At this same organizational meeting the first group meeting was planned for August 20-21 1993 at the airport Holiday Inn, Jacksonville, FL. While attendance was planned only for members of the 1ST FCQ and an invitation was extended to all Chiefs in the area. The meeting was dubbed THE CHARTER CELEBRATION. Approximately 35 Chiefs and their spouses/guests were in attendance. Kissimmee, Florida was chosen as the next meeting place. 

            KISSIMMEE, FL FEBRUARY 3-5 1994

35 members and their spouses/guests met at the Travel Lodge in Kissimmee on the above dates. The activities consisted of a dinner show at SPLENDID CHINA and a Hawaiian Luau at the hotel. The closing banquet on Saturday night featured NCPOA President Anne Anderson as speaker.

WEST PALM BEACH, FL NOVEMBER 11-12 1994

The group gathered at the Holiday Inn at the airport in West Palm Beach on the above dates but a report on any activities other than announcing the site for the next meeting at Clearwater, FL.

CLEARWATER, FL MARCH 23-25 1995

On the above dates the group met at the Howard Johnson Hotel in Clearwater. There were 51 Chiefs and spouses/guests in attendance.  A luncheon on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway cruise on Friday led off the events schedule onboard an Empress Cruise Line Party Ship.

Some time between Clearwater and the following, I (not a member) was called by one of the long time members and persuaded to join the organization and get something going for the FALL FLING 2002. It was reported to me that the then President would not continue after 2003 and that a Fall Fling had not yet been organized, there were no volunteer host and there was fear that the organization would collapse and dissolve. I agreed to join and get involved and set up an event at a country club in Lehigh Acres, a suburb of Fort Myers, FL. The outside activities offered were golf, a down town Fort Myers visit to the Tom Edison and Henry Ford summer homes (now Museums) followed by a stop at one of North Fort Myers better buffet restaurants. A trip to the casino in Immokalee operated by the Mikosukkee Indian tribe of Florida was offered and well attended and since we were on a golf course, it had to be utilized.

JACKSONVILLE, FL APRIL 3-6 2003

The group met again in Jacksonville and they stayed at the Airport Holiday Inn. On this occasion the Group President Bill Glover hosted us. Our activities included a visit onboard USS SAMUEL B. ROBERTS (FFG-58) one of our Navy’s newest fast frigates armed with guided missiles.  We were personally welcomed aboard by the ship’s skipper Commander Randall C. Snyder, USNR.  We all had a good look at what today’s Navy is all about. On Friday evening we enjoyed a dinner theatre production of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF as well as a great prime rib dinner.

At the business meeting on Saturday that is always hosted by the President and the Secretary, Bill Glover announced his resignation as president. It was hinted that I was going to be nominated for the position of President of the Group. I was hesitant to even think about taking o the responsibility after I learned that the Group was being run by one person, there were no officers or directors, no by-laws, no treasurer, etc. At the meeting I was nominated and did accept conditionally; the conditions being that we would form an organization, including a vice-president, a treasurer and a secretary to begin with. The membership had to be represented! Those in attendance agreed. I asked Bob Clampit to be vice-president, Chuck Regan to be treasurer and Don Holland to be secretary and they all accepted. At the time of this writing, we have a very "smooth" running organization guided by rules and by laws named THE FLORIDA CHIEF PETTY OFFICERS ASSOCIATION. We are incorporated in the State of Delaware and through the dedication of our "still secretary" Don Holland we publish a newsletter several times a year. Everyone in attendance seemed pleased that the Florida Chief Petty Officer Group survived possible extinction. Bob Clampit volunteered to host the upcoming "FALL FLING" in Homosassa Springs.

