Page 10 - FCA Diamond Point Sept 24_Edits

AT THE FOREFRONT

Finance Connection – Friends of Finance (FoF): by the Hon Robert Speer

Most have seen a return to relative” normalcy” following the COVID induced isolation. For a group
of over 40 retired Army Finance Corps members, 2024 has been a banner year… a surge beyond
normalcy, and a year of connecting and enjoying an increased opportunity for camaraderie and
gathering of life-long friends during several golf outings. This cohesive group of professionals call
themselves the Friends of Finance or FoF.

Before sharing the memorable and unique FoF experiences of the 2024 outings, let me share a little
FoF history. The *FoF Group began with a golf outing in 2007. Four retired Finance Corps officers,
COL (Ret) Arty Arteaga, BG (Ret) Roger Scearce, COL (Ret) Al Runnels and COL (Ret) Bob Speer,
spent 4 days playing six rounds of golf in Pinehurst, NC. Each of the next 2 years we returned to
Pinehurst, NC with the addition of COL (Ret) Mo Denny, CSM (Ret) Bob Johns, COL (Ret) Bob Roome,
and COL (Ret) Ray Yocum.

Original 2007 FoF Four. From left to right: Al Runnels, Arty Arteaga, Bob Speer and Roger
Scearce at American Dunes in 2024

The golf was great fun with match play and small side-bets. However, the real attraction was the
camaraderie of shared experience and renewed Finance Corps friendships. Each year catching up
with each other, sharing new stories, and reminiscing about the past, makes this recurring annual
gathering an outstanding experience. Each golf outing is accompanied by dinners, drinks, card
games, and sitting around fire-pits in the evenings enjoying the tall tales and each other’s company.

As word spread of the annual gathering of amateur Finance Corps golfers, so did the need to expand
the FoF group. We grew to a point where there have been about 28 attendees each of the past 10
years, with nearly 50 different individuals having participated in the FoF Golf Outings since 2007.
Additionally, we diversified locations and played some premier golf courses in Williamsburg, VA;
Jacksonville, FL; Montgomery/Birmingham, AL; Reynolds at Lake Oconee in Goergia; Myrtle Beach,
SC; Hilton Head, SC; Biloxi, MS; and the Villages, FL. Aside from these stateside FoF outings, we
added an occasional trip (with spouses!) to a variety of overseas locations, to include Scotland,
Ireland, and Portugal.

As we welcomed 2024, we decided this would be a special year for getting together and taking
advantage of some excellent golf opportunities. For many of us “old timers,” we wanted to continue
to share in the FoF camaraderie while we still can. To date, there have been four events of varying
sized FoF groups in 2024.
First, as in past years, FoF as a whole gathered in April at the Villages in Florida. Roger Scearce,
who had moved there in 2022, hosted the outing -- the first of the four consecutive unique outings.

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