2018 New Bern gathering and leadership demographics varied
The Donald L Dickson Memorial Award winner, Chris Whiting hugs Manny Pacheco while Keith Oliver looks on.
Professional Development and Training Symposium Wrap, Part II
New Association board member Sgt. Melodie Snarr, 22, was the youngest national officer confirmed at the annual business meeting held in conjunction with the 2018 USMCCCA Professional Development and Training Symposium; and Foundation President and Korean War veteran Tom Kerr, 83, back for “one more ride,” is the most seasoned.
Snarr is joined on the Association Board by two fellow newcomers to the decision-making table: Active duty CWO-3 Paul Mancuso, currently stationed in Japan; and former Marine staff sergeant and multiple DPA recipient Jason Huffine, a highly-regarded crisis communications and organizational change consultant in civilian life.
Mark Fayloga and Shawn Rhodes during the seminar, Flourishing in a multi-platform environment.
Others, including Dan Clare, Mark Fayloga, James Chittenden, and Karen Holliday, have already put their hats in the ring for 2019.
As always, national elections will be held at the business meeting; site and specific dates are being finalized in coordination with HQMC’s Communication Directorate along with the Marine Corps Recruiting Command.
Nominations Chair Christine Whiting (who is retiring from her 15-year tenure as national secretary) is actively seeking candidates for every office, including president and vice-president, as both Keith Oliver’s and Shawn Rhodes’ terms expire at the end of the current Association year.
Eclectic Panel Discussions
Brig. Gen. Bill Seely speaks on the future of Marine Corps storytelling.
Attendees were treated to six (6) panel discussions that included Brig. Gen. Bill Seely’s take on the immediate future of the Corps storytelling mission(s) and his staff’s detailed update on the progress of the newly-merged 45XX MOS.
J. Ford Huffman, one of USA Today’s pioneers, moderated a panel aimed at “flourishing in a multi-platform environment,” featuring presentations from Fayloga, Rhodes and Navy Lt. Cdr. Jason Fischer, dispatched from the Omaha-headquartered U.S. Strategic Command.
Jason, a former Marine gunnery sergeant and popular DINFOS instructor, joins Lt. Cdr. Amy Forsythe (deployed to Afghanistan at this writing) as the second Navy officer sharing many years’ USMCCCA experience with our sister service.
Vice-President Rhodes hosted a well-received “Life After the Corps” session at which he shared secrets of his own successful transition to First CivDiv as well as introducing the group to career-switch guru Chris Kowalik and Veronica Puskowski, who offered a holistic approach to making the jump.
Fred Tucker, whose service in Vietnam included both enlisted and officer time, marked the 50th Anniversary of the Tet Offensive by hosting a panel with Joe Galloway, Dale Dye and historian Andrew Ringlee.
Master Sgt. Jeremy Vought, the Headquarters Marine Corps liaison to the USMCCCA, presented a “progress report” on the Corps’ first, bold year under the banner of the single 45XX MOS.
Dan Clare, as Communications Director for the Disabled Veterans of American, moderated a “Friends of the Corps” panel representing the Marine Corps Association (Mary Reinwald), the U.S. Naval Institute (Ward Carroll) and the Beirut Veterans of America (Bob Jordan).
The Annual Awards Banquet featured formal presentation of some 83 pieces of hardware and framed certificates honoring the best in Marine Corps storytelling from calendar year 2017.
Owing to our winners’ predictable (and unpredictable) operational deployments – which placed some in harm’s way – a number of the awards are tagged for “follow-on” presentation.
The traditional “special” presentations to close the ceremonies featured the Donald L Dickson Memorial Award to Christine Whiting; the President’s Award to the hard-charging trio of Jack Paxton (posthumously), Manny Pacheco and Kate Stark; and the Brigadier General Robert L. Denig Sr. Memorial Distinguished Service Award to Alan Covey.
Keith likened Jack’s, Manny’s and Kate’s hard work to the Spartans’ gallant stand described in Marine Steve Pressfield‘s historic novel, Gates of Fire.
Rick Paxton, receives recognition on behalf of his father, Jack Paxton who passed away this year.
“The success of this past year, including some fresh membership and corporate help for the symposium,” Keith has maintained, “was only possible because Jack, Manny and Kate ‘held it together’ during a rough patch that included a downturn in business support, a very tough association recruiting environment and unprecedented government restrictions on travel for training and valuable networking.
“It may be cliché’, but we really do stand on their shoulders, as we move forward.”
Jack’s award was accepted by his son, Rick Paxton, a Wilmington, North Carolina resident and veteran of both the Navy and the Coast Guard.
Covey was recognized for his two decades’ service as the preeminent Eastern North Carolina journalist covering Marine Corps activities. He forged and nurtured valuable, effective professional relationships with at least two generations of regional commanders and “strat comm” Leathenecks.
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