NCF GMM Recaps

Remarks - Bill Ferguson held multiple positions during his prolific 33 year career at NSA. He volunteered for more than 20 years with the Foundation and organized the annual Pearl Harbor program. His contributions and dedication were greatly appreciated. Bill was also very active in other activities, such as coaching basketball, teaching CCD, and serving as a substitute teacher. Of all his accomplishments, he was most proud of his family. He passed away in March (2022) and will be deeply missed. Please click on Bill's name to learn more about him on his In Memoriam Registry page.

Remarks - Mr. Young had a long and distinguished career with the National Security Agency. He served in a variety of assignments, ultimately becoming the Deputy Director from 1988 through 1990. Mr. Young received the Presidential Rank Award for Distinguished Executive in 1988 from President Ronald Reagan. He received the National Security Medal from President George H.W. Bush in 1990. He also was a member of the Hazards Golf Group, which consists of several NSA retirees. Jerry passed away in October 2021. Please click on Jerry's name to learn more him on his In Memoriam Registry page.

Remarks - Joe believed in the longevity of serving his country. He spent 41 years at NSA and was a member of the Foundation for 23 years. He passed away in October 2021. Joe joined the Agency as a technician’s assistant. He worked his way up through various technical and management positions including chief of an engineering organization, Senior NSA Representative in Thailand, Deputy Office Chief of Operations, and NSA Assistant Deputy Director of Telecommunications and Computer Processing. Joe received several awards during his career at NSA, to include being awarded the Exceptional Civilian Service Award and medal in 1981 for his work to facilitate the release of the Iranian hostages. Please click on Joe's name to learn more about him via his page in our Commemorate section.

Remarks - Don joined the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) while at Monmouth College (now Western Oregon University) and embarked on a twenty-seven-year career in the US Armed Forces as a Naval Officer. His tours of duty included overseas tours in Japan, Spain, Italy and England, and stateside tours of duty in California, Virginia and Maryland. Don held various assignments in the field of cryptologic operations. Once he retired as a Captain from the US Navy, he worked in the private sector as an award winning Program Manager. Don was a Foundation member for 22 years. He passed away in September 2021. Please click on his name to learn more about him in our Commemorate section.

From Laura Nelson's remarks: Ed supported the NCF for 22 years - serving as the Foundation's treasurer. He came to the office every Tuesday without fail to pay bills and conduct payroll for the organization. He also oversaw the organization's annual audit – a tedious and complicated task! I enjoyed our talks as he shared stories of his time at NSA.

Remarks from Ed: "I enjoyed it. It was a lot of fun and continued my years of service. Now I'm just waiting to see progress continue. Thank you."

From Laura Nelson's remarks: Mary served as the office manager for the NCF for 18 years. She was the focal point and organizer of the NCF quarterly programs and General Membership meetings. She also served as the NCF organizer of the annual Crypto Cup tournament. Mary provided administrative support to the Board chair for the quarterly board meetings, assisting in setting the agenda and ensuring that all had their materials. She essentially was the “go-to” person for the NCF.

Mary's Remarks: "It has been my honor to work for the Foundation all of these years and to work with many of the greats of the cryptologic history. And especially to work with so many of you like Ed, Bill, John Garcia, Sally, and Laura. Thank you."

From Laura Nelson's remarks: Sally supported the NCF as a volunteer for 24 years! She worked tirelessly to ensure that we have had interesting topics for our member programs and general membership meetings. She also helped with our book collection – of which we have many! Sally was also involved with our Recognition Committee, working with the those who had candidates for NSA’s Hall of Honor and helping in any way she could. The task was difficult given lack of access to classified information, but she remained vigilant in the task.

Sally's Remarks: " Thank you. I appreciate this recognition and have enjoyed working with many of you over a lot of years. The Foundation is expanding into the cyber world - a world I have avoided and I will continue to do so! But I am hopeful we will be able to show the public what cryptology and cybersecurity are all about when the new Museum gets built, if it gets built, and I hope I will be around for it. Laura, it has been a pleasure working with you, so keep up the good work."

From Laura Nelson's remarks: Bill supported the NCF for 22 years as a volunteer. He took care of all of our Quickbooks entries and overall financial support for the organization - to include assisting Ed with audits. He also kept track of our membership and other contacts. In addition, he helped to manage the early websites for the organization. The thing I love about Bill is his willingness to figure out new ways of doing business. As we were making significant changes to how we organized our budget and introduced new tools, he would always say -I’m not going to learn this, or we shouldn’t do this. I always knew he would come around and say, “you know I was looking into this…”

Bill's remarks: "Past and current leaders of the Foundation, General Morrison (founder), Bob Rich, Gene Becker, Linc Faurer, Dick Schaeffer, and Laura Nelson have always shown their appreciation in many ways for what I and the other volunteers and staff have done in using our time and expertise to help further the Foundation's mission. For me, it has been both gratifying and at times disappointing, mostly due to events beyond the Foundation's control. That said, it was time well spent. A special benefit for me was being able to work with my daughter Cindi who developed and supports the NCF website among other things.

I will always be grateful for General Morrison and Gene Becker asking me to be part of their team. My approximately four years with the Air Force Security Service, 40 years with NSA and 24 with the Foundation were well spent. Thanks to you Laura and all others who are supporting or have supported the Foundation – it has been my pleasure working with you. Finally, a special thanks to Ed Jacobs for making it fun and to Jackie Sherry who made my retirement so painless."

From Laura Nelson's remarks: Carol served as the Executive Administrator for the campaign to build the Cyber Center for Education & Innovation. She arranged for the multitude of meetings with stakeholders, Founders, and state officials. She was known by all of the Founders and used her contacts well. I think her favorite part of the job was organizing the annual Founders' event, including working with the venue and ensuring that everything was perfectly put together for the event. Given her time with the project, she has a lot of the history going back to when it first started.

Remarks - Bob was with the NCF for 10 years. He worked in the office with Mary and Elaine to support the NCF's membership program. Bob put great time, care, and attention into writing letters of condolence to our member families. He also helped to make sure that people were given proper recognition in the NCF's In Memoriam Registry. In fact, he and his wife have sponsored several Registry honorees. Bob was always ready to assist at events and provided other essential administrative support to the office. His personal touch, dedication, and support are greatly appreciated.