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March, 2003 |
The Yellow Rose B-25 Squadron Newsletter |
Vol. 06-03 |
LEADER’S WORDS
By
Grant Lannon
Howard Martin, Bob Gardner and I just got back from the Winter Staff Conference in
Midland. It was the best that we have attended. There seems to be a new mood
in the CAF Volunteer General Staff and full time Midland workers. It is more of a cooperative attitude toward
helping the units get what they need to keep the aircraft flying. While the General Staff doesn’t always
agree, at the end of the day, they seem to be cooperating despite any differences. I was there on Thursday
for a fund raising seminar that was organized by the new head of the Development Office, Rusty McInturff. It
was divided into sections taught by leaders in the Midland/Odessa area who have been successful in raising funds for community organizations, including
foundations. Bob and I were there for the presentations all of Thursday morning and our only complaint was that there
was not enough time to obtain and digest all the valuable information that was being provided. After Bob had to leave
on Friday afternoon, Howard and I continued to divide up the breakout sessions and got as much information as we could to pass on to the staff. The Saturday banquet featured a talk by two B-1B crewmembers on their experiences during bombing missions in Kosovo and
Afghanistan. All-in-all, it was a pleasure to be there. I am going to
summarize some of the fund raising seminar in this issue. If you have questions about anything that
you think the staff in Midland can help with, do not hesitate to call them.
Senior
Happenings
A conversation overheard between three older pilots were walking on the ramp.
First Pilot: Windy, isn’t it?
Second Pilot: No, it’s Thursday.
Third Pilot: So am I. Lets go get a beer.
‘Nuff
said!
YELLOW ROSE SQUADRON RECEIVES UNIT LETTER OF COMMENDATION
The Yellow Rose B-25 Squadron was presented with the Unit Letter of Commendation by
the Commemorative Air Force at the winter staff conference dinner on 22 February at the Midland Holiday Inn and Suites. This letter is awarded to a CAF Unit who has displayed outstanding achievement in a single area of service to the CAF. The Citation reads as follows:
The
Yellow Rose Squadron of the Commemorative Air Force is hereby commended for outstanding service. This Group of
dedicated supporters has consistently demonstrated exceptional enthusiasm while providing outstanding service toward achieving the goals and objectives of the
Commemorative Air Force.
The members…are an enthusiastic group of CAF volunteers. They have continued to distinguish themselves by setting a very high standard of performance while supporting other CAF unit events. They are functioning as one of the best aircraft support squadrons in the CAF.
Their enthusiastic approach to maintaining the “Yellow Rose” in an airworthy condition at all times and meeting their appearance commitments is
commendable and reflects their outstanding dedication to supporting the goals and objectives of the CAF. The pride,
dedication, and enthusiasm demonstrated by the members of the Yellow Rose Squadron have helped to ensure the success of the Commemorative Air Force.
The
Yellow rose Squadron is hereby presented the Commemorative Air Force Unit Letter of Commendation for 2002.
The letter is signed by order of Jethro E. Culpeper, Col., CAF, Commander
Report on Yellow Rose Finances: Making Progress
By Judy McMillan
The financial report for the Yellow Rose Squadron for 2002 is
much improved over 2001. The checking account balance at the end of 2001 was $9,251.64 and the balance at the end of
2002 was $24,007.14. Over $3400.00 was added to the money market account for a balance of $8425.60. The Yellow Rose Aircraft Account balance at the end of 2001 was $26,199 and was $31,376 at the end of 2002.
Major sources of income (rounded) were: PX sales $14,300 (after sales tax was deducted); Donations $19,200; Air Show
Fees $18,400 (this doesn’t include one late payment received in 2003); and Dues $3,800. The main categories of expenses
were: Repairs and maintenance for the Rose $10,300 (2 cylinders and tubes installed in December were paid for in 2003); $8,200 PX inventory; Fuel/oil
$8,000; and Insurance $7,500.
Many things contributed to the success of the year:
·
The Yellow Rose made all scheduled shows where the weather permitted; she was up mechanically for each show. This is due to the efforts of many people who come out when needed to do the maintenance work.
·
The Rose had a full schedule of air shows. Thanks Howard for your efforts.
·
We are getting better at marketing. Thanks Bob Gardner for all your work and for
your efforts with people at the air shows—also to William and Julie; thanks for all who worked to pull off the Texas Monthly ad (Cowden, Grant, Dave); and
thanks to friends and supporters everywhere of B-25s who made contributions.
