0750 Opening Remarks:

Meeting called to order by council Chairman Major Murph McCarthy, USMC:

Class of 1968 President Captain Gary Storm contested a portion of the previous meeting minutes that states “Admiral Natter addressed the timeline of the nomination of James Webb for the Distinguished Graduate Award and his subsequent decline of the award”, arguing that James Webb did not in fact decline the award, only declined accepting the award in a public venue.

8:15AM – 8:55AM: Decade Breakout Sessions

The group then divided into Decade breakout sessions during which they discussed and shared information on the topics of class governance and communications.

Navy Athletics

Chet Gladchuk addressed the group and mentioned the formal announcement of the campaign coming soon. He also thanked the group for their work with NAAA and asked that they continue to keep the physical mission in view. He talked about the ups and downs of Navy football this fall - we have lost a couple of games. He alluded to the comeback of the Air Force game to illustrate the importance of resiliency, and team work.

Presented the group with the A.D.’s priorities of ensuring midshipmen success in academics, honor, conduct, leadership development. He also talked about developing an effective business model, cultivating an “Expect to Win” Mindset, ensuring full NCAA compliance, and completing their strategic plan. He emphasized the NAAA commitment to compliance, and assured the group that they can be confident in their efforts to ensure compliance.

Questions and Answers

Question (General Fulford): The trouble other schools are having typically come from the interference of alumni, do we have any issues with Alumni interference?

Answer: The AD is confident that our alumni are well educated and stay in close communication with his team to ensure compliance.

Question (Jay Green): What is the NAAA doing about educating the smaller donors on compliance?

Answer: The NAAA posts all compliance information on their website and sends out printed publications to all donors. The A.D.’s biggest concern on this subject is integrity and institutional control. They look to hire people that speak to our values and high compliance standards.

Comment (Spencer Johnson): stated how impressed he was that our coaches reflect those high standards to compliance.

Question (Walt Welham): What is the NAAA limits on coaching numbers versus “analysts”?

Answer: The league only monitors the coaches on the field, beyond that, we can hire what we want.

Question (Gordon Gerson): What is the ability of Keenan Reynolds to go and play football?

Answer: Keenan Reynolds is now a commissioned officer. There might still be a serve for 2, and reserve for 6 option that athletes will have in the future, but the rule is not yet clear.

There were general questions posed on the hazing recently reported at other service academies to which the AD replied that anything that happens at other service academy concerns us. He gave an example of the sense of competition between the service academies.

Question (Colonel Mushalko): How do you explain the resurgence of Army football?

Answer: Highly disciplined triple action, they are playing much harder, but most importantly they have a new coach.

Question (Ingar Grev): What is the benefit of the show time deal? Is the NAAA getting money from it?

Answer: Yes

He then thanked the group again for their support of Navy sports. Generating what they need to run 33 varsity sports does not happen without the support of this group. He also parted the following information:

Alumni Association Panel

President's Remarks:

Byron Marchant opened his remarks by talking about today’s Navy and Marine Corps, rising tensions, new threats, operational challenges, and humanitarian crises.

Featured active alumni in the fleet who responded to hurricane Irma and hurricane Harvey, as well as the Alumni Association and Foundation response of:

He also talked about today’s naval academy, and our focus on global perspectives, emerging disciplines, leadership experience, and ethics.

Our most recent milestones and achievements:

Nearly 16,300 applications for the Class of 2021, of those:

We currently have an 88% four-year graduation rate, and enjoy the following standings:

Byron also showcased our most recent alumni to obtain Flag rank, as well as some of our alumni recently in the news.

Foundation Campaign Impacts in the following areas: Cyber: Outfitting Hopper Hall

A big thank you to the group for their support from the classes, and a highlight of the first gift program that has resulted in an enhanced sense of philanthropy in our alumni community. All of the class project support is fantastic, the millennials are more than 50% involved. The vast percentage of our classes are currently involved in class projects, and provided the group with a breakdown of commitment by class.

