USS TOM GREEN COUNTY
LST 1159
SHIP’S COMPANY

The purpose is this Organization is to foster, promote, and relive the friendships and spirit we lived when serving aboard the USS Tom Green County and as veterans of the Armed Forces, to further our beliefs in the Constitution of the United States of America, and to uphold the Principals of Freedom, Liberty, and Justice for all.

The name of this organization shall be: USS Tom Green County LST 1159 Ship’s Company

USS Tom Green County LST 1159 ship’s company is an independent organization separate and apart of any other related organization.

Any person who was a member of Navy and served aboard the USS Tom Green County LST 1159 as a duty station is eligible for membership in the ships company.

The Ship’s Company shall have three (3) classes of members. Designation of such classes and the qualification of the members shall be as follows:

(a)REGULAR CREWMEMBERS

(b)HONORARY CREWMEMBERS

(c)ASSOCIATE CREWMEMBERS

The Fiscal Year of the ship’s company shall begin on January 1st and end on December 31, annually. For the purpose of the Ships Company this shall become effective beginning with the year 2002.

Any qualified person who was a member of the Navy, who served aboard the Tom Green County LST 1159, as a duty station is eligible to be a Director of the ship’s company. He shall be nominated and appointed to represent his cruise as a Director of the Ship’s Company. (Cruise 1 - 1953-55, Cruise 2 - 1955-58, Cruise 3 - 1958-60, Cruise 4 - 1960-62, Cruise 5 - 1963-65, Cruise 6 - 1966-69, Cruise 7 - 1969-72). The group of seven (7) shall henceforth be known as the "Magnificent Seven”.

Directors may succeed themselves/serve as an officer. However, a member of the Mag 7 Group shall not hold more than one (1) Officer Position within the Ship’s Company. (Amended March 25, 2001)

The Directors shall meet to organize themselves by appointing a Commanding Officer, Executive Officer, Finance Officer, Recording Officer, Chaplain and a Public Relations Officer.

Officers shall be installed immediately upon completion of the appointments.

A vacancy in any office because of death, resignation, dis-qualification, or otherwise, shall be filled (appointed) by the remaining officers for the unexpired portion of the term.

Mag 7 Group shall require a minimum of four (4) members to accept or reject all resolutions. (Amended as of March 13, 2002).

The Officers of the ship’s company shall consist of:

(1) Commanding Officer
(2) Executive Officer
(3) Recording Officer
(4) Finance Officer
(5) Chaplain (appointed by the officers)
(6) Public Relations Officer (appointed by the officers)

A Mag 7 member, representing the crewmembers of a specific cruise, will be elected as a result of a plurality vote of the crewmembers of that cruise present at the annual meeting.

The Mag 7 member shall be elected on a staggered basis for a term that extends to the second consecutive reunion following the reunion at which they were elected, or until their successors are elected. Their term of office shall begin at the close of the reunion at which they are elected.

The Mag 7 shall have general supervision of the affairs of the LST 1159 USS TOM GREEN COUNTY SHIP’S COMPANY including the full responsibility of selecting the annual reunion location, the reunion committee, supervising the reunion activities to completion, and shall perform such other duties as specified in these bylaws.

Actions taken by the Mag 7 shall have the approval of a minimum four (4) members of the Mag 7. The Mag 7 shall be subject to the orders of the Ship’s Company and none of its acts shall conflict with the actions taken by the Ship’s Company.

The Mag 7 will conduct meetings as called by the Commanding Officer and accompanied by an agenda. An on-line special meeting of the Mag 7 can be called at anytime by any member of the Mag 7 Group.

Quarterly reports of the Mag 7 activities may be included in the Official Journal, Ichi Ichi Go Ku and an annual report summary shall be presented to the Ship’s Company by the Commanding Officer or the Executive Officer at the annual reunion. (Amended March 27, 2002)

It shall be the duties of the Commanding Officer to:

(a) Preside at all meetings
(b) Appoint all committees
(c) Call Special Meetings

It shall be the duties of the Executive Officer to:

(a) Preside at all meeting in the absence of the Commanding Officer.
(b) Succeed to the position of Commanding Officer upon the inability of the Commanding Officer to perform his duties.

It shall be the duties of the Recording Officer to:

(a) Keep minutes of all meetings
(b) Act as Yeoman of the Ship’s Company.

