Greetings OAEA Members!
I am
extremely happy to be the new president of the Old Antarctic Explorers
Association OAEA! I became aware of the organization while working out of the
Antarctic Support Contract ASC office in Centennial Colorado. I was preparing
for my first deployment to the South Pole as the Winter Site Manager and saw a
copy of the OAEA Gazette on a table in the lobby. While I was quite aware of
the heroics of the early Antarctic explorers such as Amundsen, Scott and
Shackleton, I did not know much about the various US Naval and scientific personnel
that had been assigned there. In reading the Gazette I was immediately struck
by the incredible fellowship and camaraderie that was shared between all that had
participated.
I did some
research and after my first winter at Pole joined the organization and was able
to attend the OAEA Reunion in San Antonio Texas. At the reunion I was
incredibly impressed by the members I met and the stories I heard. Truly
remarkable people with stories that should live forever. I have worked all over
the globe as a defense contractor and one of the things I took most seriously
was to respect history and honor those that have gone before us. This is my
primary reason for stepping up to the OAEA president’s job.
The core of
our organization is aging as most of our initial members who participated in
the early Operation Deep Freeze events are getting up in years. These people
are the ones that are making things happen, the membership, Gazette, Reunions,
Ships Store etc. Decreasing active membership has been a concern of mine and I
see a need to reach out and increase our membership from all people that
qualify AND ask the new members to consider stepping up and taking active
roles. I’ll be working with our Board of Directors (BoD) and interested parties
on this issue.
I want to
thank our BoD and membership in advance for assisting me in future endeavors. I
never go into anything overconfident and will need some help here. My goal is
to do my best to keep the organization vibrant, meaningful and fun. Please feel
free to contact me with any questions or comments. Wayne
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