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National Commodores (NACO)
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John B. Stone
1969-1970
Deceased
John B. Stone was elected national commodore at the
annual meeting of the National Board on September 20, 21, 1968, to serve
from 1969 through 1970. Hailing from Los Angeles, Stone was
elected while serving as Immediate Past Commodore of the 11th Coast
Guard District.
Under Stone's leadership, the U. S. Naval Institute published AUXOP
Specialty Course guides, among them Patrols, Weather, and Piloting.
A new Boating Safety and Seamanship course was also initiated (available
in the spring of 1971); as was a new sail course. The Membership
Growth Program got underway. Also during his term, the Auxiliary
worked with Sears Roebuck Company in issuing a Hunter-Fisherman
catalogue that contained an Auxiliary insert (hunters and fisherman,
historically, have comprised a high percentage of drowning deaths while
boating). At the end of his term, Stone was pleased to note the
increased interest in the Auxiliary produced by the Public Affairs
Department, as well as the increased efforts of women members as
reported by the Women's Advisory Committee. [Navigator,
September-October 1968, p. 5; ibid., October-December 1970, p. 2
]
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Grover A. Miller, Jr.
1967-1968
Deceased
Grover A. Miller was born in 1923, to a navy commander
and his wife when they were posted to Manila, the Philippines. As
a youth, growing up in the islands, Miller began to pilot a motor
whaleboat at age six. Eventually he acquired a small fleet that
included a 21-foot cabin cruiser he built himself and a 36-foot Chris
Craft. Miller earned a degree in industrial design from Stanford
University and he and his family resided in San Francisco, where he
headed a large Oldsmobile-Cadillac dealership and a leasing corporation.
Miller enrolled in the Auxiliary in 1955, after he and his wife, Susan,
took a PE course. He earned instructor, examiner, communications,
and operations qualifications. He served in almost every office
and became one of the youngest national commodores at age forty-four.
In the 1960s, Miller became chief of staff to Ellsworth Weinberg.
Weinberg and he reorganized the national staff and improved the
Auxiliary's image. Miller designed the present Auxiliary ensign
with a white slash, which replaced the insignia on a navy background.
The previous ensign too much resembled yacht club and other boat flags.
Burgees for officers were also introduced. During Miller's tenure
the "stars and bars" cuff insignia were replaced with the current Coast
Guard silver stripe/collar insignia set. A new uniform system was
also introduced. These dress standards held until 1975 when the
current uniforms came into use.
During the 1970s Miller went into his own business, inventing and
marketing new tools and other developments. In his last years he
suffered from cancer. Miller passed away on October 22, 1996, in
Sacramento, California. He was survived by one daughter and two
sons, of his original five children. [Navigator, Summer
1997, p. 2; ibid., January-February 1967, p. 2]
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1966 |
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Elsworth A. Weinberg
1964-1965
Deceased
Ellsworth Weinberg came from the legal profession and
first joined the Auxiliary in 1957. He was born in West Virginia
and received degrees from the University of Baltimore and Southern
Methodist University. In Dallas where he died on December 7, 1986,
he was a nationally known attorney. Weinberg quickly rose through
the ranks of Auxiliary offices, holding virtually every one, including
numerous staff officer positions. He earned his AUXOP designation
the same year he joined. He was elected national commodore in
1965. After two terms, he served as legal officer for the 8th CG
District and as National Legal officer, holding that position until he
died. For the 50th Anniversary of the Auxiliary he also published
The Volunteers a short history of the Coast Guard Auxiliary
during World War II.
In 1984, Weinberg received the "C" award of Administrative Merit and was
awarded the Michelob Schooner boating award at the eastern area
conference in 1986. He had also been a member of the U. S. Power
Squadron. During World War II, Weinberg had served four years in the
South West Pacific Theater in the U. S. Navy.
He was survived by his wife, Caroline, at the time of his death. [Navigator,
Spring 1987, p. 7]
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Homer L. Byers
1962-1963
Deceased
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Bliss Woodward
1960-1961
Deceased
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Charles S. Greanoff
1958-1959
Deceased
Charles S. Greanoff was one of the persons most
responsible for turning the Auxiliary into the professional organization
it is today. As National Commodore, Greanoff traveled the country
to support the cornerstone missions of the Auxiliary. He oversaw
the activities of the first National Safe Boating Week in 1958; he put
the Academy Introduction Mission (AIM) program on a stronger footing;
and testifying at hearings held for the 1958 Federal Boating Act, he
helped persuade the Congress to leave boat registration to the states.
During his two terms of service he incorporated the national board and
raised the Auxiliary's level of professionalism.
During the next five decades, COMO Greanoff continued to accrue
thousands of hours of support each year for all the Coast Guard's
missions. As of 1995, he was still active as a qualified
communications watchstander and worked at the 9th District Auxiliary
Director's office. And then he began his third Coast Guard career.
In 1991, Greanoff was appointed assistant to the Ninth CG District
Family Programs Administrator. He was a key player in the
establishment of the fledgling Work Life program developed in D9.
In March 1993 COMO Greanoff was appointed the Ninth District Ombudsman
Coordinator, the first Ombudsman Coordinator position created in the
Coast Guard, working in that capacity until 2005. In this role,
Greanoff trained more than 150 district Ombudsmen at over fifty units
around the Great Lakes, providing guidance, training and support to
these important volunteers. An Ombudsman is a volunteer (who may
be a spouse, Reservist, or Auxiliarist) designated by a Command to serve
as a link between the command and service members' families.
His/her main responsibilities are to provide information on policies,
services and sources of assistance, and activities of interest to family
members, as well as locating resources for them. Greanoff held
this position until 2005.
