Secretary;Mike Gatton, Chaplain; H<strong>is</strong>torian <strong>and</strong> on-coming board member Denn<strong>is</strong> Blocker; Joe Flynn, Director; <strong>and</strong> Robert Wright, Directorwill soon be joined by Diane Cochrin, our first lady board member. That’s an impressive team <strong>and</strong> we can have confidence in theirability to guide us in the future.We do have a financial challenge but the Board of Directors will be meeting via conference call in the near future to design ourresponse to that challenge. Several ideas for fund ra<strong>is</strong>ing are being considered.In th<strong>is</strong> <strong>is</strong>sue you’ll learn about one new program for ra<strong>is</strong>ing funds by rewarding you with newly-designed hats, shirts <strong>and</strong> jackets.Look at the pictures on page 26 <strong>and</strong> send in your order. Hint: think Chr<strong>is</strong>tmas gifts! We’re grateful to new Board Member RobertWright for spear-heading th<strong>is</strong> program.Along with some great <strong>sea</strong> stories in th<strong>is</strong> <strong>is</strong>sue, you will also read about Diane Cochrin, our newest Board member. Her appointmentto the Board strengthens the impact of associate members. Diane has been very supportive of our Association in a number of ways.Least but not last, you’ll read about the plans being made for next year’s reunion.—John CummerOctober 2011 | ELSIE ITEM | 3
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