AMMO Chiefs Association
Virginia Chapter
25 Jul 2004
FROM: ACA Virginia Chapter
P.O. Box 65499
Hampton VA 23665-5499
TO: General Membership
SUBJECT: ACA Reunion Meeting Minutes (5 Jun and 10 Jul 2004)
1. Date, Time, Location: The general membership of the AMMO Chiefs Association
Virginia Chapter (ACAVC) met on 5 Jun 2004, at 1200 hours at Mike Robertson’s house
in Dumfries, Virginia. The membership met again on 10 Jul 2004 at Langley AFB,
Virginia, at the ACC/LGW Bldg 606.
2. Purpose: General membership meeting to discuss Reunion activities and progress.
3. Attendees:
John Matthews, Sr. – President (5 Jun and 10 Jul)
Michael Gavin - Vice President (5 Jun and 10 Jul)
Michael Robertson - Secretary-Treasurer (5 Jun and 10 Jul)
Phil Kennedy (5 Jun)
Richard Pennington (10 Jul)
4. Standard Agenda Items:
a. Review/approval of previous meeting minutes: Minutes of the 13 Mar 2004 meeting
were reviewed and approved.
b. Financial status was reviewed and approved. The ACAVC account balance as of 5
Jun 2004 meeting was $969.60. The balance as of the 10 Jul 2004 meeting was $969.60,
however, there were numerous Reunion sign-up checks in-hand waiting to be deposited.
The total account balance as of these minutes is $3356.60. Reunion sign-up deposits to
date total $2387.00. The 2004 ACAVC fund register is attached.
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AMMO Chiefs Association Virginia Chapter, P.O. Box 65499, Hampton VA 23665-5499
5. Old Business:
a. ACA Reunion: Mike Gavin provided an update on hotel accommodations and issues
being worked with the hotel. The schedule and costs were reviewed. Specific
events were discussed and good information was shared to help progress in our
reunion planning.
1) Reunion Schedule: The schedule has been finalized and sent out with all
invitations.
2) Hotel Accommodations:
A. As of the meeting on 10 Jul there are 8 rooms reserved at the Hotel for the
ACA Reunion. Need to advise reservations at the hotel to change the name on
their reservation system to “Ammo Chief’s Association” instead of
“Munitions Chief’s Association”. An executive suite has been reserved for
the ACA President, Mark Madamba at the standard hotel rate + $25.00.
B. We need to get the word out to all ACA members that the entry fee is for
adults only. Children are welcome and no entry fee is required.
C. Mike Gavin is also reserving the meeting room for Friday night ($225) for the
Membership meeting from 1800 - 2100. We can provide the seating
arrangement at a later date. The meeting will take place in the Peninsula
Room.
D. Hospitality Room: John Matthews submitted an e-mail to ACA to confirm
they were going to cover the costs of the Hospitality Room (3 x $125) and the
Membership meeting room ($250).
1) Because the hospitality room is two standard rooms connected together off
of the Atrium, there is some concern the group may get noisy. For this
reason, it was discussed that John Greer and Rick McVey should be asked
if they would take the rooms adjacent to the hospitality room to avoid any
problems with other guests and hotel management.
2) Decoration of the hospitality room was discussed. It was suggested people
bring in memorabilia to the reunion with them for display in the hospitality
room. We solicit all attendees to bring old pictures and yearbooks. We
can’t hang them on the walls, but we can lay them out on a table. Be sure
to mark them with your name.
3) Stocking the Hospitality Room: Mr. Gavin was going to ask Chief Clay if
any of the ACC AMMO experts wanted to spend time at the reunion and
help us out by keeping the hospitality room stocked with beer, soda, ice,
chips, and dips, etc. This would be a tremendous help in keeping the
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AMMO Chiefs Association Virginia Chapter, P.O. Box 65499, Hampton VA 23665-5499
reunion flowing smoothly and give some of these great troops an
opportunity to hang with the “old” Chiefs and share in some history.
E. Icebreaker snacks and formal dinner menu have been selected and the hotel
must have a final by dinner type order NLT 30 days prior (20 Aug 2004).
ACAVC agreed to purchase a keg of beer ($195) at the Icebreaker and pay the
bar set-up fee at both the Icebreaker and formal diner ($50 x 2 = $100).
F. Mike Gavin was going to ask hotel management if it is possible to extend the
Icebreaker to 2300 and arrange for some tables in the front area for
registration and greeting participants upon arrival.
G. Need to see if the hotel can arrange for a sheet cake for the opening ceremony.
3) Coat & Tie Dinner:
A. Need hotel layouts showing what rooms meetings and events are being held in
for the hand out packages.
B. Mike Gavin is working to have the dinner extended to 2200 to ensure we have
adequate time for all the activity.