Next year we can do better. Let's set some action goals to get us to our main goal of new engines.
·
More new members who are welcomed and encouraged to help.
·
More fund-raising efforts - lets not talk about them, lets step up to make them happen.
·
Continue the maintenance work-taking the time to do it right and taking proper instructions.
·
More PR at air shows.
Don't just man the PX, mingle and generate donations.
·
A PX that is less burdensome but more profitable (50% profit rather than 39% achieved for 2002.)
Minutes of the February 11, 2003 Meeting of the Yellow Rose Squadron
By Dave Howard
The regular squadron meeting was held at San Marcos in the Centex Hangar Ready Room. Grant needed to
attend the Centex Board meeting, so Jack Reeves called the meeting to order at 1810. Officers present were XO, Ops,
Treasurer, Maintenance, Adjutant, and Safety. Recent recruits present were Doug Iannelli and Bill Tarver. Minutes from the December meeting were approved as printed in the newsletter, except that Denise Parrish should have
been credited with volunteering at the January meeting to help design a new Rose T-shirt. We apologize and welcome
her help.
Reports
Adjutant:
The mailing of individual renewal notices directed last month was delayed until responses
could be collected from the February newsletter. Judy McMillan has volunteered to mail the notices. The March newsletter will only be sent to current members, (so please renew soon).
Operations:
Our Luke AFB appearance was cancelled due to lack of a fuel allotment.
Brownsville, Corpus Christi, and Angelfire are confirmed. A schedule was e-mailed as an Excel
spreadsheet attachment on Jan 29th, but many members cannot read .xls files, so it is published in this newsletter. It will also be available on the Rose Web Page very soon. Consideration of seat requests for this
year’s shows will begin about one month prior to departure. Most trips can accommodate all requests, but
when too many apply, the policy remains to give the seats to those who put in time supporting the squadron.
Finance:
January’s beginning balance was $24,008. The net of deposits and
disbursements was -$4997 (including ANUAC), leaving an ending balance of $19,011. February activity to date cost
$1083. Payables total $5700 (insurance), so the projected February ending balance is $12,228.
Maintenance:
The B inspection is almost complete. Brakes are redone, wheels
repainted, and main wheel bearings greased. New parts for the nose gear actuator remain on order from
Aerotrader. Thanks to all who continue to work on the Rose!
PX:
Tom reported that the packing boxes need to be reorganized if we plan to “tailor” our load for each trip. Ron volunteered to help, but he cannot do it alone and still cope with maintenance.
A discussion ensued in which it was agreed that a PX officer will be assigned in advance for each trip to plan the inventory and manage the PX when
Tom cannot be there. In any case, Tom’s recent shoulder surgery prevents his lifting heavy items for several
weeks. (Volunteers, this is an obvious way to get a seat on a trip.) Tom also
reported that he has purchased about $400 worth of metal models in San Antonio to restock the inventory. He also
announced he has a canopy for sale. Last but not least, Jack brought a candidate sample for our new
tables. It is 4’ x 2’ and costs $34.88 each.
Safety:
The ground school is scheduled for Saturday, February 15. As
part of that, the new flight mechanic’s checklist will be distributed. Also, the qualification procedure for new
flight mechanics will be described.
Newsletter:
Jerry reminded members that he always needs material. SUBMIT SOMETHING!
Old Business
William Foster reported that the ground school was advertised on E-BAY without success. The reserve was $495.
Bob Gardner reported that the new web page is done. Ed McCaferty is moving it to a host server
now. Temporarily, it can be found at: www.crosswerk.com/yellowrose/ ,
and it has audio. It's professional work, very well done, and Bob got the work DONATED. No wonder he's proud. Check it out.
The meeting was adjourned at 1850.
NOTE
These minutes will not be read at the next Squadron meeting.
They will be voted upon as published, and if corrections are necessary, these will be so noted in the minutes of the next meeting.
GONE WEST
Another sad day has come to B-25 lovers. Harry C. (Hank) McCool, a
Doolittle Raider passed away on February 1. 2003.
McCool’s obituary referred to him as a hero in war and in peace.
A lieutenant at the time, he was navigator of plane number four on the famous Doolittle Raid in 1942. Remaining in the Air Force, he rose to become a director of the Strategic Air Command..