It shall be the duty of the Finance Officer to:

(a) Act as Treasurer of the Ship’s Company.
(b) Pay all bills of the Ship’s Company by check.
(c) Sign all checks drawn against the treasury.
(d) Act as custodian of all funds of the Ship’s Company.

It shall be the duties of the Chaplain to:

(a) Lead the ships company in all religious activities
(b) Serve as the Sick and Bereavement Officer

It shall be the duty of the Public Relations Officer to:

(a) Advise members and inform them of upcoming activities
(b) Promote and encourage ships company to participate in all activities

There shall be a general meeting held at the time of the annual reunion. This meeting shall be conducted according to parliamentary procedures; ROBERT’S RULES OF ORDER shall control all disputed points.

The Reunion Coordinator and helper team is delegated with the responsibility and authority for managing, planning, and receiving registration forms and fees.

The Coordinator shall establish an accounting system that includes revenues and expenditures, and establish a checking account for the sole purpose of the reunion.

The Coordinator shall track the progress of the reunion and report his findings to the M 7 Group. (Amended as November 11, 2001)

The following is a description of the information the Magnificent 7 requires to evaluate a reunion site. If you are interested in sponsoring a site for a reunion, please compile the information required and send it to your cruise representative via Email for distribution to the remaining members of the Magnificent 7.

The key items of our reunions are the banquet and the business meeting. All items beyond these are considered to be optional. This point is important because the Magnificent 7 hopes to be able to keep enough money in the ship’s treasury to fund deposit requirements for the banquet and the business meeting. This would relieve the reunion committee of advancing their personal fund to meet deposit requirements.

All other items beyond these will be considered as optional activities with associated costs identified and provided for with the revenues included in the registration fees. In order for optional actives requiring a deposit to be funded by the ship’s treasury a separate negotiation will be required. In order to be approved there must be sufficient money in the treasury and be agreed to by a majority vote of the Magnificent 7.

When preparing the proposal for the reunion, please include the following:

The name of the city you are sponsoring. The Magnificent 7 is skeptical of large cities i.e. New York or Boston being able to offer prices that are competitive with small cities.

The name of three (3) or more airlines that serve your city and the availability’s of shuttle service from the airport to the hotel.

The name of the hotel(s) that have facilities for 150 to 200 guests. This includes room, banquet facilities which should include meal selections, dance floor, podium, sound system and space for a band or DJ. In addition the hotel should be able to provide a room for our business meeting with a podium and sound system, a welcome area, and in the best of all worlds, a place for shipmates to hang out.

When facilities are being verified it would be a good time to obtain initial price estimates and deposit requirements. The facilities definition and cost estimates will provide a good basis for comparing various hotels and selecting the one, which in your opinion would give the ships company, the biggest bang for its bucks. This would also provide important information to aid the Magnificent 7 in their selection process.

Your proposed date of the reunion should be influenced by the off season rates to keep the costs down for your shipmates.

Include tourist sites, tours, cruises, shopping opportunities or anything that might be of interest to your shipmates or might be made available during free time as an optional activity.

Email your proposal to your cruise representative as listed below:

Cruise # 1 Ed Lange eflange@aol.com
Cruise # 2 Jack Neuzil NEUAIR
Cruise # 3 Joseph H. Jarreau chiefjoseph@eatel.net
Cruise # 4 Jim harp jharp@aol.com
Cruise #5 Marv Aho marvin.aho@worldnet.att.net
Cruise #6 Mick Riedemann wriedemann@earthlink.net
Cruise #7 Carl Olson olson@lafn.org.

Every proposed amendment must be introduced, duly seconded, and approved by a simple majority vote of the Ship’s Company present at the Annual Ship’s Reunion. All proposed amendments MUST be introduced in writing.

These by-laws shall not be suspended except by two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Ship’s Company present at the Annual Reunion.

In case of the passing of any of our ship’s company, the surviving spouse/children shall:

(a) Become (if so desired) a Permanent Member of the crew at no cost
(b) Receive any mailings the Treasury is sufficiently funded to supply
(c) Be allowed to attend, at their expense (travel, lodging and banquet, etc.) the Annual Reunion

The wives/friends of the Ships Company may have their own Auxiliary. They would organize themselves to lend support to the Ship’s Company actives.

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