Author Archives: Hannah Jaime

MOWW February Luncheon

Meet a Pillar of San Diego

RADM John “Mac” McLaughlin, USN (Ret.)
President & CEO, USS Midway Museum

On Feb. 15 2023. MOWW San Diego will be honored to present RADM John “Mac” McLaughlin, USN (Ret.) at our monthly meeting. He will discuss bis military service, the path that led him to this prominent position and his impactful work in our community.

MOWW February Luncheon
Where: San Diego Unified School District – Revere Center
6735 Gifford Way, Room 8
San Diego, CA 92111
Keynote Speaker: RADM Mac McLaughlin, President & CEO, USS Midway Museum
When: Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023
Meet and Greet at 11:00 a.m.; Program 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Attire: Business casual
Open to the Public
Lunch: A delicious catered lunch with 2 sides, and drink is available for only $12 per person
**RSVP required: Please contact COL Tim Swann at (858) 496-8203 or by email at tswann@sandi.net

BACKGROUND: Mac McLaughlin is President & Chief Executive Officer of the USS Midway Museum. He was hired as the Chief Operating Officer in December 2003, one month prior to the Midway’s arrival in San Diego and has been the chief executive throughout the building of the Museum. 

Prior to joining the Midway, Mac retired from the Navy as a Rear Admiral in August 2003. During his career as a Naval Aviator, he served as a Commanding Officer of a helicopter squadron and Naval Air Station. He served two tours of duty in the Pentagon on the Chief of Naval Operations Staff and served Flag tours as Commander, Naval Air Reserve Force and Naval Reserve Forces Command. 

Mac is the former President of the Historic Naval Ships Association and the former Chair of the Naval Helicopter Association. He is a board member for the San Diego Port Tenants Association, and a member of the American Association of Museums and the California Association of Museums. 

Mac graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1972 where he was an All-American and Captain of the track team. He holds a Masters Degree in Public Administration from Troy State University. He is married to the former Norah Anne Flynn of Chula Vista and they have two adult children, Kathleen and Stephen and six grandchildren.

MOWW January Luncheon

Meet a Retired Navy Mineman & Community leader
What: Monthly MOWW Luncheon
Who: Vic Martin, Executive Director at Warrior Resource Project & MOWW Chapter Patriot
Where: Revere Center
San Diego Unified School District
6735 Gifford Way, Room 8
San Diego, CA 92111
(Enter Conference Room marked with signs from parking lot)
When: Wednesday, January 18, 2023 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Attire: Business casual
Details: Open to the public and members.
Lunch: A delicious meatloaf lunch with 2 sides, drinks and cornbread is available for only $12 per person.
RSVP required: Lunch reservations are required. Please contact COL Tim Swann at (858) 496-8203 or by email at tswann@sandi.net

BACKGROUND: Medically-retired Navy Mineman, Victor E. Martin, is an advocate, educator and keynote speaker focused on veteran issues related to active-duty service members transitioning into civilian/veteran life and on those struggling with reintegration while living with mental health diagnoses. Through his own experiences, he has developed a level of understanding, patience and empathy that allows for true peer-to-peer mentorship and leadership. 

Mr. Martin holds numerous leadership positions within the community, to include: 2022-2023 Commander at American Legion Post 275 in La Jolla, Executive Director at Warrior Resource Project, and Professional Mentor at the University of California San Marcos School of Business.  He is honored to have spoken to thousands of people, at hundreds of locations, about mental illness and what we can do to better support our own mental health through the use of various tools; including therapy, yoga, hiking, art, and gardening.   Currently, Mr. Martin resides in La Mesa with his wife Kacy, and is father to son Rawley and two daughters, Violet and Skarlet.

Much Learning: Ukraine War Updates, Chapter Sharing and Training!

Post by the Region XIV Commander:
At our November 1, 2022 Region XIV conference, all chapters with 30 companions attended.  These included IPCINC General Lopez, General Lebidine, Immediate Past Region Commander, General Pemberton, Region Vice Commander, and Dave Worley, our VCINC.

I thanked the commanders and chapters for the following: continuing recruiting, Chapter Action Plans, and submitting annual IRS reports on time. I thanked Southern CA Dept. Commander Dan Kash and Chuck Palmer for financing the recent FORCE-CON 2022, a salute to and honoring of all our military in San Diego. Thank you to so many on the San Diego Massing of the Colors team this past Oct. 15.

VCINC Comments and National Updates: Dave Worley
The Strategic Planning Committee continues to revise the National Strategic Goals. Soon, National will provide marketing and branding tools for each chapter to use. National continues to look for ways to better support the chapters.

