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April 2004
President: Col. Pat Murphy, USAF Ret.
Email: murphygroup@worldnet.att.net
 Web Site: http://www.afwoa.org

Presidential Ponderings:

By Pat Murphy

As your new president, I want to thank Karen Rankin for the masterful job she has done in leading this organization. I hope to follow her initiatives and the direction she has taken in the areas of increasing membership, responding to issues affecting women in the military, keeping members informed, and ensuring we have periodic reunions.

Our reunion in San Antonio in November 2003 was great fun, thanks to co-chairs Carol Habgood and Wanda Seals. The turnout was disappointing, but we don’t know if that had to do with the difficulty of travel, time of year, place, or a multitude of other reasons.

We would be interested in your thoughts on our reunions. We have had members indicate other places they would like to meet, but we haven’t had any members volunteer to hold a reunion in any of these cities. It is very difficult to hold a meeting outside of San Antonio without a great deal of support from members who live in that area.

As of now, we plan our next reunion in San Antonio , April 21-23, 2006. It will coincide with Fiesta Week, which is a wonderful celebration (party) on the River Walk, and all over San Antonio The board, based on costs for reservations and meals not used (and guaranteed in the contract with the Adam’s Mark Hotel), decided to return in ‘06 to the Adam’s Mark in San Antonio since they would waive some $7,400 in attrition fees.

I am looking forward to hearing any suggestions or recommendations. Our only purpose is to have the organization respond to your vision of it.

Also, please don’t forget to send your $10 dues for 2004.

Pat


Membership Pins and Dues:  If everything worked out correctly, your AFWOA membership pin is included with the mailing of this newsletter. The Board of Directors agreed that every member will receive a pin. Therefore, we decided to send this newsletter to everyone. Future newsletters and directories will only go to those who have paid dues. If you want to see if your dues are current, check your mailing address. The number after your name indicates through which year your dues are paid. Dues are current for mailings this year if paid through 2003. If “00" is after your name, we have not received any dues from you since we started collecting them in 2002.

So, if your dues are not current, please send $10 per year. If you know of someone who is unable to pay, please let us know. We have a number of donations for dues for members who are more financially challenged.

2004 Directory:  We are in the process of updating the directory. It will be mailed to those who have paid dues through at least 2003.

Web page: If you haven’t checked our web page lately, you’ve missed a treat. Linda Allen, Corpus Christi, Texas, is our webmaster, and she’s done a marvelous job. We are in the process of putting our directory in a secure, members only section available to those who are current with their dues. All other sections of the web page are available to everyone. So be sure to check http://www.afwoa.org.

Newsletter via email: Are you interested in receiving our newsletter via email? If so, please notify Linda Allen at webmaster@afwoa.org. Once we initiate this, please note that you will not receive a snail mail copy of the newsletter. However, if you don’t sign up for an email newsletter, you will still receive it in the regular mail.
Web sites of interest: Other web sites of interest include http://www.moaa.org. That’s the site of the Military Officers Association of America (formerly TROA). There’s a link to it on the AFWOA web page. Be sure to check the legislative page that updates you on current legislative issues and allows you to contact your elected officials.

Yvonne “Pat” Pateman: One of our original members, Pat Pateman, died April 3, 2004. Until poor health curtailed her travels, Pat attended all our reunions. She was also a member of the WIMSA Board of Directors for many years. Pat was a WASP during World War II. She was cremated. But when she was younger, Pat said she wanted to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery so that she could keep an eye on the Pentagon. Donations may be made in her name to WIMSA.

Reunion 2003: A hardy 35 ladies showed up for our get-together at the Adam’s Mark Hotel in San Antonio. Pat Moesker, Washington, D.C., and her sister-in-law, Marianne Purswell, Martindale, Texas, took the honors of having attended every Reunion. Although we were few in numbers, we had a wonderful time. Of the 35 who attended, 13 came from out-of-town, and 22 were from the San Antonio area.

Reunion 2006: The Board agreed to hold our next reunion in San Antonio April 21-23, 2006, back at the Adam’s Mark Hotel. When we signed our contract for the 2003 reunion, we based our estimates for rooms and food and beverages on past reunions, and then reduced our estimates even further. Well, what happened is that we did not meet the amounts guaranteed in our contract with the Adam’s Mark. Therefore, we were liable for an attrition fee of $7,400 for the unused rooms and food and beverages. However, because we agreed to hold our next reunion there, that fee was waived.

