PEDRO RESCUE HELICOPTER ASSOCIATION

President's Message January 2010

 

      President                     Vice President                     Treasurer                  Secretary                     Chaplain                                   Members at Large

John Christianson                           James Taylor                     Chris Taylor            Ed Cartwright             Nathan Green                  John Flournoy

                                                                                                                                                                                                         Red Lemke

 

To the PRHA Membership                                                                                            8 January 2010

 

The time has come to once again let you know what is going on with the organization.  There are three main areas which I will cover—the PRHA Memorial, the reunion, and election of Board Members. 

 

Memorial:  I am happy to announce that the PRHA memorial is finally completed and has recently arrived at the Enlisted Heritage Hall at Maxwell AFB-Gunter Annex, in Montgomery, Alabama.  The memorial has yet to be sited and installed at the Hall/Museum, but I have been informed that this work will be completed by the end of February.  I have included photos of the memorial, taken at the manufacturing plant in the Seattle, Washington area, prior to being crated for shipment to Gunter.  The yellow stripe on the top memorial is just a reflection from lights.

 

Comments from those who have seen the photos are very positive.  Jim Taylor and his committee did an outstanding job in designing this memorial and carrying it through to the finished product.  It accurately depicts the HH-43, its mission and accomplishments, along with an area dedicated to A1C William Pitsenbarger, a Pedro PJ, who received the Medal of Honor posthumously for his heroic actions in Vietnam.

 

Additionally, the EHH is selling personalized bricks for $50.00 each and these bricks are to be located at the Hall.  If you request placement around the new PRHA Memorial, they will honor this request.  You can go to there order form by clicking on this link:  Enlisted Heritage Hall Brick Order.  The order form will be one of the first listings.

 

Now that the Memorial project is nearly complete, I want to thank all of you who contributed to the Memorial Fund. The cost of the Memorial, not including installation, was $5,740.  Your donations for the Memorial of $2,309, enabled us to cover much of the associated costs. The shortfall was covered by money from the general fund, the balance of which is now $7,311.  Additionally, we now want to consider other locations for this memorial and consequently, we will continue to maintain a Memorial Fund for future memorials.  With this in mind, we ask that you once again consider donating to the fund for this and/or future memorials..  Please send your donations and comments to:  Pedro Rescue Helicopter Association   16610 14th Ave SW,  Burien, WA  98166.

 

Reunion:   Our plan is to dedicate the memorial at the next PRHA reunion, scheduled for 22-24 April, 2010 in Montgomery.   This is a recent change in plans as our original thoughts were for a summer reunion in the Seattle area.  The completion and delivery of the memorial has changed our focus, one of which will hopefully cause each of you to seriously consider attending the reunion/dedication. 

 

Just as soon as all of the reunion plans are completed, Len Shults, our reunion organizer, will be getting a package out to each of you with the particulars of the reunion.  I anticipate this to be completed by the end of February.  Please circle the 22-24 April dates on your calendar and plan to attend the event along with your fellow Pedros.

 

Elections:    The time has come once again to elect PRHA board members (President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary, Chaplain, and two Members at Large).  All current Board members, myself included, and with the exception of Ed Cartwright, our Secretary, have indicated a willingness to serve again in their current position if elected.  Ed has said that he will stay on as our Membership Chairman.  If any of you would like to serve in one of the positions, or would like to nominate someone else for a position, please let us know so we can place that name on the ballot.  If you nominate someone, please check with that individual to make sure he would be willing to serve in the position if elected.

 

Please send your nominees to Rick Sheets either electronically or by USPS at the following: Email addresses:  sheets.rick@gmail.com.   USPS:  Rick Sheets, 1087 Hunters Knoll Dr., Goodview, VA  24095.

 

I look forward to seeing all of you in Montgomery this coming April.  It is an honor to serve you and the PRHA.   Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

 

JohnChristianson

John Christianson

President, PRHA

5586 SE Lake Road

Milwaukie, OR  97222

(503) 653-7727

johnlouc@msn.com

Note: Enlisted Heritage Hall Brick Order Form is also in the links below.

 

Home The HH-43 "Huskie" Membership Information
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President's Message January 2010

Enlisted Heritage Hall Brick Order Form
PRHA Reunion 2006 PRHA Reunion 2008 Report  

Chief Master Sergeant Wayne L. Fisk
Park Dedication

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