Dates for our 45th Reunion are October 26-29, 2000, an "off-Homecoming" weekend. Details will be provided in Shipmate, via letter, and on the '55 Net. If you have any ideas, put them on our Listserv or call Tom Kiefaber at (703) 759-7743 or another Washington area Classmate. Letters to classmates regarding this reunion will be put on this Web Site for classmates to read and copy forms in case they have lost their copy. Click here for the January 2000 letter from Dennis Sullivan. |
This might be the record for our shortest column ever! It’s due to the time of submission (preoccupation with Christmas holidays) and also, because of the holidays, my last submission to Shipmate was barely two weeks ago. Anyway… That leaves plenty of space to repeat some important information—not too much can be reported about the 45th Reunion (in spite of previous listings, questions are still being asked about when, where, what, etc.). So, here goes:
| Our 45th Reunion will be 26-29 October 2000. We begin on Thursday with a Chesapeake Bay cruise and follow with a cocktail buffet in Alumni Hall that evening. On Friday, we are planning a golf tournament and, of course, there will be various Yard and in-town events. On Friday evening, we will have a dinner dance at our hotel, the Annapolis Marriott, downtown on the waterfront. On Saturday morning, we will tailgate in the Class of ’53 Pavilion in the football stadium. The game against Toledo begins at noon, and after the game, the tailgate will continue. Saturday evening, there will be a cocktail party at the hotel, but it is also a grand opportunity for Classmates to organize smaller parties or dinners on a Company or Battalion basis. On Sunday, there will be a brunch at the Officers’ Club and a memorial service in the Chapel at 1:30 p.m. |
| Our main headquarters will be the Marriott, probably the best hotel in town, within easy walking distance of the Academy. We will have a reception and welcome suite off the lobby and a hospitality suite upstairs where we can provide our own beverages. The phone number for reservations (which are being accepted now) is 410-268-7555. Be sure to identify yourself as a member of the Class of ’55 Reunion. Our second (back-up) hotel is the Best Western off Route 50, about a 15 minute drive to the Academy. The rates at the Best Western are lower and the rooms and facilities are quite adequate. The phone number at the Best Western is 410-224-2800. All in all, it looks like a grand get-together and a great opportunity to catch up with Classmates in the beginning of the new millennium. |
Received some pictures from Jack Renard (05) covering goings-on in Central Virginia. One is a Class get-together for the Army-Navy game and shows Glenn Bates (09), Jack Renard, Joe Dunn (16), Tony Hastoglis (08), Bill Green (03) and Jack McNish (14). The other captures a 5th Company roommate reunion at the Renard’s with Jack, Roger Scott and Myron Ricketts.
Denny Sullivan (13) sent in two photos. One shows Fred Koester (15) and his son, Fred, Monroe Hatch (06) and Joe Chmelik (22) at one of our golf outings. And the other was taken of some of the recent Hawaii mini-reunion group.
Jim McPherson (13) sent in a short note about a recent Classmate visit:
| On 16 November, my 1/C wife, Al Brown (13), dropped in for a short visit while he was in Oregon fulfilling some ecclesiastical duties with the Episcopal Church. Since we had a couple of days to catch up on things, we took some time to slip the surly bonds. Al has just taken up the habit and is working toward his private pilot rating. I’ve just flown out of my CFII rating and now only fly for my own pleasure, and it was a real pleasure to do it with Al. He acted like he regretted my allowing my rating to lapse and I believed him until he told me about his instructor. She is doing everything right, judging from his logbook, and I had the distinct impression that I didn’t measure up to his idea of an ideal instructor if for no other reasons than my sex and my age. |
| It was a really good reunion and we managed to cover most of the gaps since our last get-together several years ago when we ran into Joe Gattuso (22) in a Portland restaurant. Al says he is slowing down in his activities and won’t be doing as much traveling as before…so he takes up flying. Go figure! |
| Attached is a little proof that he was here, even if it doesn’t prove we flew together. The airplane belongs to my former employers and in view of my current exalted status of ex-employee, I get to rent it for the going rate. The picture was taken at the Albany, OR, airport where we landed for one of those infamous $100 lunches that only a pilot can justify. Actually, the lunch was pretty reasonable until we got back to the Corvallis Airport and it came time to pay for the flight. |
Heard it on the Grapevine (’55 Listserv)
Dan Shields (16) informs that on 7 December 1999, the Town Council of Southern Shores, NC, elected Paul Sutherland (07) as its mayor. He has been on the town council for two years and will act as the mayor for the next two years. Congratulations, Paul! Clean up city hall! John Haynes (09) visited with our Prez, Denny Sullivan, while he was in Annapolis on Alumni Association business. He gave me a neat bumper sticker created by "Chick" Cicolani (11) and produced by Todd Meloy (14) that reads, "Beat Army—Air Force is Irrelevant!"
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