Webb Winter Work: A A Texas-sized Gathering in Houston
Students in Houston Visit Battleship Texas: Houston Winter Work Gathering Part Two
This past February 6, there was an unusually large Webb presence in Houston. Thirteen Webb students in the city for Winter Work joined 22 Houstonarea alumni with eight spouses/ friends for an Alumni/Student dinner. Special guests included President Michel, who showed the new documentary about Webb; Dean Neilson, who gave an update of school and student activities; and SNAME President Peter Noble, who emphasized the importance of our professional society in the exchange of ideas and education. Other guests included Webb Trustee Bruce Rosenblatt and three of the workterm sponsors.
Tom Gillette ’52 gave six Webb students in Houston for their winter work terms a special tour of the battleship Texas, BB 35, on January 18. The Texas was built at Newport News in 1912, and was active through the end of WW II. Tom is the engine room and fire room docent on the Texas, which is now berthed at the San Jacinto State Park. “We spent the day given a tour around the Battleship Texas by Tom Gillette, with a special emphasis on the naval
architecture and marine engineering details of the vessel,” says Erin McElroy. “He also spent time retelling his experiences from Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, as well as his involvements with the Exxon Valdez. It was an amazing time, and I think all the students were very impressed with Tom. It was humorous to see Tom being far more nimble than students from the Class of 2014 while climbing through lightening holes.”
Our Webb group in front of an A-type boiler on the battleship Texas. From left to right, are: Wesley Yland ’15, Erin McElroy ’15, Gabriel Poritz ’15, Tom Gillette ’52, Amy Zahray ’14, Ben Rockwell ’15, Michael Chen ’15, and Stefan Kuczera ’15.
At Home with the Malones
From left to right: Matt Tedesco ’91, Connor Bennett ’14, Jenna Ferrieri ’11, Lalena Janke ’17, Andrew Arnold ’17, Kyle O’Sullivan ’17, Brian Mills ’16, Zach Gilfus ’15, John Malone ’71, John Carlson ’14, Will Markuske ’10, and Dave Smith ’14.
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Amy and John Malone ’71 hosted their annual Webb Interns Dinner at their home, February 1, 2014. As usual, there were a few alums present as well as the interns. The group enjoyed a variety of appetizers and a great dinner (Amy came through again!), but all were disappointed when a pump failure forced them to abandon the much anticipated post-dinner soak in the hot tub. Even with all that high-powered Webbie talent at hand, plus an emergency visit by John’s pool service technician, they were unable to fix the pump, as a new impeller had to be ordered. The timing of the pump failure confirmed the truth of Murphy’s Law.