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Spring Chapter Meeting, April 2004

Augusta, Georgia
16 - 18 April 2004

I know! I know! The alert order I gave out in January stated in no uncertain terms, the Spring meeting would be hosted by none other than Lee Myers at his new Myerhof just outside Richmond, Virginia. Everything was going fine until Maid Linda of Myerhof ended up with a cast on her leg that will remain there for quite some time. Lee called Art about the middle of March to give him the bad news. Art called Ron in Augusta and asked if he could host a meeting down there.

Now Ron, being the well-trained Special Forces trooper that he is, made a couple of calls, pulled in a few markers and, voila! We were set for a meeting in Augusta.

On Friday, 16 April 2004, the troops converged upon the unsuspecting town of Augusta, where just a few short weeks before had hosted the annual Master's Golf Tournament . I had even brought my golf clubs just in case I would meet up with Tiger Woods and get an invite to play a round or two at the Masters Country Club. But, alas and alack, Tiger was off running through the woods at Fort Bragg, North Carolina for a week or so. I understand his father was a member of the 46th SF Company and Tiger always wanted to see what made Special Forces tick.

In any case, my clubs stayed in my truck. We couldn't even play the links at Fort Gordon because Stan busted a finger a week before and it hadn't healed. Talk about wimps...

Ron stood guard at the entry to the hospitality room and quickly scanned the payment-due sheet. If your name was amongst those, the guard you forked up $25 or out you'd go. Ron didn't play mess-around.

Once you made it past the guard, you could mingle with the rest of the early birds.

There were coolers and tubs filled with various species of domestic and foreign beers.

The tables were stacked with all sorts of goodies except you had oc and all to get past OC and family.

At least we didn't have to enjoin Judy Hines, ex-pres, Jim Hash or Ginger Westmoreland as Designated drivers for the week-end. We would have dinner at one of the two VFW's (there may be more of these chapters and there's at least one American Legion. I think Ron is a member in good standing in all of them).

Friday night dinner was served at one of the VFW's. We boarded the Augusta Choo-Choo for the short trip to the dinning room. all aboard augusta choo choo
There we had a choice of steak, hamburger steaks, shrimp or chicken plus you had all the fixings you wanted.
I can attest to how good the shrimp was.
Then it was back to our Team House and a continued bout with the war stories.

say what-dah grill-ken First, the ex-pres, Jim Hash, cornered Ken against the table. Then Judy, Art, Bob Hines and our other Bob decided to grill him for any number of reasons.
He held up fairly well against Jim, but the grilling by the others seemed to have taken it's toll...

...And so ended the first day...

Saturday morning breakfast was served in the hotel restaurant. For $6 you could partake of any item on the buffet. Not only could you partake of any item, but you could partake as many times as you wanted. Then you were on your own until the Chapter Meeting at 1400 hours.

Of course, this was supposed to be my day at the Augusta Country Club and a round or two with Tiger Woods, but you already know that story. worldly discussions

If you chose, you could go back to the hospitality room and more worldly discussions.

ladis kaffeklutch mens kaffeklutch The ladies gathered out on the veranda sipping Big Oranges and making with the gossip.
Meanwhile, back in the hospitality room, the men were gathered about, sipping their Big Oranges and making it with dedicated worldly discussions.
Men always held discussions while the women always gossiped...

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, two young, newly acquired Special Forces Trainees, were busy learning the ropes on what it takes to become a 3-qualified Special Forces Trooper.
young sfers First you make sure the really important stuff, beer, liquor, mix (in that order) are out.
Then you make sure the snacks are laid out correctly. That would be meat, cheese, condiments and bread in that order.
Last, but not least, that mess on the floor will have to be cleaned up.

While the young, Special Forces Trainees were going about their business of setting out the chow, the drinks and doing a general cleaning of the area, the membership (we had twenty-one members present) held their Spring meeting. Not much went on at this meeting except we were told that Fred Brier had been in the hospital with a stroke. He was now resting comfortably at home.
The other notable entry in the meeting was the fact the fall meeting will be held in Robinsville, NC. That's about 30-40 miles north of Cherokee Indian Reservation and, you guessed it, gambling.

The Augusta Choo-Choo picked us up at the Holiday Inn and delivered us to the second VFW for our nightly meal.
chow time This meal, along with the breakfast the following morning, was included in the price of the week-end tab.
The meal included a steak (cooked to your perfection), salad and all the extras that you could possibly want. And, for once, I had a steak that I could really enjoy.

The high light of the evening, after that meal of steak, baked potatoes and salad, was the auction. Everyone in the VFW was allowed to bid on each and every item.
auction items
Most of the items went to the Chapter members, but the CEO of the VFW did outbid our members on a number of items.
I don't know what he's going to do with a bread machine and an onion cutter. Still, the auction brought in over $1,000 in revenue for the chapter.

3 time art And this narrative wouldn't be complete without an explanation as to what happened when the book Green Berets by Robin Moore was auctioned off.
The first man out of the stall with a top bid of $15 was none other than our newly elected pres. Our very capable (and I might add very sneaky) auctioneer, seeing a fish on the line, continued to push for a bid higher than $15.
Our newly elected president jumped right in and upped the ante to $17.50. Again, the auctioneer sensed a mark and pushed for a bid of $20. Our novice president readily complied. Going once...twice...three times! Sold for $20!
Hope you enjoy the book, Art.

And so ended the Spring meeting of Chapter 33. A tip of the beret to Ron and his crew for putting together one of the best meetings we've had in such a short notice. Be sure to watch this site for the update on the summer meeting in Las Vegas and the fall meeting in Robbinsville, NC. And if you want see the individual photos enlarged, all you have to do it click on the photo of you choice. Have fun and I'll see you in Las Vegas...

You might find some interest in the Rogue's Gallery

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Copyright © 1994 Chapter XXXIII All rights Reserved.

The Larry Alan Thorne Special Forces
Memorial Chapter XXXIII Spring Meeting
was created 8 May 2004
and last update 3 April 2008