Thursday, September 2, 2010

What a week!

Back from the Auxiliary's National Conference (NACON), where I had the opportunity to meet numerous people with whom I have only corresponded or talked on the phone. Among those are Andrew Welch, COMO Gary Taylor, many of the District Commodores, and ADM Robert Papp, the Commandant of the Coast Guard.

Election results have been widely reported, so I won't re-transmit them here. I will simply make the comment that I am pleased with the results and believe that both the Coast Guard and the Auxiliary are in good hands at the national level. I am excited at the possibilities for the next two years and look forward to good things happening. I say this primarily because of the extensive leadership and management backgrounds of those coming into the top leadership positions.

The Coast Guard Auxiliary national staff is just completing a very difficult transition period - one in which most mid- and upper-level positions and responsibility sets were re-defined. Many jobs were divided into two or more positions, generating at least the appearance of multiple overlapping responsibility sets and functions. The word is that this upcoming term of national office (two years) will be one of stability and consolidation, rather than large-scale change. I believe that will be good for the staff and good for our programs.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

National Conference 2010

It's Thursday of National Conference (NACON) week for the Coast Guard Auxiliary in Scottsdale, Arizona. This is one of the two annual gatherings of our national leadership. This is the main meeting; the other is the Training Conference, which our leadership somehow thinks appropriate to be held in St. Louis in the dead of winter - late January.

A major event of this Conference is the election of our new National Commodore, Vice Commodore, and three Area Commodores - the core of our national leadership. These are the folks who will set our direction and make major policy decisions for the next two years. There are numerous seminars as well, with the intent of sharing current and new information in all kinds of areas.

Another significant event of the NACON is the Saturday night formal dinner, at which we get to hear from the new Commandant of the Coast Guard, Admiral Bob Papp. I, for one, am eager to meet him and hear from him in person. Video feeds are fine and all, but there is nothing that can substitute for a direct person-to-person meeting and hearing a speech first-hand.

Of course, there is also the fourth cornerstone - fellowship. There will be plenty of that, thankfully... renewal of old friendships and acquaintances as well as making new ones. I look forward to that.