Page 18 - Mariner Winter 2023 Volume 65 Issue 3 Jan

NERA NATIONAL CONFERENCE

The 62nd National NERA Conference

By Yvette Purtill
he 62nd National NERA Conference was a bigger The new NERA National Executive Council (NEC)
success than anticipated. After the COVID hia- was sworn in, and our President Joanne Elliott was gra-
Ttus, we were not sure how this conference would cious enough to be our president for another year. All
fair. The turnout was larger than expected, and the general NEC returned, with the exception of Mike Hughes,
feeling of the meeting was really upbeat and optimistic. past Vice President. Curtis DeYoung is the new NERA
Vice President. A big thank you to Mike’s for his ded-
The conference kicked off with a Meet and Greet welcome ication, vast knowledge and loyalty to NERA and wel-
with a delicious pasta dinner in the hospitality suite of the come to Curtis. The NERA Election Committee han-
hotel. The hotel was located in Virginia, a few miles outside dled the election beautifully and a successful transition
of Washington, DC and was the same one NERA used pre- occurred.
viously. It is ideally located less than a block from a metro
station, allowing everyone to easily commute directly into We had the privilege of listening to Attorney Jason
DC. The weather on the first day was a rainy and windy Johns, speak to us regarding the Camp Lejeune Water
October day, but unseasonably warm. NERA members Contamination Lawsuit. Please see his article in this issue
gathered to swap war stories, have a few drinks and eat for the full run down. The big excitement of the confer-
delicious pretzels from Pennsylvania (thanks Dennis!). ence occurred with the raffle of two hand-made quilts
from Minnesota (a big shout out to the DeYoung family
Meetings were held in the morning, allowing sightseeing for providing these quilts which raised over $1200). On
in the afternoons. Past National President Steve Sandy Saturday night, a beautiful dinner was held at the Irish
spoke of how NERA’s previous sponsor, USAA, has restaurant Four Providences in charming downtown
decided to not fund smaller military organizations like Falls Church, VA (about 3 miles from the hotel). We had
NERA. Moving forward, NERA is funding all the schol- a wonderful dinner with dessert and drinks, and then
arships and expenses of the organization. Discussions of Sunday morning we wrapped up the conference.
the future of NERA and fundraising ideas were discussed.

18 The Mariner • 2022 WINTER Edition • Volume 65 • Issue 3