Broward Council Members and Friends

I hope that everyone is enjoying the hot summer days in South Florida and are celebrating the Florida Panthers winning the Stanley Cup! I am pleased to report that the Council received multiple awards at the recent Navy League National Convention in San Diego. That included an Honorable Mention Council Performance Award, the Sea Service Unit Adoption Excellence Award in the Medium Council Category, and Donald M. Mackie Awards for our Newsletter (Gold), Website (Silver), and Social Media (Silver). Former Council members Joe and Marianne Giambrone were at the Convention and were able to pass on the great news. The awards reflect the results of our many Council activities in 2023 and only exist because of the participation of our members. A special thanks to Wayne McLaren for his efforts maintaining our web site and putting together our quarterly newsletter, and to Shelley Beck for her continual postings on social media.

We had a great dinner meeting at Tropical Acres in May and heard from LT Farouk Smith from the Navy Talent Acquisition Group (NTAG) Miami (formerly known as Navy Recruiting District (NRD) Miami). LT Smith spoke about some of the challenges that the Navy faces in recruiting a diverse workforce to meet the staffing needs of the Navy to accomplish all of the mission taskings. We had a number of staff from the NTAG join us for the dinner meeting as well as CAPT Tina Pena, the Coast Guard Seventh District Chief of Staff, who is departing for a special assignment with the Council on Foreign Relations in New York City. We also bid farewell to Air Station Miami Command Master Chief Bryan Salazar, who is departing for a new assignment at CG Air Station New Orleans.

Some of our Council members were able to assist the Navy with Fleet Week 2024 in Miami. Shelley Beck filled a critical leadership role coordinating the volunteers assisting with the ship visits. I was also able to pass on Sailor of the Quarter and Year awards to the Command Master Chiefs from two of our adopted units, the USS BATAAN and USS LEYTE GULF, that participated in Fleet Week Miami. For those that aren’t aware, the LEYTE GULF is scheduled to be decommissioned in September. Many Council members participated in that ship’s commissioning ceremony in Port Everglades in 1987, and we will provide additional information on that as we get it. Most importantly, the Navy has announced that Fleet Week 2025 will be back in Port Everglades. While the dates are still being worked on, it will likely be in the latter part of April.

Finally, I was proud to represent the Council at the Greater Hollywood Chamber of Commerce Leadership Hollywood Foundation Graduation Gala on June 21, 2024, where Council member Bob Giacin was honored by the Chamber with the Spirit of Leadership award for his 50 years of support to the Chamber. For those that don’t know Bob, he has been a member of our Council for many years, donates each year to support our Easter Egg Hunt and Fleet Week events, and still finds the time to volunteer to sell drinks and snacks during Fleet Week.

Although things slow down for the summer, please mark your calendar for our next joint meeting on September 18th with the Fort Lauderdale Council at the Lauderdale Yacht Club for the Sea Cadets report on their summer training activities. Until then, please enjoy the summer and stay safe and healthy.

Best regards,

Glenn A. Wiltshire
Capt. USCG retired
Council President