Mailing List   Ed Jones 6516 Matchett Rd. Orlando, FL 32809 (407) 859-3766

Ann Hartle 167 Durham Pl Longwood, FL 32779 (407) 862-8282

History of REALM:
RAMM --THE BEGINNING
Thanks to the determination and enthusiasm of one man, REALM today is recognized as the most active group of retired professionals in the country. He is Buzz Showalter.  Just ten years after its founding, REALM boasts 1,700 members. Each is enjoying the fruits of confirming association through fun times, community services, lending helping hands to each other, and donating to the community their humane and professional skills.

The idea of RAMM belongs to Buzz Showalter. Buzz abhorred the idea of totally breaking off the relationships and camaraderie he had established at Martin Marietta over some four decades just because he retired. Buzz also felt that he was not alone in his beliefs, and he was right.

He first broached the idea of a retiree club to Howard Crouch, the Company's Personnel Manager, during an MMMC crab feast in the Fall of 1983. "We both thought it was a good idea (and) the seed was planted", said Buzz. In April 1984, Crouch asked Buzz to an SLRC meeting to further discuss the idea with Ron Ribaric, then MMMC Recreation Chief.

"We discussed some of the goals of the organization, such as camaraderie, helping each other, assistance to MMMC, keeping retirees up-to-date, social events, etc." said Buzz. The meeting led to an action plan including contacts with aerospace corporations nation-wide and other Company Divisions to ferret out whether or not there were any retiree clubs. Grumman Aerospace, Lockheed, and Telephone Pioneers, among others sent information about their retiree activities. Martin Marietta had no retirement clubs at that time.

Next, they needed to form a local Steering Committee that would provide the foundation for the club. Buzz recruited Ed Schaffer, whom he met accidentally at a local bank; Bob Wood, who was volunteering at the Lucerne Hospital and visited Buzz, then a patient; and the late Gene Foster. These men, said Buzz "rounded out a good cross-section of retirees since Foster hired-in in the late '20s, Wood in the '30s, Buzz in the '40s and Schaffer in the late '50s.

During the next several weeks, said Schaffer, "we had numerous telephone meetings, talking about the club's formation. The first formal meeting took place in the plant's Personnel Conference Room in June '84 with all initial principals present. At this time Buzz was elected Chairman. The Club's goals and objectives were firmed up, and the Company's support was assured. Ed recalls that each member of the Steering Committee talked both "as a group and individuals" to Orlando and Corporate management to secure the backup needed for the Club to flourish. Overcoming occasional skepticism and the fact that retirees may be "scattered all over the country," the committee got it biggest boost when former President Walter Lowery decided to acknowledge the idea and support the club.

"Without the help of many Martin people," said Ed, we would not have been able to set up and operate." The same applied to the retirees "willing to spend time end talent, working to support the Club idea," he added. Between the July l  and September '84 time-frame, Garys Duck Inn on OBT became the site of monthly brain sessions to determine the best avenue to get the club off to a good start. The winning idea was a November wine and cheese get acquainted party at International Drive Holiday Inn. Thanks to Ron Ribaric's securing $500 in Company seed money and Henrietta Rudd's retiree personnel computer run, Buzz end Ed could usurp Myrtle Schaffer's dining room table to stuff and address over a thousand invitations to attend the event and to join the Club. Russ Brown was recruited to fill the treasurer slot temporarily. The Recreation Department provided the funds to do the printing end mail outs which eventually resulted in 400 retirees attending.

At the party Bob Wood had set up an application table, while Buzz, Gene and Ed circled the crowd recruiting prospective members. "The party was a big success," recalls Ed. "Our budget was $1,500, but with a much larger attendance than anticipated and a hungry group. We overran (and) good old Martin bailed us out."  At another meeting Ed Parrish held a brain-storming session which resulted in our current name--RAMM. With an up-to-date application roster in hand, a brand new identity, and the Company's "real" endorsement, RAMM was off to a good start.

Next Al Roy was charged with drafting the Club's constitution which was approved by the Steering Committee. Initial dues were set at $5.00. The late Sid Spiegel served as Chairman of the Nominating Committee for the 1985 slate of Officers and Directors.

At the General Meeting held at the Italian American Club on January 15th, 1985, the Constitution was approved and the first officers were elected. They were Buzz Showalter, Chairman of the Board; Jim Dunlop, President; Bob Wood, Vice President; Russ Brown, Treasurer; Lavinia Ruth, Secretary; and Ed Schaffer, Clay Johnson, and Lee Schaidt, Directors.

While much had been accomplished since the Fall of 1984, much still had to be done to establish RAMM as the vibrant organization it is today. This required constant work and support on the part of both the membership and Martin Marietta. For instance, when it was decided to publish the RAMM Newsletter to be sent along with the Martin News to the membership, it took the partnership of both organizations to get the job done. Public Relations provided their conference room for mail outs and Ann Smith supplied the necessary copies, the Mail Room agreed to take care of the mailing and provide a mail box, Presentations helped with promotional work and the Print Shop took care of the publication needs. This meant that RAMM volunteers required access to the facility. Safety Director Jim Goff kindly worked out a security agreement for RAMM access.

"When we started to work on RAMM, we had high hopes for getting started with 100 to 150 members," said Schaffer. "How happy we were to find that nearly 400 signed up initially."

Recently, commenting on RAMM's vitality, Corporate Vice President Marc Bennet said that the Association is "the most active retirement organization in the industry, both in helping others and enjoying the fruits of their labor."

Buzz Showalter, the cause of it all, stressed that Martin Marietta top management was involved from the beginning, including Walt Lowrie, Tom Pownall and Don Byrnes."  A lot was done prior to 1985 to get this Club on its way. Since our Club was used as a model for the Denver and Baltimore Divisions...we can be proud of what we have accomplished..."