INDIANA CHAPTER, DINFOS
ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
P. O. BOX 269295
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA
46216-6200
(317) 546-1743 -
E-mail: jrubak@aol.com
The twenty
third meeting of the Indiana Chapter of the DINFOS Alumni
Association was held on April 16, 2005, at ll:00 am at The
Garrison at Ft. Harrison State Park. Attached is a listing of
those who attended.
President, Jack Rubak, welcomed all of those in attendance and
asked Colonel John Christy, USA-Ret, to give an Invocation.
After the meal, all of those present were asked to introduce
themselves. Following the individual introductions, Rubak
introduced the first guest speaker, Eric Halvorson, a
Co-Anchor for WISH-TV in Indianapolis.
Mr. Halvorson gave an excellent presentation on his recent
trip to Southeast Asia where he saw firsthand the devastation
caused by the Tsunami that hit on December 24. He gave both
an oral presentation and a two-part video presentation. From
the videos could be seen how wide spread the damage was. His
trip was coordinated with Mr. Jim Morris, the Director of the
World Food Organization. Eric explained the difficulties in
the flight schedules in getting to Southeast Asia. When the
group from WISH-TV finally arrived at their destination, they
met with Mr. Morris who took them by helicopter to view the
disaster scene by air and on land. Caution was taken to
ensure security was with them at all times as this was
necessary because of the various factions in the region.
Mr. Halvorson ended his presentation by praising the work the
World Food Organization has done not only in aiding the
Tsunami victims but helping to feed others in underprivileged
countries throughout the world. He was so impressed with the
work they have done and continue to do.
The next speaker was Dr. James Duncan, Chairman of the
Communications Department at Ivy Tech. Mr. Duncan described
how Ivy Tech has grown and is now occupying the building where
DINFOS was located at Ft. Harrison. He said there were
openings for instructors in the Speech Department as well as
other instructor positions. He said if there were any persons
present who were interested in teaching at Ivy Tech to let him
know.
Dr. Duncan then discussed the Indiana Guard Reserve. He
explained the Guard is open to public affairs personnel. It
is an Army organization that meets once a month. There is no
pay, and each member must buy his or her uniform. It is
strictly a support organization for the Indiana National
Guard. He said that after the meeting, he would be glad to
submit to the Indiana Guard Reservesthe names of those who
might be interested in joining.
The next order of business was the DINFOS Alumni Association
Hall of Fame. Dr. Rubak mentioned that two nominees were
suggested - Tommy Tompkins, a retired Navy journalist and
civilian DINFOS instructor, and Les Payne, a Pulitzer Prize
winning editor and a DINFOS IOBC Class graduate. Dr. Rubak
requested that more nominees be submitted and he also asked
for volunteers to serve on the Hall of Fame Nominating
Committee.
Dr. Rubak then read an e-mail submitted by LTC Chuck Ricks,
USA-Ret, and a former Director of the DINFOS Radio-TV
Department. LTC Ricks is working as a civilian in
Afghanistan. He mentioned some of his experiences and
expressed concern over the way the media tends to put a
negative side to many of the occurrences or not report many of
the successes.
Dr. Rubak mentioned notes received from alumni sending their
regards, and he reported that MG General Winant Sidle,
USA-Ret, died March 19 after a long illness.
The meeting adjourned at 1:45 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Jack Rubak, President
Helen Stritt, Secretary
