About Gerald Butters

Gerald Butters is an acknowledged dignitary in the communications industry. His career spanning more than 40 years, included appointments as president of NTI (Nortel’s US Subsidiary), chairman of the board of AGCS ( a joint manufacturing venture of AT&T and GTE), president of AT&T’s Network Systems Global Public Networks Development and Manufacturing divisions, president of Lucent Technologies North American marketing, sales
and services units. While at Lucent, he formed the Optical Networking Group and became its first president.

Butters influential thought leadership on Optical Technologies has been recognized in journals and Wikipedia as “Butters’ Law of Photonics”. Butters is also a co-founder of a scientific and philosophical group, which is attempting to understand and predict, undiscovered intersections of Optical and Computational science. Butters retired from Lucent in 2000 as senior vice president marketing and technology. He continues active industry involvement as a limited partner in Venture Capital firms, board membership in private and public companies and as a technical advisor. Extensive reference information about Butters can be found at the ZoomInfo (zoominfo.com) website.

Butters is a co-founder of Double Black Diamond Partners.

Butters is a Fellow of the prestigious International Engineering Consortium, and has lectured at Universities in Asia, Europe and North America. He has given Commencement addresses to graduating classes of Vanderbilt University, North Carolina State University and American Sentinel University. He was awarded the Mississippi University for Women gold medal for helping to bring distance learning to rural Mississippi high schools.

Butters served on the Board of Trustees-Fisk University, Board of Directors of ANS {a not for profit corporation} formed by IBM, MCI and the University of Michigan,which provided the high capacity backbone for the original Internet. Also, Boards of the North Carolina Museum of Art, the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Junior Achievement of Peel County, Junior Achievement of New York City, Rider University Business School, the AT&T Foundation, and Advisor to American Sentinel University,
Internet2, the US Department of Energy, and the National Science Foundation initiative on advanced Sciences for American Universities.

Operation Open Arms Needs Volunteers

February, 2012: Florida Weekly writer Roger Williams writes about Operation Open Arms, its founder Captain John “GiddyUp Bunch.” and what Operation Open Arms needs to continue providing benefits to active duty service members:

“OOA needs a professional grant writer. OOA needs an office. OOA needs an administrative assistant. OOA needs a director to soon take my place. Most of all, OOA needs contributions to pay for all the things associated with a legit charity, like the American Red Cross has. They have a well-paid staff. They have a beautiful office, vans and cars. They have an advertising budget.

“I go to the post office after a charter hoping to see a check in Box 101.”

I don’t think Capt. Bunch cares about some of that — the beautiful office and what-not.

But he could use some help, and so could the young men and women coming home from very difficult places.”

Parrot Key Grill Helps OOA Recover from Arson’s Fire

From the Fort Myers Beach Periodical the Sandpiper January 2012,
Parrot Key Caribbean Grill and Big Game Waterfront Grill Give a Helping Hand to Operation Open Arms

Parrot Key Caribbean Grill and Big Game Waterfront Grill of Fort Myers Beach gave a helping hand to Operation Open Arms this week by donating $1,000 in gift cards to be used in assisting service personnel. Operation Open Arms had been storing their donated items at the Pine Island Chamber until a recent fire that completely destroyed the Chamber office.

“When we learned of the fire last week we called Captain John Bunch, the head of Operation Open Arms and offered our donation”, said Justin Hall, Operations Manager for the two restaurants. “We are proud to support Operation Open Arms and give back in to our U.S. Troops who are visiting our area. I would encourage all of the restaurants in the area to participate with us in this worthwhile endeavor!”

“Parrot Key is a great place to come and enjoy the waterfront view, have a fantastic meal and leave the real world behind for a short time! We feel honored to share a little piece of our paradise with these service personnel and their families”, says Brian DeMartinis, General Manager at Parrot Key.
Operation Open Arms, a nationally acclaimed military outreach program founded in 2005, is a network of business owners and individuals in Florida who work to provide eligible service personnel and their families with a no cost combat leave vacation. Local businesses have worked with Operation Open arms to help over 2,000 service personnel here locally and have donated the goods and services for 90 weddings. “The thing that makes Operation Open Arm such a success is a core group of 100 businesses that have joined together to support this cause and Salty Sam’s is one of our largest contributors”, said Joseph Fossella, Advisory Board Member.

Thank You from the Poremba family

Thanks so Much from the Lopez family

A Wedding Thank You from Clyde and Teri

A Solider’s Mother’s Thanks to OOA is Naples News Letter of the Day

Emotional homecoming as soldier returns from deadly mission – WFTX-TV Fort Myers/Naples, FL

FORT MYERS, Fla. – An emotional homecoming tonight for a local soldier returning from a deadly mission in Afghanistan was aided by Operation Open Arms of Southwest Florida.

After a long year overseas, Frank Grimm finally returns home to Fort Myers. Total strangers applauding his arrival but his biggest fan is his wife Erin who met him at Fort Riley in Kansas on the last leg of their trip.

The non-profit corporation, Operation Open Arms, picked Frank’s family up at the airport tonight. They will also pay the tab at restaurants while he’s here and he will get to drop the first puck at the Everblades hockey game.

See the video and read the full story here:

Emotional homecoming as soldier returns from deadly mission – WFTX-TV Fort Myers/Naples, FL.

About Nancy Neely

Looking back at my life as a computer educator in Michigan and my life here in Maryland, service to others and the natural environment is a recurring theme. As a 16 year old, I found myself Saturdays, at a Ladies’ Retirement Home, rounding up surprised women, to take them shopping. More recently, for the past 7 years, I’ve traveled countrywide, building with Habitat for Humanity. Besides the fun of hammering away at a framing nail, it is rewarding to work side by side with an excited, new homeowner who, often enough, is moving from substandard housing.

Additionally, in Maryland, I have devoted time to a life long passion…the preservation of nature through various restoration projects with the Eastern Neck Wildlife Refuge and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. The Eastern Shore Land Conservancy is another organization with whom I’m currently working to preserve our treasured rural landscape in the six Eastern Shore counties. During summer months, I am privileged to volunteer as crew with the Sultana Project, a group who, on a replica merchant tall ship built in Chestertown, educates the public about the Chesapeake Bay and it’s ecological challenges. In recent years, I’ve also volunteered with the Chester River Hospital Center and Kent County Hospice.

Service to others and our natural environment continues to be my life passion. I am so pleased to be able to help Captain Bunch establish Operation Open Arms on the Eastern Shore and honor our Maryland soldiers on leave.

Greek Fest Fort Myers Benefits Operation Open Arms

Coming in February 2012

The 37th Annual Greek Fest in Fort Myers – February 24, 25, and 26 – has chosen Operation Open Arms and the Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida to benefit from this year’s event.

This must-do family event features:

Authentic Greek Food
• Carnival Rides & Games
• Dance Exhibitions
• Live Music by Demetrios & The Islanders
• Merchandise Vendors
• Church Tours
• Car or $25,000 Raffle
• Cash Raffle

February 24, 25 & 26, 2012. Friday-Saturday 11am-11pm and Sunday 12pm-5pm (NOTE: Sunday’s new hours!)

Admission: Adults $5 for the entire weekend. Children under 12 years old are free.

Location: Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church
8210 Cypress Lake Drive • Fort Myers, Florida 33919

Click here to visit the Official Greek Fest web site.