Gulf Coast Chamber Gives Salute to the Military

BILOXI -- More than 1,000 people were reported to have attended the annual Salute to the Military on Tuesday, Oct. 13, at the Mississippi Coast Convention Center.

The event, in its 31st year, pays tribute to all military branches including veterans and active personnel extending from WWII through today's wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Honoring Heroes: Salute to Military Recognizes Those Who Serve

www.sunherald.com Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2009

See extra photos: sunherald.com

The Mississippi Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce sponsors the military salute, along with business and community partners. The chamber includes the cities of Biloxi, Gulfport, Long Beach and Pass Christian, and Leadership Gulf Coast and Coast Young Professionals.

Admiral Gary Roughead, chief of U.S. Naval Operations, was the guest speaker. He attended with his wife, Ellen.

South Mississippi Salutes the Military

www.wlox.com Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2009

Roughead, who lived in Ocean Springs during the early 1990s, thanked the community for its appreciation and support of the Navy and Seabees stationed in Gulfport, according to a media report at sunherald.com. More than 400 military members and families live in South Mississippi.

He was commander of the USS Barry, the first Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, that was built at Ingalls Shipyard in Pascagoula (now Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding).

Apollo 13 astronaut Fred Haise and Congressman Gene Taylor were among the dignitaries who attended the Salute to the Military.

Clarence Hartenstine, a first class aviation electronics technician, received the Thomas V. Fredian Award for Outstanding Community Service.

According to www.prambeach.org, the Tom Fredian Memorial Scholarship is offered in memory of Thomas V. Fredian, a founding member, senior practitioner and former president of PRAM Mississippi Beach.

PRAM is the acronym for Public Relations Association of Mississippi.

Fredian, a native of Chicago, resided on the Mississippi Gulf Coast from 1976 until his death in 1999. Fredian began his 23-year career in public relations after retiring from the Navy in 1974. He spent his entire civil service career as the public affairs officer of the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command Headquarters at Stennis Space Center, Miss. He retired from civil service in 1997.

At the time of his death, Fredian was working as a parttime special projects assistant for Analysis & Technology in Bay St. Louis.