The Commander of Task Force Unwatering-New Orleans, spoke with members of the Kentuckiana Post on Nov. 21 about the daunting task of draining the city of billions of gallons of water from the city after hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

For nearly six weeks, Col. Duane Gapinski, Commander, USACE-Rock Island District, served in a temporary capacity, leading the unwatering project. In that role he was responsible for the task force, which oversaw the draining of the city and surrounding parishes as well as expedient repairs to the damaged levees. Col. Gapinski told Post members that the task force pumped out more than 250 billion-gals of water, repaired the 17th Street, London Avenue and Inner Harbor Navigation canal breaches, and numerous other breaches and scour holes on other levees. He said that what he remembers most about his time as Commander of Task Force Unwatering-New Orleans are the exemplary people with whom he served.

Col. Duane Gapinski, Commander, USACE-Rock Island District, toured the McAlpine Locks & Dam Replacement Project with Resident Engineer, Dave Klinstiver.

Donald Spigelmyer, Director, Army Residential Communities Initiative (RCI), Military Family Housing, spoke to members of the Northern Virginia Post on the Privatization Act of 1996. He discussed the Army’s policy to transition the installation management program, with top priority being devoted to housing privatization. The Army’s goal is to eliminate all inadequate housing by 2017 by partnering with private developers.

The Post also recognized its 2005 outstanding members and companies. Awards were presented to the following: Matt Wallace, ETI, and Jeff Paget, Haley & Aldridge, Young Member Award; Lindsay Held, Student Chapter President George Mason University, Student Member Award; Brenda Tudge, Dewberry, Member of the Year; Schnabel Engineering, Small Business Sustaining Member Award; and Dewberry, Sustaining Member of the Year.

San Antonio Post
Celebrates 2005 Achievements

On Dec. 9, 2005, the San Antonio Post held its annual Post Recognition/Holiday Celebration event. The event was a huge success for the Post thanks to the gracious support of 21 sponsoring firms, agencies and Post members.

During the event, three of seven scholarships were presented: Brian Faughn, an Air Force ROTC cadet from Texas A&M University, was the winner of the Jadwin Scholarship; Kirsten Smith, an Air Force ROTC cadet from Southern Methodist University, was the winner of the Post’s Carruth Scholarship; and Arturo Jacinto, from the Navy Officer training program at Texas A&M University-Galveston, was the winner of the Post’s Johnson Scholarship.

The Post also announced its Outstanding Members for 2005: Paul Sutto was named Outstanding Young Member; Ryan Wasmus was chosen as Outstanding Individual Member; and CH2M HILL was recognized as the Outstanding Sustaining/Public Agency Member

Donna Weinkauf, Texoma RVP, assisted with the presentations of the scholarships and the member awards and later presided over the 2006 Post Board installation.

Dick Kichanek, F.SAME, Director, Fellows

Each year, the Seattle Post presents scholarships to graduating high school seniors and to dependents of Seattle Post members who are enrolled in college, or are graduating high school seniors. Five high school seniors were awarded $1,000 each and six dependents of members were awarded $2,000 each. The funds for these scholarships came from three sources: an endowment from the Puget Sound Engineering and Scholarship Fund; proceeds from the Seattle-Mt. Tacoma Posts joint golf tournament; and contributions obtained from the monthly Post meeting raffles.

In other news... the Post supported a fundraising effort for the soldiers and families of the Triple Nickel Brigade as they deployed to the Middle East. By mid-November 2005, more than 1,100 soldiers of the 555th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade from Fort Lewis, Wash., were in the combat zones of Iraq and Afghanistan, fighting to keep the roads clear of explosives, building infrastructure and facilitating the transition of bases back to local government control.

The 555 Able Soldier & Family Fund has been established to support memorial services and the immediate families of those killed, support severely injured soldiers and their families as they recover, and support families during the deployment. More information about the fund and the brigade is available at www.555soldierfund.com.