The 24th PNGAS Joint Annual Conference was held on 24 – 27 April 2008 at the Lancaster Host Resort and Conference Center in the “Heart of Pennsylvania Dutch Country.”
For the second consecutive year, the PNGAS Annual Conference was held in
conjunction with the Pennsylvania National Guard Senior Leadership Workshop.
The event featured outstanding guest speakers and presentations, a fun and
entertaining Associations’ Dinner, top-notch Training Aid Devices,
Simulators and Simulations displays, the largest turnout of exhibitors ever,
and a golf event that attracted great participation in a very convenient
setting (right at the conference hotel).
The Conference started with the annual PNGAS Golf Tournament on Thursday, 24
April. Tournament chairman Joe Laneski reports that there was
tremendous turnout and beautiful weather for the event. Thanks to the
generosity of PNGAS conference sponsors, there were great prizes for most
participants.
About 500 soldiers and airmen of the Pennsylvania Army and Air National
Guard, together with PNGAS members and Pennsylvania National Guard retirees,
gathered in the main ballroom at the Lancaster Host for the beginning of the
Conference and Workshop at 0730 on Friday, 25 April. A JFHQ Color
Guard presented the colors. The National Anthem was followed by
welcoming remarks from Major General Jessica L. Wright, the Adjutant General
and PNGAS Chair CMSgt (Ret.) Karl Spohn. Brig Gen Stanley Clarke,
Deputy Director of Air National Guard, briefed on national level issues, and
he was followed by a briefing from Brig Gen (Ret.) Steve Koper, President of
the National Guard Association of the United States, and a briefing on
veterans’ benefits.
This was followed by presentations on Army Leadership by COL Bruce Reider of
the Center for Army Leadership, Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve,
as well as updates on deployments and battlefield medicine at Walter Reed
Army Medical Center.
The afternoon session was commenced by remarks by Scott Roy, Deputy Chief of
Staff to Governor Ed Rendell. After his remarks, Mr. Roy was awarded
the Pennsylvania Meritorious Service Medal for his outstanding support for
the Guard, particularly with regard to the Willow Grove/Horsham Joint
Interagency Installation. The soldiers and airmen of the year
were recognized by the Adjutant General, Mr. Roy and Command Sergeant Major
Don Shiner and Command Chief Master Sergeant Ralph Braden and the National
Guard Association of the United States Valley Forge Certificates were
presented in recognition of life-saving and rescue efforts. The
afternoon session was highlighted by presentations by Dr. Wallace Pond on
Stress, Valley Forge Military Academy and College President Tony
McGeorge on “Leading Through Change” and Brigadier General Stanley Jaworski
on the legislative liaison office.
Following a precedent set at the 2007 annual conference at Gettysburg, the
Associations’ Dinner was held on Friday evening preceded by a reception
hosted by PNGAS. The National Guard’s Patriot Chopper, constructed by
the Teutuls of Orange County Choppers, from designs submitted by four
National Guard soldiers, was on hand for the reception and dinner. The
unique motorcycle attracted a great deal of attention from all in
attendance. After-dinner entertainment was provided by Ryan and
Friends. Not only did ventriloquist and comedian Ryan Bomgardner speak
through his dummies, he also managed to integrate members of the audience,
including our own Executive Director, Brig Gen (Pa Ret.) Dean Oswald, into
an entertaining show.
The Pennsylvania National Guard Associations, the National Guard Association
of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania National Guard Enlisted Associations
held their meetings on Saturday, 26 April. The PNGAS session was
highlighted by a briefing on insurance programs and adoption of resolutions.
LTC Tim Gwinn, outgoing president of NGAPA and vice-chair of PNGAS for the
past year, thanked the members for their great support and progress made
over the last two years. The Adjutant General was joined by PNGAS Chair
Karl Spohn and Executive Director Dean Oswald in recognizing the outstanding
contributions of our corporate members, whose generous support for the
Associations is one of the keys to our success.
The breakout sessions of NGAPA and PNGEA featured election of officers.
Lt Col Preston Smith of the 111th Fighter Wing (Willow Grove) is the new
chair of PNGAS and president of NGAUS. CMSgt (Ret.) Karl Spohn was
re-elected as president of PNGEA and he serves as vice-chair of PNGAS for
this year.
A briefing on DIMHRS (the Defense Integrated Military Human Resources
System) by COL Patrick Devine, Chief of the Personnel Services Support
Division, sparked a great deal of interest and comment from the workshop
attendees. COL Devine’s detailed description of the new system and its
implementation generated many questions from PAARNG senior leaders.
After lunch, the workshop was entertained and educated by a presentation on
“Safety for Leaders” by John Drebinger. His presentation combined
elements of magic tricks with important information. He called on
members of the audience to join him on stage and performed some truly
amazing presdidigitations (how did that dollar bill get into the lemon,
anyway?) all the while making some key points about safety. The
workshop’s “keynote” presentation was a major success.
After Mr. Drebinger, the workshop broke into groups one of which attended
the TADSS (Training Aid, Devices, Simulators and Simulations) Fair in the
parking lot, while the other group heard staff briefings from the J3, JAG
and DOL. The TADSS Fair was a real highlight of the conference in that
it showed the amazing capabilities of our training aid devices and
simulators.
The Sunday morning session opened with major command and Army and Air
National Guard breakouts, followed by a genuinely outstanding presentation
on diversity by Ondra Berry. Mr. Berry’s dynamic speaking style and
multi-dimensional presentation grabbed the attention of the audience and hit
the target on the importance of diversity in our changing world.
After breakouts for presentations on recruiting, retention and attrition
(Army) and “Putting First Things First” by Tom Rees (Air), the workshop
attendees came back together for a closing session. General
Wright thanked all those from the JFHQ, led by COL Carol Eggert and LTC Ian
Ranberg, and PNGAS, who worked so hard to make conference a success.
The 25th PNGAS Annual Conference, which will again be combined with the
Pennsylvania National Guard senior leadership workshop, will be held on 30
Apr to 3 May 2009 at the Bayfront Convention Center in Erie,
Pennsylvania. Our “silver anniversary” conference promises to build on
the great success of the Gettysburg and Lancaster events. Plan now to
join us on the shores of Lake Erie in 2009.
