Refreshed and Re-energized
By DANIEL B. BRANCH JR., Navy League National President
Iwas my great pleasure to preside over the Navy League’s 108th
Annual National Convention Oct.
18-24. More than 400 Navy
Leaguers from across the United
States and around the world gathered in Jacksonville, Fla., for what
proved to be a very productive and
energizing week.
It was a time to renew acquaintances, welcome new faces and
then roll up our sleeves and get to
work setting the budget, plans and
policies that will take us into the
New Year.
Perhaps most gratifying to me
was the emphasis our sea service
guests placed on the importance of our organization,
how much what we do in the field means to our men
and women in uniform. Whether speaking at a main
event or a committee meeting, these leaders took the
time to let Navy Leaguers know that what they do really does have an impact.
For example, Capt. Anthony Cooper, Navy deputy
chief of information, gave the audience at the Hall of
Fame Luncheon on Oct. 21 an overview of the service’s Navy Week program, how it has fared in 2010
and the Navy’s plans for 2011. He shared the results of
focus groups conducted this year aimed at finding out
just what the general public knows or thinks about
the U.S. Navy.
Capt. Cooper shared those results because, just as
the Navy has used them to help tailor its message, he
wanted to give the Navy League the opportunity
to likewise tailor its outreach message so that the
two would be in sync moving forward. He said it was
important that we continue our strong partnership,
to work together to bring the Navy’s story to areas
that may not know the role the service has in their
daily lives.
“As you go out on a daily basis, weekly basis,
monthly basis, annual basis, when you touch base with
America, it’s good for you to know what people are
thinking so that you can relay the message and help to,
quite frankly, change some of those perceptions, let
them know what their Navy is doing,” he said.
Many councils and individuals
were recognized for their hard
work and dedication on behalf of
the Navy League and in support of
the sea services during the convention, but, as you know, our work is
never done and we cannot rest on
our laurels.
Chief of Naval Operations Adm.
Gary Roughead, our guest of
honor during the closing dinner on
Oct. 23, summed it up best, saying
the Navy League plays “an impor-
tant role in communicating to the
nation about who we are and what
we do, and what we need as we go
into the future. … There must con-
tinue to be a national conversation about the impor-
tance of the maritime forces and, in my case, the
importance of the Navy, and what type of Navy the
American people need to preserve our global interests
into the future.”
It is our job, our duty, our mission as Navy Leaguers
to foster that conversation in our communities, at
schools and with other community service organiza-
tions. I think we all came away from the Jacksonville
convention re-energized, our sense of purpose
refreshed because we know we are on the right track,
doing what our sea service leaders need us to do.
The Navy League’s ongoing efforts in support of the
maritime forces, our men and women in uniform and
their families are extremely important, and I thank you
for all your hard work and dedication.
I also want to take this opportunity to thank all who
were able to participate in this year’s convention, and a
very special Bravo Zulu to convention Chairman Diane
Wright and the Mayport, St. Augustine, Jacksonville
and Camden-Kings Bay councils for staging a spectacular event.
See you next year in Chattanooga, Tenn.
