Page 2 - DFCS News Magazine Winter 2011

2011 is almost over, and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who worked to make our Society such a great organi- zation. In particular, my personal thanks go to Reed Phillips and Rick Ivars, who are stepping down after many years serving on the Board of Directors. Alt- hough, they are no longer on the Board, they plan to continue to help us grow. My thanks also to John Appel and Greg Mac Neil
both of whom agreed to serve another three-year term on the Board. They were re-elected by you, the voting members, the backbone of the Society. Additionally, I thank each of you for re- electing me to serve another three-year term. I will do my best to represent you and our Society.
I also welcome three new Board members, elected by you. They are Terry Williamson, Bruce Huffman, and Tony Ventura. Terry has been acting as Treasurer since Bill Bradfield took over as Chairman of the Board. My thanks to each of them for stepping up to the plate. There are also many members who have offered their help and, I believe it is this great support that makes our Society an entity we can be proud of.
Bill Bradfield has written an update, included in this issue, on the status of our book, “On Heroic Wings: Stories of the Distin- guished Flying Cross”. This book is available for sale to one and all, not just DFCS members. Be sure your relatives and friends know about it. To order, go to our website, www.dfcbook.info. The main goal of this book is to educate the public about the Distinguished Flying Cross and the people who were awarded the medal. It is a great American history book. If each member purchased a copy for their local library or ROTC/JROTC, imagine the ripple-effect of educating the public on the Distinguished Flying Cross and its part in our history. Congratulations and thanks to each of you who pre-ordered the book and especially those who ordered a proof copy. The funds from your purchases enabled us to publish the book ourselves and maintain control over the contents. On behalf of the DFC Society, I would like to recognize and offer special thanks to the two authors, Dr. Barry Lanman and Dr. Laura Wendling. They have spent untold hours/ days/years on this project. There is an article about each of them in this issue.
We are also busy with another project that will, hopefully, come to fruition in the future. It is our hope to produce a documentary film about the DFC for television. We are currently working on the contract details and, as soon as we have that settled, we will update you on our progress. You can still view the promotional DVD that was mailed to you at www.dfcwings.info.
The biennial DFCS Convention is scheduled to be held in Seattle, WA next summer. The dates are August 19, 2012 through Au- gust 23, 2012. Terry Sullivan is the Convention Chairman. Terry and his Convention Committee are working hard to make this the best DFCS convention ever. A Convention Registration Form is included in this issue. Be the first to register! Early registration helps the Convention Committee immensely in planning a suc- cessful event. Having been involved in the past several conven- tions, I know and appreciate the hard work this committee has taken on. Please support them and our Society by attending. Seattle is a beautiful city and many members plan to come early or stay after the convention to take in the sights. I am personally looking forward to see you there.
We recognize that chapters are the strength and backbone of every organization and, at the risk of repeating myself, I again send out a plea for volunteers to work with us in rejuvenating current and developing new chapters. It takes time and effort to do this, but when it happens, our organization grows and pros- pers. We depend solely on volunteers to achieve our goals, vi- sion, and mission. With your help, we can educate the public, honor and/or memorialize DFC recipients, offer educational scholarships to descendants of our members, and so much more. If you have time, energy, and the willingness to work with us, we will guide and assist you in developing DFCS chapters. Through these efforts, we will flourish and grow. We take all ideas, sug- gestions, and comments seriously, so if you have something to offer, please contact John Appel, National Vice President and Vice President for Chapter Development, for assistance. Remem- ber that membership is our key to success!
While writing this message, I thought about the preceding sen- tence. We are still a relatively unknown organization and, while we hope the book and other projects will change that, the real key to success is YOU, the DFC Society Member! I have personal- ly encouraged several members to join our Society and, in look- ing back, realized most of them didn’t sign up immediately. In fact, some of them took several years, but I was persistent, and some of them may have joined just to shut me up! I found one thing that convinced many of them to join was mentioning the fact their family, especially descendants, would have a place to go to learn what they had done in contributing to our country’s history. We receive inquiries on a daily basis from children, grandchildren, other family members, friends, historians, and journalists asking about a specific awardee or questions about the DFC medal. Quite often, due to the humility of DFC award- ees, family members had no idea their loved one had been so honored or what he/she did to be awarded such an honor. They ask for our help and, unless that person was a member of the Society, we are unable to help them. They want to know why, what, when, and where this award was presented. It is disheart- ening to have to tell them we don’t know. The more public recognition we have, the more we can answer these people; the more we can educate them; the more we can honor their loved ones. Again, the ripple-effect of answering just one person’s question, is amazing. I’m asking you to encourage any of your friends or people you know that were awarded a DFC to join the DFC Society.
Another way to get our organization recognized is to publish an article in your local newspaper, base newspaper, and/or organi- zational magazine. I personally have some article samples that I will gladly share with you. If you feel you are unable to modify a sample or write your own, please send me the contact person, and I will make sure that it happens. We are currently looking for a member with public relations experience to help us in this mat- ter. You do not have to become a board member; just willing to lend your expertise in getting public recognition (please see the short article in this issue for contact info).
Last, but certainly not least, we gratefully accept any donations to the Scholarship Fund, the Operating Fund and/or the Book Fund.
Thank you for being a member and for supporting the DFC Society.
Chuck Sweeney, President DFCS
Winter 2011 Issue Page 2