Prior to the 2002 JCSE Veterans Association Reunion at the Marriott Waterside Hotel in downtown Tampa, Florida, The Board of Directors decided that they would present engraved Gold JCSE-VA Coins to a select few members that had unselfishly donated an abundance of personal time and resources for the betterment of the association. The initial recipients of the Gold Coin were: Pete Dieck (Life Member #061 & Guest Speaker at the 2002 reunion), Charlie Monson (Life Member #003 & Membership Committee Chairman) & Bob Yee (Life Member #001 & Web Site Coordinator).
The Board of Directors subsequently decided that the initial gold coin recipients would form a committee which would review future gold coin nominations and provide a recommendation list to the Board of Directors for validation and presentation of JCSE-VA Gold Coins at the next reunion in 2004. Future Gold Coin committees would only consist of past Gold Coin recipients.