Kennedy cites SAS, education and awards programs; Middendorf selected for Burke Award; Fisher elected senior VP

Sea Power, Jan 1999 by Reynolds, Jean B

Sea-Air-Space Exposition

The 1998 Sea-Air-Space Exposition was the largest of any in the 33-year history of the exposition. "The fact that over 60,000 square feet of exhibit space were sold to Navy League corporate members attests to the increasing importance of the exposition to the sea services themselves as well as to the nation's defense industries," said Kennedy. "Once again our NLUS volunteers and the Navy League staff orchestrated a dynamic three-day program encompassing several special luncheons, an extensive seminar program, and, the highlight of the show, the annual Nimitz Award Banquet on Wednesday night."

Focusing on America's future in space, the 1998 SAS theme was "Access the Future." Over 120 senior officers from the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard were among the more than 9,000 attendees touring the exhibits and participating in the seminars and social functions. Like its predecessors, the 1998 exposition featured the latest in technological innovationsexhibited by over 140 companies and numerous sea-service and DOD development and research commands.

During the SAS the Navy League recognized two members from the corporate world for their outstanding support of a strong U.S. defense program. Receiving the Albert A. Michelson Award for Scientific Achievement was Robert L. McCaig, senior technical staff member, Lockheed Martin Federal Systems. He was recognized for his work in developing the Navy's submarine combat systems. The 1998 Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz Award, presented annually to a corporate president or CEO who has made a major contribution to U.S. national security, was presented to Getald J. St. Pe, president of Ingalls Shipbuilding, for his achievements in the design and production of Navy cruisers, destroyers, and amphibious ships.

Councils and Membership

Once again, the Gold Cup memberget-a-member campaign was a successful recruiting tool that resulted in an influx of new Navy Leaguers. "Like everything the Navy League does, the Gold Cup campaign can succeed only when we all work together as a team," Kennedy said. "Congratulations are in order for everyone who participated."

The Navy League was involved from the beginning, working closely with the Office of the Oceanographer of the Navy, in a once-in-a-lifetime educational opportunity for American school children: to choose the name for the U.S. Navy's newest oceanographic survey vessel.

NLUS artist John Kaljee created an original full-color painting that was used to announce the "Name This Ship" contest. The Navy League funded the printing of 120,000 Kaljee posters that were mailed to schools throughout the United States in July 1997.

Participating student teams submitted their entries to NLUS state and region presidents for judging. The judging panels selected the winning entries in each of two age divisions for all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and U.S. territories. The winning entries were forwarded to the Office of the Oceanographer of the Navy for final judging.