Oct
26
AFB participates in the ’09 Race For The Cure!
Filed Under AFB Press Releases, AFB's Community Service, Current Events | Leave a Comment
The 2009 “Race For The Cure” was a huge success! Take a look at some of the photos of the event.
Oct
26
October 09, 2009
Navy News
[See the Red, White, and Blue bunting in the photo? A FlagandBanner.com product in action!]
The Navy will commission the newest Arleigh Burke class guided-missile destroyer, Wayne E. Meyer, at Penn’s Landing, Philadelphia.
Designated DDG 108, the new destroyer honors the late Navy rear admiral who led the development of Aegis, the first fully integrated combat system built to defend against air, surface and subsurface threats. Meyer was regarded as the father of the Navy’s Aegis Weapons System.
Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will deliver the ceremony’s principal address. Adm. Gary Roughead, chief of naval operations and the first officer to have commanded both an Aegis cruiser and destroyer, will also deliver remarks. Anna Mae Meyer will serve as sponsor of the ship named for her late husband. The ceremony will be highlighted by a time-honored Navy tradition when she gives the first order to “man our ship and bring her to life!”
Wayne E. Meyer is the 58th of the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers and carries the 100th Aegis Combat System built. The ship will be able to conduct a variety of operations, from peacetime presence and crisis management to sea control and power projection. Wayne E. Meyer will be capable of fighting air, surface and subsurface battles simultaneously and contains a myriad of offensive and defensive weapons designed to support maritime warfare in keeping with “A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower,” the maritime strategy that postures the sea services to apply maritime power to protect U.S. vital interests in an increasingly interconnected and uncertain world.
Cmdr. Nick A. Sarap Jr., born in Richmond, Va., and raised in Zanesville, Ohio, will become the first commanding officer of the ship and lead the crew of 276 officers and enlisted personnel. The 9,200-ton Wayne E. Meyer was built by Bath Iron Works, a General Dynamics company. The ship is 509 feet in length, has a waterline beam of 59 feet and a navigational draft of 31 feet. Four gas turbine engines will power the ship to speeds in excess of 30 knots.
© Copyright 2009 Navy News. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Oct
8
Group wants to restore historical ballroom in Little Rock
Filed Under AFB on TV, Current Events, Dreamland Ballroom | Leave a Comment
Reported by: Sandra Kirk, Fox 16, KLRT
Email: skirk@fox16.com
October 7, 2009
Fox 16 – Click here for the full story and VIDEO!
LITTLE ROCK, AR – A group wants to bring back the history and the party in downtown Little Rock. Friends of the Dreamland Ballroom are gathering support to restore the third floor of the flag and banner building.
Sounds of the past fill Eugene Porter’s memories. “Cab Calloway, B.B. King, Ella Fitzgerald, all played on this stage. We were here, we were listening to the music, some of the best that we had in relation to jazz, blues, and it was really tremendous,” Porter said. “The favorite ones that I saw were Ray Charles, and B.B. King, those were the traditional ones.”
And tradition is what the group, Friends of Dreamland Ballroom, wants to restore.
“Committed to bringing back the history, the music, and the party to Dreamland Ballroom,” Chairman Kerry McCoy said.
The ballroom is located on the third floor of the now Flag and Banner building in downtown Little Rock. The vision is to make it a hot spot for events including weddings, parties and also a museum to share the buildings history.
“It was the key to society as far as Little Rock was concerned. This was our street,” McCoy said. “It needs to tell the story of 9th Street which was Little Rock’s Little Harlem. This is the last building left from that era. This is all the original moldings, the orange and turquoise moldings went around the stage,” he said.
Now the group needs money to restore the space. “You know this place has great bones.”
“To be a part of restoring this back to its proper place, to the culture and social scene in Little Rock how could you say no,” McCoy said.
Porter hopes he’ll get a chance to see more greats perform on this stage. “This is wonderful. The city needs this, the city of Little Rock needs this.”
Friends of Dreamland Ballroom is a non profit organization. The group held its first open house and fundraiser September 28th.
Click here for more information about Dreamland Ballroom.
Copyright 2009 Newport Television LLC All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.