                      CHUCK & ALICE DAVIS                                        BOB & RITAMAY CLAMPIT                                        

It was announced at the meeting that the next fling would be held at Cypress Gardens in Winter Haven in October 2005. Our speaker for the banquet was Commander John E. Nygaard, USN Commanding Officer of the Destroyer USS PAUL F. FOSTER (DD-964 home ported in Mayport, FL

CYPRESS GARDENS FL OCTOBER 12-16, 2005

90 people in attendance including wives and better-halves sounds like an exaggeration for such as laid back place like Cypress Gardens but the numbers are correct. During the fling, the group spent a day at "the gardens" and there was a tour of the nearby attraction "THE FANTASY OF FLIGHT" Good reports from both. The fling was closed with our banquet and an address by CAPT Samuel J. Cox, USN Commanding Officer of the Joint Intelligence Center for the U.S. Central Command. Many photos were taken at this fling and can be viewed in newsletter #11.

PALM BAY FLORIDA APRIL 19 – 23, 2006

The consensus was "who the hell ever heard of Palm Bay"? But, we all found it. Unfortunately, what our host was presented by the hotel staff was not a reality. The hotel had been a Holiday Inn and changed hands during the time lapse between inspection and our occupancy. We had rooms where doors did not lock, faucets did not shut off, toilets ran over and out the doors, the hospitality room was originally a "blivit" but we finally convinced them to "tear down these walls", the full service restaurant was non-existent and we were thankful that the banquet was catered. The highlight of the fling was the all-day event on the Sterling Casino Ship out of Port Canaveral. The entertainment onboard was great. We had "BLUES BROTHERS" imposters who did an excellent job of keep the laughs up and some of members even hit the dance floor. The lunch, which was included in the price of the event, consisted of warm hockey pucks and tube steaks. Notsohotso but just being at sea out of the sight of land and the energetic music made us feel good. As I recall, the only one counting their winnings were Bob Clampit and Alice Davis. It was a quiet bus ride back to the hotel. Despite the shortcomings of the hotel, our banquet meal was 4.0 – it was catered!! Despite the lack of dining facilities at the hotel, there were a few in the area but you had to look for them. Stu Covey, my wife and I did look and we did find one and one of their entrée’s was CFOT. What is CFOT? Sailors of the U.S. Navy for eons have cursed it, they have ignored it in the chow line, they have greeted it with a raspberry, but there are some of us out there who like it – we were weaned on it. There it was – all you can eat, creamed chipped beef on toast and fried potatoes – there was more beef in the gravy than you ever got in the Navy! Presently at 9 bucks a pound, it’s not cheap. Our banquet speaker LTCOL Bill Coleman, USA was supposed to inform us of current situation on Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) but what we got was a slide show of space and a long time standing at attention and saluting. So much for Palm Bay…..my apologies to the host. The summer 2006 newsletter featured World War II CSC Jim Phillips. Jim did most of his duty onboard Greyhounds (that’s a tin can).

OCALA, FL OCTOBER 18 – 22, 2006

October 18, 2006 found us in the beautiful horse country of Florida and also the home of John Travolta and his private airport. We were quartered at the Mariott Courtyard Hotel right in Ocala. A great location and a great hotel. Our outside activities included tours of a few of the horse farms that included carriage rides through the countryside. We also spent a day in Silver Springs that turned out to be enjoyable. There was one event that will live in the life of this writer forever that occurred during the carriage ride. My wife knowing that I am the self-proclaimed photographer for our flings happened to be in the front of the boarding line and reserved a seat for me in the front of the carriage so that I could take photos. Unfortunately, the big horse whose butt was facing me must have been fed some very gassy oats for breakfast. We were on the trail for a short time, when suddenly there was a blast from the horse in front of me, followed by a rotten smell. The odor dissipated quickly, however the horse was not quite finished. The next blast was aimed directly at me and it wasn’t just gas. I was treated like a leper until we reached a place where I could clean up a bit. From that time on I vowed never to sit in the front of anything that didn’t have a windshield. At the end of this tour we were treated to a BBQ lunch at the stable. Some member ventured onto the New England Shire Center where they enjoyed an interesting tour. AWC (AW) Jason York, USN from Patrol Squadron 30 at Naval Air Station JAX was the speaker for our banquet. Chief York gave an excellent presentation and all of those present agreed that with Chiefs like him, today’s Navy is in good hands. Jason had good luck after the fling – he became a father and made Ensign under the Limited Duty Officer Program. He now sails onboard the USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN a carrier out of Everett, Washington. At the business meeting Bob Schorb was relieved as Chief Recruiter by Chuck Davis. Volunteers Barbara Foerster, Cecil Coleman, Chuck Davis & Joe Huegel agreed to explore the Fort Myers area for our next fling.

