After Action Report by Richard Bittle

 

The Tampa reunion was a very busy one for me with lots of meetings and face to face discussions with various Screaming Eagles.

 

We conducted our A/101 Avn Association bi annual meeting at Tampa in a timely and business like manner. The panel members will put together a report to you all on the formal actions we took at the meeting. However the most important items we discussed: we passed the bi-annual financial report and July Treasures and Stores reports, voted to gift A/101 Avn Legacy prints to ITSOTB, Screaming Yellow Zonkers Corp, along with three prints to Anheuser Busch Corp. We passed a motion to incorporate our A/101 Avn Assoc (Jerry and Nancy Wofford have donated $750.00 to cover these cost, Thank you Jerry and Nancy), we voted to maintain any excess donations from the Glove Fund in a line item of the budget that can be used for immediate funding of support to A 4/101 Avn in their upcoming deployment. The panel will work out the details of this item. We also discussed our developing Corporate Sponsorship program for A/101 Avn at the meeting and asked for member’s volunteers to help develop and solicit corporations in this program. All of these items amongst other items on the agenda that will be in the formal minutes that will be sent out later to all members.

 

Also at the meeting we presented Mike Pavisich with a box of cigars from several of our members for his birthday and sang him a birthday greeting. Mike presented Gary Lee Stamey with five official US Army medals in his name from his service to our unit and country. Mike all of the medals framed, they were beautiful, Gary Lee was honored and visible touched by the presentation. The last item was that I announced that I would not be running for 101^st Aviation Governor for another term and that I nominated Chuck Slezak to run for my seat on the board of governors and encouraged everyone to support and vote for Chuck.

 

At Saturday’s !01^st  Aviation Unit meeting we elected Chuck Slezak unanimously by all present to serve as our representative on the board. I know Chuck will do an excellent job for us all in this position and I look forward to working with him to use aviation to improve the 101^st Airborne Division Association. I will also continue to do that along with Chuck and  our other Aviation Governor Lance Ruck (158^th Aviation) his alternate governor Dave Mussey (158^th Avn) and Chucks new alternate governor Timothy McElrath from the 159^th Avn. I am very proud of the representation we now have on the board of governors and I look forward to working with all of the units to represent all of the members of the 101^st Airborne Division aviation members. It is very important that aviation continue to provide the leadership in the division association, we are making a big difference within the division association. We are changing the Division Assoc for the better and we need to continue to lead by example. I think I have made it very clear to the new division association president Larry Redmond of who A/101 Avn Association is now and that we want to work with them to change to division association for the betterment of all its members. The A/101 Avn Association is currently drafting a letter to the 101^st Association to formally state the relationship between both associations.  More work is needed on this issue However I am now a member of the division association membership committee (out of the pan and into the fire, I know) I hope to use this position to bring all of the separate units of 101^st Airborne under the umbrella of the division association while they unite together within their own unit. Big job but I am willing to give it my best efforts, I look forward to working with our new President Larry Redmond, Membership Chairmen Dick Schonberger and the other members of the division association to make the 101^st Division Association a better organization for it’s members and one that listens to what our members want from the association.

 

Our A/101 Avn Association Hospitality room was once again the talk of the reunion. Mike and Terry Pavisich and Marty DiOrio did and excellent job outfitting the room and equipping the room with everything we could want. We had hundreds of visitors to our room and all were impressed with what we accomplished on our own without division association assistance. So much so that President Larry Redmond invited me to seat in on a meeting with the representative for next years reunion in Minneapolis. I had a nice discussion with the motel representative and she is going to work with us to provide a bigger. Better equipped hospitality room at comparable prices that we just paid in Tampa. I also met with the 2007 representative for the Omaha reunion, he promised me that a room would be provided us at no cost for that reunion. I will stay on top of both of these items to help work out those arrangements. But once more I would like to thank Mike, Terry and Debra Pavisich and Dago for all of the hard work to present A/101 Avn in the best light by arranging an excellent hospitality room. Mike told me on the phone today that after all the bills are paid we will have a nice profit from the reunion. Thank you all for once again supporting our reunion activities.

 

Saturday evening the 101^st Airborne Association presented our own Gary Lee Stamey with the Continuing Effort" Award, it took a group effort to get him to stay at the dinner long enough to receive the award but we were all very proud of him. After Gary Lee received his award the Division Association totally surprised me by honoring me as the 2005 Memorial Award winner, I was in shock to say the least, but honored to receive this award from you all. Thank You all, I appreciate it very much.

 

There were lots of good times with great friends at Tampa, I really enjoyed my time with my friends. I am tired but I am looking forward to Snowbird next February when we next get together!

 

Thanks for the good times………

RB

A special "Thank You" to Anheuser-Busch for sponsoring our hospitality room and to Terry and Debra Pavisich for their devoted and tireless ticket sales, without them this reunion would not have been the success it was.

The A/101 Aviation Association is organized as a Non Profit, Tax exempt association, and as a War Veterans Organization under IRC 501 (c)(19) effective 12/07/04.  Donations made to the A/101 Aviation Association are Tax Deductible in accordance with Publication 526 and other IRC regulations.