Message from Chapter President Rich Pontius:

I guess we can declare the First Annual “Rendezvous in
Hampton Roads” an overwhelming success!  Thanks to all who
turned out both Friday and Saturday to show Chapter 33 some
good ol’ southeast Virginia hospitality!  I know I thoroughly
enjoyed myself, met a whole slew of new people and believe
that Bill Long, President of Chapter 33, would agree that
everyone is looking forward to the next time when we can
gather again and enjoy the experience that only comes from
within the brotherhood of Special Forces!

I want to take a moment and thank a few people.  
•        Lee Myers, Chapter 33, for returning my calls and
working the details - not to mention the great job of “herding
the cats” from one place to another once everyone arrived!  
•        Lee Fields, GM of the Holiday Inn, for providing the ideal
“Rendezvous” environment with the perfect blend of food,
drink, service and hospitality!  
•        Mike Linnane and his bride Karen for making the trip up
from Fayetteville (although they didn’t need much coaching for
a trip to Hampton Roads!)  
•        And finally to our local ladies for turning out and adding
some class to what is normally a rather dismal gathering of
decrepit old farts!  Special thanks to Kathy Fleser, Courtney
Wilson, Ann Frost, Stephanie Wynn, Angie Underwood and
Norma Nagle!

I would be remiss if I forgot to mention Jack Tobin’s
contributions to the event.  Jack gave an excellent overview of
his exploits in Afghanistan (which was very well received) and
brought some valuable insights into the capabilities and
operating status of our deployed SOF forces.  Thanks, Jack!  
(BTW - Lee Fields told me that the janitorial staff finally found
your liver cowering in the locker room by the pool and secured
same.  You can claim it at the front desk anytime this week!)

I also wanted to announce the winners of the Chapter 84 raffle
put together by Bob Wynn.  The embroidered SFA jacket was
won by none other than Chapter 33’s Fearless Leader, Bill
Long and the long awaited drawing for the V42 Knife yielded
the name of Chapter 84’s Taylor Beattie as its proud new
owner!  Congrats, gentlemen!  Ya done good!

“And so they came down from the mountains in the spring of
the year for a rendezvous of friends.  It was deemed a good
thing and they vowed to do it again.”


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