By the time this is published, our Fifteen (15) Year Reunion will have taken place. I’m being preemptive here, but we should have a write up and pictures on our website, www.kps94.org.

Not much new on my front – same old biz, and same old fun. I did get in a great backpacking trip with my wife to Mt. Whitney at end of July. Pics are on my facebook account, and there’s a detailed write up on my blog, www.blakemiller.net

Abel Tanael with Family

Abel Tanael wrote in . . . “A lot of things are going on both at work and at home. My daughters are growing fast. Isabel Elaine is 7 this Saturday, July 18th and Elisha Joan will be 5 this coming labor day weekend. I won’t be able to make it this time to our 15th year reunion since our family have long planned to go back to the Philippines and celebrate the Christmas season over there this year. It’s been 11 years and it’s long overdue. Loads of renovation going on at my home. I’m now learning to be a handyman. It’s getting there. At work, busy as always. Matt Andrews {is} checking our traffic here at the Hamilton Port. Fertilizer season is over for now but it’s time for the retailers to get their supplies from us so we are busy trucking everything out from our warehouse to theirs.

Hugh Healey sent in picture and announcement of the birth of their son “Liam Francis Healey” born on 5/20/09. Congrats Hugh!

Francis Liam Healey

Joe Woods played golf in the KP NY Golf Outing with Willie Pack (KP 00′) and Tom Wingenfeld (KP 69′). We played great and won 1st place. It doesn’t hurt that Willie is a 1 handicap. At the outing I ran into Tim Green, Matt Andrews and Joe Costanza. All are doing very well. Great job Joe and team for winning!!

Brett Miller & Family

Brett Miller and wife Kelly have been blessed with another baby girl. Emily Claire Miller was born on July 10, 2009. Brother Owen, 4and half, and sister Audrey, 3, are both very excited for our new addition. Kelly is doing well, and adjusting to no sleep, again. Congrats Brett and Kelly!

Chris Price just had their second boy on 7/22/09, his name is Alex Thomas. All went smoothly and everyone is happy (Brother? Evan is a little less than happy but he’s getting on fine). Congrats Chris!!

Brian Murphy's Family

Brian Murphy and his family got together with Matt Lavin and his family up in Cooperstown, NY, over Memorial Day. Matt and his wife, Ericka, now have four kids, with the newest addition, Parker, joining the clan in 2008. Matt is also in the process of moving from the Coast Guard base in Cape Cod, where he was flying helicopters, down to Elizabeth City, NC, where he will begin training on the C-130. I have some great pictures from our trip but can’t find them! - I’ll forward for the next edition.

As for me, things are going well. I’m still with Starr Marine Agency (14+ years) in New York, heading up the hull department. I now handle the international hull portfolio as well, which is fun but very challenging. Jeanne and I have had a busy and fun summer with our kids - Grace is 5 1/2, Patrick is 4, and Kate is 2 1/2. Attached is a picture of the gang from our vacation in the Adirondack mountains in July.

I’m scheduled to get together with Matt Andrews, Garrett Cousineau, Tim Green, and probably a few others from the NYC contingent later this week. Should be fun. That’s it for now - I’m looking forward to seeing everybody at Homecoming.

That’s it for this issue . . . don’t forget, we’re more “social”. Be sure to join our Facebook group “Kings Point Class of 1994” We also have a continuous list of “Missing in Action” classmates showing those who we do not have email addresses for. See www.kps94.org/mia for more info. Till next round . . . ~Blake

It’s a great pleasure to announce once again the Kings Point Class of 94’ Fifteen (15) Year Reunion which will be held the weekend of October 2nd 3rd and 4th. We have built a custom area on our website just for the homecoming to send details, announce, and have all the information there. So please visit www.kps94.org for more information. We certainly hope to see many of you there as it will be a memorable one.

Things have been fairly quiet for the last quarter; have heard from a couple of you. Personally my business Pro Motion Design (web, marketing, graphic design, custom development) has actually been growing this year. I have hired yet another Office Administrator/Marketing Assistant to help both internally and with my external clients and projects.

