Blake Proctor

Blake Proctor, better known in NASAA circles as Harry the Bear, was born in Tredegar, Wales, on October 20, 1947, the son of a career army aviator and his Welsh war bride. Attending university in Munich, Germany, with a 2-S draft status yet, Bear, very obviously delusional or drunk or both, shrugged his shoulders, turned in his deferment, and returned to the Land of the Round Doorknob. He entered the ASA on July 31, 1968, doing his Basic Training with C Company, 9th Battalion of the 2nd Training Brigade at Ft. Jackson, SC; then, whilst awaiting his TS/C, he was cordially invited to attend an elite eight-week KP course at Con-4, Ft, Devens, MA; upon successful completion of this crucial training, Bear became eligible for Traffic Analyst (98C) school, which he completed, appropriately enough, on April 1, 1969.

Bear, still known as Russ because he had red hair and the Legend of the Bear had not yet been born, promptly shipped out to the exotic orient, spending an aromatic year (eau de klong, doncha know) as a Traffic Identification Specialist in the Chicom Ops Bay at the 7th RRFS (that's "Ranger Recon," for the Zoomies!) in beautiful downtown Nong Soong, Thailand. From the land of gentle rains to the frozen tundra of eastern Europe, Bear journeyed to Berlin for a four-year stint. He spent 17 months on top of Teufelsberg as a Site 3 TA and a dry-fire target for Russian arty practice; he then went down into the Gruenie as Senior TA of Site 4 for another 29 exciting fun-filled months. At 1:37 p.m. on Monday, May 20, 1974, after 5 years, 9 months, 19 days, 13 hours, and 37 minutes (ahhh, but who's counting?), Bear and the ASA parted ways.

Taking advantage of the GI Bill, Bear got his undergraduate degree in Accounting at the University of Central Florida, then took his graduate studies there in Public Administration. He spent 17 years as a municipal "gunslinger," managing sick cities no one else wanted. He got his PhD in Public Policy from Pacific Western University in 1995, and opened his own municipal crisis management firm in suburban Charlotte, NC. Bear is divorced, and has a 17 year old son, Evan.

With a love-hate relationship between himself and the ASA, and never having learned, Bear volunteered AGAIN, and became the Interim NASAA Treasurer. Recognizing a patsy when they saw one, the Interim Board members (obviously comprised of ASA recruiters) soon stuck him with Secretary's duties, and then pushed him onto the Board of Directors, where he now sits as an elected member. Thank you and good night.