He announced the emergence of a new Case; the Midshipman Welfare Fund. This fund will help raise money for Club Sports, Extracurricular Activities, and Brigade support for NAAA events (D&B/Cheering/Brigade travel support), Musical activities, Commissioning Week events and Other Brigade Activities. There is no longer enough sustained capital to put them on the road. 100 ECAS have been added since 2002 and Business Services now has a gap in funding. The Supe has asked us to raise 1 million per year to support. This Case is expected to be a targeted passion as opposed to part of a general fund.

Bryon concluded with a fair wind and following seas to CAPT Hank Sanford, USN (Ret.) Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer who will be retiring at the end of this year.

Commandant of Midshipman

Captain Chadwick has found USNA in good shape, and feels the brand is as strong as it has ever been. Reporting that rankings are good and there is good collaboration and buy in across the yard to stay the course. He also provided the group with some of the latest data:

Forbes ranking of public universities has USNA #1 in the nation. And we’re the #4 STEM school in the country, behind MIT, CalTech, and Harvey Mudd (in that order). We don’t chase these rankings. Sure, we pay attention to them but we don’t make it a priority to top the lists.

The Academy has an 87% yield rate for the latest class of plebes to come in. In other words, this is the percentage of the high school students who accepted our appointment letters. This is the highest number in the nation. He is also proud of our 88% graduation rate, again leading the nation for all STEM schools that graduate over 100 people. Brigade GPA average is 3.11, the highest it’s been in years.

Our graduates are some of the brightest in the nation. Just from the class of ’17, we have:

He also presented some of the changes happening around the yard, such as the construction of Hopper Hall as the last building we can build, the renovations on Rickover, sea wall repair, and the status of the parking garage.

Question (Admiral Ellis): In the artist rendition of Hopper Hall, the building rests on a large wall. Will this wall provide protection to the building from the rising tide?

Answer: Yes, this and the pilings being driven into the earth upon which the building will be constructed on.

He also reported that on IDay all 1200 plebes showed up, with only 1 sent home - a first!

During the last plebe summer we only had 10 resignations. Attrition rate since 1991 has been in decline. He attributes this to the new admission process, we are getting better at finding candidates who can make it through. The quality is at an all-time high. Their stats are higher, most team captains, high SAT scores, high ethnic diversity.

He also addressed seamanship and the issues of collision in the fleet. He remains focused on developing seamanship skills.

We are currently heading into 12 week exams. Service assignment season is upon us. The numbers who are getting their first choice is at a record high, as well as second choice.

Question (Perry Martini): asked a question about Professor Fleming. Considers his diatribe to be misogynists, racists and full of incorrect facts and data. Will Yard leadership be willing to craft communications to set the record straight?

Answer: Professor Fleming is exercising his freedom of speech, but also counsels that Yard leadership does not feel his message is really resonating with our potential recruits. He will take the request back to Yard leadership.

Question (John Vuolo): How has the brigade reacted to what happened at West Point?

Answer: We are addressing this all the time with conversations about how we address each other and how we manage our social media. We are talking to the Brigade about this constantly and having those conversations.

Question (Spencer Johnson): How do you find the honor concept?

Answer: Colonel Athens lead a review of the honor concept and it was determined that more ownership by the brigade was needed, and they are in the process of making that happen. They are starting to see a new level of buy in from the brigade. It is a development process

Vince: Asked about his concern on budget constraints. His reply: we are doing the best with what we have in austere times, this year is challenged.

Question (Jay Green): How big of a problem is the diminishing number of assets in the fleet for our graduates?

Answer: There are always a certain number of TADS waiting for schools, and a back log for flight schools but the amount we currently have is less than we have had in the past. There have been no huge back logs in pipe lines.

He concluded with a big thank you to the group for their continued support.

Alumni Association Vice-President Remarks

CAPT Bill Dawson provided the group with updates and information on the following topics:

Alumni Association Snapshot

Key Programs Supported

14 Reunions Hosted in 2017

Reunion participation from 2012 to 2017 has increased from 6909 to 7619.

