Since the membership of CNA is so diverse, and separated geographically, it may be feasibly impossible for our members to meet and get to know one another. This section will highlight a member in each newsletter, providing a brief background of the individual, so the membership may know a little about that person. It will be 100% voluntary. The officers and board members will be given first opportunity to provide their background, followed by the charter, and the regular members. The initial profile is Frank Putrow.

I was born in Detroit, Michigan to Anglo-Saxon parents. I have two sisters and no brothers. My oldest sister is a Dominican nun, and my younger sister is married with five children. My mother, Nellie, is 92 years of age and lives with my sister in Romeo, Michigan. I served in the USAF for four years, and worked for GTE/Verizon for 31 years, retiring as an operations manager in 1990.

I have been married to my wife, Carmen, of Spanish/Cuban descent, for 46years, and we have one son, Michael, who is a perfusionist at a Tampa, Florida hospital. Mike is married to Sylvia, who is a representative for “Angel” perfume products. Since we live in Clearwater, Florida, and our two grandchildren, Jonathan (21), and Lauren (18), also live in Tampa, we are fortunate to have family activities quite often.

I became interested in Cuban coins after the untimely death of my father-in-law, Armando Mendez, in 1997. He had been collecting American and Cuban commemorative coins for about 20 years. Carmen was the only child, so we inherited his modest collection. As I began to categorize the Cuban coins, I was enthralled by the many historical figures portrayed on the coins, and began to research the interesting history of Cuba. I soon became “hooked” on the subject and vigorously competed for additional Cuban commemorative coins on EBAY.

I met Russell Kruzell, a “pre-Castro” Cuban collector at a coin show, and convinced Carmen that we should buy Kruzell’s entire collection, which was substantial. We then became serious Cuban collectors. I met Enrique Cayado and Carl Meisner, also serious Cuban collectors, through EBAY, and we began to discuss the potential of a Cuban Coin Club. I continued to develop other contacts through purchases and sales, and soon, there were about 40 collectors who were interested in forming a Cuban Coin Club. It took about two years for the preliminary process, charter/by-laws, etc. to move forward with the inaugural meeting on January 9, 2004 at the Orlando, Fl., FUN Coin Show.

Since I was not fluent in Spanish, nor experienced (only 6 years), I solicited the attendees for the nomination of an experienced person for the club (subsequently named Cuban Numismatic Association) president, but no volunteer came forth. Instead, I was nominated and elected, along with a very capable vice-president, secretary, and treasurer, as well as six very qualified members of the Board of Directors. By default, I became the first president of the Cuban Numismatic Association. But, I am proud to have been elected the first president, because our potential is limitless. And, I have never met so many interesting and gracious people in a common venue. It must be the Latin hospitality. I hope to meet as many of our fellow members as possible in the future.