BAnKERs AWAY
On Board the USS Harry S. Truman, CVN 75
E
leven bankers and our own Rann Paynter recently spent an unforgettable 24 hours on board the USS Harry S.
Truman. The aircraft carrier was off the coast of Cherry Point during a week-long exercise training Navy pilots.
Fortunately for our men on deck, all landings were successful and none of our folks were run over by F-18s or
knocked overboard…they were told that a fall from the flight deck would not kill them, but would hurt a lot as
the ocean is 70 feet or more from the flight deck. Truly a once in a life time experience, our delegation experienced all
aspects of ship life, dining with enlisted men and women, spending time with the commanding and executive officers
on the flag bridge and observing take-offs and landings from the flight deck as well as the bridge. They returned with
a renewed sense of pride in our military and especially in the men and women who serve our Navy. 
John Pegram, Jim Vanderwoude, Averette Lamb, Jim Graham,
and Jim Engel are all ears for the flight operations briefing.
Participants included: Averett Lamm, Cornerstone Bank, Wilson; John Barker, Providence Bank, Rocky Mount; Ron Black,
Bank of Oak Ridge; Jim VanderWoude, Nantahala Bank &
Trust, Franklin; Eric Bergevin, Albemarle Bank & Trust, Edenton; Phil Collins, Sound Bank, Morehead City; John Kreighbaum, Carolina Premier Bank, Charlotte; Frank Gavigan,
Premier Commercial Bank, Greensboro; Jim Engel, Aquesta
Bank, Cornelius; Jim Graham, Waccamaw Bank, Whiteville;
and John Pegram, Southern Bank and Trust, Mount Olive.
John Barker is welcomed to the bridge by
Commanding Officer Captain Joseph N. Clarkson.
Double ear-protection, a cranial,
and life jacket
were required on
the flight deck
for observations
of take-offs and
recoveries.
During their dinner on base at Vista Point, a
tremendous storm enveloped the base. Lightning struck just outside the main entrance to the
facility, causing a fire to erupt in the landscaping.
Rann Paynter leapt to action, grabbing a fire extinguisher and putting out the fires in the torrential downpour, saving the naval base at Norfolk.
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