Programs and Events

January 8, 2007

RMD Sailors reach out to the Community in Panama City

Eighteen sailors from USS Rodney M. Davis (FFG-60) devoted their time and effort on Monday, January 08, 2007 to lend a helping hand in one of the poorer communities of Panama City, Panama. After a long overdue port visit, these sailors gave up their precious liberty time to volunteer at the “Casa de la Tercera Edad”, an elderly community center located under the Eusebio Morales Library on Cinco de Mayo. The place looked shabby; it was in dire need of a paint job. With the help of Walleska Wagner, the “People to People” Coordinator from the U.S. Embassy and her assistant Miguel Moreno, the Davis sailors made quick work of the place.

Walleska and Miguel brought all of the painting supplies, and as soon as we arrived, the ‘Boldrunners’ got down to business. There wasn’t much need for direction when you’ve got a group of such talented sailors eager to get the job done. Experienced hands such as BM2 Young and AW2 Quinteros, (who had worked as a painter for his father), were full of handy painting tips and tricks that saved us a lot of time. ENS Pooler, on the other hand, was all about having fun, as he painted his name in huge bold letters that took up an entire wall.

Indeed, everyone was in good spirits that day. Even the bus driver, who was reluctant to stay with us for the entire time, was soon found handing out drinks for the guys and scraping paint off the floors with a huge smile on his face.

It was good having GSMC Pineda around. When we found it hard to reach the overhead edges which were about 15 ft. above, he grabbed a paint brush, a piece of yarn and a stick, and quickly made a rig that reached the edges perfectly. He definitely lives up to his nickname as the wise “Yoda Pineda”.

The Damage Controlmen, DC2 Garoutte and Fireman Kelley naturally gravitated towards the red paint and did a great job painting out the brick accents in the hallway. CS3 Brown, always the quiet warrior, and never afraid of doing the dirty work, found contentment in washing out the paint trays and paint brushes in the small janitor’s closet tucked away in the corner.

Then there was EMC Jimenez, who looked like he was putting out 2 gallons of sweat per 1 gallon of paint that he was able to apply on the walls. ENS Wilson, though sick and tired, kept on trucking as she diligently painted out the hallway leading towards the kitchen.

EM2 Dotson, who is quite the philosopher, may have proved a point that day. I remembered asking him a few weeks ago on what the greatest invention was within the past 5 years and he said it was the ipod. As I looked around, I noticed an inordinate amount of sailors listening to their ipods. Clearly, the ipod has made a big impact on the way we do COMREL’s. Did the ipod increase our productivity? Well, whether it did or not, all I can say is that it was impressive to see us paint out the entire community center within three hours.

The elderly Senoras were also quite impressed with our work. They gave us such a heartfelt speech, thanking us, telling us how grateful they were, and how handsome we were, especially AW2 Quinteros. We all gathered inside the meeting room and took a picture with them. That’s what made it all worth it. To see the smiles on their faces, and see how genuinely thankful they were. It made all of us feel good to know that in some small way, we made a difference in their lives. It was a win-win situation.

Afterwards, we went to an amazing restaurant called ‘Mi Ranchito’, which was along the Causeway. The food was delicious, but the fact that almost all of us had skipped breakfast and were starving by that time made it all the more delightful. The steak was mouth-watering, the ceviche was fresh, and the seafood- succulent. We spent about as much time at the restaurant as we did at the community center. In fact we had to drag EMC Jimenez back, because he did not want to leave. This COMREL project was definitely a success, and as we rode the bus back to the ship, I could already hear talks about what we were going to do for the next COMREL project. Bravo Zulu to these RMD Sailors for a job well done!