May11

North Coast chiefs chop and lop invasive crops

by KyleN
Posted In: Chapter News, Community

BRECKSVILLE, Ohio - Danae Wolfe, an interpretive park ranger at Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Brecksville, Ohio, shows volunteers from Eaton Corporation and the North Coast Chapter of the Coast Guard Chief Petty Officers Association which invasive plant species they would be removing from the Terra Vista Natural Study Area, May 10, 2012. The volunteers spent the afternoon removing large patches of autumn olive, honeysuckle and multiflora rose that were encroaching on the native plants. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Chief Petty Officer Kyle Niemi

A dozen Coast Guard chief petty officers from the North Coast Chapter of the Chief Petty Officers Association gave up a couple hours of their day on May 10 to clear invasive plant species from an area of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Brecksville, Ohio.

BRECKSVILLE, Ohio - Chief Petty Officers Rachel Washko and Aaron Jenkins, both assigned to the 9th Coast Guard District in Cleveland, clear invasive plants at the Terra Vista Natural Study Area of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Brecksville, Ohio, May 10, 2012. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Chief Petty Officer Kyle Niemi

Although they only cleared one area of the 33,000-acre plant and wildlife refuge, they left with a sense of pride for helping the park rangers ensure the prosperity of the native plants. Most also left with a couple scrapes and thorn pricks.

Chief Petty Officer Rachel Washko, of the 9th Coast Guard District, coordinated the community service project, enlisting the help of other North Coast chiefs.

After they received instruction from park rangers, they were given hand saws and loppers to clear large patches of autumn olive, honeysuckle and multiflora rose plants from the Terra Vista Natural Study Area.

“Volunteers are helping us to restore the natural ecosystem at Terra Vista and other sites throughout the park,” said Danae Wolfe, interpretive park ranger at the park.

“We hope that, through restoration initiatives and prevention of the spread of invasive plants, that our ecosystems will be healthier and more supportive of native wildlife,” she said.

The Cuyahoga Valley National Park ranks fifth among national parks for volunteerism, according to park rangers. It is also the 10th most visited national park in the country, with 2.5 million visitors per year.

 

BRECKSVILLE, Ohio - Flanked by park rangers, members of the North Coast Chapter of the Coast Guard Chief Petty Officers Association stop for a picture before turning in their loppers and hand saws, following an afternoon of clearing invasive plants at the Terra Vista Natural Study Area of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Brecksville, Ohio, May 10, 2012. About a dozen members of the CPOA chapter volunteered their time for the community service project to remove large patches of autumn olive, honeysuckle and multiflora rose that were encroaching on the native plants. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Chief Petty Officer Sarah Madden

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May10

A Message to All North Coast CPOA Members

by MichaelB
Posted In: Chapter News

My Fellow Chiefs,
On April 27th, MCPO Jeff Patton, the Ninth District CMC swore in the new board members of the North Coast CPOA Chapter. The new Board of Directors are:

President:
ITC Michael Babischkin (ESU Cleveland)

Vice-President
SSC (Ret) Gary Seifert

Secretary
ITC Jason Steele (ESU Cleveland)

Treasurer
SKC Matt Grant (Base Cleveland)

I want to thank our outgoing Board Members – YNC Sarah Madden, YNCS Scott Ayriss, and SKCS (Ret) Don Loechler for their service to our Chapter.

I am pleased that Gary Seifert has graciously volunteered to step into the Vice-President’s position and I look forward tapping his wealth of knowledge and experience with the Chapter. However, after many years of dedicated service Gary’s ready to move on. As per his request, Gary is only holding the position until a permanent Vice-President can be found. If you would like to become a member of the Chapter Board of Directors and becoming the Vice President, please contact me at President[at]northcoastcpoa.com. Please ensure you replace the [at] with @

While the Board of Directors is responsible for the overall administration of the Chapter – it is truly the membership that determines the success of the Chapter. It is only through the efforts of the membership that our fundraising and community outreach efforts can be successful. Without the creativity to find new ways for the Chapter to raise funds and the willingness of our members to volunteer to take part in those efforts this Chapter cannot survive. For the past several years we’ve been fortunate to have several extremely dedicated members who have played a large role in organizing and participating in our fundraising efforts, unfortunately almost all of those people are transferring this year. Now more than ever our Chapter needs it’s members – Active Duty, Reserve, and Retired, Current and Former Chiefs to step in and help keep our Chapter vibrant. As we approach Transfer Season I expect to be soliciting for Committee Chairs for several of our committees.

