Story of the Month
September - Jordan Lake Navigation Systems Patrol
On September 2nd, the annual Navigation Systems patrol was held on Jordan Lake on Tom Cox's (Fl. 9-12) boat. In addition to Tom, as coxswain, the crew consisted of Boat Crew, Joe Lambeth (9-9); Aids Verifier (AV), Steve Gartrell (9-8); and AV trainee, Alberto Lorenzo (9-9).
They inspected Jordan's 15 mile markers (12 on the main lake and 3 up the Haw River) and verified their positions and condition. Most were on station and watching properly, but several had reportable, though relatively minor, discrepancies. At the request of NC Wildlife, which owns most of the buoys on the lake, they verified the positions of 4 No-Wake buoys near the Farrington Point bridge. And finally, they inspected the clearance gauges on the two Main lake bridges, both of which continued to have reportable discrepancies (missing numbers).
The AVs will report the condition of the buoys to NC Wildlife.
‘The Crossing’
by Saralyn G. Toussaint, USCG Auxiliarist, Flotilla 9-8
I arrived early and reviewed required knowledge needed to patrol aboard a CG AUX facility with one of my Operations mentors, Jeff Conley. This was going to be my first patrol with the Auxiliary and it was hard for me to contain my excitement! Once all members of the safety team showed up (including a USCG unit and some Wildlife Officers) we gathered and received a briefing from event organizers and discussed some ‘Emergency Action Plan' details.
US Coast Guard Auxiliary Division 9 members at “The Crossing” 11 August 2018. Photographer unknown.
November: AUX Surprise for Jane Forbes, DAR
by Sankey Blanton, Flotilla 09-08 FSO-PA
Everybody likes well-deserved appreciation and recognition. In April 2017 the Piedmont Auxiliary University Program was notified that a Silver Medal was ready to be presented to Ms. Jamie Marie Ramos at the next meeting. My first questions were WHAT and WHO. To my surprise it was a medal awarded to the Outstanding Cadet of each Unit by the Daughters of the American Revolution ( https://www.dar.org/ ), who would be represented by Ms. Jean Lusted and Ms. Jane Forbes. I was requested to put on a uniform and show up with a camera – since I am FSO-PA.
Taking photos and making a short news item seemed to be the end of the matter, until the Division Training event in May which was, also to my surprise, attended by the District Commodore and Sector Captain. Sometime during the day, the conversation turned to the DAR and Silver Medal. The Commodore mused that it would be nice to give Jane Forbes, who had previously been on 5SR District staff, some tangible appreciation – maybe a certificate or something.
Reading the Citation at Davie Poplar DAR Meeting 18 OCT; photograph by Ms. Bren Eskridge.
Show time 1050 on 18OCT: I arrived to pick Jamie up at UNC, only to find her frantically searching her dorm room for the medal she had seen only days before. That’s why I arrived 10 minutes early for the 3 mile drive down the hill to the country club. Medal found, plenty of time, arrive CHCC, walk down stars to outside entrance of Rosemary Room, sneak in back door behind members, called up almost immediately for the presentation – timing is everything.
While Jamie displayed the framed certificate, I read the citation: United States Coast Guard Auxiliary Certificate of Appreciation [presented to Ms.] Jane Forbes for outstanding cooperation and assistance in furthering the purposes and principles of the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary and the Auxiliary University Program [dated:] 01 October 2017 [signed:] David R. Adams District Commodore Fifth District, Southern Region.
Ms. ‘Larry’ Hines, AUP Jamie Ramos, Ms. Jane Forbes and Sankey Blanton 18OCT2017 Certificate Presentation; photograph by Bren Eskridge, Davie Poplar Chapter NSDAR.
There were other parts of ‘the program’ presented by two UNC graduate students of the History Department on little-known facts of the American Revolution. Pictures were authorized after the official end of the program (like Member Training after adjournment), and we joined Jane and her friend ‘Larry’ Hines for a buffet lunch. During the lunch, Larry and I discussed how to start our campaign to get the DAR Medal approved for Auxiliarists (who seem to be very into ribbons of strange design and accomplishment levels). Meanwhile, Jamie was engaged in a conversation with another DAR member about Puerto Rico, which I will let her describe if she hasn’t forgotten it completely.
Around 1400 we begged to be excused since I had a medical appointment that afternoon, and Jamie needed a few last-minute preparations for a field trip she was leading to the Outer Banks now that Fall Break was (since noon) officially begun. When I finally got home I found the following email from Jane: “WOW! WHAT A SURPRISE TODAY THE PRESENTATION WAS!” Regent Jean Lusted summed it all up in her email: “It was such a special event for Jane, and so glad we all executed it perfectly from the secret* to the photos. Having Jamie present the framed certificate was especially nice and will be remembered by Jane, I'm sure. It was obvious Jane was overwhelmed, and for such a deserving person, I am so glad to have been a part of this event. We all like a surprise, and when they turn out as well as today, it gives us all a pat on the back.”
*Another DAR member came over after the photo event and declared that the biggest surprise was that so many of the members knew about the presentation beforehand and it was still kept secret from Jane Forbes!
*** END ***
NOTE to SELF: I know my left leg is an inch longer than my right and I have a crooked back, but I must remember to stand straighter, like I was trained at the Naval Academy 50 years ago. I’m supposed to take pictures, not be in them.
2July: It All Adds Up
by Sankey Blanton, Flotilla 09-08 FSO-PA
Genet Hutcheson’s 5th Award – 3750 hours. Photograph by Kevin Combs, Flotilla 98.
The challenge is out!