The Citadel Class of 1970
Charleston Tricounty Lunch Bunch


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Please note that, even though the Charleston Tricounty Lunch Bunch meets regularly on the third Friday of each month, minutes are not available for most of the meetings. If you are interested in attending, send an email to Glen Avinger at glenmav@hotmail.com, and he will put you on the mailing list for meeting announcements.

Meeting- 17 February 2012. The group dined at Asian Fusion West Ashley. Present were Hoot Gibson, Glen Avinger, George Olney, Jim Pinson, Steve Cotter, Charlie Fox, Mike Schwartz, Jack McCormick, John Skorupski, and one unknown. The next meeting will be 16 March. "F" Troopers who are having a mini-reunion are all invited. Location TBD.

Minutes from Meeting on Friday, May 15, 2009, held at Moe’s Crosstown Tavern on Rutledge Avenue near The Citadel campus. (prepared by Hoot Gibson)

Friday's lunch was attended by 11 of our classmates, Jim Pinson, John Moore, Charlie Fox, Glen Avinger, Scott Tucker, Stan Townsend, Kevin Campbell, Hoot Gibson, John Willingham, Jim Monroe, and Mike Rogers. Here is an update on some of the attendees:

  • Campbell has a new commericial on TV, including his daughter, who is in practice with him.
  • Rogers brought Jim Monroe (LIMA) for the first time, and he said something about being retired, but then I think he said he is in banking in Raleigh.
  • After lunch Avinger, Pinson, and Gibson went to the ark lounge. We were just in time for happy hour, 11:00 AM–2:30 PM. Our bartender, Troy, kept the drinks coming until his shift changed at 5:30 PM. We departed the premises with him. Avinger went home to cook for Retta; Jim and I went to Pearlz West Ashley, where Jim treated me to a dozen oysters and a martini. Jim ordered dinner for Annie, and I left to catch the band at the sand dollar.
  • Rogers reminded me that I haven’t turned in my pledge for our class gift.
  • Moore reported that The Citadel is moving to a 4 day work week during the summer to save $$$$$$$
  • Fox is just glad the water is getting warmer so his dives are more comfortable.
  • Tucker was the last to arrive.
  • Willingham....didn't let me know he was attending.
  • Townsend’s attendance was the first in 6 months.
  • Doyle wasn’t present, but he called from New York to wish everyone well.

Mark your calendars for next month's lunch, June 19, 2009, always the 3rd Friday of the month.

Minutes from Meeting on Friday, March 18, 2005, held at Sticky Fingers in Mount Pleasant

Eleven of our classmates were present at the 18 March lunch at Sticky Fingers, Mt. Pleasant. - Josiah Williams, Kevin Campbell, Bill Moore, Lester Pittman, John Moore, Scott Tucker, Stan Townsend, Bob Alford, Bob Sinnott, Lee Besse, Hoot Gibson

Assembly began at noon and a family style lunch of barbeque pork and chicken, baked beans, slaw, and white loaf bread and tea was served was served at approximately 12:30 PM. It was great to welcome Lee Besse for the first time for our gathering. He brought CT. Lowndes & Company calendars, plastic cars, magnets, etc.... prizes for the drawing....enough for everyone in attendance. Thanks Lee. I brought an article from the journal, Black Issues in Higher Education, January 9, 1997, entitled "Citadel of Trauma, The Untold Story of The Citadels First Black Graduate", which Kevin Campbell received.

I forgot to ask someone to bless the meal before we ate, but Josiah was gracious enough to assume the duty, after the fact.

Scott Tucker gave a brief report on the reunion committee's work to date. A budget has been established and everyone was told a postcard mailing, to hold the date 11-13 November 2005, has been sent out. The Riverview Holiday Inn will serve as the hotel for the 70 Class reunion. Preliminary registration for class events is set at $300 couple and $200 single. The committee is encouraging everyone to send full registration in after receiving the next mailing.

Lot's of stories were shared about recollections of our days behind the gray walls. I must say, Josiah recounted one of the best that I've every heard. It involved Ron Derryberry, him and an upperclassman from Thailand. If you weren't present, be sure to ask Josiah to recount it for you.

Everyone paid their portion of the dinner tab...about $12 each. We agreed to meet again at the Sticky Fingers in Mt. Pleasant on Friday 15 APRIL...(bring something for the drawing).

The meeting was adjourned at 1:00 PM.

If anyone present recall anything I have failed to include......send corrections.

Respectfully submitted,
Hoot Gibson

Minutes from Meeting on Friday, October 15, 2004, held at Sticky Fingers in Mount Pleasant

Persons attending: Kevin Campbell, Glen Avinger, Billy Williams, Scott Tucker, Bob Sinnott, Stan Townsend, John Moore, Bill Moore, Charlie Rudloff, and Chip Coffee. The magic number of ten was achieved! A good time was had by all. The Talk centered around about how old we are and how forgetful we are becoming. Some good “old people” jokes were told. Kevin was going to tell a joke, but he forgot what it was. John Moore is continuing with his efforts regarding the Class of '70 website. His next project is to try to feature classmates who have had children who have graduated from The Citadel. Kevin mentioned that he and Cody Cuttino have parking spots close to each other on the side of the stadium where the tennis courts are located. Everyone is invited to come by and tailgate with us.