The Board also has the responsibility of communicating with the membership. Communication with the membership is an area where there is a lot of room for improvement in the Chapter. Last year our Website Committee drastically redesigned the Chapter’s website located at www.northcoastcpoa.com. The entire goal of the website’s redesign was to make it your news source for the Chapter, with Chapter updates and announcements front and center on the webpage. Behind the scenes, it’s now easier for our Website Committee to post updates to the site. In addition, the Committee has established a presence for the Chapter on Facebook which you can find by doing a search on Facebook for North Coast CPOA. We’ve linked the Facebook Page and the Chapter Website – and if you “Like” the Chapter’s Facebook page you will receive any updates to the Chapter’s website in your Facebook News Feed.

The Chapter’s website and Facebook page are the single best way for you to stay up-to-date on everything that the Chapter is doing. We’ll be publishing announcements for Chapter meetings on the website and I will be working with our Secretary, Jason Steele to get our meeting minutes published to the website as well.

Given the expense and effort required to send announcements out via mail, we’ll also be using e-mail to get information out to you. Please e-mail Jason Steele at secretary[at]northcoastcpoa.com (don’t forget to replace th [at] with @) and ensure he has your e-mail address on file.

I’m excited by what the future holds for our Chapter and I look forward to seeing you at an upcoming Chapter event.

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May09

An Update From The CPOA National Office

by MichaelB
Posted In: National News

On April 30th, we said good-bye to our long time Executive Director, YNCM Tom Scaramastro. Tom had submitted his resignation due to some health issues, and is ready for a well-deserved break to concentrate on his recovery. We wish him Fair Winds as he begins enjoying some overdue retirement leisure. With that said, the search for a new Executive Director is the National Board of Directors’ top priority. We have posted the job solicitation on our CPOA website, as well as other locations, with the goal of hiring an Executive Director before Convention, if not sooner.  For those who are interested, the link for the job announcement is:  http://uscgcpoa.org/ed_job_announcement.pdf

Last week, several members of the National Board of Directors met at the National Office to take stock of our current status and to ensure that the leadership transition of our Association continues on with as few gaps in service to the membership as possible. One of our big accomplishments was getting an April edition of The Chief out to the printers. This was one of the things that slipped a little with Tom’s illness, but with a lot of work by ISCM Mark Pearson, it should reach your mailboxes before the end of May.  Our plan is to have the July edition published on time.

With the short turnover period driven by Tom’s availability, another big item was the transition of signature authority for all of the Associations bank accounts and monies from Tom to YNC Kim Lorigan and CMC Bruce Bradley.  Kim has assumed management of the checking accounts to ensure that we continue to pay our bills on time. Primary control of all accounts will go to the new Executive Director once we hire one, with the President and Vice-President as secondary authorizers. We didn’t have a lot of time with Tom so the rest of the week was spent in trying to dig through mail and our records to make sure that the Association is caught up on all of our obligations.

Connie Shaw continues to serve as the Admin Assistant, ensuring that the membership rolls and applications are processed and updated, the phones are answered and that our office space is secure. If you have any questions regarding membership or need member rosters, please call her at (703) 941-0395. She is our continuity and we continue to appreciate all her hard work on behalf of the CPOA and its members. We have also hired Sarah Isherwood as a part-time contract employee to help with the bookkeeping and filing. She has an impressive background and we welcome her willingness to temporarily take on some of Tom’s duties.

 With ISCM Mark Pearson’s PCS departure on 1 June for his assignment as the Command Master Chief for Patrol Forces Southwest Asia, the Installation of YNC Kim Lorigan as President, CMC Bruce Bradley as Vice-President, YNCS Bruce Garrison as Secretary and SKC Mark Tahtinen as Treasurer, will be held 23 May at 1300 at Training Center Yorktown. This will is a little unusual but will ensure that the four National Officer positions are filled. The three newly elected Regional Advisors will be sworn in during “The Good of the Order” at Convention.

We greatly appreciate the outpouring of support from the membership as we move through this slight squall, as well as your patience and understanding as we continue forward during this transition. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call or e-mail any of the Regional Advisors.

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Apr27

New Officers Sworn In

by MichaelB
Posted In: Chapter News

This afternoon MCPO Jeff Patton Ninth District CMC swore in the new Board of Directors of the North Coast CPOA.

Your Chapter Officers are:

Chapter President:
ITC Michael Babischkin (ESU Cleveland)

Vice- President:
SSC(RET) Gary Seifert

Secretary:
ITC Jason Steele (ESU Cleveland)

Treasurer:
SKC Matt Grant (Base Cleveland)

 

Thank you to the outgoing officers for all of their hard work throughout the course of their terms!