Speaker: LTC Dieter Dupont, USA (Ret)
Dieter presented a well-researched and organized brief on the situation in Ukraine. His brief provided historical context of Ukraine, its relationship to the USSR and Russia, and provided a current assessment of the war situation today. His brief covered three broad topics:

– Historical Background of Ukraine

– Cold War 2.0

– NATO Transformation and Proxy War

A copy of Dieter’s brief may be requested by emailing him at DuPont@USA.com

Chapter Sharing and Training Topics
PCINC Dave Gibson from Puget Sound Chapter provided an update on their successful recruiting process. They have a formal recruiting team who use a list of prospective companions. Each year they have generally recruited 10-20 new companions. Efforts have included welcoming prospective new companions with the following steps. Some 1-on-1 time with the Chapter Commander, presenting the prospective new member with chapter news, and a commemorative photo with the Chapter Commander. Have the membership applications pre-filled to make the joining process easier at the meeting or shortly afterward. Dave recommended use of Facebook for outreach as it permits wide access, and allows chapters to post photos, news and announce upcoming events. Have patience because recruiting may take a year or two. And follow up!

Georgett Studnicka from Bradley-Hanson Chapter offered that she is pursuing new members through civic and professional organizations including non-profit organizations local to her area. She has found that it is common for these organizations to have active duty military and veterans among their members. She has visited the Chamber of Commerce and will be visiting Kiwanis to seek out new members.

San Diego Chapter Commander Barbara Peralta provided a review of the 66th Annual Massing of the Colors and Service of Remembrance held on Saturday, October 15, 2022 at the U.S. Army of the West Mormon Battalion Historic Site in Old Town San Diego. Janet Chin, Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army (CA-Coastal South) was the keynote speaker and the event was highlighted by the participation of the U.S. Marine Corps Band, and Color Guards from JROTC and ROTC units, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts Troops, and patriotic organizations. The ice cream social that followed the ceremony was a hit. Next year the Chapter-sponsored Massing of the Colors will be held at the Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park on Saturday, October 14th.

Holland Chapter Commander Paul Lebidine spoke of recruiting through their planned YLS, and using YLS as a venue to develop leaders among local youth and as a venue to attract new members. They plan a YLS staff of 28-35 year olds.

Holley Shaffner, the Honor Flight San Diego Public Relations Director presented an update on Honor Flight events. On Nov. 6, 2022 at 1:00 p.m., at the conclusion of the Honor Flight to Washington DC that will begin on Nov . 4, a Homecoming ceremony will be held at San Diego International Airport to welcome home participants. It is typical for 800 to 1000 people to give returning Honor Flight participants the welcome that perhaps they did not receive when they returned home from war. To date, approximately 1600 veterans from WW II and Korea have participated in Honor Flight. In September, Honor Flight began honoring veterans from the Vietnam War.

We typically do 2 flights per year at the cost of $300,000 per trip (the veteran does not pay for his/her flight). The community was very generous this year, so we had enough funding for 3 trips this year. Long range, our trips depend on funding. We are 100% donor funded as we receive no government funding and we are 100% volunteer staffed. So, right now we know our April flight will be WWII/Korea/Vietnam eras and it will be April 28-30. Past April is TBD.

Gaylord-Dillingham Chapter Commander Jason Seal offered some lessons learned and best practices for conducting a YLS. A key first step is to locate a venue. Sending out a “Letter of Instruction” no later than six weeks prior to the planned event will give organizers enough lead time to finalize YLS-associated events.

Award:
Ted Parsons presented the Region XIV Distinguished Chapter Award to Puget Sound Chapter. Capt. Ed Murphy, Commander, Puget Sound Chapter accepted the award on behalf of all companions. See the attached picture of the Award.

Ted chose the Puget Sound Chapter after considering several chapters. Over two years, 2020-2022, the Puget Sound Chapter team led by Chapter Commander LTC Heinz Haskins accomplished dozens of outreach events, recruited many many companions, and received national recognition for 15 of their outreach programs. Plus they placed in the top three chapters twice for the GA John J. Pershing Chapter of the Year Award.

Open Forum
CSM Jon Church shared some of the Woolsey Chapter outreach to minority youth as part of their many outreach programs.

CAPT Quinn Hawley from the Wright Chapter shared that they are planning a one-day “Inland Empire Leadership Conference,” a scaled version of a YLS in the spring at the California Military Institute. The intent will be similar to a YLS: develop youth leadership, teach team and rapport-building, instill patriotism. 100-150 participants are expected.

VCINC Worley urged every chapter to visit the Hoover Institution Library & Archives at Stanford University, near Palo Alto, CA where MOWW records are archived. They can be downloaded by chapter. Make a reservation about a month in advance.

Next year’s National Convention will be in Annapolis, MD, followed by Valley Forge, Pennsylvania in 2024.

Submitted by,
Ted Parsons
Region XIV Commander