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Class Notes from the November 2001
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Did you miss last month's class notes? Visit the Shipmate Archive (on the class Web site) or click the To Alumni Only link if you are a current member. If not a current member, refer to bottom of this page. |
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55
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Annual Membership: 34% Life Membership: 35% |
Pres: LCDR Dennis Sullivan, USN (Ret.)
Sec’y: CAPT Thomas G. Kiefaber, USN (Ret.)
11814 Triple Crown Road, Reston, VA 20191
h: 703-758-1077; e: KIEF55@aol.com
http://www.usna.com/classes/1955
The DC Class luncheon held on 30 August was well attended. Out-of-towners present were Ned Floyd from San Diego and Pat Taylor and Charlie Plumly up from Virginia Beach. Fred Tolleson gave a run-down on our gift-giving efforts to date. After a spirited discussion of this topic, it was decided that a status report from Denny Sullivan to the Class was appropriate. This report follows— it also has gone out to Classmates with known email addresses:
| About two years ago we started trying to identify something that would make a suitable gift to the Academy to commemorate our 50th Reunion. Jack Baldwin met with senior Academy officials in the areas of academics, athletics, leadership and administration, and naval history for ideas and input. Possible gift areas were discussed and identified in a handout at the 45th Reunion in October 2000. Later Fred Tolleson joined the team and volunteered to be the Class Fundraiser and to organize a small gift-giving committee of DC area Classmates to review the options. The goal was a two million-dollar gift that would contribute to Academy life and Midshipman excellence and that would be an enduring memorial to the Class of 1955. This would be raised over a five-year period beginning in the summer of 2001. |
| In June of this year, the Naval Academy Foundation launched a fundraising campaign to help chart the Academy’s course for years to come: "Leaders to Serve the Nation." If you are a member of the Alumni Association, you are aware of the Campaign (Academy’s Strategic Plan is the road map) and realize how important it is to the Academy’s future. ’55 Class officers resolved to support this Campaign, as well as our own initiatives, and to make our 50th Gift the centerpiece of the Class effort. We would use the resources and expertise of the Foundation to raise funds for a gift consistent with the aims of the Campaign. |
| Our Class has a long and enviable history of support to the Academy. Gifts include the Nimitz Bust at the library, the museum portrait of astronaut Bill Anders, and the Cold War Mural which graces the landing at the Melville entrance to Alumni Hall. Classmates have also made large individual contributions to the Academy. To name a few: Bill Anders for the new soccer facility; Otto Zipf for graduate study at Heidelberg University; Ernst Volgenau for an academic chair in ethics; Mel Fisher for support of the planned Jewish Chapel and Commodore Levy Center. Over the years, we have all contributed generously to fundraising campaigns and efforts for various projects, most notably the drive for Alumni Hall in the late 1980s (the Class gave over one-half million dollars to this effort). But over the years, things have changed. The Academy’s needs for private funds to provide a culture of excellence and accomplishment are greater than ever—focused and directed by a comprehensive Strategic Plan (see September 1999 issue of Shipmate). The present Naval Academy Foundation was created to implement and coordinate all fundraising for the Academy. It instituted the Legacy Gift Program that creates a structured ten-year cycle of giving for Classes during which all donations for all purposes, including unrestricted gifts, will be credited to the Legacy Gift. It’s a new ball game with focus, drive, and more players. |
| Based on 1. the judgment of the Class Gift-Giving Committee, 2. 45th Reunion input from attending Classmates, and 3. guidance provided by USNA AA and the Foundation, our Committee has narrowed in on gifts in the following areas: Museum Expansion and Renovation and the Navy-Marine Corps Stadium Renovation. The former supports the goal of Academic Excellence while the latter is directed at Athletic Excellence. The museum effort (our part of it) has two components—the repairing and rehabilitation of the entire John Paul Jones Crypt (Class Initiative), and the Memorial Hall Artifact Restoration. All of these projects are still being defined. We would have Classmates participating in the planning for these efforts and they would make appropriate reports to the Class, and ensure recognition for the Class commensurate with our contributions. For example, Ted Parker has been instrumental in calling attention to the deterioration of the Crypt and its historic objects, and in scoping the restoration effort. Other Classmates would do likewise with the Memorial Hall and stadium efforts. Another Class Initiative could be the construction of a Worden Field Reviewing Stand (high visibility for the Class). While not in the Academy’s Strategic Plan, if we feel strongly about it, we should formally come up with a siting plan and propose it. The Crypt Project was not originally in the Strategic Plan but we are assured that it will now fall within its scope. |
