NEWSLETTER

 

Greetings Roadrunners from the RI officers and committee members: Jointly, we have compiled this newsletter to bring you current regarding the events and affairs since our last newsletter of 18 November 2005. You will note that former RI president Roger Andersen is now our Secretary and that Jim Prucnal has resumed his past position of Treasurer. These changes in our staff of officers occurred when Secretary/Treasurer John Byrnes relinquished both officer positions due to personal obligations and demands upon his time. We extend our thanks to John for his service to the association and to Roger and Jim for stepping up to the plate to assume John’s duties. The officers also thank the staff advisors and members of the membership committee for their support and service to the administration of the association and to our regular and associate members who have actively supported our association in wide and diverse ways. For those of you not having regular access to the RI website, we wish to update you on changes to our membership requirements. Our previous policy of offering either a 2-year or lifetime membership created considerable time demands on the officers as they prepared for the reunion and solicited renewals from the 2-year members to maintain them in good membership standing. Complicating this staff requirement was the loss of all records of membership renewals at the last reunion and for six or more months afterward. Consequently, the 2-year option was eliminated for any new members and existing 2-year members have been encouraged to enroll at a reduced fee for what we now refer to as “full” membership. Those wishing to remain 2-year (temporary members) may do so, but should not expect letters begging for your dues as has occurred in the past. If your dues expire, you will be dropped from the membership rolls until your dues have been brought current. Those dropped from the rolls for this reason will have to pay full membership dues to be reinstated. This may be construed as harsh measures by some, but the cold hard facts are that we’re carrying on our rolls 55 members shown to be delinquent in their dues. Some have been delinquent since 1997. Most have been notified several times and have not responded, leaving us little choice but stop the effort and expense of mailing newsletters and dues reminders. Each mailing results in a stack of non-deliverable mail being returned. We are still carrying these members on our rolls and through this newsletter are making one last attempt to bring them back in good standing.

The full membership dues requirement for associate membership has prompted a sharp drop in associate memberships as most never renewed their 2-year membership. This practice of testing us before committing further supports our decision to do away with this 2-year, $20 option for new members.

Another change requires all new associate membership applications to be sponsored by a regular member in good standing. The application is then vetted by the Membership Committee who then submits an approval or disapproval to the RI staff of officers for implementation. For those who have not visited the on-line RI Roster recently, the sign-in is slightly different because of measures taken to maintain its security. Gaining access no longer requires a user name. The password is still the same.

We currently have 329 members in good standing and, as previously discussed, 55 being shown as delinquent in their membership dues. Of the 329, 100 are 2-year memberships. You’ll note on our online roster that the affiliation of 38 of our members is unknown. Please review our roster and if you are, or know one of the unknown, let us know the affiliation. This is important to the association as Secretary Andersen explains below.

Membership application submissions by descendants of those involved in the Roadrunner projects have been disappointingly rare. This is possibly because of their always being shadows to those having the honor and distinction of being Roadrunners. Let’s shine some light them and bring them in to carry on our legacy.

If your name appears below and you are a life member or have renewed your membership, please contact a member of the Roadrunner staff. We apologize to those erroneously listed as delinquent in their dues. If you see the name of someone you know to be deceased, please let us know so we can clear it from our active membership roll.

When our esteemed former president, Roger Andersen and cohorts launched the idea of the association having a web site, they probably didn’t dream that this would so drastically alter the social orientation of the association. Exceeding 316,000 visits, our site has generated an international interest in the legacy of each of our members associated with the U-2, A-12, and YF-12 activities at the Ranch and Kadena. Almost weekly we receive requests for information from universities, students, writers, and even military and NASA offices regarding our Cold War activities. For example, NASA recently needed the original tail number of the U-2 that the CIA rushed to Dryden as part of the cover story after the shoot down of Gary Powers. We provided this to them overnight. During the last couple weeks NASA sought information concerning the removal of the ramjet from three D-21s headed to museums. Again, RI members provided them with the manual and technical advice that helped them accomplish the job. A lot of magazines and authors are using the information we provide as they too record our history.

