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Members In the News
JIM SKELTON
44 MEMBERS IN THE NEWS Knight Jim Skelton of the Houston Chapter served in the Peace Corps between 1970 and 1972 and worked with a group of volunteers on a project that had significant impact on the eradication of smallpox in Ethiopia. Their work has been documented in a book available now on Amazon and soon as a Kindle eBook. He was the lead editor and a coauthor of Eradicating Smallpox in Ethiopia: Peace Corps Volunteers’ Accounts of Their Adventures, Challenges and Achievements which was a five and a half year project to tell a wide variety of unique stories about the experience of the PCV’s (Peace Corps Volunteers) from their days of service in the Smallpox Eradication Program (SEP) in Ethiopia in the 1970s. Among the contributors to the book are 15 former PCVs, Dr. D. A. Henderson, the Director of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Global SEP, and Dr. Ciro de Quadros, WHO Epidemiologist in charge of field operations in Ethiopia. The authors have written about their first-hand personal and work experiences during the implementation of the program under the demanding working and living conditions that existed in the country at the time. The last case in Ethiopia was discovered in 1976 and the last case in the world was discovered in Somalia in 1977. The disease was officially declared eradicated in 1979, which is significant because it was the first and only time a human disease has been eradicated. RON FENOLIO Ron Fenolio, Master Knight and member of the Tahoe Chapter was recently elected Chair for a two year term of the Family Winemakers of California, a trade association of some 350 boutique wineries. Amongst other things, Ron is the CEO, Founder, and Proprietor of Veedercrest Estates, Napa Valley, founded in 1972.
ARTHUR & GAYE PLATT
On October 18, 2019, the Arthur and Gaye Platt Fermentation Lab at Texas A&M University was dedicated. Arthur and Gaye have been staunch supporters of the work done by the university under the leadership of Dr. George Ray McEachern. After having established the Arthur and Gaye Platt Research Foundation many years ago, the university, in its continuing efforts to support the Texas wine industry, in particular, expanded and updated its teaching laboratory. It was at that time that the university decided they wanted to honor Arthur and Gaye Platt in this significant way. Gaye is the Lady Master Commander Emeritus of the Houston Chapter and her husband, Arthur, who is now deceased, led the Houston Chapter for many years. Dr. George Ray McEachern is a Supreme Knight and great friend of the Houston Chapter.
RICHARD ABELKIS
The Knights and Gentle Ladies of the Nation’s Capital Chapter celebrated Knight Richard Abelkis who was promoted to the rank of Colonel in the United States Army on 1 January 2020. Richard is a network engineer (Signal Officer) and is stationed at the Pentagon in Washington, DC where he manages the Information Technology Budget for the Army. He has served in the Army for 31 years and deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait.
