I spoke with Bucky Huber, our reunion host, a couple of days ago. There are about 35 shipmates signed up to attend and a total of about 78 total attendees. If you would still like to attend, Bucky says you can print off a registration form and send it in to “A Complete Reunion.” The address is on the form. They only take checks. No credit cards. You need to hurry!!! If you get to Vegas and still haven’t signed up you can do it there. About the only consequence is that you won’t have a name tag.

That’s about it. Again, I am so disappointed that I will not be able to be there. It has been a pleasure and honor to serve the Association (you) for the last 4 years as the Vice President and President. Hoist two or six for me (each day) since I am forced into temporary abstinence. AND HAVE FUN IN VEGAS, BABY!!!!!!

Rob Hughes

Carl Graham

Robert Mitchell

Thomas Holcombe

Eldean Hunt

Czelusniak, Paul

Richard Hubert

Macon Clark

David Cole

Mark Ross

Rockford Smith

Donald Rinthen

James Bettison

Brian Brusky

Paul Springmeyer

Richard Whitesides

George Shaw

Robert Hughes

Gary Heitmann

Alfred Beaty

Stephan Geiger

James Gooch

Dooley Camus

Jeffery Kollhoff

William Deihs

William Rogerson

David Hansen

Ken Wethington

William Caudill

Richard Huber

Thats it for now. I did not list wives because I do not have that info but for all of you that I know, most if not all are also attending. Besides, we need that adult supervision. At least I do. And yes, the War Department is coming with me.

I will update this list as I get the info. And remember: 2 OCTOBER IS THE CUTOFF DATE!!!

See Ya’ll in 2 months. Vegas, Baby!!!

Rob Hughes

Speaking of sites, our Web Master, Mark Akesson, should have our transition to another provider completed by the end of August. We all know how slow and balky the site is presently.

That’s about it. If you have any questions, suggestions, etc., now is the time to let us know. Keep an eye on our Facebook page. It is often updated faster than this site. (Mea Culpa).

Rob Hughes

As mentioned in my last post, the next reunion is in Las Vegas. Bucky Huber is hosting and he has the arrangements moving along nicely. In this post I am going to parrot what has been posted on the JCCVA Facebook page.

The Reunion will be held at the Tuscany Hotel from 2-5 November.

Rooms are now available for booking. Make sure you mention that you are with the USS John Calhoun group.

Rates: Wed-Thurs nights, $69. Fri-Sat nights $159. Ask about additional nights if desired.

Registration will be held later. At present, the cost is $110 per person.

More info is forthcoming.

I have a pair of eyeglasses that were left behind at the last reunion. I will gladly sent them to you when you claim them.

Thats it for now. Stay safe and let’s hope COVID doesn’t force us to change the plans!

Be well,

Rob Hughes

We had 62 shipmates attend this reunion, but the big news is that for almost half of them it was their first one! This is something that must be perpetuated! New members are key to the continuation of any association. We had about 110 total attendees. I’m looking at getting at least 100 shipmates to the next one.

The big items from the Business Meeting are:

-We have $14,000 in our account after reunion expenses.

-We are going to spend $3,000 plus or minus to buy a brow banner and ships bell. The reason is that Naval Artifacts has been shifted from the Washington Navy Yard to Richmond, Va. They have made obtaining these artifacts so difficult to obtain as to render them useless. Captain Richard Hamly tried to obtain the ship’s bell from them and said that they made him feel like a North Korean. And he didn’t get the bell. You might want to let your elected officials know that they possibly have lapses in the execution of their duties.

-The 3 proposed Bylaw Amendment changes posted on THE VP’S BLURB were approved unanimously and will be reflected in the posted Bylaws soon.

-It is universally recognized that our website is slow and cumbersome. We have voted to upgrade the site by getting a new provider. Mark Akesson, our WebMaster has yet to be informed. I’m sure he will be pleased. That’s my story, anyway.

-It was decided that we will short cycle the next reunion to next year and get back on an even year cycle. To that end, Bucky Huber has volunteered to host the next reunion in Las Vegas!!! Many of us are glad of this so that our West Coast members can more easily attend. Stay tuned on this site for more details, but know that it should be held somewhere between late September to November.

Last, we held the election of officers. Dean Hunt, Chris Burns and Jeff Kohloff will retain their positions as Treasurer, Secretary and Storekeeper respectively. Bucky Huber is now the Vice President of the Association and I, Rob Hughes, am now the President. George Shaw, the outgoing President is now the Chairman of the Board. George Wright, the outgoing Chairman of the Board, has served the Association faithfully and well during the last 7 years and we thank him for his service and wisdom and he stands ready to help the Association in any way he can.

Captain Koepp and his lovely wife Amy attended the banquet and he was our Guest Speaker. He was both informative and humorous on his talk about the submarine service of today and where it is going. A natural speaker who doesn’t bore you.

George Shaw auctioned off quite a few items. He can easily get a part time job as an auctioneer after he retires.

As an additional item, our Chaplain, Jim Bettison, is going to launch a campaign to contact the widows of our former shipmates and let them know that they are still members of the Association and are invited to our reunions.

Lastly, and very unexpectedly, I was honored by being awarded the Dean Axene Award for my recruiting efforts while the VP. Very few people have been recognized with this award and I am deeply humbled. Thank You.

That’s about it for now. Be advised that I will continue to do the VP’s duties as Bucky will be very busy planning the upcoming reunion. Vegas, Baby!!!!!!!!

Really. That’s it. I hope all is well with you. Please feel free to contact us if you have questions, concerns or information to pass along.

Respectfully Yours,

Rob Hughes

As I hope you know, we have a reunion scheduled in Charleston, SC from 28-30 October 2021. Dean Hunt with the assistance of his lovely bride Lynn will be hosting.

As part of every reunion, we have a business meeting. When necessary, part of that meeting is to vote whether to approve or not proposed amendments to the Association Bylaws. Because of COVID we had to cancel last year’s reunion in San Diego. Dean has graciously agreed to host one in Charleston this year. The officers of the Association have had to dance around outside the Bylaws a bit to deal with this. When the Bylaws were originally written something as disruptive as something like COVID could never have been anticipated. Even by Carnac the Magnificent. (If you don’t know who Carnac was, you’re just young). The Board of Directors has approved that the following changes to the Bylaws be posted on the website for review prior to the business meeting. Please have a copy of the current Bylaws in front of you so that the proposed changes make sense. (Changes and additions are in bold print).

Here we go:

Article II Section 1 ” ………..will be two (2) years. No President will serve more that on consecutive term unless circumstances prevent the biennial business meeting from being conducted, in which case the President and other elected officers will remain in office until the next business meeting.”

Article III Section 13 (New section) “In the event of extraordinary, unforeseen circumstances, the Board, with a majority vote, may take those actions necessary to ensure Association business is properly conducted on issues not covered by these Bylaws.”

Article VI Section 2 “………..at the previous business meeting. If extraordinary circumstances warrant, the Board has the authority to reschedule, cancel or change the time or location of a reunion, with the primary concern being the health and safety of the membership.”

That’s it. Please remember that only paid up members may vote at the business meeting, so keep your dues current. To that end, we are working on a method to post that same on the website. Also, if your contact info, i.e. phone number and address has changed, please let us know. If you know of a shipmate that has moved on to Eternal Patrol, we would like to know that too. Last but not least, if you know of a John C Calhoun shipmate who is not a member of the Association, give him a “gentle” nudge in the keister to sign up.

That’s all for now. Be well and stay safe. We look forward to hearing from you.

Best Regards,

Rob Hughes USSJCCVA Vice President