On a sad note, our Roadrunner family has taken some hard hits since the last newsletter. Departing us on their final flight were Lt. Col. Hank Meierdierck, Laura Simon, widow of Jim Simon whom we lost in a F-101 crash at Groom Lake, Jane Collins, wife of Col. Ken Collins, J.D. Hughes, wife of MSgt Bob Hughes, and Col. Ray Schrecengost.

We are happy to announce the following new members:

Shirley A. Rose, daughter of Roadrunner Ed Osman, Lt. Col. USAF (Ret),

Buz Carpenter, former SR-71 pilot sponsored by Ken Collins.

Mr. John Grace, former manager of EG&G Special Projects

Mr. Gary Neely, former Army Helo pilot. Flies for DOD.

Mr. Lowell Arnold, former Lockheed

Dr. Clarence White, former CIA at the Ranch

Mr. Paul Thomarios, President Thomarios Corp.,

RI Reunion Chairman Harry Martin reports: Roadrunners Internationale Reunion #20 is again scheduled for the Gold Coast Hotel & Casino starting Monday, October 1st through Thursday, October 5th, 2007. The Gold Coast will not quote us firm rates for guest rooms, meeting room, or our banquet room until sometime in October 2006. Information concerning room rates and reservation information will be covered in a later newsletter.

We are considering not having a guest speaker at the banquet. Some members have stated that this time can be better utilized as a social period. Comments are welcome.

Suggested activities: We hope to schedule a tour of the Nevada Test Site and naturally the Roadrunner Golf Tournament will be held again. Other suggested activities guests might consider: Las Vegas , the entertainment capital of the world, offers a variety of world class stage shows on the “Strip.” A schedule of shows will be included in a newsletter closer to October 2007. The Atomic Museum has improved considerably since our tour in 2003 and is highly recommended. Some of our local Roadrunners are qualified docents at the museum and will be happy to give a personal tour to those wishing to see it again. Visiting Hoover Dam is also something of interest to be considered. Comments on activities are also welcome.

As most of you know, the Dragon Lady Association and SR-71 Blackbird reunions have provided their attendees extra memorabilia, free beer, dinners, and events sponsored by the corporations for whom many of our members worked while at Groom Lake and Kadena. Any assistance in this area would be greatly appreciated.

RI Treasurer Jim Prucnal reports that funds in the bank remain normal since his resuming the Treasurer position. No large expenditures or incoming monies is happening between the 2005 reunion and the upcoming 2007 reunion. With the exception of dues upgrades and that of a new member, normal expenses related to mailings, etc., the funds remain normal. As the 2007 reunion approaches, funds will begin to come in and expenses will be paid out. There will be a complete Treasurer’s report at the upcoming 2007 RI meeting.

RI Secretary Roger Andersen reports the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is interviewing many of us Roadrunners to establish a section in the university library relating to our participation in the Cold War. It is because many of you have provided information for your personal bios on our web site that we know whom to refer to when these questions arise. Besides their value in recording your and our legacy, our personal web pages will be cherished by our friends and family long after we have taken our final flight. Those of you for whom we don’t have affiliation information, and you regular members who don’t have a personal bio page, please get this information to us. Establishing and recording our legacy is a team effort, so pitch in, guys and gals. The world is hungry to know about you.

RI Historian Frank Murray reminds the membership to keep sending stories and memorabilia to the webmaster for the RI web site footlocker as well as material to him for the RI scrapbook. Both the web master and historian are especially thankful to Joe Donoghue for his time and expense expended at the National Archives where he has retrieved considerable declassified information about the OXCART and U-2 programs for the association. He recently received and delivered to the association the A-12 flight manual that he had requested under the FOIA aegis in 1999. Copies of this manual and DVD copies of the Beta Master video of the A-12 flying out of Kadena during Operation Black Shield will be available to the Roadrunner members at cost at our next reunion and perhaps even earlier

Webmaster T.D. Barnes reports a new web site layout is being designed for faster loading. Members are encouraged to utilize the web site message center for receipt and posting messages and news.

Contact the RI Officers and Staff at: roadrunners_intl@cox.net or by mail at: 468 Palegold St., Henderson, NV 89012.

Mark your calendars now to attend our next reunion in early October 2007.

Countdown to Our Next Roadrunner Reunion


TD BARNES
President