Many of you may have seen the recent blog post, but I have teamed up and did some work for our classmate Matt Hartzell & his company with a website overhaul and some new printing jobs. For more information please visit the Kings Point website (kps94.org), or visit Matt’s new website www.hartzellindsrvcs.com. If anyone is looking for help with their website, graphic design or marketing, or online marketing certainly let me know.

I actually had the chance to see James MacRitchie back in March where we partook in “Sausage Fest” annual ski trip…I don’t know number seven? Although it was only James this time. Chuck Eaton another usual “regular” had a bum knee. James and he flew out to San Diego and spent a couple of days visiting, then a few days skiing at Mammoth. The skiing was terrible, but the visit and trip was great as usual!

Blake Miller & James MacRitchie in Mammoth

Bruce Skillman wrote in . . . . “This may be my first time writing in to this in a long time. Hope all is well with you and your family. I just can’t believe that it has been actually 15 years since we left Kings Point. Wow. That is amazing. I am still living in the New Orleans area and enjoying the life that the southeast has to offer. I have finally turned pro in 06′ and have been married to a great girl for three great years. Today is our third wedding anniversary. No kids but our yellow lab Charlie is alot like the “Marley and Me dog” which keeps us both on our toes.

Bruce & Angie

To the class, I am hoping to make it back to KP for our 15 year reunion, there are no promises with the work schedule. To all of you that have survived the riggers of life out of school the past 15 years, I wish you all the best. One of these days, I am going to be lucky enough to make it to a reunion.”

Rick Mangubat & Robert Upton

Mike Farrell wrote in with this: “Hello Everyone! I hope all finds you well. I am stationed with the USCG in Rotterdam, NL. Life is well and has treated my family and I great. Arrived here in summer 2008 and I am conducting port security assessments for the Coast Guard in Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. Unfortunately I will not be able to attend this year’s reunion, but I hope all of you who attend have a good time. My contact info is below (mobile is best) and hope to hear from you. Cheers and God Bless! Cell: +31(0)62-316-9593”

Hugh Healey sent a note in from Guam with: “Hi Blake, I’m emailing from the tropical island of Guam, “where America wakes up first”. I was given the opportunity within Horizon Lines as the General Manager of Guam and Micronesia a little over a year now. My wife Sarah and I are enjoying this part of the world, and we are expected our second child (son) any day now. Guam is on the brink of a major military build up, so no rest for the wicked. On a second note, I had the opportunity of traveling to Shanghai, China to visit Fred Castonguay and Matt Hoag. Fred was a gracious host and I still owe him money from our golf rounds. Hope all is well! Hugh”

Wes “Weasel” Corbett contacted me all the way from Nigeria and wrote: “What’s new buddy. About to finish a jack-up repair project in Dubai and then heading back home. Just wanted to get some news from that side of the planet. Ran into Javier Bru (’98)…one of the Panamanian Plebes…he’s the Flag Surveyor for the project. I don’t think he recognized me…good thing I think. – Weasel”

Matt's new business card to base new design.

Blake and his team started by drafting up some new static templates, from scratch.  Using Matt’s new business card design, a slick new template was created.

HISC Before

Once approved, it was then turned into the website . . . sliced, coded and optimized.

HISC After

The original website used nested HTML table’s to place the text and pictures, resulting in code that was difficult to maintain. In addition, the original website used font tags, which are now obsolete in the current HTML standard.  “Valid” code and css wasn’t even an option with the old site design and methods.

• The re-designed website uses CSS and HTML to position the content with minimal amount of coding, thus making the pages lighter weight for faster rendering and easier maintenance.
• We incorporated the look & logo used in the business cards HISC uses within the new design to give the website a fresh clean look and feel that kept the brand identity the same across products.
• A new navigation system that makes it simple for people to get to the information they want, without getting that “cluttered” feeling the old design/navigation system had.  We also combined the content of pages to reduce the number of navigation buttons.

