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2015 IUSSCAA Director's Message to members

I thought I'd repeat my Director's Corner comments for those who might have missed them in the email blast. - Jim

DIRECTOR’S CORNER

Welcome to the 2015 edition of our newsletter, The Cable. Once again we have the opportunity to add new members (43) and catch up on news of current members and sadly we also include acknowledgment of shipmates who have passed away (35). I appreciate the efforts of Bruce Rule, John Curtis, Dick Rentner, Chuck Gagnon and Bill Lippard who have contributed articulate and very informative articles that I am sure you will enjoy reading. We’ve also added a new section to the newsletter under the label “Liberty Call”. A special thank you to George Widenor for the suggestion. A number of members contributed Short Stories and Liberty Call inputs this year.

Several significant changes have occurred to the Integrated Undersea Surveillance System CAESAR Alumni Association (IUSSCAA) over the past year that warrant special mention here.

1 – BOARD CHANGE - The IUSSCAA Board underwent a significant change with Jack Holdzkom turning over membership and database management functions to Mike Kilpatrick and Assistant Director functions to Nick McConnell. Jack is a Plank Owner and original IUSSCAA Board member who has been with this organization since its founding. His contributions and support to this association and to me personally are immeasurable. But Jack is not going far. He still serves in an advisory capacity and he continues to maintain our IUSSCAA Memorial listing. Good luck to you in retirement Jack and Welcome Aboard Mike and Nick! Russ Lownie (Webmaster), and I (Director and Treasurer) continue in our current positions. Additionally, Ellis Sutter and Dick Rentner continue to provide necessary editing and formatting of our annual Cable newsletter.

2 – ELIMINATION OF DUES - Effective 1 October 2015 the requirement for dues (previously $10 for 2 years) for membership in the IUSS CAESAR Alumni Association was suspended. The Board of Directors determined that sufficient funding exists in the Association checking account to maintain the website, provide periodic "geedunk", assist with IUSSCAA reunions, etc. Remaining funds will be used to install a permanent memorial plaque/mural at the Naval Heritage Center in Washington, D.C. in the next year. If additional funding becomes necessary in the future, requests for donations will be initiated.

3 – PAPERLESS ORGANIZATION - Commencing in 2016 the IUSSCAA will no longer print and mail paper copies of The Cable or our Member Directory. Cost of publication had risen to nearly $14 per copy for about 50 members. We’ll still be mailing this 2015 edition to approximately 50 households.

4 – MAINTAINING AN ACTIVE MEMBERSHIP - With the elimination of an annual dues requirement it is very important that members keep the Association updated on any changes to mailing address, email address, etc. This can be easily taken care of by submitting a Membership Data Update from our "Membership" page at iusscaa.org. That is the only way we can ensure the Membership Listing is accurate and we'll want to be sure to get the newsletters to the right email addresses.
Today the IUSS CAESAR Alumni Association stands at 673 active members. We have an archive of 618 former members.

Sadly, we list 393 IUSS shipmates in our Memorial Section, with 35 names added in the past year alone. See that listing at the end of this newsletter and on our website, which is updated monthly.

Once again, the Association could not continue to exist without the hundreds of cumulative hours volunteered by JACK HOLDZKOM, MIKE KILPATRICK, RUSS LOWNIE, NICK MCCONNELL, ELLIS SUTTER, and DICK RENTNER. Thank you gentlemen.

On behalf of the IUSSCAA Board of Directors I wish all of our members and their families a safe and happy holiday season and a wonderful, healthy New Year in 2016.

Jim Donovan, CAPT, USN (Ret)

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