McCool’s death is the loss of another WWII icon and he will be missed.
NOTES
FROM WINTER STAFF CONFERENCE
By Howard Martin
Wearing two hats at the Winter Staff Conference (Yellow Rose – Ops, Highland Lakes - Lead) proved stressful enough that a more virulent case than usual of lower arm and hand cramp developed by the end of
the day. Fortunately, there were others present suffering from a similar malady so that we didn’t have to suffer
alone. Amongst those gathering to console each other until the healing elixir could work it’s magic, included Jim
Liles and our own fearless leader. (I didn’t realize Grant had such a bad case of the cramps) Renewing friendships with CAF members from all over the country is always a very enjoyable part of such gatherings.
In a pre-meeting strategy session it was
decided that I would concentrate on the unit leaders breakout sessions since I needed to be there representing Highland Lakes as well. The opening session with all the attendees present included Unit roll call, presentations on the “State of the CAF”,
museum, building projects, American Combat Airman’s Hall of Fame and membership. An interesting statistic is
that total membership is down by more than 1000 but total number of aircraft is up by 3 to 152.
There is significant concern over the membership decline since membership is a big driver of revenue for the total
organization. I suspect the name change had something to do with the decline but looking at the statistics, most of the
decline came in the Associate category, not the Colonel category. In any event, membership recruiting and
membership retention were major topics of discussion in the Unit Leaders sessions.
All units could potentially do a better job of recruiting. I am including a
piece for your use in recruiting that was in some of the hand out material at the conference. It is reprinted from
the Lobo Squadron newsletter, “Tale Wind”. I have taken several editorial liberties. I plan on using it in a recruiting packet we are putting together at Highland Lakes. We can provide
copies for your use. The new recruiting program, Code Name Bravo, was discussed.
Program incentives are discounts on Life Membership dues.
I have not sensed that retention has been
a particular problem with the Yellow Rose. That is perhaps because we have a more singular focus than many other
units. There were several good ideas/programs presented that have been implemented at other units. These include mentoring of new members to facilitate their integration into squadron activities and a program to
regularly recognize members for their contributions. We will bring some of these up for discussion at the appropriate time.
An operations issue of increasing concern has to do with the availability of FAA examiners to
do type and recurrency rides. CAF policy is an element in creating the problem.
We had an opportunity to do some lobbying for a resolution.
Overall I thought it was a positive, mostly upbeat meeting,
unlike some in the not too distant past.
. . . SO WHAT DO I GET FOR MY MONEY ?
Submitted by Howard Martin
“
What do I get for my money?”, asks the prospective CAF member. A business man’s question. An objective question that demands a quantitative answer full of facts and numbers.
A question that should be asked anytime we give up money. But, what about money and airplanes - - -
historic airplanes - - - World War II airplanes?
World War II aircraft are emotional things and everybody knows
that logic and emotion, like oil and water, don’t mix very well. The better question might well be - - “what will my money do?”.
The simple answer is that your dues and contributions will
help to preserve, in flying condition, the CAF’s wonderful and rare collection of combat aircraft. Your money will
help to protect and display them as a tribute to America and to the men and women who built, serviced and flew them.
There is more, of course, and when the propellers turn, the engines belch smoke and the thunder begins, they speak of what your money will do.
The “what do I get” part of the question depends on how much you want to participate in the operation, maintenance and preservation of the
organization and it’s aircraft. It depends on how strongly you feel about these symbols of American Aviation
Heritage - - it depends on how important you feel that future generations possess a part of history that can
be touched, heard, smelled and seen. It is how important it is to you that we remind present and future generations of this
Nation’s accomplishments in the defense of freedom.
“What do I get for my money?” - - - just maybe it will be
something money can’t buy. Maybe you will just feel good about your country and maybe you will be helping others to
feel good about your country - - - PRICELESS.
FUND RAISING SEMINAR
By
Grant Lannon
There were several presenters at the fund-raising seminar but three were especially important. They were: Mobilizing for Successful Special Events; Donor Prospecting; and Care and Feeding of Volunteers. I will summarize each one.
