Opening Day was a great event again this year. The fact that many of you attended in spite of the gloomy weather, tells me that you agree. The large number of past Commodores who were present lets us know that they think it’s a special day too. You look at those women and men, and then you look around at our Club – the spectacular location, the facilities, and the friendly members – and you can’t help but be incredibly thankful to them for their vision and hard work in creating and maintaining such an amazing place. Thanks again to all of our past Commodores. And thanks to the volunteers who helped to make the Opening Day a success. Susy Ortega and her Social Committee worked long and hard in the weeks leading up to and the day of the event to provide us with good food and decorations. I especially liked the “Welcome Sailors” sign out front. John Bartlett as always kept the Bloody Marys flowing. Andre De La Reza’s bagpipes added the perfect atmosphere to start the ceremony. Then the Sea Scouts formally raised the flag. Many thanks to Doug Laws for his invocation and to Barry Bowden for helping us to remember our roots. Harry Polly made sure the ceremony ran smoothly, and the Roadrunners serenaded us to close the ceremony. Thanks to all of you who helped. George Jones, a famous country singer, had a tune – “Who’s Gonna Fill Their Shoes?”. In it he wondered whether there would be new singers in the future who would measure up to the past great country singers. I sometimes wonder the same thing about our Club. Who will step up and continue the tradition our past great Commodores have left us? But when I looked around at our members on Opening Day, I realized we have the talent and spirit in us. We will be in good hands.