| The bottom line is: The Class alone will ultimately decide what to propose as a gift. The Class of 1955 Gift Legacy Projects mentioned above are tentative proposals at this point. Until the projects are better defined, it is too early to allocate funds within the two million dollar goal. Your comments, suggestions, and alternatives are requested by 30 November 2001. Be advised that memorials and commemorative works (statues, monuments, sculptures, or other structures) are a really tough sell under guidelines established by the present Superintendent. Please send your input to Fred Tolleson (ftolleson@earthlink.net) at 9610 Burnt Oak Drive, Fairfax Station, VA 22039; 703-690-6789; or Denny Sullivan (DSull55@aol.com) at 3405 Gilden Drive, Alexandria, VA 22305; 703-683-0733. |
Since there is not much else to report on this time, will fill-in with a brief summary of a Kiefaber trip in April (otherwise undeserving of space). Ursula and I had a magnificent time on our excursion to Spain, Portugal, and Morocco with two high school Classmates and their wives. For starters, Madrid was as beautiful and interesting as we remembered it, and all the better because another high school Classmate and his wife live there. They joined us for Tapa bar hopping the first night and, the next day, we had a guided tour of The Prado Museum, then our Madrid friends hosted a magnificent feast for us at a neighborhood restaurant that lasted five hours! Madrid is still our favorite city in Europe. On the third day, we departed for Toledo (impressive); stayed at Cordoba that night at a great country hotel overlooking the city. Next day we toured the old section and The Mosque Cathedral of Cordoba (most impressive we’ve seen), and then on to an overnight in Granada and a tour of the famous Alhambra and gardens (a must see!). We then spent three nights on the Costa del Sol (Torremolinos) where the highlights were: a day tour to Morocco (Tangiers), beach time, and scoffing down at seafood restaurants. After a very interesting morning spent on the rock (Gibralter), we departed for a two night stay in Sevilla—a close second to Madrid in our estimation. Again, we stayed at a beautiful hotel on the hill overlooking the city. Sevilla does have a magic aura about it—broad, shaded streets, many impressive monuments and buildings, and The Cathedral of Sevilla—right up there with the one in Cordoba! One evening, we went to a flamingo show—a real highlight! The show was preceded by a horse and carriage ride around the city. Then, we traveled to Lisbon for a two-night stay. We liked it there, but it’s hard to get a good feel for a big city like Lisbon in the short time we were there. We did more cathedral touring and took a ride up to the coastal resorts (Cascais, Estoril, and Sintra). One evening, we went to a typical Portuguese taverna for dinner and Fado song and dance. We preferred the flamingo thing in Sevilla, by far. We then visited the Shrine at Fatima, and crossed back over into Spain for a night at Salamanca. We both thought that Salamanca was the most charming town we visited—university town, not-too-large, old and quaint, quaint, quaint. We returned to Madrid for the last night—reuniting with our friends, and attending a farewell dinner for the tour, which was memorable—excellent food, speeches, and singing of every song imaginable. Our guide said that, in her ten years’ experience, we were the best group she had ever had, by far. We were both greatly impressed by the first class arrangements, itinerary, and accommodations. We couldn’t have been better taken care of. We three couples even ended up still speaking to one another!
Jim Powers writes:
| This has been a rather unique summer for me. Our oldest son, Jim, lives in Ireland and is in the U.A.E. a good part of each year; and our middle son, Rob, has been living in Europe for almost two years. To spend a little time with them, I worked in Jim’s annual ten-week program to train and screen 150 U.A.E. Air Force high school/junior college cadets. All of the cadets were given English instruction with an emphasis on aviation communications. The junior class was housed on a campus in Winona, MN, and received jump training. The senior class was located on a campus in Eau Claire, WS, and received 35 hours of flight instruction. Benadette came out to be part of the local medical staff at the jump site while the junior class completed its five jump requirements to qualify for U.A.E. jump wings. She was surprised when we decided to also jump. In the enclosed picture, Jim and I (in goggles) flank Rob while waiting to board the aircraft. |
As mentioned above in Denny’s report on gift-giving, Classmate Mel Fisher has been a big supporter of The Commodore Uriah P. Levy Center and Jewish Chapel. In his own words:
| I was brought up in an Orthodox home in Cincinnati, OH, and entered the Naval Academy in 1951. The Jewish Church Party (the Jewish Midshipmen) marched to shul for services held on Sunday mornings at the synagogue in town. While at the Academy, I had a chance to practice my religion, to attend services and to have the guidance of a rabbi. These basic principles were paramount to my successful completion at the Academy. |
Enclosed are several photos taken at recent DC gatherings and some others.
The accompanying group pictures from our 45th Reunion are: Companys 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, and 24.
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