Mobilizing for Successful Special Events was presented by Jami H. Owen and the handout is a wealth of
information. The central theme is that preparation is separate from implementation, which is planning an execution of an event. Preparation involves creating a tactical and strategic roadmap which if properly prepared and followed, will lead to the
goal you want to achieve. A successful event requires ten hours of preparation for every one hour of implementation. In other words, if the event was ill-conceived for the organization’s purposes or needs to begin with, the
results will be disappointing. There is one sheet in the handout that facilitates the strategic analysis of the
organization. These questions have to be answered before you decide what kind of event fits the organization. For example, even the CAF regulations say that an airshow is not a good way to raise funds. That is not to say that an airshow is not essential to meeting the goals of the CAF. The strategic
analysis sheet would show this by asking, “What do you need from targeted populations?” One answer is “involvement.”
The “Donor Prospecting” presentation concentrated the characteristics of donors and why they give. It was given by Cookie Wedendorf of the Nonprofit Management Center of the Permian Basin. Texas is the only state in the nation that has a network of organizations that can help non-profits get Grants and Loans from foundations
and other donors. There is a list of local facilitating organizations in the handouts revealing that there are five
management centers in Austin alone. A revelation to me was that the first place to start is with local organizations
since they are more likely to want to see what their money achieves. Her presentation also gave information on
what types of donor organizations gave to certain causes. There is a proposed process for pinpointing
potential donors and finding those with the most money. The next step shows how to identify,
interview and involve donors even to the point of showing appreciation after you succeed in getting some money.
Another speaker, who was raising money for a new extended care facility in Midland showed their plan for raising several million dollars. The basic philosophy is to go after large donors first, since once you can show over 50% of the money has been raised, it
is easier to talk small donors into piling on to achieve the goal. Which has economy of effort: finding one
donor to donate $50,000 or 50 donors providing $1,000? Later, the question and answer session
allowed details for a recommended donor packet.
The other important presentation was the “Care and Feeding of Volunteers” by Kathy Herzog. Kathy claimed the most important questions to be answered by the unit are “why do we need volunteers” and “what jobs does
the unit need to be done by them to survive?” Then she asked those sitting in the room if their units had established
a volunteers committee? She suggested having a sign up sheet at every event and having a handout giving information
on the organization at every event. She also suggested that organizations might want to have a local advisory board for
the unit. Not only does this give an independent assessment of the units operation, but it can be a tool to get
possible donors interested in the organization. She gave a website address for information on attracting and
maintaining volunteers. The address is www.toleadistoserve.com and after
checking it out, the information can be purchased for a reasonable fee. I will be summarizing more of my notes so we
can define a process after we do our strategic planning.
THE HEAVENLY BODY
Submitted by Grant Lannon
On February 18, 1944, Capt. Robert E.
Shanks shot down a Japanese fighter plane with the stationary guns of the B-25 bomber he was flying. Nearly 60 years later, he was recognized for it. Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colorado, presented Shanks with the Distinguished Flying Cross on Saturday, July 20, 2002 at his town hall meeting at the Loveland Elks Club, CO. "I feel great about it," said Shanks. Shanks was flying one of two Army Air Force bombers leading the way for an assault on Tobera fighter base, Papua New Guinea. Leading the mission was Major James B. Henson.
The Heavenly Body is about WW II in the South Pacific as fought by B-25s of the 42nd Bomb Group. Crews formed special bonds with the plane assigned to them. A hunk of metal that prefers one crew over another? Maybe, at least their crews thought so. One thing they knew for sure. Their own plane would work much harder to bring them back home than some bucket of bolts they knew nothing about. They were also determined to do their part in the conflict and even more determined to hide the gnawing knot of fear that lived in their guts as they prepared for a mission. The Heavenly Body helped her crew to do all these things..
***To interview Robert Shanks or review his new book The Heavenly Body, contact Booksandauthors@aol.com or call 910-264-9628.
Currently, there is a B-25 by
the name of "Heavenly Body" still flying.
2003 Yellow Rose B-25 Squadron
Staff Officers
Executive Officer – Jack Reeves
Madjac2@aol.com
Finance Officer – Judy McMillan
heyjude@texas.net
Adjutant – Dave Howard
Dave.howard@baesystems.com
Operations Officer – Howard Martin
bigbad@tstar.net
Maintenance Officer – Ron Dietes
Dietes.ron@heb.com
Safety Officer – Phil Lockett
dlockett@itouch.net
PX Officer – Thomas Koepke
koepke@ctesc.net
NEW YELLOW ROSE MEMBER
By Judy McMillan
Leslie McCurdy, who has been a CAF member for about 10 years and is affiliated with
the Rocky Mountain Wing, is a new member. Leslie and his wife, Laura, live in Austin. Leslie is a retired professional pilot with approximately 7000 hrs. of flying time. He currently owns
a Helio Courier. He is interested in getting involved in activities at San Marcos.
