U.S. Naval Academy Alumni
Association
216 Woodlawn Ave.
Albany, NY 12208
January 23, 2004
Dear Alumni:
On behalf of our Chapter
Officers, we would like to extend to each of you a Happy New Year and best
wishes for a safe and prosperous 2004.
We're using this opportunity to
highlight your Chapter's noteworthy accomplishments during 2003 and preview
some of our planned events for 2004, the first of which will be on Wed.,
Feb.4. We also want to talk about
support and what each of you can do to, actively or otherwise, to support our
efforts.
Before starting, let us take a moment to
remember the purpose for and mission of the U.S.N.A. Alumni Association and its
many Chapters, which is as follows:
“To serve
and support the United States, the Naval Service, the Naval Academy and its
Alumni
by…
·
Furthering the highest standards of the Naval
Academy;
·
By seeking out, informing, encouraging and assisting outstanding,
qualified young men and women to pursue careers as officers in the Navy and
Marine Corps through the Naval Academy; and
·
By initiating and sponsoring activities which will perpetuate the
history, traditions, memories
and growth of the Naval
Academy and bind alumni together in support of the highest ideals of command, citizenship and government.”
For those of you new to
this area or not actively involved in the Chapter, 2003 turned out to be a great
year, in fact our best. A
summary of our more noteworthy and successful events during the past 12 months
is as follows:
·
Jun 7 - Welcome Aboard Picnic - Sponsored by the
local alumni groups from U.S.N.A., U.S.M.A., U.S.A.F.A., U.S.M.M.A.,
U.S.C.G.A., this annual event saw a record number of attendees turn out,
particularly from Navy, on what was an otherwise inclement & rainy day.
·
Sep 10 – Fall Lunch Meeting - Approximately 25
Alumni, friends and 2 high school athletic directors enjoyed a great lunch and
heard Navy Athletic Director Chet Gladchuk talk about the Navy Sports program,
the 2003 football season and importantly the high academic standards to which
all Navy athletes much achieve and maintain to play for Navy.
·
Oct 25 - 1st Annual Founder’s Day Dinner - with Guest Speakers
Vadm John Ryan (USN, Ret) and GySgt Martin Fraas (USMC). Over 50 Alumni, Parents and USMA friends
turned out for a great evening of celebration and camaraderie.
·
Dec 3 – Beat Army Pep Rally – annual pre-game
get-together with our local colleagues from West Point.
·
Dec 26 – Holiday Party - in conjunction with
the Hudson Valley Parent’s Club, the 4th annual Holiday Party at the
Glen Sander’s Mansion in Scotia saw more than 50 parents, Midshipmen and Alumni
enjoy a terrific dinner and evening of dancing & Navy fellowship.
See
attached.
As with any
organization, our Chapter is each of us....our Chapter is all of us.....but our
Chapter's existence and successes result from the collective efforts of those
alumni that contribute their time, energy and vision to bring local visibility
to the Naval Academy and greater camaraderie / fellowship to our many alumni
and parents.
That said, we are
always in need of individuals to help with the planning / implementation of the
many
activities necessary to
successfully orchestrate an event, big or small. We also understand that time is
our most precious and
limited commodity, and that with career and family responsibilities, it is
difficult, if not impossible, for many of our alumni to attend Chapter events
much less volunteer to help.
If you are unable to
attend / volunteer for Chapter events, we encourage you to consider becoming a
Chapter member
anyway. Annual dues are only $ 20.00
and your financial support helps offset the
costs of running the
Chapter, mailings and attracting interesting speakers to our Anchor
events.
If you’re not already a
member, please consider joining this year, getting out to a few events and
having a great time.
As a
reminder to all, 2004 Chapter Dues are now due. Checks can be mailed to Scott McFadden, Treasurer, at 2 Imperial Lane, Charlton, NY 12019,
phone 384-0942.
When you
mail in your dues, please help us update our records by completing the areas
below and mailing this back. Current
information, particularly e-mail addresses helps us better communicate
important National and Chapter Alumni information to each of you and helps us
save $$.
USNA
Alumni Name:
________________________________ Class Year__________
Address:
_____________________________________________________________
City: __________________, State: _____________ Zip: _______________________
Home
Phone: __________________________________________________________
Cell
Phone: ____________________________________________________________
E-Mail
address:
________________________________________________________
Chapter Website
For current information about
upcoming Chapter Events, be sure to visit our Chapter website at: www.usna.com/Chapters/US/NY/CapDist/default.htm
In closing, thanks to all for
all your support this past year. We
look forward to a successful 2004.
Gene W.
Griesau, ’75 Tom Owens, ’84 Mike Nevins, ’84 Frank Hughes, ’80, Scott
McFadden, ‘89
Attached 2004 schedule starts here-------------------------------------------------
U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association
As we look to the next
12 months, all Chapter events are being planned to bring increased positive
attention to the Naval Academy & Service, as well as greater interaction
with parents, prospective candidates, our fellow service academy counterparts
and our community.
That said, an overview
of this year’s Anchor Events already scheduled or in the planning
stages is as follows:
·
Feb 4 – U.S. Naval Academy – Admission Facts and Information Night - the NY Capital
District Alumni Chapter in conjunction with the Naval Academy Information
Officers (Blue & Gold) and Admissions Office, will be sponsoring a “U.S.
Naval Academy – Admission Facts and Information Night” at Colonie Central
High School from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.
Captain Stephen B. Latta, ’74, Director of Admissions, will be the primary speaker. Also attending will be Lt. Louise Gianotti, Northeast Director of Admissions, and Lt. Fred Rochlader, Minority Field Representative.
The primary emphasis of this program will be to better acquaint High School Administrators, Guidance Counselors and Teachers from approximately 200 high schools in upstate / eastern NY with the educational opportunities at the Naval Academy, and inform those in attendance of the rigorous admissions process and critical admissions dates.
All alumni and parents
are invited to this first great event of 2004.
We will also need volunteers to help with a variety of activities.
An Informational Flyer
on this event is attached.
·
Feb 28 – Midwinter Chapter / Parents Gathering - at the home of
Valerie & Frank Hughes in Loudonville.
Those Chapter members / parents interested in attending should R.S.V.P by
Feb. 17th to 432-9193 or fhughes1@nycap.rr.com for information and
directions. Those planning on attending
should bring their favorite Hors D’Oeurve.
·
June – Welcome Aboard Picnic - for Class of 2008
Appointees to be held at the Watervliet Arsenal. Hopefully this year will see a return to sunny and warm
conditions as we gather together to honor the next "link in the
chain", the Class of 2008.
·
Sep / Oct – Lunch with
Navy Athletic Director, Chet Gladchuk - our current plan is
to have Chet (depending on his availability) speak to an audience comprised of
alumni, parents and Athletic Directors from all the major high schools in the
Capital District Area on “Navy Sports Excellence”. Although we've not been successful in the past, perhaps we can
persuade Joe Bellino, Navy Heisman Trophy Winner, to join Chet on the speaking
roster.
·
Oct – Annual Founder’s
Day Dinner / Celebration – as with last year, we will most likely hold
our 2nd Founder’s Day Dinner at Albany’s Wolfert’s Roost Country
Club. Given his overall popularity with
Alumni & Parents, we will most likely extend an invitation to Vadm John
Ryan to again attend as guest speaker.
·
Dec – Army / Navy Pep Rally - as tradition holds,
we will be again be holding our pre-game rally at the Watervliet Arsenal. This coming year, we will plan on having a
Marine Corps representative in attendance so we can support the annual
"Toys-For-Tots" holiday charity program. All persons attending will be asked to bring a gift for a needy
child in our area.