Greetings Shipmates and friends,

I am so honored to be elected as President of the GRANT Alumni Association.  I am still walking on the clouds but not to worry, Barbara will bring me back to earth so that we can get busy with the next reunion and all the work that goes into making it a successful event.  Jacksonville, FL is a great place and there are many things to do in the area.

I personally want to thank Ruth and Larry Jordan, Phyllis and Wayne Orrison, and Ray Lomberk for their hard work and dedication in making these reunions so successful.  They have shown us their love and loyalty to the Association and I cannot thank them enough for all the time and effort they have put into these past reunions.  

Ed and Kelly Farris have been feeding me information from a firehose but I appreciate every bit of their words of wisdom.  Hopefully, his work won’t keep them away from our reunions but they are not old enough to retire…yet.  Wayne and Phyllis Orrison stepped down from the secretary position and we have Steve Kooger ready to jump in and work.

I just looked over the list of attendees at Little Rock and it was very impressive!  We had shipmates from Maine (Bill and Tammy Pike) to south Florida (John and Margaret Hnizdil) and from New Jersey (Ron and Donna Lischak and Steve Kooger) all the way to Hawaii (Larry Tacca)!  Thank you for coming and we look forward to seeing you again in 2024.

Communicate!  Communicate!  Communicate!  Let’s talk with our folks that did not make the reunion and tell them about Jacksonville.  Let’s get them to join the association and start making the reunions.  We will be posting events on our website and using all forms of media to get the word out there but the one sure way we can reach those not in attendance is to pick up the phone and talk to them.  Get their information and let’s get our database updated.

If you have a significant event happening this year, please let us know.  We want to help celebrate that 50th year anniversary or the birth of that first grandchild.  If it is important to you, share with us so that we can share in the joy and celebration.

Stay healthy, safe, and watch the site for more information.

Steve and Barbara Anderjack