News/Events

I would like to express my enthusiastic appreciation to those classes that “went to work” and made a difference in our incredible presence at the Texas Bowl in Houston . We gathered over 18,000 Navy fans, most in their Blue & Gold, to witness one of the finest bowl environments and victories in recent years. Every ticket that was donated through the generosity of so many ended up in the hands of either a Midshipman or an enlisted Sailor or Marine and his/her family. We had a fantastic response and again this year “Navy delivered” both on the field and in the stands.

I am very proud of the hundreds of alumni from a large number of classes for getting “after it” and making this effort a leadership priority. On the other hand, believe it or not … a number of classes did not donate a single ticket …. which is hard to understand. We would welcome any feedback from those who fell short for whatever the reason.

In the end, this challenge and the overall results still reinforce the fact that the reason we are succeeding in the post-season is the strength of unity that is our Navy family. The commitment and generous support we see from so many of our alumni provides the benchmark from which we draw our annual reputation as a program of national stature. Hopefully, next year when we go to the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego … or maybe even a BCS game with an even more impressive win-loss record, we will again remind each other of the great sense of “oneness” that is the Naval Academy . Expect to Win in everything we do!

For those visiting the SD area to escape the cold weather where they reside, next Golf outing is 9 February 2010 at Rancho Bernardo Inn Golf course and the next Quarterly class lunch is 10 March at Tom Ham's Lighthouse - for reservations, contact Chuck Smith at 619-472-5858, email at chucksmyth@aol,com.
'58 is Great,
Chuck

"Just wanted to let you know that, the same as many of you, I recently received my Military Retiree Account Statement. Please review the back of your statement and verify who you have designated as the beneficiary in case you die. Mine has changed to someone I don't even know (Cathy J. McMillin ,"wife") as getting 100%. Based upon the fact that recently the VA had military retiree personnel information compromised it is interesting that somehow my beneficiaries have changed. If you look at the broader picture of what this means that many veterans probably wouldn't catch this and that as we lose more of our fellow servicemen and women each day this would leave their dependents without the benefit hey deserve. I will be calling DOD first day they are open as well as the DOD IG and local congressman. Please send this out to the retirees you know and alert them to check whether current beneficiary is. Ask them to pass it along."

Traditionally, members of the nation's veterans service organizations render the hand-salute during the national anthem and at events involving the national flag while wearing their organization's official head-gear. The National Defense Authorization Act of 2008 contained an amendment to allow un-uniformed service members, military retirees, and veterans to render a hand salute during the hoisting, lowering, or passing of the U.S. flag. A later amendment further authorized hand-salutes during the national anthem by veterans and out-of-uniform military personnel. This was included in the Defense Authorization Act of 2009, which Former President Bush signed on Oct. 14, 2008.

Any Classmates who did not attend the 50th who would like a copy of Voyage 50 , please let Fred Victor know by email, phone, or snail mail and he will send you a copy. Same applies if you inadvertently did not get a copy of Voyage 50 at the reunion,

email: avictor@erols.com
Phone: 301 866 0898
Address: PO Box 993, St Mary's City, MD, 20686

San Francisco Bay Area Gatherings

'58 gathers quarterly on the 4th Saturday every 3rd month for a "--whenever two or three shall gather--" brouhaha. We have been known to change the date so call/email to confirm if you happen to be in the area and can attend. Kurtz Gilligan (24th) coordinates it and John Potter (19th) does
the secretarial stuff.

Kurtz 707/422-7500 Only a phone, no fax, no email, maybe an answering
machine.
John 707/745-4914 Calls are screened. Email:
John.Potter@1958.usna.com

From Fred Victor (01/20/09) - The Walter Reed Study on prostate cancer has been terminated.

The Class Luncheons are held at the Army Navy Country Club on the last Thursday of every month unless otherwise advised. They start at 1130 and arrangements are made for a speaker to present talks on subjects of interest to the Class. Your class caller should contact you about a week before each event to get a head count. If you do not hear from your caller, contact in the following order:

If you plan to attend, accurate head counts are important to preclude unnecessary cost. In addition to charging us the full rate for "no-shows", the club also charge us a surcharge for each unannounced attendee. We have no choice but to pass these costs on to the classmates concerned. Please make your reservations as early as possible but no later than the Tuesday before the luncheon. The cost of the luncheon is $25. Honor bar prices will be posted at the event.

SHIPMATE DEADLINES

SHIPMATE will accept digital photos for publication in class columns. The only requirements are that the electronic file must be sent as either a JPEG or TIFF file, the original photo (if scanned) must be larger than 2.5" wide, and the resolution of the photo must be at least 300 dpi. Hard copy photos are still perfectly acceptable. Digital photos that don't get used for the class column will probably be displayed for all to enjoy on the Class of 1958 web site.

Have you written your classmates lately??? Submit your items as they occur to relieve George Jenkins of the monthly crunch. Adventures, life events, meetings with classmates, travels, weddings, grandchildren, retirements, Olympic medals, hospitalizations, and all that are grist for the column. Pictures are appreciated, particularly with the class flag in them.

The class column length has been cut by SHIPMATE from 4,000 words per column to 2,000 words per column. A photo of three or less persons equals 100 words, said words to be subtracted from the column length. And this after the survey showed the class columns to be the most popular feature! Go figure!

The address for e-mail to Geroge at george.jenkins@1958.usna.com, and send the photos to him at 713 S Overlook Dr, Alexandria, VA 22305, Tel: 703 683 4357

USNA Vehicle Pass

There is now a USNA Alumni Assoc. form that alumni, who are not eligible to obtain DoD stickers for their cars, can submit to get a pass which enables them to drive in the Yard. Knowledge of this may be useful to some classmates, especially for those who want to participate in the "Link In The Chain" program with the entering class of 2008. To download the form, click on the following hyperlink.

Friends of the Naval Academy (FONA) Program