 |
|
|
 Vallarta Living | October 2006 
Navy League Receives First Ship of the Season
 PVNN
Puerto Vallarta - Attention all Vinters! it seems that ‘grapevine’ thrives on salt water. Indeed, the very fact that 35 stalwarts of the USCGC Steadfast, a medium range Coast Guard cutter, signed up for a COMREL gives rise to this claim.
What’s a COMREL? It’s a community related project that visiting sailors from the Coast Guard and US Navy offer their services for while visiting various ports where they have leave.
Traditionally, maybe 2 to 5% of the ship’s complement will volunteer. The salt water enhanced grapevine, however, has caused an anomaly in these ratios. This was not the Steadfast’s first visit, nor it’s first COMREL here.
With a crew of roughly 75, and with almost one half signing up, it’s no doubt that the Puerto Vallarta Navy Leagues’ reputation of rewarding the ‘painters’ with a trip to La Noria enjoyed the first Nation's finest communications system in the world’s path to Jose Alfredo’s door, where he offers great sea food and unlimited tequila.
The Puerto Vallarta Navy League meets and greets all friendly nation government ships visiting our port. Dispensing useful information and answering questions not covered perhaps by the husbanding agent, they provide a link to home and private citizens that are usually separated by leagues of water.
They also seek out projects for these COMRELS (Bill Clark being the man responsible for this) and co-ordinate with the XO or PAO (in this case Dale Shepardson and Susan Burgett) to organize the crew for the work detail.
This time the beneficiary of the work was the Clinca de Rehabilitacion Vallarta Santa Barbara A.C., where a new wing for the children was built recently but not painted. A chance meeting of Laura Lopez Portillo, the administrative director and a Navy League V/P at one the of the breakfast meetings, put on by the women's auxiliary at the Naval Base, got the ball rolling.
The Puerto Vallarta Navy League numbers 90+ members many whom are ‘snow-birds’ and in addition to the above mentioned activities, they are greatly involved in the Toys For Tots program, which last year saw the fund raising (via a golf tournament and gala ball) and distribution of over 8000 toys on the day of the King’s (Jan 6th).
For more information on the Puerto Vallarta Navy League, please contact President Jeff Miltenberger at 222-4486. The Navy League meets every first Tuesday of the month at the Marriott Hotel, the major patron of the Toys For Tots program.
Guests are welcome and no Navy affiliation is necessary. Just folks trying to help the community.
As for the USCG Steadfast, headed by Commander Matthew J. Gimple, the ship was in Bristol shape during her visit here, a fact that he modestly deferred to his dedicated crew.
For facts about the Steadfast, visit their website: click HERE.
Profound thanks from the Puerto Vallarta Navy League and especially Dra. Norma Carrion Herrera and D.A. Laura Lopez Portilla R.G. of the Clinica to all the crew who participated in this worthy endeavour. |
| |
|
Vallarta Weddings
Tell a Friend
Site Map
Print this Page
Email Us