Everyone is encouraged to invite classmates to the next luncheon, which will be held on November 19, 2004.

Some discussion was had about maybe moving the meeting to Bessinger’s BBQ which also has a room (and apparently some very good barbeque).

Minutes from Meeting on Friday, September 17, 2004, held at Sticky Fingers in Mount Pleasant

The Class of the class of 1970 met again at Sticky Fingers on Friday, September 17, 2004. Mike Rogers immediately asked if anyone had a daughter who needs a roommate. I hope that he and his wife can work things out, but if not he needs to look beyond our group to satisfy his needs. At least he isn't after our sons. Mike redeemed himself when talk turned to our reunion. I know it seems like a long way off, but we are way late reserving space. After a quick phone call, we now have the Alumni House for our Friday event. Excellent job, Mike. Hey Mike Vinson, you better come to lunch sometime, Josiah Williams didn't know you were one of our classmates. If you email me a photo, I'll try to jog his memory. Dr. Bob Sinnot is not only a sky diver, but also a gun enthusiast. He has some huge caliber sniper rifle he was telling us about and for some reason passed his concealed weapons permit around the table. It's as chewed up as he is! Good news is his blood pressure is down, bad news is Vioxx is off the market. I wonder how that is going to affect our group? To correct my error, Bob has lost 1 1/2 inches in height, not 3 as I stated in the last minutes. Josiah got his chance in the bless-off and with all due modesty, I've got to say that he's got psalm way to go to catch up to me. I hope God wasn't disappointed. I much preferred his story about serving on the board of a battered women's group and suggesting that they learn to roll with the punches. While we're on the subject of disappointment, thanks a lot Scott Tucker. As soon as you get an award for perfect attendance, you don't show up. We're going to do a little attendance exercise so bring your cell phones to the next meeting. We're going to light up a classmate to be selected who doesn't attend. Nice to have John Moore join us for the first time. Lester Pittman was back again with a mighty impressive business card. John Moore is only the head of the Math and Computer Science Department at the College of Charleston [Editor's Note: John Moore is head of the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at The Citadel, not the College of Charleston. But at Tom's age, we should forgive him for an occasional memory loss. After all, both colleges are in Charleston, so it's no wonder that he can't remember the difference.] while Lester heads up History, Humanities, Political Science, and Auto Mechanics at Trident Tech. After academia, the biggest employer of our class is the carriage industry paying both Bob Reed and me. Bob, you may want to go into teaching and take the easy way out. Door prizes went to Bubba Kennedy and Josiah. Bubba won free parking and just happened to have a reservation at Anson that night. Josiah won a NASCAR pin; a checkered flag bent into that familiar ribbon shape that's supposed to mean you care. One thing we all care about is the plight of George Wise. I'll close these minutes with Billy Williams' email. Hope to see you all next Friday. [Billy Anson's email omitted pending approval to publish on the web. Contact Tom for details.]

Minutes from Meeting on Friday, August 20, 2004, held at Sticky Fingers in Mount Pleasant

After approval of the revised minutes, our own "Lord of the Rings" Treasurer Bubba Kennedy reported a balance of money was on hand. At our next meeting we're going to do a 50/50 benefit draw. All you need to participate is $5 and something with your name on it (business card). Door prizes are also awarded, this weeks winners were Wally West and someone else. I can't remember who won the Mule'O'Rama tee shirt. Nine of us had business cards and seven didn't. One of you with the first name Bill wrote his last name intelligibly. I'm guessing there were 16 people from the names collected in the drawing. The iron man of our group has got to be Mike Rogers who has had a pacemaker installed since our last meeting. Serial sky diver Bob Sinnott's height is 3 inches less than when he was a cadet. Those inches were last seen in a horizontal position around his waist.

