Page 23 - profiles 2019 working copy containing all bios as of Feb 20 final version

and photonics.

I am Virginia L. Giordano and I retired from the U.S. Army War College in
Carlisle, Pennsylvania, after 21 years of federal service. Although I had 15
years’ experience as a legal secretary, my first position was in a typing pool.

The Army has its way of doing things. By the way, the typing pool was
closed many years ago. I left my position as a legal secretary to three
attorneys because I married my husband, who was the Chief of Police of

Carlisle Borough, and there were many opportunities where there may have
been a conflict of interest, so I took my civil service exam and went to the War
College. The opportunities vary in a college from other government positions.
I applied for new jobs every chance I got to be promoted. I was a secretary in

the Administration Office of the Strategic Studies Institute, and moved on
from there to be secretary to two LTCs, one of whom was the Deputy
Secretary of the War College, and the other was the Deputy Chief of Staff of

the War College.

I left that position to become a public affairs specialist in the Public Affairs

Office of the War College, where I remained until I retired. The year I retired,
I joined NARFE, which I had never known about until then. I accepted the
job as Financial Secretary almost immediately, and after 23 years, am still in
that spot. Now, I serve also as the Acting Secretary of the Chapter, Public

Relations Chair, Program Coordinator, and for the past several years, I have
served as chairman of our Chapter’s Annual Picnic and our Christmas
Luncheon. In 2019, our chapter will observe its 65 Anniversary and I am
th
also coordinating that activity. Our biggest problem for our chapter is
obtaining and retaining members, which is a problem for all of NARFE. In
2000, I was elected the Pennsylvania Federation Secretary and am still in that
position. I have served with six Federation Presidents, the current one being

Lawrence Palecek.

I am Jo Anne Groves and I served in the Department of the Navy and the
Federal Aviation Administration. While at the Naval Audit Service, my
contribution to our nation came in many forms. I managed all aspects of the
National Security Program, assuring that command personnel, facilities,

equipment, and information were in strict compliance with national security. I
provided training to all personnel including acting as Armed Forces Protection
Officer for international military assignments. After the horrors of 9/11, I

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