Thirteenth Gathering of VPI Calgary, Fri 11 May 07.

1130-1330

1.  E/On @ 1130 (Don & Ian)


2.  In Attendance: Don Little (usually the first to arrive), Ian Gordon (the new guy from up north – Airdrie), Mike Luxton (a true regular, now that the CDS no longer has control), Garth Irvine (dedicated to helping make the quorum), Dave Watson (back in the fold after a couple of absences) and Dan McLean (on a short break from Encana duties). It must be noted that six out of nine is a 67% attendance rate – still the best in Canada.


3.  AWOL: Austin Hayes (more pressing matters in the Shuswap – something to do with preparations for a granddaughter's wedding), Brian Kaban (usually has a flying excuse and this time it was for real – all the way to Hawaii on a family vacation) and Bill Moir (a brother-in-law's wedding in Spud Isle took precedence over VPI).


4.  A round for the House: Don Little, fresh from a visit to his friendly banker and flush with a newly approved Line of Credit, laid a few shekels on the bar and bought the first round. As it turned out, it was the only round as all others seemed to be in the "unable or unwilling" mode. Seems like all the "drinkers" were among the AWOL group. 


5.  Welcome to our Newest Member:  Glasses (coke, water and beer) were raised on high to welcome Ian Gordon to the fold. When asked to give a short spiel on his airforce background and career, what followed was a half-hour, extremely interesting dissertation. Having started as an RO in maritime ops, Ian subsequently cross-trained as a pilot and eventually left the long range MP environment in favour of transports and even a tour in the AWACS world. Of particular note was his original membership in the P2000 Club (almost a founding member, but a couple of flights short).


6.  Horatio Hornblower: Turns out that Dave Watson who usually just toots his own horn is also a trombonist and plays in a Jazz band as well as a full ensemble. Good show, Dave. Perhaps you could bring the "slider" to our next one and lead us in a couple of loops around the Mess. Better still, we'll be counting on you at next year's anniversary Mess Dinner to lead in the Air Force March Past.


7.  New Link: Our webmaster, Dan the Man McLean has created an additional link to the VPI YC website (as seen below) which also provides some personal advertising as "navdan". Now, the next thing will be to provide us with a link to Encana's stock options (so Little can continue to lay money on the bar as his ECA stock increases). Hey, Dan, that was a great "Letter to the Editor" you wrote  re "firearms registration" which was  published in the Calgary Herald. Very enigmatic!


8.  Garth was able to make the gathering, in spite of his medical appointment at the Foothills. Wonderful show of dedication.  Okotoks to Mewata to Foothills and back to Okotoks certainly makes for a long trip. Hope your state of health is such that there will be no excuses when we hit the links to practice for the next McCurdy Open.


9.  Mike, as noted above, has now become a true "regular". New consulting business seems to be on the upswing, as evidenced by his attendance in golfing-garb. Seems he was able to take the afternoon off for VPI camaraderie, followed by 18 holes. Ah, yes, nice to be your own boss! We hope he keeps his eye on the military pulse, though, because his input to airforce current events is always welcome.


10.  Discussion Time:  None – Ian took it all with his short dissertation. Actually, of minor importance, we're still looking for new members and are anxious to welcome anyone with a maritime ops background, so, pack your bags and head for Calgary, home of the Stampede (6-15 July).


11.  Website reminder:  http://vpi.calgarywaterford.org    or the new one   http://vpi.navdan.ca

Both the links above are pointing to the same webserver, I just have my own domain name so I thought I'd add VPI Calgary to it. Cheers Dan.

Webmaster: Dan McLean – navdan@ns.sympatico.ca


12.  Next Gathering:  Fri. Oct 12th ('07) @ 1130-1330. Mewata Armouries. Book it !


13.  E/Off @ 1330
 

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