Classes to sponsor holes in the Homecoming Golf

Reachable Alumni email now up to 82.8%

Alumni Mentoring Program participation up

2 Shared Interest Groups in Trial: USNA Women and Run to Honor

New Parent membership growth up

Affinity Programs: Amazon and USAA Credit Card

Ring and Crest Program tracking well

Alumni Association Member Discounts- Southwest Airlines and Brio Tuscan Grill

SACC: Service Academy Career Conferences Schedule:

CFO and Treasurer Report

Hank Sanford reported green lights across the board. Assets over 300 million, and we are off to a great start in the new fiscal year. Fiscal 17 was a great year, record support for the academy. Investment portfolio up %10, balanced and a very active investment committee.

He informed the group that the Alumni Center project still a go. We are getting close to the needed legislation being passed, and once the Secretary of the Navy signs the lease, we can begin.

He reflected on his last 16 years here chronicling record growth because of all of the support from this group. He is happy to be leaving this organization in a better place than it was when he arrive 16 years ago.

Rich Goldsby Associate Director of Class Legacy Gift Programs

Announced his retirement and informed the group that the Foundation will begin a search for his replacement. He asked that the group let their peers know of the employment opportunity.

International Programs Report

Tim Disher went over the Navy’s maritime strategy and International Programs as a way to help midshipmen develop the skills to maintain that strategy.

Goal is 500 midshipmen/year

Best to date: 450 midshipmen/40 countries

This cycle – 170 midshipmen/25 countries

He works with the Department of Defense to determine the best places to send midshipmen. These experiences help provide a global perspective, enhance foreign language skills, cultural awareness, regional understandings that enable “global engagement”. These are important skill sets for Department of Defense, integrating into busy 47 month program

He concluded with a big thank you to the group for their continued support of International Programs

Stockdale Center Influence the Influencer Program

Admiral Baker gave the group an over view of the Influence the Influencer program. This program is part of the great investment USNA makes in developing faculty, officers and coaches.

Question (Ingar): How does the Stockdale Center differentiate itself?

Answer: Most people confuse values and virtue. Virtue has to be practiced and can be broken. We are talking about choices versus what needs to be practiced.

Admiral Baker also informed the group on various approaches to helping faculty, officers and coaches develop as leaders and the ways in which it increases their confidence as leaders and leader developers.

He concluded with a big thank you to the group for their continued support of the Stockdale Center.

MOC and Memorial Funding

Dave Church Provided copies of and went over the USNA Instructions for Memorial Hall Honorees, Cemetery and Columbarium, and Memorial and Commemorative Works.

For the Memorial Hall Honorees USNA and AA go with what the DD214 says. Civilians killed in terrorist’s attacks not eligible to go on the wall in Memorial Hall. For those that are: every 6 months we have a temp operational plaque for alumni killed in the line of duty, it is then transferred to the permanent plaque.

He also informed the group about the Memorial Hall kiosk, and the midshipman kiosk in the Visitors Center.

Sara Philips provided the following information:

Talked about facilities and how they are maintained across the Yard. She explained how the Memorial Oversight committee was created and informed the group that memorials should be instructive to midshipmen on core values or a valuable historical lesson. Memorials for individuals are less favored at this point in time. There is also an Instruction on Gifts that factors into the memorial over sight committee decision process. This committee looks typically at brick and mortar types of memorials, and less landscaping. They have also started to look to the interior of buildings.

Facilities has over sight and responsibility of maintaining memorials.

The Smithsonian has come out to look at the Tripoli monument. It is being ravaged by the elements and will soon need to be moved indoors. There are plans to it restored, and they are looking at starting a project to move it into an atrium.

There are two confederate names on buildings. Leadership has discussed, and will defer the decision on removal to the committee.

USNA just received two, more modern aircraft for display. The existing two will be taken into conservation as the two new go up. These are borrowed from Naval Aviation. When USNA borrows aircraft for display, we also take on the responsibility of maintenance of the craft.

Seawall: we are looking at sea level rise. We have formed the USNA Sea Level Advisory Council, with Oceanography and Ocean Engineering leading the science on it. Sara is leading the “what does it look like” piece. We think we understand the range of what will happen. Now we are undertaking what the structural implications are- do we build levies or install pumps? Do we abandon fields? WE have been participating with the city and coordinated in the mitigation strategies will be.

Waterproofing Hopper Hall – the building will be built on piles driven into the ground beneath the site.

