Empire Region President William J.
Evanzia presents the Navy League
Electrical Engineering Award to first-class Cadet Matthew Evan Eyler, now
an ensign, during the U.S. Coast Guard
Academy’s Commencement Awards
Ceremony in New London, Conn.
the Navy League of the United States
Electrical Engineering Award — an
engraved Navy League watch. The
award is given to the cadet who
attains the highest proficiency in
electrical engineering. Eyler now is
an ensign in the Coast Guard.
On May 21, National Director
Emeritus Jerome Rapkin, of the
Annapolis, Md., Council, presented
the Navy League of United States
Physics Award to Midshipman 1st
Class Grant Richard Hundley
during the U.S. Naval Academy’s Prize
and Awards Ceremony in Annapolis.
The award is given to the midshipman of the graduating class judged
by the chairperson of the Physics
Department as the most outstanding
student in the Engineering Physics
major program. Hundley was awarded an engraved sword, belt and knot.
Rapkin also presented the Cooke
Memorial Football Trophy to
Midshipman 1st Class Drexel Rashawn
King. The trophy is presented in
commemoration of the deceased
football great, Cmdr. Lemuel D.
Cooke. It is awarded to a graduating
member of the Varsity “A” football
squad who is deemed to be outstanding and has done the most to promote team spirit within the squad.
John Fleet, Navy League director
of legislative affairs, presented the
Gen. Clifton B. Cates Award to Maj.
George C. Schreffler III during the
66
U.S. Marine Corps Command and
Staff College’s graduation ceremony
in Quantico, Va., June 3. The award,
an engraved Navy League watch and
a certificate, is presented to the student whose sustained demonstration
of problem-solving capabilities far
exceeds his/her military experience
and who is considered most outstanding as exhibited by written
assignments and participation in war
games, practical exercises and the
exchange of ideas. Fleet also presented the second place Cates Award —
an engraved mantle clock and a certificate — to Lt. Col. Arend G.
Westra, during the ceremony.
Massachusetts Bay
Council Hosts
Sea Cadet Leaders
The Massachusetts Bay Council,
which sponsors eight NSCC and
Navy League Cadet Corps (NLCC)
units in eastern Massachusetts,
hosted a meeting of cadet leaders
at a luncheon April 18.
Attending were Eleanor Samuels,
council president; Harold Learson, a
council vice president, member of
the Youth Committee and president
of the Naval Sea Cadet Foundation;
Genevieve Guimond, council vice
president for Youth and associate
director, NSCC Region 1-4; and
NSCC leaders Lt. Cmdr. G. David
Carchia, director, Region 1-1; Lt.
Cmdr. George Dimock, director, Region 1-4; and Lt. Cmdr. Barbara La-voie, associate director, Region 1-1.
Also attending were unit commanding officers Lt. j.g. Matt Landry
of the Massachusetts Bay Division;
Ensign George Patsios, prospective
commanding officer of the Massachusetts Bay Division; Lt. j.g. Marian
Martin of the Boston Minutemen
Division; Lt. Cmdr. James Mc-Laughlin of the Gosnold Division
and Training Ship Patriot State; Lt.
Alfred McMullen of the Constitution
Division; and Lt. j.g. David Levesque
of the Joseph P. Kennedy Division.
Ensign Brian Kelley of the Freedom
Division and Training Ship Liberty,
which are not sponsored by the
council, attended as well.
Discussed at the meeting were
ways the Navy League council could
better support the needs of the units
and re-establish closer relations with
and between the units. Also covered
were the requirements for reports,
inspections and audits.
Pacific Merchant Marine
Council To Support
Sea Cadet Unit
The Pacific Merchant Marine, Calif.,
Council is lending its support to a
local Sea Cadet division that, to this
point, has been sponsored and primarily supported by the Royal Canadian Legion, Canada’s largest veteran
and community service organization,
which is based in Ottawa but has a
chapter in the Bay Area.
The Arkansas Division is homeported in San Francisco, where the
Pacific Merchant Marine Council is
based, and has a Merchant Marine
orientation, according to Council
President Phelps Hobart. The unit
performed color guard duty during
activities associated with the
memorial service for retired Rear
Adm. Thomas J. Patterson aboard
SS Jeremiah O’Brien May 22 and a
memorial cruise May 23, and the
USS San Francisco memorial service May 24.
Division cadets and instructors
Karen Freitas and Alexey Sobolev
were guests at the council’s June 15
Oakland luncheon, during which
they gave their perspectives on the
Sea Cadets and the Arkansas Division, said Hobart. He noted at the
luncheon the council officers and directors approved establishing an ongoing relationship with the Arkansas
Division, once its leadership and the
Royal Canadian Legion approved.
That approval is in process,
Hobart said, but to demonstrate the
council’s intentions it initially supported the division with proceeds
from the luncheon drawing, a Navy
SEAPOWER / AUGUST 2009
