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  57th Alumni Association

http://www.57thalumni.com 

Alumni, 

The 2011 reunion in Altus, OK this year has come and gone and my memories from this reunion are wonderful.  If you were unable to attend this reunion do make plans now to join us at our next reunion in October of 2012.  Let me share with you some of the highlights from this year’s 57th Alumni Association reunion.

Alumni started arriving early this year as we had individuals waiting at the hotel when we arrived there Wednesday afternoon the 5th and I knew then we were in for a great reunion. On Thursday morning the arrivals continued and Thursday evening we moved over to Luigi’s for our official icebreaker.  Many joined us at Luigi’s for this event and there were lots of hugs and handshakes.  Our guests were from places such as MN, FL, KS, IN, KY, OK, IO, TX, AR, GA to name a few. 

 On Friday morning yours truly had the honor of speaking to our association on the subject of our 57th Heritage.  I spoke about the 57th squadron from activation in 1942 till the present.  My desire is that in the coming months I can place on the website a more detailed account of the 57th’s outstanding history.

 On Friday afternoon on October 7th we were given an outstanding tour of the C-17, KC-135, the 97th Logistics Readiness Squadron aerial operations and a stop to visit the C-141 Fallen Heros's Memorial.  Our tour was hosted by the 97th AMW PA office.   Lisa Holland and Trish Weyer were our tour guides and they were outstanding!  Thank you Lisa and Trish!!!!!!!

 Also, the following URL link is to the base paper which had a short story about our base tour and a picture:

http://assets.matchbin.com/sites/471/assets/CFPM_Freedom_Flyer_October_14__2011.pdf  

Our association business meeting was Saturday morning. During this meeting the 57th Alumni Association members ratified our constitution and by-laws (visit our website at http://www.57thalumni.com  to review this document).  In addition, a Board of Officers consisting of the President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and four At Large Directors were seated. The term of office for each position of the Board of Officers will be two (2) years or until a successor is elected. To provide continuity in managing the affairs of the Association, the nominees for positions on the Board of Officers will be for staggered terms. The Vice-President and Treasurer will be elected on odd years and President and Secretary will be elected on even years. Directors “at large” will serve in a position number of one (1) through four (4) and will be elected on the odd and even year based on position number in which they sit on the board.

 Another item voted on by the alumni membership was where to hold the next reunion. It was decided to return to Altus, OK in 2012 and during the month of October.  The membership also voted that our 2013 reunion is to be held at the National Air Force Museum in Dayton, OH.

 Many of you are aware our Alumni Association designed and had fabricated a black granite bench to be donated to the 97th Air Mobility Wing’s Freedom Park.  During a light rain (yes it did rain in OK) the association met on Saturday afternoon at 2 pm on Altus Air Force Base, in Freedom Park, to unveil the bench.   The bench is dedicated to the men and women of the 1741st Air Transport Squadron, 57th Military Airlift Squadron and the 57th Airlift squadron. The placement of our bench is near the C-141 and the C-141 Fallen Heroes Monument (we will post pictures of the bench on our website at http://www.57thalumni.com).

 On Saturday evening at 6 pm the Alumni gathered at Luigi’s for our social and reunion banquet dinner.  I am pleased to report that we had 113 in attendance.

Some of the evening highlights are as follows:

·        The officers of the first elected Board of Directors were introduced and they are as follows: President; Woodie Hall, Vice-President; Paul Zender, Secretary; Ken Lyman, Treasurer; Kevin McAuliffe and Board of Directors at Large are: Gary Snyder, Floyd Badsky, Larry Graham and Jim Doornbos.

·        In addition, we honored and inducted four individuals into the 57th Alumni Association as Honorary Members; Jimmy Mitchell, Fred Carlucci, Okie (Leroy) Gardner and John Aument. The individual or a family member was present to receive the induction certificate.

·        We were honored to have as our guest speaker for the evening Col Casey Eaton, the Vice Commander of the 97th Air Mobility Wing.

·        Lastly, the 57th heritage quilt (designed and quilted by Teresa Gerber) winning raffle ticket was drawn.  The recipient was Mr. Terry Mitchell (the late Jimmy (Mitch) Mitchell’s son). Terry knowing the desires of some Alumni Members to retain the quilt within the association donated the quilt back to the Alumni Association (thank you Terry).  In exchange for Terry’s awesome deed our association will present the Mitchell family with a collage of 57th patches as a remembrance of the event and of the squadron where their dad served.

 Alumni Association Membership: Prior to our reunion our association membership totaled fifteen (15) Lifetime Members and eight (8) Annual Members.  Today, I am delighted to report that our membership has grown to twenty-eight (28) Lifetime Members and ten (10) Annual Members.  Help us keep the 57th alive by becoming a 57th Alumni Association member. Visit our website at http://www.57thalumni.com for a printable application?

 Alumni, thank you for your support in placing the bench in Freedom Park and the other alumni reunion activities.  Many individuals helped make this year’s reunion a huge success and there are just too many to list so please accept a big “Thank You” from your Board of Directors.

 Now, one more request, please share this information with someone you knew in the 57th so we can get the word out about our 57th Alumni Association.

 V/R

 Woodie Hall

President 57th Alumni Association