What is with Hoot Gibson? Fellow classmates vote him into a recognized position of respect and leadership then he never shows up again. He needs a drink of Scott Tucker's water. Josiah Williams wasn't able to attend, but he added Ernie Seel's name to our local Alumni list. Josiah missed my presentation in our "Bless Off" series. Without benefit of so well known a biblical name, I was already at a disadvantage, but I spread a message of thanks and remembrance thicker than the bar-b-que sauce on the ribs. Josiah will get another shot next Friday, unless he has plans with Gibson and Cuttino. Charlie Rudloff was one of the first to arrive. I think he's the guy who was left out of the yearbook and ended up as an insert. Anyway, I see he borrowed a Bubba Kennedy business card for our door prize drawing. Then he sends me an email that says it's from Mary. I think it's time Charlie got something with his name on it. He enjoyed himself and asks about George Wise. Many of us would like to express our support during his hard times. Again unable to remember a name, I appeal to the classmate who so eloquently shared the tale of George's predicament to give us an update next Friday or email me with any news. tjdoyle@comcast.net John Moore adds Gregg Smith's name to our growing list. Always good to see my friend Kevin Campbell. Noticed a photo of him in the Alumni News presenting his daughter with her diploma. Congratulations, Kevin. Was that the first daughter alumni for our class? Stan Townsend passes along some news. Donn Blackmon's son Capt. Rhett, USA, Class of 1999, deployed with his company from Korea to Iraq. Classmate Eddie Webb and his wife Ellen live in Punta Gorda, Fl., ground zero for Hurricane Charlie. No news as of August 22. I share Stan's thoughts and prayers. Speaking of thoughts and prayers, how about our football team? They too were victims of a hurricane as Francis frightened the staff into fumbling away a vital first win. Acting with Bill Walsh inspired testosterone they postponed the football game with Charleston Southern at Johnson Stadium. Thursday had plenty of sun, blue skies, and pleasant temperatures, but no Bulldog football. No problem, we'll just kick some Auburn ass. Before it starts, I don't want to hear any pap about safety issues. This is the school that produced the Major Thomas Dry Howie. Do you think a five day forecast would have kept him out of St. Lo?

The configuration of our meeting room at "Sticky Fingers" is still less than perfect in that it promotes exchange mostly with those seated in your immediate area. That's why I didn't talk much with Chip Coffee, Harry Rollins, Bob Reed, Bob Alford, or Billy Williams. I look forward to seeing you all next week.

Respectfully submitted,

Tom Doyle Father of Tommy, Ben, Anne Marie, and Mary Allis
President of Palmetto Carriage Works
Charleston tour guide for 28 years
Founder of the Society for the Preservation of Touring
Extern Instructor, Johnson & Wales University
Former member, Board of Directors,
Charleston Trident Chamber of Commerce
Teacher of the fourth grade, loyal friend and ally
Bartender, convenience store clerk, psychiatric counselor
World Traveler, Mule Skinner, Inline Marathon Aficionado
Conqueror of the Grand Canyon
Defender of the weak and a voice for justice
 

Minutes from Meeting on Friday, June 18, 2004, held at Gene's Lounge

The meeting was called to a state that somewhat resembled order by the then leader of our group, Tom Doyle. Dress varied from the shabby casual of Bob Sinnot to the button down corporate of Mike Schwartz. Ignoring our scheduled starting time of 12:00, your classmates trickled in over a thirty-minute period. The "private room" that was set aside for our group was about half the size of a cell at Camp X-Ray, so it was decided to simply take over part of the larger dining room. The tables at Gene's are round and small but that wasn't a problem for us; we just put them together. As the size of our group grew, more tables joined the arrangement until it looked like that old centipede video game. I never realized it but when you put round tables together you loose a lot of seating. I think we ended up with 8 tables for twelve people. Bubba Kennedy spent a great portion of the meeting leaving the venue to make and take calls on his cell phone. Each time he returned his seat had been taken until he was finally relegated to the back corner.

We welcomed 2 of our classmates from out of the area, Bob Penny who was Lester Pitman's guest and Hoot Gibson's guest Tommy Grant. Tom Doyle, citing his current physical limitations, suggested our group select a new leader and nominated Hoot Gibson who was voted in by acclamation. Doyle will fill the roll of recording secretary and Kennedy will act as treasurer and corresponding secretary. We all agreed that the third Friday was a convenient time to meet. Doyle pointed out the importance of a private room and community table. He also encouraged ideas for places that might fit this description. Schwartz made the mistake of mentioning that "Sticky Fingers" in Mt. Pleasant had such a room. Gibson, heady with the power of his new office, immediately ordered poor Schwartz to "take care of it". At some point we realized that Mike Rogers wasn't present and Kennedy shared with us the story of his pacemaker problems. The group was stunned, probably split evenly between those who were surprised at the problem and those who were surprised he had a heart. Physical problems seemed to dominate the conversation. I never would have guessed that our V drug of choice would be Vioxx rather then Viagra. Wally West went south and didn't make the meeting. When the meal came, Joshia Williams offered the blessing, but not before a challenge from Doyle who proposed a bless-off. Declining the opportunity to offer the blessing then and there, Doyle encouraged Williams to proceed and he would give the blessing at the next meeting. Stay tuned.

The rest of the meeting broke down into a collection of conversations, usually with those who sat nearest to you. I saw Scott Tucker somewhere in the distance and sat next to Stan Townsend, who had to endure my babbling. That's why a community table is so important. I have to tell you that I really enjoyed myself, the company, and will be present the third Friday in July. As I'm completing these minutes, Mike Schwartz has finalized the deal with "Sticky Fingers". Our next meeting will be at "Sticky Fingers", Mt. Pleasant location at 12:00 PM on Friday, July 16. They will be serving us barbeque and roast chicken family style, in a private room, for only $10. I had to pay a $100 guarantee so ten of you better show up. Those of you who want to see Sinnot parachute in need to be in the parking lot no later then 11:45. See you there!

Respectfully submitted,

Tom Doyle