The best part: Reunion 2006 will be during the first weekend of the annual Fiesta celebration in San Antonio. This is the time that all San Antonio celebrates with parades, parties, parades and more parades. Especially noteworthy is a Night in Old San Antonio. The Adam’s Mark has given us the same great rates, to include three days before and three days after our reunion. So mark your calendars now and plan to join us in celebrating Fiesta!

Reunion chair is Carol Habgood, of San Antonio.

Update on Ellen Staley: Our newest member of the Board is Ellen Staley, San Antonio, who agreed to be Secretary. Ellen did a wonderful job with Reunion 2003 registration duties. During the December holidays, however, Ellen had a recurrence of her cancer. The good news is that with chemotherapy, the tumor has been significantly reduced. After more chemo, she reports she’ll have surgery to remove the rest of the tumor. She’s being treated at M.D. Anderson Hospital in Houston, Texas. Her mailing address there is P.O. Box 20187, Houston TX 77225-0187. She anticipates being there through the summer.


WIMSA Chair for Norma Brown: Efforts are underway to fund a memorial chair at the WIMSA theater in memory of Maj. Gen. Norma Brown, USAF Ret. So far about $2,000 has been received. Contributions should be sent to WIMSA, with a notation that they are for the Norma Brown chair.
Nutrition Studies: The U.S. Department of Agriculture operates six Human Nutrition Research Centers in the United States. The facility in Grand Forks, North Dakota, is looking for people to participate in long-term, live-in nutrition studies. You fly to the center at their expense, and receive a stipend while there. For more information, or to be placed on their mailing list, call (701) 795-8396 or 1-800-562-4032. Or visit on-line at http://www.gfhnrc.ars.usda.gov.

Sampson Air Force Base: The Sampson Air Force Base Veterans Association is looking for anyone who was stationed at the old Sampson AFB, 12 miles south of Geneva, New York. Contact Chip Phillips at PO Box 331, Williamsville, NY 14231, or by email at Chip34@aol.com.

Burtonwood Association: The Burtonwood Association is holding its next reunion in Santa Maria, Calif., from October 5-9, 2004. The association includes people associated with the 3rd and 8th Air Forces at Burtonwood RAF Base, Warrington, England. Contact Richard Iwanowski, 4515 W. 55th St., Chicago, Illinois 60632. Telephone 773-767-1810.

Corporate Gray Job Fairs: Corporate Gray Job Fairs is building a network of job-seekers. Resumes can be posted at www.CorporateGray.com. In turn, you will receive advance notice of job fairs in your area. At each job fair, Corporate Gray collects resumes from military members and spouses. The resumes are made available to employers at the job fair for a month after the event. The service is provided at no cost to you.

Active Chapters: Our active duty ladies at Hanscom AFB have an active AFWOA chapter. Nichole King-Campbell, Nashua, N.H., is leading the effort there. And out at Hill AFB, efforts are underway to form a chapter there. It’s great to see our organization spreading throughout the local areas.

Beryl Escott, Stratford-upon-Avon, U.K., has a new book, The WAAF. She tells the story of the wartime WAAF at work and play and provides a bird’s eye view of their many roles. It’s available in the U.S. and Canada from Parkwest Publications, 451 Communipaw Ave., Jersey City, N.J. 07304. Or check the web site http://www.parkwestpubs.com.

New members: Welcome to the following new members:

     Elizabeth Buckley
     Katharine Daspit
     Patti Jo DeMotts
     Ruth Grine
     Linda Hampton
     Linda Haseloff
     Patty Locher
     Rebecca Nelson
     Jill Petty
     Linda Quintero
     Angelique Patterson
     Janet Robinson

Actually, Kay Daspit and Ruth Grine were long-time members we “lost” in the mail and have found once more.

Deidre Wright, Palm Coast, Fla., reports she is presently reference librarian with the Flagler County Public Library in Palm Coast.

Sharon Mullarkey, West Palm Beach, Fla., reports that in January, Air Force One visited Palm Beach International Airport (where she works). She sat up front in the to-go-crew’s C-5. She says it brought back memories of her days in Okinawa. The photo shows Sharon in the cockpit of the C-5.