Chuck and Lynn Winn have lived in North River Shores since the end of 2000. They met in Washington, DC while Chuck was assigned to the Pentagon and Lynn was in her career as an association executive. Chuck explained how they ended up in North River Shores. “Until I met Lynn, I always visualized myself retiring somewhere in the Panhandle. My first trip to North River Shores was when we drove down from D.C. to meet my late mother-in-law Virginia Kelly, who was a snowbird here for two decades. After a brief visit with Virginia I drove over to Tarpon Springs to spend Christmas Eve with my folks. Then, Lynn flew from West Palm to Tampa the day after Christmas to meet them. Three months later, on March 6,1993, we were married at the First Presbyterian Church, right around the corner from our house on Lakeside Trail.”
An American Girl
Lynn was born in Pittsburgh and later moved to Elkins, West Virginia, where she graduated from high school. After earning a B.A. cum laude from Fairmont State University, Lynn began her professional career in Washington DC with the National Governors Association. She later became a Vice President of a national insurance trade association.
Lynn received her biggest surprise on Halloween, 1997 when Chuck left this message on her voice mail. “Hi love. The good news is I’m getting promoted, The bad news is that it’s in Korea and we have to be there the end of January.” She spent two and a half years with Chuck on the Yongsan Garrison in Seoul. When they left Korea, the three-star Eighth U.S. Army Commanding General awarded Lynn the Department of the Army Public Service Award for her efforts with the American Red Cross training over 200 volunteers. Two years after settling into North River Shores, Lynn was a Financial Assistant for 20 years with Becker and Christoper Ameriprise Financial Advisors.
Be All You Can Be
Chuck, a retired Army Colonel, began his 32-year career as a Private when he was drafted in 1968. After serving briefly as a sergeant, he was commissioned as an infantry second lieutenant from officer candidate school (OCS) in 1969. He served in Vietnam as an advisor to South Vietnamese irregular tactical units, and later as an Intelligence Officer in a combat aviation battalion. He left active duty to return to college on the GI Bill, remaining active in the National Guard. After receiving his B.A. from Rhode Island College, he entered the Massachusetts Army National Guard full-time force, managing the 18,000-acre range and maneuver area complex at Camp Edwards, prior to his reassignment as a battalion executive officer.
Private to Pentagon Insider
He then reentered the Active Army in 1983 to serve as an Associate Professor of Military Science at Tuskegee University, Alabama. His later senior level assignments as a strategic planner in the Pentagon included the Headquarters, Dept of the Army General Staff, developing combat unit training strategies, and force readiness policies and legislation. Chuck later represented the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) on the Interagency Working Group for Combating Domestic Terrorism Involving Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD); and on a Deputy Secretary of Defense task force that developed the organization for defending against domestic WMD terrorist attacks established by Presidential Decision Directive 62. From 1998 until 2000, he was the Senior Army National Guard Advisor and War Planner with the U.S. Forces Korea Headquarters in Seoul.
Highly Decorated
Chuck earned an M.S. in Management from Troy University. His military education includes the U.S. Army Infantry School OCS, Airborne Course, and Officers Advanced Course; the Command and General Staff College; and the U.S. Army War College. He is a member of Phi Alpha Theta Historical Honor Society, the Tuskegee University Chapter of Alpha Phi Omega Fraternity, and the U.S. Army OCS Hall of Fame.
Author and Backyard Banana Grower
Since retiring from the military, Chuck has been active in numerous non-profits and public policy advocacy organizations. He has also occasionally guest-hosted talk radio shows. Over the years his guest editorials have appeared in major newspapers across Florida and the country. A published author, he is finishing his second book “Restoration and Redemption,” an historical novel covering the years of the Carter through Bush Presidencies. Many North River Shores residents probably know Chuck as an avid banana grower who has given away over a hundred banana pups over the years.
If you see Chuck and Lynn wish them a Happy Fourth of July and thank them for their faithful service to our country.
