Dear Tomcat Flyers, Fixers, and Fans
The F-14 Tomcat Association is alive and well! Due to a series of challenges, we haven’t been in touch in a while, but with this newsletter, that will be changing.
We have been transforming our web site, email system, and our membership renewal and tracking system, bringing those up to speed after 11 years under the original software. I ask for some patience while we work the kinks out, but within the next month you will see all the changes coming to fruition.
I have quite a bit of information to share, so please get comfortable. In the future, we will be putting out a quarterly email newsletter which will be a bit shorter, but timelier.
Sadly, I need to let everyone know that our Association’s founding father and longtime Secretary, Art Martin passed away this summer. We were so blessed to have Art’s vision, energy and drive behind everything the F-14 Association did since its founding in 2003. Words can’t begin to describe the loss we feel, but here is the announcement from his family:
"On July 7, 2014, at 9:20PM, the world lost a great man. It is with heavy heart that the family of Art Martin announces his passing. Besides the love for his wife Donna, daughter Kelly, son Matthew, and Grandchildren Briann and Brandon, Art loved and enjoyed bringing his dogs George and Liza to the Springville dog park. He loved the comradery he shared with the many friends he met at the park, and the joy of watching the excitement of his dogs as they interacted with their friends.
Art was also passionate about the F-14 Tomcat fighter jet. He has the distinction of having worked on the first ever commissioned F-14 Tomcat while in the Navy, and the last commissioned F-14 Tomcat at the Point Mugu Naval base. His passion carried over to his creation of the F-14 Tomcat Association, which he administered for the last 11 years and now consists of close to 3,000 members. Art's strength and character was exemplified even to his last moments. Prior to Art's final surgery, he gave a thumbs up to let his family know everything would be okay. We will miss you Art, you were a great Husband, Father, Friend and champion for the animals and the F-14 Tomcat."
Art was buried in the Conejo Mountain Memorial Park near his hometown of Camarillo California. Your Board of Directors is actively looking for ways to memorialize Art’s passion for and contributions to the F-14. We will publish those details as they are finalized.
The transformation of the website, membership system, and email system was started prior to Art’s passing, and his wife and daughter have been incredibly helpful in giving us all of the files, but there is still a chance that something will be lost in transition, so if you have any issues with receiving membership material, or your membership isn’t acknowledged in the next month, please contact me and we’ll work it out.
Your current Board of Directors is:
Captain Mike "Rabies" Rabens (USN Ret.) – President This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Captain Mark "Beaver" Swaney (USN Ret.) - Vice President and Acting Secretary This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Captain Rob "Udog" Underwood (USNR Ret.) – Treasurer This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Captain Jim "Crunch" Hineline (USN) - Fleet Representative This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Dave "Hey Joe" Parsons - East Coast Representative This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Commander Bryan "Spot" Kust (USN Ret.) - West Coast Representative This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
AMS Mike O'Brien - Maintainer Representative, West This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
ADJ Jamie Barnhard - Maintainer Representative, East This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Mark Swaney has picked up the job of acting Secretary and has been instrumental in the implementation of the new systems coming on line. A million thanks to Mark! He has donated literally a hundred hours these last two months to make this transition successful.
Three of our Board members attended ‘Hook in Reno/Sparks Nevada last month. They had a booth, and Admin, and hosted a breakfast that doubled as our general business meeting for this year. Jim Hineline, Mike O’Brien, and Jamie Barnhard were there to make sure folks knew about the association, and were able to sign up some new members.
At ‘Hook, it was obvious to them that most of the people in the F-14 community are not aware of the Association, but would like to participate in events, so that brings me to the first thing we need – your help in spreading the word! We had thousands of members at the time of the F-14 Sunset in Oceana. Since then, we’ve lost touch with more than half of those people, due to the usual email address changes and moves. My request – please forward this newsletter to every F-14 flyer, fixer, or fan you know. They can then renew their ties to the Association and find out about our next major event - our 2015 F-14 Association Reunion in Pensacola Florida.
