Oriental Rotary Club

Life and Times of the
U.S.S. Nashville (LPD-13)
Captain Larry Walker

“How are you all doing?”…Larry’s favorite shout out to the ORC crew. Larry, president and owner of World Wide Marine Training, has an entrepreneurial background – electrical contractor, building materials wholesaler, maritime educator, to name a few. Larry holds a B.S. in accounting from Kean College (NewJersey) and a M.B.A. in marketing from Rutgers. He has two daughters Alicia Ann and Christina Marie. Hobbies include boating, music, singing, travel and writing.

USS Nashville, an Austin-class amphibious transport dock, was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for the city in Tennessee. Her keel was laid down on 14 March 1966 by the Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company of Seattle, Washington. She was launched on 7 October 1967 sponsored by Mrs. Roy L. Johnson, and commissioned at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington, on 14 February 1970 with Captain Frank R. Fahland in command.

Nashville’s various assignments have included four Caribbean Amphibious readiness Groups, Mediterranean Amphibious readiness Groups, Persian Gulf Amphibious Readiness Groups, Mine Countermeasure Task Group, NATO North Atlantic Operations, and training assignments with the Fleet Marine Force Atlantic.

On 16 January and 17 January 2006, she was the first vessel to receive the landing of an unmanned robotic RQ-8A Fire Scout helicopter. In July 2006, she was sent to Lebanon as part of the Iwo Jima Expeditionary Strike Group transporting the 24th MEU to assist with the evacuation of U.S. nationals from the country, after a conflict erupted between the Israeli military and Hezbollah militants. On 20 July 2006, it landed the first Marines on Lebanese soil since 1984. Check out the television program “Anthony Bourdain No Reservations.” The Nashville is featured in an episode as it evacuated Americans (including Bourdain and his production crew) from Beirut. The episode was nominated for an Emmy Award. (“No Reservations” is one of your editor’s favorite Travel/Food programs.)

Concert to End Polio
Purchase your tickets for this one-night-only performance of violinist and polio survivor Itzhak Perlman with the New York Philharmonic. Buy tickets by calling the Philharmonic box office at 212-875-5656
Perlman will perform with the New York Philharmonic at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Avery Fisher Hall, in New York City on Wednesday, 2 December, at 7:30 p.m. Mention that you’re a Rotarian so you can access the block of tickets reserved for Rotarians until 1 November. Tickets are expected to sell quickly. All proceeds go to Rotary’s US $200 Million Challenge and December is a wonderful, festive time to visit the Big Apple.

Membership
ORC is growing its membership. Last year at this time our club registered 66 members. Current membership is now at 71. A vote of confidence goes to past membership chairs and current membership chair Al Herlands and his membership Squad.

This news is from Rotary International and dated 17 September 2009.
Clubs can earn a certificate signed by RI President John Kenny by meeting his membership goals for 2009-10. The top 10 clubs and top 10 districts, as determined by RI, will also be acknowledged onstage at the 2010 convention in Montréal, Québec, Canada.
To meet Kenny’s membership goals, clubs need to achieve the following:
-A minimum net increase of one member
-A minimum retention rate of 80 percent and two of the items below:
-Increased percentage of qualified women
-Increased percentage of qualified younger professionals (under age 50)
-Induction of at least one RI or Rotary Foundation program alumna/alumnus
-Increased diversity of membership (e.g., classification, gender, age, ethnicity)
Achievement of club goals will be certified by the district governor.