Matt is extremely happy with the new website and is working with Blake on some other work.  “It’s great to be (finally) doing some work with fellow Kings’ Pointers . . . especially in a slightly different context

View the new website!

Blake Miller’s Pro Motion Design is a full service Graphic & Website Design, Web Hosting, Full-Color Offset Print and Marketing firm focusing on small to medium-sized businesses . . . worldwide.  Contact Blake at 619-840-3572.

Matt Hartzell’s Hartzell Industrial Services (HISC) delivers the services, expertise, project support, and custom software development and rollout for technical industries . . . also worldwide!  Contact Matt at 714-920-7072

In case you missed out . . . Check out this ABC news clip at Kings Point regarding piracy:

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=7302684

…and an email from Maersk Alabama: EMAIL FROM MAERSK ALABAMA CREW MEMBER TO SHIPMATE ABOARD MAERSK ARKANSAS

Hey,

Everyone on here is okay. We’re on our way to Mombasa with Navy protection on board. Captain Phillips is still hostage in the lifeboat with the 4 pirates. I hear they’re flying out reliefs for everyone, but I’m not sure what all’s going to happen once we get to Mombasa . Supposedly the FBI is coming out to investigate the crime. Maybe we’ll be on the next CSI Somalia. I wanted to let you know some of the lessons we learned so you guys can better prepare yourselves for something similar.

The only guys actually captured by the pirates were on the bridge: Capt, 3/M, and 2 AB’s. I don’t really know why they stayed on the bridge until the pirates got up there. Then they had keys to everything and were able to unlock everyone’s rooms. The pirates got up to the bridge very quickly once they were on board. We had a locked cage door over the ladder well from main deck, but it only took a second for them to shoot it off. They then got to the bridge up the outside ladders. By that time we had taken control of the engine and steering down below. Mike stayed in the ECR and the C/M was out on deck tracking the pirates’ movement. We kept swinging the rudder side to side. The pirates’ boat capsized, though I’m not sure exactly when or what caused it. After about 20 minutes the engine was killed, I don’t know by whom. At that point I shut off the air bottles and Mike killed power. He was also able to get outside and trip the fuel shutoff for the EDG. I think this was critical. The pirates were very reluctant to go into the dark. We will be looking at a way to shut off the EDG from the ECR in the future. All the crew had been mustered and secured in the steering gear. Our pirates didn’t have any grenades, so they would have never been able to break in there.

The previous day we had welded a padeye on the inside of the hatch to the fantail so it was secured from the inside. The only problem with the steering gear was the heat and the shortage of water In the future we will store food and water in various spots for emergency usage. I think we will also run a fresh water line into the steering gear. We were able to make a run from the steering gear to the E/R water fountain and fill up some empty oil sample bottles we had back there. The C/M was also able to get some fruit and sodas from the galley and drop them down the line standpipe. The pirates sent the 3/M unescorted to go look for crew members, so he was able to get away. One of the pirates then went with an AB down to the E/R to look for people. Mike was able to jump him in the dark and we took him prisoner in the steering gear. No one else came down into the E/R. As the day went on the pirates became desperate to get out of there. There boat was sunk, and they couldn’t get our ship moving. The Captain talked them into taking the MOB boat. The three remaining pirates went down in the MOB boat with Phillips. We were then able to negotiate with them over the radio. We dropped some food, water and diesel to them. We started getting the plant back on line. Unfortunately, the MOB boat wouldn’t start. A couple of guys got in the lifeboat and dropped it. They motored over and traded the lifeboat for the MOB boat. We were supposed to exchange their guy for the Captain, but they ended up keeping him. They motored off in the lifeboat. They had no way of getting back aboard, so we followed them. The Navy showed up a few hours later. We stayed close by for some time, but then the Navy asked us to head out. I heard that several other pirate vessels were heading our way and the Navy wanted us out of the way. That’s about it. I’ll give you all the details some other time. Just to reiterate the most important points:

• Have a well fortified location with food and water supply.
• Kill all the lights. Leave the alarms going, the noise helped cover our movements through the house.
• Flashlights and radios are very handy, as well as the sound-powered phone.

