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Chuck DeBellevue (far right), speaks to AFROTC cadets at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. Paul Revere Chapter member Bob Holby knew DeBellevue from their active duty days; this led to inviting the Vietnam War ace to the Bay State.
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At the Indiana State meeting are (l-r): AFA President Craig McKinley; honorees Tom Eisenhuth, Jim Fultz, Bill Howard Jr., Bill Grider, Harold Henneke; and Great Lakes Region President Kent Owsley. |
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STEM in Washington, D.C.
WashingtonExec, an online media and events company aimed at Washington, D.C.’s, executive community, recently featured an interview with one of the winners of the Nation’s Capital Chapter’s science, technology, engineering, and math award.
How To Render a Salute “When I was flying SR-71s,” recalls Thomas Veltri of the Donald W. Steele Sr. Memorial Chapter in Virginia, “every time I came down the ladder after a mission, there was someone there to hand me a beer and tell me what a great job I had just done.” He says that in follow-on Air Force assignments, “I worked harder than ever, and I felt I was making a real impact, but there was nobody there with a beer or a pat on the back.” Veltri now makes sure the airmen and civilians in the chapter’s area receive a thank you for a job well done. For the past 17 years, he has been the VP in charge of the chapter’s Salute program. Five times a year, the chapter hosts a “Salute to … ” honoring a different Air Force directorate based at the Pentagon. In January the chapter held a Salute to the Strategic Plans and Programs directorate. Salute to the Air National Guard took place at the Sheraton Pentagon City on March 13. Salute to A3/5 was on tap for this month at the Ruth’s Chris Steak House in Crystal City. Such close scheduling keeps Veltri— who inherited the program from former Chapter President Richard Siner, Mary Anne Thompson, and Steve Gress—working his database. That’s his first piece of advice on how to carry out a Salute program:
At these events, guests sometimes run into people whom they didn’t realize worked in the same organization, Veltri says. It’s one reason he’s pleased to “pay tribute to the day-to-day activity of folks working in the Pentagon.”
L-r: Donald W. Steele Sr. Memorial Chapter President Gavin MacAloon with Lt. Col. Thomas Koory, Cheryl Franklin, Capt. Dustin Jones, Sarah Hobbs, Lt. Gen. Michael Moeller, and Salutes VP Tom Veltri. Moeller shut down the A8 shop on this January afternoon so everyone could attend the Salute to Strategic Plans and Programs. |
ADDITIONAL IMAGES
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Rallying for F-35 basing in Vermont are (l-r): John Roach, Dick Lorenz, David Baczewski, Joel Clark, Ray Tanguay, Steven Cray, Nicole Citro, Jamie Navarro, Mic?hael Morgan, and Lloyd Goodrow. |
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Steele Chapter President Gavin MacAloon, ANG Director Lt. Gen. Stanley Clarke III (both at left), and others applaud at the Salute to the ANG. ANG photo by MSgt. Marvin Preston.
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ANG personnel honored at the Steele Chapter’s latest Salute. ANG photo by MSgt. Marvin Preston.
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At the Virginia State Meeting (l-r): Guest speaker Michael Zettler, Randolph Macon Academy President Henry Hobgood, and AFA Vice Chairman of the Board for Field Operations Scott Van Cleef.
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Zettler presents his F-22 updates to the audience, hosted by the Northern Shenandoah Valley Chapter.
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Virginia State President Pete Jones (l) and Van Cleef presented an award to John Tagnesi at the state meeting. |
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At the Indiana State Meeting, awardee Harold Henneke addresses the audience. |
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Purdue University AFROTC cadets at the Indiana State Meeting, with AFA President Craig McKinley (back row, left) and AFA Midwest Region President Kent Owsley (back row, right).
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CAP cadet Jonathan Fitzgerald displays his AFA Citation and Medal, presented at the Indiana State Meeting.
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At the San Antonio sendoff were (l-r): Alamo Chapter President Al Swaim; students Stephen La Rosa, Cory Nichols, Paul Hopson, Kenny Graves, Maggie Schmeltekopf, and Jason Mirch; Alamo Chapter CyberPatriot Executive VP Tex Brown; and chapter Aerospace Education Foundation President David Pope.
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Spaatz Chapter guest speaker USAF recruiter TSgt. Carlos Castro (l), with Chapter President David Ribbe and New York State President Maxine Rauch. |
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Ribbe and Rauch thank Spaatz Chapter VP Nick Garrett (center). Garrett headed the group’s Support the Vet Program, distributing DVD and VCR players to Veterans Affairs facilities.
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Reunions
303rd Air Refueling Sq, Bermuda and Tucson (1953-63), including associated units. Oct. 23-27 at the Hyatt Place Hotel, Grapevine, TX. Contact: Marianne Madory, 1805 Rim Rock Trail, Mansfield, TX 76063 (951-232-9192) (rmmadory@att.net). 324th Fighter Gp, 9th AF (WWII). June 20-23 in Lexington, KY. Contacts: 324thfightergroupreunion@insightbb.com or Judith Wurmser (859-221-1509) or Linda Noffsinger (859-608-1208). 504th Bomb Gp, Tinian (1945). Sept. 20-24 in Washington, DC. Contact: Kaz Barcynski (252-637-0587) (mskb134@gmail.com). Air Force Transportation Officers. June 6-9 in O’Fallon, IL. Contact: Dick Glogowski (618-624-6115) (dglogowski@charter.net). Former Military/Overseas “Brats.” East Coast reunion: Aug. 8-11 in Daytona Beach, FL. West Coast reunion: Oct. 10-13 in Laughlin, NV. Contact: Joe Condrill (316-269-9610) (joeosbpres@sbcglobal.net). NAM POW, Assn of Vietnam War POWs. May 22-25 at the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, CA, and the Hyatt Regency in Newport Beach, CA. Contact: Tom Hanton, 2050 Jamieson Ave., Unit 1115, Alexandria, VA 22314 (703-615-8238) (tom.hanton@comcast.net). Unit reunion notices should be sent four months ahead of the event to reunions@afa.org, or mail notices to “Unit Reunions,” Air Force Magazine, 1501 Lee Highway, Arlington, VA 22209-1198. Please designate the unit holding the reunion, time, location, and a contact for more information. We reserve the right to condense notices. |