Coordinator�s
Corner Article
A Summary
of the 2017 Myrtle Beach Reunion
�������� The 20th U.S.S. Soley �Reunion was held at the Beach Cove Resort in
North Myrtle Beach, SC, 7-12 May 2017.� A
total of 78 were in attendance - 30 shipmates and 48 family members and guests.
��Among the shipmates in attendance, we
were honored to have Plankowner Bill McMurdy and his wife Jane join us again,
all the way from Scottsdale, AZ.
������� The following shipmates,
family members, and guests were attending their 1st reunion. �From all accounts they had a great time and
will be back.�� Welcome to all.
������� 1st Time Shipmates
and Wives:� Carles Stout (RM3, 62-64)
& wife Pat; George Gibson (BT2, 59-62) & wife Sharon; Richard Sprague
(DC2, 64-66) & wife Marian.
������ �1st time Family Members &
Guests:� Patricia Bargher, friend of
Francine Feltman (companion of deceased Plankowner Perry Shelton, BGT3, 44-46);
Teresa Cooper, Daughter of Dottie Vigna (widow of Tony Vigna (BMSN, 52-54); Ski
& Sis Ostrawski, cousins of Pat Kranack (widow of Mike Kranack (EN3, 55-59);
representing� deceased shipmate Werner
Bierbach, SOM3, 45-46, were daughters Jill Bierbach & Jenny
Fitzgerald,� & Werner�s grandson
Brady Brisighella.���
������� Another 1st
timer was Andrew Lane, the step-son of one of our Plankowners, James Marshall,
who passed away last year.� Andrew called
me a week before the reunion and told me he would like to attend our memorial
service to honor his step-father, who raised him .� So, he drove from his home in Atlanta that
morning, attended the service,� and took
part in our wreath tossing ceremony.� He
expressed his gratitude for being able to attend and he presented us with a
donation to the Association in James�s memory.
If I missed anyone, or made any errors, I apologize.
������� We opened the reunion with
a welcome reception pool-side at our host hotel.� The next day we took a luncheon cruise on the
Intercoastal Waterway, aboard the Barefoot Princess Riverboat.� The following day we went by motorcoach to
the Chesapeake House for dinner followed by a show at the Carolina Opry.� Our memorial service, honoring our departed
shipmates, was held the next day aboard the USS North Carolina (BB-55), in
Wilmington, NC.
On the final day of the reunion we held our business meeting in the
morning and enjoyed our Grand Banquet in the evening.
���� At the banquet, we made 3
special presentations.� Representatives
of the Quilts of Valor organization were invited to present Quilts of Valor to
3 of our shipmates.� The quilts are hand-made
by volunteers and are awarded to veterans who served during a war or
conflict.� We were proud to award quilts
to Plankowner Bill McMurdy; to Ken Dry, and to Frank Chesla, both career Navy
veterans.� Congratulations shipmates!�� Check out photos on our website:� www.usssoley.org.
and on our Facebook page;� USS Soley.
���
������ I�d like to thank all those
who helped out during the reunion, including:�
Jim Hawker, for performing master of ceremony duties at our memorial
service and banquet.� I know Jim puts a
lot of work into those events and takes great pride in what he does; Dottie
Vigna and her crew for selling a bunch of raffle and 50/50 tickets; Our Ship�s
Store Operator, Patty Kranack, who did an outstanding job selling a good amount
of merchandise; Jerry Loch and his wife Carol, for leading prayers during our
memorial service and banquet, and; all those who manned the registration desk
and otherwise helped out when needed during the reunion.�
������ Elections were held at our
business meeting to elect or re-elect Association Committee members to serve
until the next reunion.�� Members and
their Assistants are:
�����������
� ����������Reunion Coordinator/Secretary Registrar������������������������� �Mike Pollack
����� ������Assistant Reunion Coordinator������� ��������������������������������������Len Porter
����������� Treasurer������������������������������� ������� ���������������������������������������Shirley Brown
����������� Assistant Treasurer��������������� ������� ���������������������������������������Len
Porter
����������� Historian�������������������������������� �������� ��������������������������������������Jim
Hawker
����������� Assistant Historian���������������� ��������� �������������������������������������Len Porter
����������� Ship�s Store
Operator������������������������ �������������������������������������Pat Kranack
����������� Assistant Ship�s Store
Operator������ �������������������������������������Linda Folk
����������� SCOOP Editor������������� ������������ ����������������������������������������������Chuck Bruce
����������� Assistant SCOOP Editor��������� ��������� ������������������������������������Jim
Hawker
����������� Webmaster���������������� ������������� ���������������������������������������������Frank Chesla
����������� Assistant Webmaster �������������
���������������������������������������������Len Porter
�������� Not listed as committee
members are Jerry Loch and Al Stiles, who volunteered to relieve Jim Hawker of
some of his duties by taking over as Master of Ceremony for our Memorial
Service (Jerry) and Banquet (Al), at the next reunion, and; �Bob Piatak, who volunteered to take much of
the Soley memorabilia from Jim and store it in his house.
������ �Also stepping up was Terri Cooper, Dottie
Vigna�s daughter, who volunteered to set up a USS Soley Facebook Page.� She had it done at our banquet.� We are now on Facebook.� �It�s a
great way to stay connected, post photos, and hopefully attract new members.� Thanks, Terri.
������� I�d also like to thank all
my fellow committee members for volunteering their time and effort to help keep
the Association going on a day-to-day basis, and for all their hard work
leading up to and during the reunion.
������� At the business meeting we
voted to publish all future Soley Scoop newsletters electronically by e-mail,
and not to mail out copies.� This will
save us money and provide some relief to Chuck Bruce, our Scoop editor, for the
labor-intensive task of printing and mailing.�
We requested that those without internet access provide Chuck with the
e-mail address of a family member where the Scoop can be e-mailed..
������ Our next reunion will be
held in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, �Fall of 2018.�
I have already begun the planning process and will keep everyone
informed as I move forward.
That�s it for now!
Mike Pollack, Reunion Coordinator