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| About The Authors |
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| # 1 From the Sea & # 2 From the Shore |
| Petty Officer 1st Class (SW) Danny K. Edgar |
Edgar was born in Saigon, Vietnam, while his father was doing a tour of duty there. He was later raised by his grandmother, Hazel Edgar, in Steelville, Missouri. He is a graduate of Viburnum High School. He reported to Boot Camp in San Diego, California in 1988, graduated there as the honor man of Company 106 and finished Mess Specialist A School while there.
Edgar reported to his first command with the PCU LAKE CHAMPLAIN. He, along with the other 320 crewmen, known as Plankowners, started the ship up from scratch and led it to its commissioning into the U. S, Fleet as the USS LAKE CHAMPLAIN. He was recognized as the ship's first "Sailor of the Quarter" - - - the top sailor for a three month period.
Edgar then went on to Navy Recruiting District, Chicago, where he spent three years as a recruiter . . . a very demanding and rewarding duty. His next assignment was to NTC Great Lakes, where he worked on the recruit training command, feeding over 14,000 recruits daily.
He reported to the PCU BENFOLD, which is now the USS BENFOLD. He is currently the recordskeeper and wardroom supervisor on board. He is responsible for keeping the food budget for 300 crew members, with a daily allowance which varies from $5.60 - $6.10 a day for one crew member for 3 meals. He also plans menus, prepares food for special events, banquets and luncheons. The USS BENFOLD is currently on her 2nd deployment and will return to San Diego on December 18, 1999.
Petty Officer Edgar's personal awards include two Navy/Marine Achievement Medals, various Campaign and Service Medals and 2 Battle E Ribbons for shipboard excellence. He also received a Letter of Commendation for a lifesaving role he played. During the 1st deployment of the USS BENFOLD, Edgar received the Enlisted Surface Warrior Specialist (ESWS) Pin.
Edgar is married to the former Laura Young of Woodridge, Illinois. They have one child, Kristen Marie Edgar and currently reside in San Diego, California.
As he looks toward the future, Edgar says: "The Navy in my eleven years has changed slowly, but surely, each year. I can honestly say that the Navy has been very good to me. Just like in any good job, you have to have a good foundation. My wife and child, Marvin and Marie Young and the rest of my family have been that foundation. In the Navy, true leaders like Captain R. K. Martin, LCDR Besteroy and CDR Abrashoff have taught me the importance of taking care of your fellow shipmates. The United States Navy has been and always will be the greatest Navy in the world. Now, and well after I retire, being a sailor or a servicemember in the greatest Nation in the world will always make me stand tall." |
| Educator and Poet Craig E. Burgess |
Burgess was born in Camden, New Jersey, in 1944 and has lived in the same house in Audubon his entire life. After graduating from Audubon High School as Valedictorian of the Class of 1963, he obtained his degree from Rutgers University in 1967, with a double major - - - in Spanish and German. He served as a Teaching Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania, obtaining his Masters Degree in Education from Penn in 1971 and accepted a position as Spanish Teacher in the newly-opened Cherry Hill High School East in September, 1968 - - - a position he held until 1994, when he took early retirement from full-time teaching. Highlights of his career include being named the best teacher of a modern western European language by Johns Hopkins University in 1991, being asked to help write a revision for a college level Spanish text for Heinle and Heinle Company in 1989 (Burgess was the ONLY high school language instructor on the revision committee), and being recommended by students in both 1994 and 1996 for Who's Who in America's Teachers.
Burgess was also active outside of the classroom, serving as advisor to the Spanish Club, the Spanish Honor Society, the Adopt-A-Grandparent program and the multi-lingual student literary magazine, PASSPORT. His efforts earned special recognition for the school and the students, who earned 10 international awards for the PASSPORT publication in the five years of its existence. Burgess brought attention to the community efforts of the students in 1993 when he was named the Individual Volunteer of the Year for the State of New Jersey and again in 1995 when he and the activities' director of the Nursing Home where the students visited, Mrs. Amy Maricondi, published a handbook on Intergenerational Caring and Sharing.
After 'retiring', Burgess served for 4 years as President of the Audubon High School Alumni Association and for 4 years as the President of the Camden County Retired Educators' Association and is currently a member of the Audubon LIONS, the facilitator of a local writers' group, THE AUDUBON POETS, and a member of the Board of Directors of the WESTMONT THEATRE COMPANY.
Burgess has been elected to the International Board of Governors of the American Biographical Institute and was named an International Man of the Year by the ABI in 1997-1998. In August of 1998, he attended his first Convention of the International Platform Speakers' Association in Washington, DC and took top honors in both the poetry and the speaking ladder competitions.
Having published 4 books of poetry and 2 audio cassette tapes of poetry, set to music at Trusty Tuneshop studios in Nebo, Kentucky, Burgess now spends a lot of time in elementary classrooms around the country, introducing poetry to both students and teachers. One of his poems is currently being translated into Hawaiian and three others are hanging proudly on the walls of his Alma Mater, AHS.
During the summer of 1999, Burgess was the recipient of two very special honors. At the 26th International Congress on Arts & Communications, held in Lisbon, Portugal in July, he received the ERNEST KAY INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION AWARD as the Congress Delegate of the year.
In August, Burgess learned that the International Platform Speakers' Association, founded in 1831 by famed orator Daniel Webster and by Josiah Holbrook, had named him to its Board of Governors.
As he looks toward the future, Burgess says: "No one can ever tell what the future may bring. My success in life comes from my parents, the wonderful teachers I had at AHS and my faith in God. As an educator, I have learned that a positive attitude AND an open mind will open doors to incredible experiences. Meeting Petty Officer Edgar and researching this salute to my hometown have opened new doors to adventures for the new millennium." |
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