Happy Retirement Col Alex Kay (Former National Volunteer Chief of Safety)

Started by James Shaw, March 12, 2018, 01:54:10 PM

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James Shaw

Yesterday was the end of a long and productive CAP career for my friend and former "Volunteer Boss", Col Alex Kay. Colonel Alex Kay was the last volunteer National Chief of Safety and he will be sorely missed. Alex was a steadfast supporter and sometimes antagonist for the safety program. In my dealings and work with him he always had the member's best interest in mind. His demeanor was often thought to be confrontational and abrupt but he wanted to find out what went wrong, what went right, and how to protect the members.

Col Kay was not a one man show. He surrounded himself with people he trusted and trusted in their ability to get the job done. He provided feedback and did a great job in explaining his thought process and let us know we were appreciated.

He surrounded himself with people that were dedicated to the safety of the members and would utilize any skill they had to help the program.
Col Kay also knew his strengths and weaknesses. If he had a question or was not sure about a situation he would be the first person to reach out and gather information. He would then take the information and make a decision with the safety of the member in mind.

He was also direct at times when he felt like the point was not being made or that someone may be overstepping their position. He believed in respecting the Chain-of-Command and trying to work within it. He also reminded us that we represented the National Commander and NHQ.

Col Kay asked his team to take on tasks that he felt would benefit CAP and challenge us a little at the same time. When I would present him with a concept, plan, or idea we would often speak for hours in how we could make it better for the membership. We worked on some significant program improvements that were lost, forgotten, or passed on over time.

Colonel Kay completed his 20 years of service to CAP and decided to move onto something different.

He had a few frustrations at the end of his term.

He tried to recognize the work of his staff when they decided to eliminate the National Safety Committee and it has since been long forgotten.

When he was considering retirement from CAP he was never asked why or what made him decided to retire.

Alex taught me how to be a better CAP Safety Officer.

Thank You my friend and Happy Retirement Colonel.
Jim Shaw
USN: 1987-1992
GANG: 1996-1998
CAP:2000 - Current
USCGA:2018 - Current
SGAUS: 2017 - Current