Please make Leslie welcome when you meet him at the hanger.
CALENDARS, CALENDARS,
CALENDARS
A second order of 25 Doolittle Reunion calendars coming. If they would like one, e-mail Grant Lannon at GLannon@texas.net. The cost is $13 per calendar (reduced rate because total ordered are cumulative).
CODE NAME BRAVO
Report on CAF Unit Recruiting Expansion Incentive
By Grant Lannon
Question: how do refute an argument that the CAF is a rich mans flying club?
Answer: There are a little under 10,000 members in the CAF and about 350 of them are pilots.
The new recruiting program, called Code
Name Bravo is an attempt to encourage new members to join at a reduced rate while providing existing members incentives for lifetime memberships. The membership has started dropping again (loss of 1,000 members from 2001 to 2002) and without members, the organization
will die. Some of the lack of renewals is due to the economic situation. The
average age of CAF regular Colonels is 54 and rising.
The program will continue through December 31, 2003. Each unit can recommend five new members for a reduced membership cost of $100. Each
of these must be approved by the unit staff. In addition, all current Associate members may upgrade to Colonel for
$100. the unit cannot receive ANUAC credit for these memberships, nor can the bank draft option be used to pay for
the membership. By the way, did you know you could have a bank draft on your account
for $14 per month?
Existing members have a recruiting
incentive by getting reduced life membership fees based on the number of new members they have recruited.
Recruiter’s name must be on the new member application. The following reduced rates apply:
10 new members=$1500
20 new members= $1000
39 new members= free
With 40 new members you also get a plaque.
GO GET ‘EM
AND LET THE STAFF KNOW IF YOU WANT THE REDUCED RATE. FIRST COME FIRST SERVE!
CAF HERITAGE
COLONEL
JETHRO E. CULPEPER
COMMANDER, CAF
American – Born July 4, 1776, Independence Hall,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Statesman, Military Leader, Patriot, Philosopher and American Military Historian. He is
a proponent of The Preservation of Peace and Freedom through American Military Strength and Preparedness – The Constitution of the United States –
Preservation of our American Heritage and the Perpetuation of the Spirit which made this Nation great.
He served with distinction in the United States Army,
U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Army Air Force, U.S. Coast Guard, Merchant Marines, Sea Bees, and in all theaters of operations during World War Two.
2003 Airshow Schedule
March
8-9 Amigo Airshow*
Brownsville, Texas
21,22,23 Gulf Coast Salute
Tyndall AFB
Panama City, Florida
26,27 Randolph AFB Tattoo*
San Antonio, Texas
April
4,5,6 NASCorpus Christi*
Corpus Christi, Texas
12 Bluebonnet Airshow*
Burnet, Texas
15-18 Doolittle Reunion
Travis AFB, California
May
3-4 Temple Airshow*
Temple, Texas
9,10,11 Barksdale AFB
Bossier City, Louisiana
16 Big Country Salute*
Dyess AFB
Abilene, Texas
31-1 Little Rock AFB Airshow
Jacksonville, Arkansas
June
7-8 3rd Coast Squadron Airshow*
Alice, Texas
13,14,15 Sheppard AFB '03 Airshow*
Wichita Falls, Texas
21-22 2003 Regional Air Fest
Cape Girardeau, Missouri
July
4 4th of July Airshow
Bay City, Texas
18,19,20 Wings Over Angel Fire*
AngelFire, New Mexico
August
15,16,17 KC Aviation Expo
Kansas City, Missouri
September
5,6,7 Airshow Oklahoma Fnd.
Mukogee, Oklahoma
20-21 Autumn in the Air
Wichita, Kansas
27-28 Airsho 2003
Midland, Texas
11-12 Amigo Airshow
El Paso, Texas
18-19 Wings Over Houston 2003*
Houston, Texas
November
1-2 N'awlins Airshow*
NAS New Orleans, LA
* Indicates Confirmed Appearance