Greetings Fleet Society Members,
On March 15 a notice was posted about action taken by the 1715 Fleet Society Board to provide an avenue for greater member participation in Society business. Inasmuch as our membership is so widespread and in an effort to engage as many members as possible in what we are doing it was decided to divide the U.S. into 6 regions: Western Central, Great Lakes and Northeast, Southern, Florida Treasure Coast, and Greater Florida. Each region would have a Regional Director and an Assistant, or Deputy Director, chosen by the Director as necessary.
During the last several months we have interviewed a number of people that might fit the profile of what we were looking for to assume the position. Our choices were based on a number of factors. It is to be noted that many of our members work full-time jobs or are deeply involved in other organizations that are time-consuming. So this was taken into consideration when offering these positions. Mostly the Regional Directors will conduct periodic Zoom meetings with members in their assigned region. Also, the Directors would handle suggestions and new ideas from members and pass that information on to the Board of Directors. Finally, they have the option of giving presentations to historical groups based on the Director’s availability.
We are pleased to announce that we have successfully filed the Regional Directors positions for all of the Regional Districts. Note that these are volunteer positions and that each Director can stay in the position as long as desired.
Western Region: Phil Flemming (Scottsdale, Arizona)
Central Region: Ken Gentile (Lombard, Illinois)
Great Lakes and Northeast Region: Alan Sadwin (Wantagh, New York)
Southern Region: Stephanie Hudson (Greensboro, North Carolina)
Florida Treasure Coast Region: James Wilson (Fort Pierce, Florida)
Greater Florida Region: Dave Crooks (West Palm Beach, Florida)
The Directors will be reaching out to members within their respective regions within the next several months after the Board of Directors finalizes the agenda for the Directors.
On a final note, we recently asked members to participate in a survey by providing a questionnaire seeking opinions and suggestions about the Society and what we could do to make the Society better. We received a lot of good information which we will be incorporating into the website. We will be providing information to the members about these changes in the near future. Just to tease you a bit, I can share with you two changes that we are incorporating based on recommendations we received from our members. One is to upgrade and “freshen up” the website. This will involve a new Home Page and the addition of more graphics. The second is to create a Member Forum, where members can talk to each other, exchange ideas, perhaps share information about their collections, make trades, etc. All of these specific changes are in the works right now. As I stated, other changes will happen, and we will let you know when to expect them.
Ben Costello
President, 1715 Fleet Society