Anyway, it was a pretty stressful situation. I have to say I am impressed with how the entire crew responded. We didn’t have anybody who wanted to give up. I’m pretty confident that Phillips will end up ok. They have to know that if they kill him they’ll be done. I assume the company will be forced into taking some kind of action to assure our security from now on.

Hope everything is going well there. I’ll talk to you later.

Sponsorship packages are designed to serve your organization’s marketing needs.

Package includes:

• Either 18×24 color sponsor sign or banner that displays your name or company logo and website information.
• A website banner, which links directly to your company home or related website, will be added to future email and written correspondence.

You can customize your package with specific marketing needs by contacting your Homecoming planners

• Tailgating Sponsor - SOLD - Matt Andrews - www.quincannon.com                                                                               Tim Green - www.faststream.us
• Tent Sponsor - SOLD - Matt Hartzell - www.hartzellindsrvcs.com
• Dinner Sponsor $1500
• Uniform Sponsor $1500

If you would like to become a sponsor, please contact:

• John.Bellissimo@wachovia.com
• TGreen@faststream.us
• James.Power@hklaw.com

Toner was assigned to the Combined Security Transition Command as garrison engineer training Afghans to assume a security role for their nation.  A Navy Nurse was also killed in the attack and another woman wounded.  It was reported that Toner diverted fire to allow another Navy officer to escape.  LT Matthew Hume, USN ‘02, who shared quarters with Toner, also managed to escape injury. 

While at the Academy, Toner, a Shipyard Management major,   played football (#46) for four years and lacrosse as a first classman.  He dated and married a Long Island girl he met while at the Academy, Brooke Dueling.  He was an extremely popular midshipman and naval officer and brightened the lives of everyone with whom he came in contact.  The family has requested burial in Arlington National Cemetery and a Memorial Service at the Academy. 

Facebook subscribers can join the “Never Forget Francis L. Toner IV” network for more stories, videos and photos.  The Governor of Rhode Island has ordered all U.S. and State flags to be flown at half-mast until Toner is laid to rest.

Your Homecoming Crew!

John Bellissimo, Tim Green & Jim Power

   “Admiral Worley has a long career of leading, educating and inspiring young men and women in the Navy and as Superintendent of the Texas Maritime Academy,” said Connaughton, a 1983 graduate of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.  “His wealth of experience will allow him to positively and immediately impact the future direction of Kings Point.”

   “My wife, Margena, and I are very excited to have the opportunity to join the Kings Point family in continuing our lifelong passion of serving our Nation,” said Rear Admiral Worley.  “I look forward to working with the experienced faculty, staff, alumni and the Regiment of Midshipmen in charting a course for Kings Point as the premier maritime academy in the world.”

    The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, N.Y., is operated by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration.  The superintendent of the academy is responsible for the development of scholastic standards which encourage the intellectual, professional growth and physical well-being of midshipmen and effective and economical operation of the Academy facilities.  The position reports to the Maritime Administrator, and is often an influential position in the maritime industry worldwide.

   Worley is a 1974 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and holds advanced degrees from Webster University and the Naval War College.  During his tenure in the Navy, he served in various aviation and surface billets in both training and combat roles such as Squadron Commander and culminating with the position of Navy Base Commander in Diego Garcia.  Worley also held various staff roles throughout the Navy and served as Deputy Director for Programming on the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations.  He also served as Professor of Naval Science and Commanding Officer of the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps at the University of Illinois.

One of the issues I thought of is to “When” I should publish the notes.  It takes about 3 months from my submission until they get published, printed and sent in the magazine.  I know alot of us love to get the hard copy Kings Pointer magazine in our mailboxes, but I also think that in today’s “instant-info” age, we may just want them as soon as they’re submitted.  My gut says that I should publish them right away, but I figured I’d ask, so please Take The Poll over there on the <—- Left side.

Until I get this figured out, i’m going to start publishing PAST Notes, starting with last quarter’s.  It will take me some time to get all of the past issues posted, but I’ll slowly get there.