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Mar27

North Coast Chiefs Hand-Deliver Flags Flown Over Deployed Coast Guard Cutter to VA medical center

by KyleN
Posted In: Chapter News, Community, Events

CLEVELAND — Master Chief Petty Officer Jeff Waters, command master chief of Coast Guard Base Cleveland, presents a Coast Guard ensign to Sean Nelson, deputy director of the Louis Stokes Veterans Affairs Medical Center, in one of the medical center's dining facilities on March 23, 2012. Chiefs from the North Coast Chapter of the Chief Petty Officers Association presented the ensign along with a national ensign that flew aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Aquidneck, deployed to the Arabian Gulf. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Kyle Niemi

Within military branches, senior enlisted members are relied on to be the authority on many things: each individual’s technical trade; personnel and administrative matters; customs and protocol, etc.

When someone is looking for answers or the solution to a complicated problem, a common phrase to help guide them is “Ask the Chief.”

CLEVELAND — Chief Petty Officer Thomas Dukes, Coast Guard Base Cleveland, thanks Reginald Reese for his service after chiefs from the North Coast Chapter of the CPOA took a tour of the Louis Stokes Veterans Affairs Medical Center on March 23, 2012.U.S. Coast Guard photo by Chief Petty Officer Kyle Niemi

Well, when the staff at Cleveland’s Louis Stokes Veterans Affairs Medical Center was looking for something from the U.S. Coast Guard, they went straight to the chief — Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Michael P. Leavitt.

To create a new display for the VA medical center’s Spinal Cord Injury/Disorder Unit, physical therapist Todd Anderson was looking to obtain flags flown over military units in theaters overseas. Anderson, a Marine Corps veteran himself, submitted requests through all five services.

When the request reached Leavitt’s office, it was forwarded to Base Cleveland, where Senior Chief Petty Officer Scott Ayriss took it for action.

Ayriss contacted Master Chief Petty Officer Rodney Storle, command master chief of Coast Guard Patrol Forces Southwest Asia, headquartered in the Kingdom of Bahrain, who acted as the project officer overseas.

Storle coordinated with the crew of Coast Guard Cutter Aquidneck, a 110-foot patrol boat, to obtain a national ensign and Coast Guard ensign that flew over the ship during operations in the Arabian Gulf.

Ayriss, along with about a dozen other chief petty officers, senior chief petty officers and master chief petty officers from the North Coast Chapter of the Chief Petty Officers Association, took part in a brief ceremony March 23 and presented the flags to Sean Nelson, deputy medical center director.

CLEVELAND - Darold Bowers (seated), a patient at the Louis Stokes Veterans Affairs Medical Center, talks to chiefs from the North Coast Chapter of the CPOA as they took a tour of the facility on March 23, 2012.Bowers is a World War II veteran who deployed to Germany with the Third Army, under the command of Gen. George S. Patton.U.S. Coast Guard photo by Chief Petty Officer Kyle Niemi

They also presented a framed picture, which depicted the crew of cutter Aquidneck posing with the flag, and a certificate to certify that the flags flew over the cutter in January 2012.

“I feel it was a great way for the Coast Guard and VA to come together to honor our veterans and show that we appreciate everything that they’ve done for us,” said Nelson.

After the flag presentation, the chiefs took in a tour of the medical center, including their prosthetics lab and their renovated physical therapy center.

Ayriss enjoyed talking to Darold Bowers, a World War II veteran, who deployed to Germany with Gen. George S. Patton’s Third Army.

“It was definitely great to talk to somebody who stomped the same grounds that I did when I was in the Army (in the 1980s).” Ayriss remembered seeing many remnants of Patton’s forces, including artillery pillboxes and entrenchments that are still maintained out of respect for the liberating forces.

Ayriss was impressed by the medical center’s facilities and how the staff treats the veterans in its care.

“The prosthetics lab was quite informative and impressive, that they produce all the pieces there on site,” he said.

“We’re treating our veterans the way we should be — with superior care, superior facilities, and superior staff.”

UMM QASR, Iraq — The command and crew of Coast Guard Cutter Aquidneck pose with a national ensign that flew over their unit, as well as an Iraqi flag, in Umm Qasr, Iraq, on May 25, 2011. The crew of the 110-foot patrol boat is deployed to the Arabian Gulf as part of Coast Guard Patrol Forces Southwest Asia. U.S. Coast Guard photo courtesy cutter Aquidneck

 

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