FORT MYERS APRIL 2007

Putting this fling together was almost an exercise in futility. Dealing with the hotels and their younger executives (especially those who have watched military movies showing the Hollywood version of Sailors having fun) are becoming more and more reluctant to deal with military reunions. It took the combined efforts of 5 members, Cecil Coleman, Barbara Foerster, Joe Huegel and yours truly to work this one out. Luckily, Barbara, our only Coast Guard Chief (and a former Marine) has a lot of experience in setting these reunions and conventions up with hotels and she was a great asset in the planning. Anyhow, we finally made the break through and settled on the Holiday Inn (now known as Crown Plaza). We had a coordinator at the hotel that thought (after it was over) the Chiefs were cute, looked great in uniforms and hoped that we would be back. Both of our outside activities involved boats or very small ships, depending how you look at it. Fort Myers, considered one of heaven’s waiting rooms has little to offer in the excitement category. Finding something for our troops to keep them occupied presented a challenge. Our first outside activity was a trip onboard the BIG M – a Florida version of the USS GALLOPING DOMINOES. Yeah, a casino afloat. It wasn’t a long day but everyone was glad to see the dock and the return to hotel buses and the hospitality room. It was reported that the lunch was better than the Wednesday lunch aboard Navy ships. Next excursion was a three and one-half hour trip across the Gulf of Mexico from Fort Myers to Key West, Florida aboard a 4 engine, 85-foot catamaran. We left the Fort Myers dock about 8:30 AM and arrived in Key West at 11:00 AM. Accommodations onboard were very comfortable, the ride was smooth and the view (of the Gulf) was great. The members had 6 hours to visit various museums, displays, including Mel Fishers fabulous museum that displays his treasure hunting efforts, especially all of the gold from the Spanish Galleon ATOCHA . The main drag in Key West is Duval Street. The street is lined with T-shirt shanties and bars. One of the quests of Key West is to be able to complete the "Duval Crawl" – that is hitting every bar on one side and down the other. I don’t think any of our members were up to such a challenge. Liberty expired onboard at 17:45 – "only boat" out left at 1800. No one missed the ship movement – they returned safely to Fort Myers at about 2300 and hit the rack immediately. We had a great banquet. PHCM/CDR USN Retired Roy Williams. At the meeting the By Laws were amended to include a chaplain as an elected member.

Bob Wall was installed as the new president, Jim Bruski vice-president, Don Holland secretary, Jerry Dederick treasurer and Jim Phillips Chaplain. Pensacola was chosen as the site for the FALL FLING. Jim Bruski was chosen as the host.

                                 BOB WALL                                                                                             JIM BRUSKI

PENSACOLA, FL OCTOBER 10 – 14, 2007

For most of us who attended this fling, we learned just how the state of Florida is. I know that from my home, Pensacola is 600 miles there were several members who came from south of me. I did not arrive until after dark and there were very few people present. They began showing up after 9:00 PM. To attend our first event, we car-pooled to NAS Pensacola where we visited the Naval Air Museum and viewed the IMAX theater presentation of the "Magic of Flight". After the presentation, we could wander through the museum for as long as we wished and since we were using our own vehicles or riding with someone else, we could leave, return to the hotel and enjoy the hospitality room. Friday was "challenge day". A trip to the "HARDROCK" in Biloxi, Mississippi by charter coach. Again, some came home with $$$$. Saturday morning brought us to our business meeting. A motion was made to conduct the 2008 FALL FLING in Kissimmee. Chuck Davis, Travis Johnson, Bob Wall and Don Holland will work as a Committee to make all the arrangements for this get-together. We shifted berths for our banquet to the Angus Restaurant and everyone was able to car pool. A great meal was presented and afterwards our guest speaker Captain John A. Perciballi, Medical Corps, USN (Ret) gave us his presentation of the care that is being rendered to wounded Iraqi War Veterans and he gave a presentation on how the U.S. Navy is prepared to set up field hospitals just like the MASH units.