Memorial Hall Virtual Tour

Dave Richardson talked about the virtual memorial hall and the 501 3C Run to Honor. Run To Honor is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and a “Shared Interest Group” with the Naval Academy Alumni Association. The current President is on active-duty and some Directors on the RTH Board remain in the Reserves. The elected Officers and Directors on the Board are not compensated in any way for their work with Run To Honor, as it is an all-volunteer organization. Their mission is perpetuating the memory of every name in Memorial Hall, and support their families.

Virtual Memorial Hall project - asked the group to help them populate it. They are trying to populate each page with Lucky Bag entry, obit, and stories about the people from family and friends.http://www.usnamemorialhall.org/

Where are they going with this? To have each plebe assigned to a name in Mem Hall that they have to know and research.

Breakout session report outs:

40's and 50's

60's

Looked at the idea of President for Life, and ways of doing it. Others do 5 year terms. After 50 year reunion no one wants to be the President, so the 5 year cycle is appealing. Some classes have east and west coast officers so they can do what they need to do as a class such as west coast events. Many are looking at books for the 45th and 50th reunions. Also talked about archiving class website and what to do when too old to maintain, communicating that the Alumni Association will now archive class websites. The group also talked about holding reunions after their 50th outside of Annapolis.

70's

Took a look at communications, media options and the different styles of communication such as Facebook, email, list serves, AA class mail (access can be given to other class officers), and what type of news Class Presidents are sending out. Also talked about tailgate coordinators, combining email lists, alumni chapter meetings and class structures with an executive board.

80's

Discussed bylaws and communication. ‘86 used election buddy.com for their last election. They talked about a slate concept. ‘89 talked about a bylaw review and will go to a committee model. ‘84 talked about setting up an outside account that they can use debit cards to make class event purchases. They also talked about breaking out admin duties between shipmates. ‘84 is using Rain Out to send text alerts to classmates. They also talked about online registration options and the merits of using the Alumni Association system versus and outside service provider.

90's

They talked about bylaws. They have a range of activity. Most copied those of other classes with officer terms on a 5 year cycle, but one class is a little different with a President term of 5 years, and 3 years for the other class officers. Some classes have a President for life, or until they voluntarily step down. For communication, some classes use company or regional reps. Facebook seems to work well, but it has mixed reviews. Some are using AA websites (word press). ’91 invites and funds widows to attend reunions.

2000's

Talked about the pros and cons of incorporating a class. The more involved the better; surveys found to be a good way to get people to volunteer. One class has regional director structure. They also talked about different engagement techniques and the different communications apps they are employing such as WhatsApp. Also, someone reported that sending out a link for shipmate submissions has increased class column material. Inviting Gold Star families to reunions always a big hit.

New Business:

  1. A proposal was put forth for the group to send a letter of appreciation to Chet Gladchuk- all approved. Captain Spencer Johnson and General Carl Fulford will craft and send the letter.
  2. Mike Michaelis '69 noted that as reported in the June-July 2017 Shipmate, the class of 1969 has established the Alumni Memorial Fund (AMF), with the initial purpose of raising $25,000 to recognize participation and sacrifices of Naval Academy alumni on 6 June 1944 in D-Day operations at Normandy, France. The plaque will be mounted at the National D-day Memorial in Bedford, VA, and dedicated on the 75th anniversary on 6 June 2019. All class presidents are asked to inform their classmates of this effort, and to encourage them to make tax deductible contributions to the AMF, particularly if they have relatives who participated in DDay. Checks can be mailed to:

    USNA Class of 1969 Foundation
    C/o Dr. Steve Hudock '69
    6006 Woodlake Lane
    Alexandria , VA. 22315
    On the memo line write:
    "AMF-USNA D-Day Memorial Plaque"
    Contacts:

    Roger Henderson
    (540-583-5289)
    "Memorials Committee"

    Steve (Doc) Hudock
    (571-419-0290)
    Class Secretary/POC for tax deductible contributions
    to the Class of 1969 Foundation

  3. Current Council Secretary Josh Welle will be stepping down, and so a call for a volunteer to act as the new secretary was put forth by the Council Chair.

Updated: October 05, 2018
Curator: Ed Moore