During the 1st Reunion of the 213th A.S.H.C. Black Cats, September 14-18, 2000, on board the Carnival Cruise Lines ship M/S Imagination, the first official meeting of the 213th Assault Support Helicopter Company Black Cat Alumni Association was held on the Promenade Deck, Sunday,
September 17 at 1:00 p.m.
 
Those Present:
 
Richard Blake / Redding, CA
Mike Brown / Kent, OH
Roger Ervin / White Sulphur Springs, WV
Tom Farley / Palmetto, FL
George Haley / Plymouth, MA
Dave Hughes / Kansas City, MO
Tom MacDonald / Costa Mesa, CA
Foster Sexton / Huntsville, AL
Don Skipper / Stone Mountain, GA

Initially, we exchanged many stories and pictures of our days in the 213th and Phu Loi.

Following this, we conducted the business portion of our meeting. The group decided to elect officers with terms of office.

Elected:
 
President . Don Skipper / 2 year term
Treasurer . George Haley / 1 year term
Secretary . Roger Ervin / 1 year term
Official Coordinator . Dave Hughes / As long as wanted
Unit Historian/Photo Album . Mike Brown/ As long as wanted
Official PR Man . Tom MacDonald / 2 year term
Reunion Novelties . Richard Blake / 2 year term
Official Roster Keeper . Tom Farley / 1 year term
Corporate Sponsor / Coordinator . Foster Sexton / 2 year term

A motion was made by Don Skipper and unanimously accepted by the group to make Eric and Lorinda Boyle honorary Black Cats and use them (Sunset Cruises and Tours) as our official travel agent for future reunions. Don Skipper also suggested we have a champagne toast for Eric and Lorinda that evening at dinner, which we unanimously agreed to. A donation was taken from each member to send flowers to Eric and Lorinda when they returned home, to further thank them for doing such an outstanding job and making our first reunion so meaningful. Foster Sexton will take care of flowers after he arrives home.

A motion was made and accepted to hold our 2001 Black Cats Reunion in Las Vegas, Nevada, during the third week of July; tentatively July 19-23, 2001. Everyone who plans to attend may come during the full period scheduled, or may choose to attend only those days they want. Each Alumni member was assigned a page of names from the Master List and asked to contact each name on his page in time for the next reunion.

The group discussed one of our fallen comrades, Mike Dougherty. A motion was made by Tom MacDonald and we jointly agreed to invite Mike's sister (Janie Garvey) to the 2001 Reunion.

A motion by Tom MacDonald for a "Return to Phu Loi Tour" was left open for discussion within the next year.

When the business items were completed at 4:00 p.m., the meeting was moved to Dave Hughes. cabin where we enjoyed video footage of Chinooks and Phu Loi years.

The meeting was adjourned at 5:00 p.m. We are all looking forward to the 2nd Reunion of the 213th A.S.H.C. Black Cats in 2001.