2011 Annual Meeting in Review

 

45th Annual Reunion Meeting

The 45th Annual Meeting of the 63rd Infantry Division Association (US Army Reserve) was held on 10 April 2011 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Fullerton, California.  Our Sunday Brunch was well attended and you will see photos taken by our own SGM George Ichimura of some of the attendees in the Annual Report publication. As master of ceremonies, I presented a special recognition award from the board to COL Alfred Diaz. As I stated at the time, organizations could not survive without the dedication of the few that hold them together. Those members become the institutional memory, mentors, and do what needs to be done to make things run smoothly.    They serve as members, on boards, and as the top leaders. We have an award in our organization to recognize such individuals, the Eagle Award, which was presented to Colonel Alfred Diaz and reads "With Appreciation for his Service as President and Member of the Board of Governors and His Many Contributions to the Support of the Ideals and Purposes of the 63d Infantry Division Association, USAR".
Our guest speaker, MG Paul E. Mock, gave a very educational and relevant presentation on what is being done to support our troops and their families during the global war on terrorism.   There are many challenges and also many committed to support our military families. Included with his presentation were handouts on the Military Child Education Coalition, a worldwide organization. More information can be found at www. MilitaryChild.org.   Since his retirement as Commander of the 63d Regional Readiness Command, Los Alamitos, CA, and MG Mock has been very busy.   His activities include guest lecturer at the Los Angeles Police Department's West Point Leadership Training Program; past President, Senior Army Reserve Commander's Association , Executive Committee member of the Greater Los Angeles Chapter of the Association of the United States Army, Board member of the Southern California Institute for Research and Education (Long Beach Veteran's Hospital), consultant for the Military Child Education Coalition and active in several other organizations that support soldiers and families.  At the end of his presentation he was presented with a check for $ 100 from our Association as a donation to the Association of the United States Army Family Support Program.
One of the traditional events at our luncheons is the opportunity drawing fundraiser which helps sustain our expenses. This year we allowed participants to select which items they would like to win and had a special drawing for the ever incredible basket donations by Pan Mitchell which she does in memory of her late husband and member, LTC Donald F. Mitchell.  We can’t thank her enough for her contribution to our event.  We had a record year for donations, thank you all who participated.  
Our meeting concluded with the election of the board for 2011-2013 conducted by LTC Donald L. Wirth.  All members up for re-election opted to stay on the board and were elected by proclamation.

The invocation and benediction were given by Colonel (Ch) Donald Forden. 

As we move on to our 2011-2012 year, mark your calendars for our 2012 luncheon which will be held on a Sunday in April.    Check your upcoming Blade newsletters for the date and location or our website   http://63rdinfdivusar.com. Remember this is our once a year opportunity to gather as current and past members of the 63d for an enjoyable event. We hope to see you there and bringing other members and guests with you.