In recognition of his consummate leadership and contributions to the
Coast Guard and the Auxiliary, in 2006, the Coast Guard created the COMO
Charles S. Greanoff Inspirational Leadership Award to be presented
annually to the most distinguished flotilla commander in the nation.
The first award was presented on April 17, 2006 in Washington, D.C.,
with Greanoff's son, Charles II, representing his father.
"Commodore Greanoff exemplified the Coast Guard ethos of service and
volunteerism," said Rear Adm. John E. Crowley, Jr., Commander of the
Ninth Coast Guard District. "He contributed immensely to the
future of the Coast Guard Auxiliary by selflessly training and mentoring
others who carry out their missions today. The Greanoff
Inspirational Leadership Award will ensure his legacy will continue to
impact our organization for years to
come."
Charles S. Greanoff was born in Cleveland, Ohio on May 15, 1915.
He graduated from Lakewood High School in 1933 and earned a B. A. degree
in history from Baldwin Wallace College in 1936. Greanoff spent
his professional life in finance and business. He worked as an
accountant for the major consulting firms, Ernst & Ernst and Arthur
Young, and was executive vice-president of Gilmore Industries in the
1960s. He owned his own accounting firm, Greanoff & Company, until
his death.
At the outset of World War II Greanoff enlisted in the Army, but in 1943
after his brother was killed, he was discharged under the provisions of
the 'sole survivor' policy that allowed an only remaining son in a
family to be released from combat duty.* In response, Greanoff
immediately enrolled in the Coast Guard as a temporary reservist,
joining Flotilla 7-03, a port security unit at Cleveland, guarding their
waterside factories, bridges, docks, and shipping on the Great Lakes and
Cuyahoga River. His routine during the war was to work his day job
at the Ohio Crankshaft Company from 8 A.M. until 4 P.M., and then at his
flotilla from 8 P.M. until 1 or 2 A.M. in the morning. (TRs were
normally required to be on duty twenty-four hours a week during the
war.)
At the end of the war in 1945, Charles Greanoff married the former
Virginia Taylor who passed away in 1993. They raised a family of
four: two daughters and one son, remaining in his hometown of Lakewood,
Ohio.
During the postwar period Greanoff became an active member in a newly
established flotilla that consisted of many previous TRs. He was
elected Flotilla
Commander in 1950 and quickly rose through the ranks, holding the
position of Division Captain in 1953, then Ninth District Commodore in
1956-57. During the 1950s operations activity was limited, but
Greanoff?s experience conducting search and rescue and attending joint
training exercises convinced him that Auxiliary programs had to be
active to have a healthy organization. His flotilla, early on,
adopted the new courtesy marine examination program. When elected
district commodore, Greanoff commissioned new flotillas and standardized
programs in the Ninth CG District.
Aside from his family, own business, and the Auxiliary Greanoff was also
very active in his college alumni association, serving as its president
in during the 1960s. He was admitted into the Baldwin Wallace
College Hall of Fame.
On April 3, 2007, COMO Greanoff passed away in Lakewood, Ohio, after a
63-year Auxiliary career.
[* In November 1942, the five sons "Albert, Francis, George, Joseph and
Madison" of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas F. Sullivan of Waterloo, Iowa, were
killed in action when their ship, the USS Juneau, was torpedoed off
Guadalcanal Island. To this date, these deaths represent the
largest known loss of life of service members in one American family in
U.S. history. In response, the US Army, and later the Navy, issued
"sole survivor" policies that allowed surviving sons and daughters to be
released from military service, under varying terms over time, to this
day.]
[Navigator, Summer 1994, p. 25, Fall 2006, p. 11; Coast Guard News, 6
April 2007; National Commodore's Webpage, April 2007; Information
contributed by, Charles S. Greanoff II, 3 July 2008]
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John Brent Tanner
1956-1957
Deceased
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J. Webb L. Sheehy
1955
Deceased
J. Webb L. Sheehy was born in Newcastle, Pennsylvania on
April 5, 1905. After obtaining degrees from Cornell University, he
settled in Rochester, New York where he was a practicing attorney for
sixty years and town justice for thirteen. Sheehy was a charter
member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary, joining as a Reserve member on
December 11, 1939. Commanded by Lieutenant (j.g.) Sheehy, the
eighty-two members of Flotilla 301 were active guarding Rochester's
docks and waterfront facilities and performing many rescues during World
War II. Sheehy's facility, Neaga, was a 40-foot 1913
cruiser which remained in service more than forty-five years.
Sheehy was elected district commodore in 1954 from his position as rear
commodore-east. He became national commodore in 1955.
Sheehy continued his Auxiliary membership throughout the course of his
lifetime. In 1987, at age 82, he earned his coxswain
qualification. He also continued his activities in the community,
serving as a member of the Rochester Yacht Club, as commander of the
Rochester Power Squadron, and president of the New York State
Magistrates Association.
Sheehy died on August 26, 1992. He was survived by his wife, Ruth,
one daughter and three grandchildren. [Navigator, Winter
1992, pp. 1-2.]
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Alexander S. Bauer
1953-1954
Deceased
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Bert C. Pouncey, Jr.
1951-1952
Deceased
Bert C. Pouncey II from Hughes, Arkansas, was elected the
first national commodore in 1951. He died suddenly on February 6,
1971 and was succeeded by his Auxiliary family, wife, Dorothy, and sons,
Robert and B. C., all of Flotilla 81, Division 6, of Memphis, Tennessee.
[Navigator, January-March 1971, p. 8]
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