The Intruder Association held their annual reunion in Pensacola last year, and it was so successful we decided to follow suit. They had well over 500 attendees. I think we can match that.
By the end of October, you’ll be able to go to our website www.F-14association.com to register for the many wonderful events we have planned. Here is the program as it stands today:
TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2015
Early arrival check-in at the Hampton Inn and Suites on Pensacola Beach
- 1800-2000 -- Happy hour at the Hampton Inn
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 2015
- 1130 -- Blue Angel practice show onboard NAS Pensacola ( Schedule varies)
- 1200-1600 -- Reunion Registration in hotel lobby at the Hampton Inn
- 1600-1800 -- Welcome Aboard Happy Hour
- 1800-2200 -- Reunion Welcome Reception
THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2015
- 0700-0830 -- Complimentary breakfast at the Hampton Inn
- 0900 -- Board trolleys for tour of Historic Downtown Pensacola and Veteran's Memorial Park
- 1030 -- Memorial Service at the Veteran's Memorial Park with the NAS Color Guard
- 1115 -- Lunch at McGuire's Irish Pub with the Color Guard
- 1330 -- Board trolleys for the Hampton Inn
- 1400 -- Arrive back at the Hampton Inn
- 1900 -- Movie screening - "The Final Countdown" at the Hampton Inn
FRIDAY, APRIL 24, 2015
- 0700-0830 -- Complimentary breakfast at the Hampton Inn
- 0830 -- Board trolley for NAS Pensacola
- 0900 -- Arrive at the National Naval Aviation Museum -- Guided tour of the Museum
- 1100 -- Lunch at the Cubi Bar inside the Museum
- 1200 -- Free time to browse in Hangar Bay One
- 1250 -- IMAX movie
- 1400 -- Tour of the virtual flight deck and the museum's upstairs
- 1500 -- Meet in the Atrium and bring your camera for pictures
- 1515 -- Tour of the National Flight Academy if not in session
- 1615 -- Board trolley for return to the Hampton Inn
- 1645 -- Trolley arrives at the Hampton Inn
- Evening -- Pub Crawl in Downtown Pensacola and time for mini Squadron Reunions
SATURDAY, APRIL 25, 2015
- 0700-0900 -- Complimentary breakfast at the Hampton Inn
- 0800-0900 -- General Business Meeting
- 0930 -- Board trolley for the Marina
- 1000 -- Board the Chase N Fins
- 1200 -- Arrive back at the Marina
- 1215 -- Picnic lunch at the Marina
- 1300 -- Board trolley for return to the Hampton Inn
- 1330 -- Trolley arrives at the Hampton Inn
- 1800 -- Trolley leaves for the Officer's Club onboard NAS Pensacola
- 1830 -- Arrival at the Mustin Beach Officer's Club and banquet dinner
- 2100 -- Trolley leaves for the Hampton Inn
SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2015
- 0700-0900 -- Complimentary breakfast at the Hampton Inn
- 1200 -- Check-out from the Hampton Inn
You can make your reservations now!
Hampton Inn and Suites on Pensacola Beach
Room Reservations: 1-800-320-8108
(Ask for Group Reservations – F-14 Association)
Gulf Front with Balcony – $179, South Side Rooms - $149
Please help us get the word out. Send this email to all of your friends and squadron-mates.
The Association is healthy financially, but it is essential that lapsed members renew their membership, or pay for lifetime membership, for us to stay healthy. If you’ve lapsed, and under the old system there were no reminders, please renew today, so we can build the association into a vibrant group that does fun things together.
Please check out our website and the many member benefits – Current and past member will receive a separate email with your account details for logging into the site.
Lastly, we are always looking for volunteers to help with membership drives, communications, event planning, advertising, web mastering, etc. If you have any interest at all, please get in touch with me, or any of the Board members.
Sincerely/ Mike “Rabies” Rabens
President, F-14 Tomcat Association
Always, Baby
Mission: To Preserve the History of the Greatest Fighter Jet the United States Navy Has Ever Flown.