Executive Director’s Report:
Winter Update
by CAPT J.R. Davis, USN(Ret)
by CAPT J.R. Davis, USN(Ret)
Despite the fact that the pace of operations has slowed somewhat since our very successful reunion last September, your Tailhook staff remains active in their efforts to provide better service to our members. Our board of directors is examining a number of new initiatives to ensure that our Association remains strong and a viable voice in Naval Aviation. In an effort to keep you abreast of various developments and concerns, I will address an item of importance to the health of our organization.
The Association has made two minor changes to the membership structure. First, we are offering a new five-year membership for $190. Second, we are offering active-duty members and nonmembers a Life membership option with payments spread over four years. To initiate the Life membership, a payment of $105 is due with the application. Beginning with the following January and in January for three more years we will send you an invoice for a $150 payment. The total payment of $705 will be complete with the fourth January payment.
We urge you to convert your membership by calling (800) 322-4665 and ask for information to get you started on your new Life membership. The most tangible benefits of membership are our attractive quarterly publication, The Hook, meetings with other Tailhookers at local Ready Room gatherings, and most importantly, our professional symposium at the annual Tailhook reunion.
Our membership has decreased slightly from 11,524 at the beginning of 2005 to a current total of 11,220. Membership turnover is a continuing problem, but our losses in 2005 have been greater than most years. We lose from 700 to 1,000 members in a typical year, but we usually replace those losses with new members and even gain additional new members.
The losses are attributed to three causes — intentional failure to renew, failure to report an address change and taking the Last Cut. With recent changes in the Navy’s force structure, the number of aviators serving aboard aircraft carriers has been decreasing as single-seat airplanes replace two-seat aircraft. Also, fewer aircraft are assigned to an air wing, which means that our active-duty constituency has been shrinking.
To reverse this trend, we have initiated a letter-writing program to contact the 2,545 members lost between 2003 and 2005 to encourage them to reactivate their membership. Also, the board of directors continues to visit fleet aviator concentrations in an attempt to attract new members. Our winter meeting is scheduled for sometime in March at NAS Lemoore.
You can help build a stronger Tailhook Association by bringing in a new member or convincing one of your buddies who has dropped out of the Tailhook Association to reactivate his membership. We can prosper and continue to improve The Hook magazine as we work to achieve our goal of 13,000 members by 2009.
We recognize that our future also depends on strong corporate support. This year our corporate sponsorship list has grown from 24 to 26 with the addition of EDO Corporation and Wyle Laboratories, Inc.
One of the relatively new programs within Tailhook is our Ready Room program, and five are now active in various parts of the country.
If you are interested in helping to establish a Ready Room in your area, contact the Tailhook staff at (800) 322-4665 for information.
Start your planning early for our next Tailhook reunion, which will be our 50th anniversary celebration. Needless to say, we expect a large turnout for this milestone event.
If you are part of a reunion group, please consider the advantages of staging your reunion activities at Tailhook in Reno. Many reunion organizations have done so in the past and report that it’s the only way to go.
Reunion dates are set for the next four years at John Ascuaga’s Nugget in Reno/Sparks, Nevada:
7–10 September 2006 — Reno, Nevada
6–9 September 2007 — Reno, Nevada
4–7 September 2008 — Reno, Nevada
10–13 September 2009 — Reno, Nevada
In addition to the new 2006 reunion golf shirt, we have added long-sleeved T-shirts with pilot wings and hook logo, and children’s T-shirts. See our advertisement on Page 38 or visit the Tailhook ship’s store to view the new items. https://www.tailhook.net/Merchant2/merchant.mvc
Now, where is that tanker? — “Tanker Posit!”
Hook 2006 Reunion Coordinator (Marc Ostertag): (800) 322-4665
Tailhook Educational Foundation (CFC #2965): (800) 269-8267
The Tailhook Ship’s Store: (800) 322-4665
Tailhook Web site: http://www.tailhook.org or http://www.tailhook.net
e-mail: thookassn@aol.com