JACKSONVILLE APRIL 16 – 20, 2008

Sixty Chiefs and 55 spouses had a great time again in Jacksonville, this time the Embassy Suites – Baymeadows hotel was chosen. It was first class accommodations to the hilt. Getting up in the morning in our clean, well-decorated suites and rooms and hitting the dining room for a first class breakfast cooked to order was the best we have experienced yet and this was followed by a two-hour "HAPPY OUR" hosted by the hotel from 4 to 6PM each day – top shelf liquid refreshments served with hot and cold snacks. (We are going back in October 2009). Our hospitality room was well tended by our usual staff of Norm King, Jim Bruski, Larry Rudd, Stu Covey and others. Our first tour of the event took us to Mayport of Thursday morning and aboard the SUN CRUZ Casino boat for a day of fun and galloping dominos. We did have a few winners. Friday morning we boarded our bus for the Trident Submarine Base at Kings Bay, Georgia. Some had a tour of the training facility while others got aboard the USS WEST VIRGINIA for a tour. We did lunch at the base mess hall and were served steak and crab legs. Since we were on base we dropped the hook for a while at the Navy Exchange before re-boarding and returning to our hotel.

We had our usual business meeting on Saturday. All serving officers were re-elected to serve another term. Saturday evening we had to shift berths for our banquet to the Radisson Hotel off I-95. Our after-dinner speaker was MCPO Bob Brayman, USCG who is the Command Master Chief for the Coast Guard Jacksonville Sector. Master Chief Brayman gave an excellent presentation on the state of readiness dealing with terrorism and the unprecedented cooperation between Navy and Coast Guard units.

KISSIMMEE, FL OCT 8 – 12, 2008

64 Chiefs and an additional 48 spouses and other guests attended this event. It was hosted by Travis Johnson and Chuck Davis. The first outside event was an evening at the dinner theater "ARABIAN NIGHTS" where we enjoyed a good dinner and were treated to a great performance by a group of beautiful, well trained horses. On Friday evening we were treated to a FLORIDA LUAU where the uniform of the evening was muumuus and fancy Hawaiian shirts. Everyone looked "good" and thoroughly enjoyed himself or herself. On Saturday morning our members gathered for our semi-annual business meeting after which 20 of the members played a round of golf at the Orange Lake Resort. Jacksonville was chosen to be the site for the October 2009 meeting and the Baymeadow hotel was again chosen for our quarters. A cruise was suggested for our April 2009 rendezvous and Bob Wall assumed the responsibility of setting it up.

PORT CANAVERAL, FL   APRIL 26, 2009

Boarding the Carnival Lines MS SENSATION for a four day cruise to the Bahamas Island. The turnout was not that great and those who took part were for the most part, professional cruisers. We visited Freeport for a day and followed up with an overnight visit to Nassau. In Nassau there was plenty of time to visit and shop the downtown area as well as a visit to ATLANTIS. This was a short time cruise (R&R). The ship offered us a room to hold our business meeting in and following the by-laws a new President was nominated and elected. Jim Bruski will direct the FLCPOA for the next year. Jim chose Robin as his Vice President.

                                                                   JIM BRUSKI                                                                   ROBIN CARNEY

There were others who have helped our organization along the bumpy road to success and they should be mentioned here also.

Chuck Regan was the Treasurer from 2003 to 2005 and was relieved by Jerry Dederich who is still serving as our Treasurer.

No organization can operate successfully without a good administrative staff, record keeper, dues collector and newsletter editor Don Holland has been doing all of this since 2003 by himself and we’d be lost without his help.

For years Bob Schorb has relentlessly probed every known source and some that are unknown seeking out and attempting to recruit new members.

Norm King along with Jim Bruski has taken the responsibility of operating the Hospitality Room at each fling. He is known as our "spiritual leader" and they both take their responsibility seriously. We are never out of Kool Aid.