C. The hotel was advised we have a specific seating arrangement for the Coat &
Tie Dinner (Head table, awards table, Deceased Chiefs table, etc.) other than
the rounds of ten. John Matthews developed a dinner layout (attached).
D. Hotel management confirmed the podium and sound system was not a
problem. Mike Robertson agreed to provide a CD with the National Anthem
and the Air Force song.
E. Honor Guard: An honor guard was scheduled and arranged by Mike
Robertson to post the colors at the Coat & Tie dinner; Mike Robertson will
confirm with the honor guard that they can still support the event.
F. Wine for the dinner tables will have to be purchased from the hotel at a rate of
$15.00 per bottle; the $50.00 dinner fee includes the costs of the wine.
G. Need to create nameplates and place mats for the Coat & Tie Dinner. John
Matthews has developed a place mat for the dinner (attached).
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AMMO Chiefs Association Virginia Chapter, P.O. Box 65499, Hampton VA 23665-5499
H. Invocation: John Matthews has put out an e-mail requesting someone from the
ACA membership to conduct the invocation.
I. It was discussed that ACA should extend an invitation to certain senior AF
leaders within the Munitions community, such as: AF/ILMW (Col. Felker)
and ACC/LGW (Col Bryson).
J. Shell & Flame Award Ceremony: John Matthews is creating the
Proclamation, Citation, and Scroll to present during the Shell & Flame Award.
Cost has yet to be determined. Chief Beasley is obtaining the Shell & Flame
Award for presentation at the ceremony.
4) ACAVC web-site: Mike Robertson updated the ACAVC web-site to include a
page dedicated to reunion planning for attendees. The reunion schedule; sign-up
list; information on state, regional, and local events; and information on ACA
Reunion shirt designs can be found on the web-site at:
http://uk.geocities.com/ammochf/ACAREUNION.html
5) Local Events: Currently, the following local events are available and planned.
A. Fishing Tour: John Cecere notified Mike Gavin that it was too early to
reserve a charter for the fishing trip, however, it should not be a problem
reserving a boat for a half-day excursion. Sign-ups for the fishing trip are
being collected now and we’ll have a better idea of what is needed once signup is complete. We’ll need to reserve a minimum of 30 days out (20 Aug 04)
B. Golf Tourney: Golf is scheduled and arranged for 23 Sep 04. Mike Robertson
will make contact with the golf course to ensure everything is on track. Final
coordination will be done in the last week prior to the event. We are looking
at using AFCOMAC golf memorabilia/trinkets as door prizes.
C. Aerospace Museum/IMAX: Rich Pennington agreed to work this event.
D. Ladies Nite-Out: We are looking at a combination of a Local Dinner Cruise
in combination with some activity at the Norfolk waterfront. We are
desperately in need of a “Lady” sponsor familiar with the Hampton and
Langley area to help set-up an agenda and arrange the Ladies Nite Out event.
For Chiefs in the Langley area, please check with your spouses to see if they
can help out with this.
E. Langley AFB Tour: F-15/22 Simulator Tour; tour being worked by Mr.
Jensen (ACC).
F. Many other local attractions are available for individuals or groups to
participate in to include Colonial Williamsburg, Busch Gardens, Battleship
Wisconsin Tour, Local River Cruises, Yorktown Battlefields, etc.
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AMMO Chiefs Association Virginia Chapter, P.O. Box 65499, Hampton VA 23665-5499
6) Transportation: Holiday Inn provides a shuttle for transportation to and from the
Norfolk and Newport News/Williamsburg airports. Contact the Holiday Inn at
757-838-0200 for transportation. Transportation to and from individual events
during the reunion will be a combination of privately owned vehicles (POV) and
individual rental cars; wed discussed contracting for one or two 15-PAX vans,
but decided to wait until we have a better idea of how many people are attending.
If necessary to rent a Van, the following company and rates were the best I could
find for a 15-PAX:
Company: Autorent; Tel: 757-890-2300 (Melinda)
http://www.gorent.com/r2_vehicles.php
Jefferson Avenue, Pomoco Lincoln Mercury Dealership
15 Passenger Rental Van: Two are available
Pick-up: 23 Sep 2004, Drop-off: 25 Sep 2004
Rates: Option 1) 100 miles or < / day = $89.99 / day x 2 days = $179.98 + Tax
Option 2) Unlimited = $119.99 / day x 2 days = $239.98 + Tax
7) Costs and Financing: Mike Robertson has developed a planning sheet to track
ACA Reunion sign-ups, event participation, and costs. As sign-ups are sent in to
Mike Gavin at the ACA mailing address or e-mailed to ACAVC from Rich
McVey from the ACA web-site, Mike Gavin and Mike Robertson will coordinate
on tracking and updating this information. The sign-up tracking sheet is being
used and seems to be working well.
8) Trinkets: Currently shirts, coins, piss-pots, and belt buckles are being worked.
