NAVY LEAGUER

TOP: ROME COUNCIL, BOTTOM LEFT: SAN DIEGO COUNCIL, BOTTOM RIGHT: HAWAII COUNCIL

Panneton Term Nears End

National President Says Council Work is Key

“Just unbelievable” is how John Panneton describes his tenure as the Navy League’s president for the last two years. His presidency draws to a close officially at the upcoming national convention in November when the current president-elect, Michael McGrath, will take the helm. In a recent interview, Panneton was reflective about his accomplishments and the importance of the councils’ work.

“When I assumed this position, my wife Alice and I sat down with key members of the staff and others to plan our course of action,” said Panneton. “I knew that the councils were the most important element of the organization, so we started to focus my energy on the councils.”

Over the course of the last two years, Panneton has made a concerted effort to attend region meetings and visit not only some of the larger councils

but the smaller ones, too. One such council is New Bern (Coastal Carolina) in North Carolina with approximately 120 members.

“With New Bern, I think every member of the council was at the dinner they had for me,” he recalled. “I believe it is just as important for me to go the smaller ones. Some had never received a national president before in several years and having a national president visit helps to attract local community leaders.”

Acknowledging that the overseas councils have very different needs and concerns, Panneton established the first national vice president for international relations to act as an advocate for the overseas councils. In addition, Panneton traveled to several of the overseas councils and attended last year’s European regional meeting, hosted by the Barcelona Council. This summer he and Alice visited the councils in Rome, (please continue to page 2)

TOP: Panneton and his wife, Alice are joined by (l to r, back row) Rome Council President Laila Volpe, Marilyn Halder, Europe Region
President Betty Reese, Naples Council president Robert Halder and Mr. and Mrs. Michael L. James, during a reception in Rome on the
first leg of their recent trip that included stops in South Korea, Guam, Hawaii and San Diego.
BOTTOM LEFT: (l to r) Panneton announcing winner of the Pacific Southwest Region’s Sea Cadet Scholarship, Naval Sea Cadet
Corps Chief Petty Officer Michael Gross. The presentation ceremony was held at Pacific Southwest Region meeting at the Officers
Club on Camp Pendleton, Ca.
BOTTOM RIGHT: (l to r) Panneton with Hawaii Area President Joseph J. McClelland Jr. and Lt. Gen. John F. Goodman, commander,
U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific at an event in Oahu on Panneton’s recent visit to Hawaii for Memorial Day.

From the President

Like our nation’s Sea Services, the Navy League faces challenging times. Our men and women in uniform at home and abroad are bravely fighting the Global War on Terror and ensuring our homeland security. As advocates for the Sea Services, we are challenged to ensure that our citizens, especially our leaders, not only understand the importance of sea power to our island nation, but also the importance of providing our Sailors, Marines, Coast Guardsmen and Merchant Mariners the best training, weapon systems and equipment to win the fight.

We must ensure that our educational outreach and support programs are and will continue to be relevant to the issues our Sea Services face. The strength and success of those programs rests squarely on the shoulders of our members. With guidance and assistance from our outstanding headquarters staff, our councils must lead the charge in meeting the challenge. Many of you are doing an outstanding job. We have fantastic programs that recognize the sacrifices and accomplishments of our Sea Service members, offer informative educational forums for community members and leaders, provide important morale and support services to service members and their families, and support youth programs such as the Naval Sea Cadets and JROTC. We continue to garner the support of our Sea Service leaders and make our mark on Capitol Hill.

Conducting these programs is no easy task. That is why we must broaden the diversity of our membership base, particularly to include the family members of our service members, and collaborate with other community, civic organizations. We are experiencing wonderful growth in our corporate membership and development programs, but in order to meet rising program and operations costs, we must also bolster our financial posture, which includes increasing membership dues.

We cannot rest comfortably on our suc-cesses. Like the men and women we support, our next fight is always just around the corner and we must be prepared to meet the challenge — organizationally and financially.

Alice and I want to thank you for the support you have given us but, most importantly, for your support to the men and women of our Sea Services and their families. We must never forget that everything we do, we do for them.