Additionally, we are looking at ordering some items from AFCOMAC for sale at
the reunion or for use as door prizes.
A. ACAVC Shirt and Logo: Various designs were reviewed at the 5 Jun meeting
and a final design was presented for review embroidered on a sample shirt at
the 10 Jul meeting. Embroidery Works in Yorktown, VA provided the sample
and is doing the embroidery at a cost of $32.00 per shirt. We are waiting for
orders to come in during sign up. ACAVC will order 10 or 15 extra in various
styles/sizes to ensure they can be purchased during the reunion or at
registration. Status: Awaiting to finalize ACA Reunion orders; Embroidery
works is prepared to begin shirts as soon as we order; ECD: 10 Sep 2004
B. ACA Reunion Coin; Mike Gavin developed a design and has contracted with
Military Service Co. to produce the ACA reunions coins; ECD: 10 Sep 2004.
C. Belt Buckle: This idea fell through due to costs; too expensive to risk.
D. Piss-pots: John Matthews has purchased 25 Ceramic pisspots and they will
either be sold at the reunion or some may be raffled or used for centerpieces.
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AMMO Chiefs Association Virginia Chapter, P.O. Box 65499, Hampton VA 23665-5499
E. Wine Glasses: Mike Gavin is working with Chief McClary to have Turkish
wine glasses made and shipped in for the Reunion. ECD: 10 Sep 2004.
9) Guest Speakers: The guest speaker is Lt. General (Ret.) Leo Marquez and he will
be awarded the “Shell and Flame Award” at the reunion. We discussed a Plan-B
in case Gen. Marquez must cancel at the last minute. Currently, there is no
alternate speaker identified. We need to consider options for an alternate guest
speaker or identify someone who will fulfill the guest speaker role in the event
this is necessary. Previously discussed potential speaker was Gen. Kevin
Sullivan.
6. New Business:
a. It was noted that there are several new Chiefs to the ACAVC area that are not on the
e-mail distribution. Mike Robertson agreed to add them to the listing. They are
Chief Rickey Clay, Chief Don Moreland, and Chief (Ret) Dan Fri.
b. Corporate donations: Some are uncomfortable requesting corporate donations to
support ACA activities. It was discussed and agreed that it would be better if there
was a standard request letter, signed by the ACA President, requesting corporate
support through nominal donations of money, trinkets, or valued gifts. ACAVC will
draft a letter to ACA President, Mark Madamba requesting his signature.
c. ACA Membership coins: Question has came up about getting ACA membership
coins for some of the early/original ACA members, who did not get the numbered
version. Are these coins available for these legacy ACA Chiefs?
7. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 1450 hours.
8. The meeting moved to the Hampton Holiday - Inn to review accommodations and
discuss hotel, room, and event issues.
9. Next meeting: 14 Aug 2004, 12:00, Location - TBD.
/////Signed/////
Michael E. Robertson
ACAVC Secretary-Treasurer
Combined 5 Jun 2004 and 10 Jul 2004 meeting minutes are approved.
/////Signed/////
John A. Matthews, Sr.
ACAVC President
/////Signed/////
Michael R. Gavin
ACAVC Vice President
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AMMO Chiefs Association Virginia Chapter, P.O. Box 65499, Hampton VA 23665-5499
cc:
John Cecere-R
John A. Matthews Sr.-R
Bernard L. White-R
Wilbur (Bill) McCullough-R
Richard W. Pennington-R
Michael Lawhorne-R
Phillip R. Kennedy-R
CMSgt Michael E. Robertson-AD
Carroll Zollicoffer-R
CMSgt John Ray -R
Melvin E. Hill Jr.-R
Michael R. Gavin-R
Ronald W. Whisner-R
Dave Nickell-AD
George Heinlein-R
Ronald Paugh-R
Van Ray-R
Joel Rhodes-R
Thomas Danihel-R
Edward Whitley-R
Rickey Clay-AD
Don Moreland-AD
Dan Fri-R
cecerejc@aol.com
JMatthe596@aol.com
RetAMMOChief@aol.com
wilbur.mccullough@ngc.com
Richard.Pennington@langley.af.mil
michael.lawhorne@langley.af.mil
Pkenn95798@aol.com
AmmoRobbie@comcast.net
ChiefZollie@aol.com
jajmray@hotmail.com
C29OIN@aol.com
gavinm@erols.com
ronald.whisner@langley.af.mil
david.nickell@seymourjohnson.af.mil
geohel@3rddoor.com
Cherokee1505@aol.com
vanrayammo@aol.com
jrhodes1@nc.rr.com
Kimthom@aol.com
ammoman52@yahoo.com
Rickey.clay@langley.af.mil
Donald.moreland@langley.af.mil
daniel.fri@pentagon.af.mil
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AMMO Chiefs Association Virginia Chapter, P.O. Box 65499, Hampton VA 23665-5499