February-April 2020

Yard Arm is a periodic newsletter sent by email to volunteer leaders. All of the information contained in these newsletters is meant to be forwarded to all parents, alumni, BGOs and candidates. Please direct any questions, concerns or suggestions for future content to Elizabeth Beedenbender.

On 13 December 2019, the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association Distinguished Graduate Award selection panel selected the following alumni as 2020 Distinguished Graduates: VADM Edward M. Straw ’61, SC, USN (Ret.); Col Robert D. Cabana ’71, USMC (Ret.); ADM Kirkland H. Donald ’75, USN (Ret.);  The Honorable Sean J. Stackley ’79.

Please join us in congratulating the 2020 Distinguished Graduate Award recipients! Read more about the honorees here.

U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association Board of Trustees 2020 Election starts 2 March at 9 a.m. EST.

Vote in this year’s Alumni Association Board of Trustees election. Your input strengthens our association and our shared future. Individuals elected will join the board at the Spring 2020 meeting.

The regional trustee candidates for the Spring 2020 election are:

Eastern Region
CDR William Squires ’75, USNR (Ret.)
Dennis Haley ’67

Central Region
CDR Richard Cataldi ’69, USN (Ret.)
CAPT Fred "Wayne" Bergman ’75, USNR (Ret.)
CDR Anthony Konecny ’79, USN (Ret.)
Lori Buresh ’00

If you reside in the Eastern or Central Region, you will receive a ballot via mail for the 2020 Board of Trustees election. Printed ballots will be sent to regular members by an external vendor, Election America, with complete voting instructions for mail, phone and online options.

*You must be a regular member to vote. In accordance with the bylaws of the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association, regular members are graduates of the U.S. Naval Academy and former midshipmen who did not graduate from the Academy, after the last Academy class of which they were a member has graduated and who, in each case, have applied for membership and have been admitted.

Candidate biographies and photos appeared in the January/February issue of Shipmate and will be available at www.usna.com once the election is underway.

NEW - Check out the USNA ECA/Sports Events Calendar spreadsheet (file will download and can be seen and saved from the bottom left of the window that opens) for all team/club events at USNA and for away travel ECA and sport team events near your alumni chapter, parent club or BGO area! We are excited to be able to share this information with you and will provide updated spreadsheets when received.

The ECA and Sports Events Calendar can be found on usna.com/parents.

The U.S. Naval Academy Foundation began celebrating the launch of Called to Serve, Daring to Lead: The Naval Academy Campaign in Fall 2018 and we will mark its conclusion later this year.

To learn more about the campaign, visit our website. To show your support immediately, donate here.

To explore the resources available for discussing the campaign among your audiences, please visit our campaign toolkit page.

For reunion registration information and schedule details, please visit your class page on our website.

Class pages can be found under Find & Connect, Find My Class.

2020 Reunions at a Glance

Waiting for the football schedule to come out to set their date (September or October):

It seems the great Class of 1950 has opted not to hold a 70th reunion. As members of the Greatest Generation they are certainly entitled to buck the system and go rogue, choosing instead to gather with their Washington and San Diego luncheon groups.

It is interesting to note that the Class of 1975 has opted for a non-home game weekend to return to Annapolis. Since it is an away weekend, they have graciously committed to guard the home front and support our football team against Air Force from the comfort of Akerson Tower at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium where they will watch the televised game together.

Contact Holly Powers, Director, Alumni Class Programs, by email or phone at 410-295-4017 with any questions.

2020 Chapter Count: Per Section 3.1 of the Bylaws of the United States Naval Academy Alumni Association a chapter’s roll of active members shall be submitted to the Association annually. The 2020 Chapter Count is the Triennial Count which will be used for seating of the nine largest chapters on the Board of Trustees (BOT). Submissions were due on 31 January 2020. If you have not submitted your chapter roll of active members, please do so ASAP. Please contact Joe Fagan if you need assistance in determining your chapter’s count.

Distinguished Chapter: Congratulations to the following chapters for receiving the 2019 Distinguished Chapter Award: Hampton Roads (Second Award), Jacksonville, North Carolina Triangle (Third Award), North Texas, Oregon & Southwest Washington (Second Award), San Diego (Second Award) and Texas Gulf Coast (Second Award). This is a great opportunity for chapters to showcase the amazing work they do throughout the year. This is the third year the Alumni Association has presented this prestigious award. Submission for the 2020 Distinguished Chapter Award begins on 1 June and ends on 30 July 2020.

2020 International Chapter Officer Forum: The tentative date for this year’s ICOF is 7 May 2020. Please see the ICOF page for additional information.

Chapter Officers: Please update any changes to your chapter officers with Joe Fagan.

Email Broadcasters or Database Managers: If you are a chapter president you have the ability in your Alumni Association account to generate a chapter list and send chapter email. Vice presidents also have these permissions. If you would like anyone else in your chapter to have either or both permissions, please contact Joe Fagan.

Information For Chapter Leaders Page on USNA.com: Please continue to check the Information for Chapter Leaders page on USNA.com for new updates. Recently added is a USNA ECA /Sports Events Calendar spreadsheet listing ECA and sports events at USNA and on the road. This spreadsheet is a three-month look ahead and will be updated as new events are shared.

Shipmate Chapter News Information: Please send Chapter News Shipmate submissions to chapternews@USNA.com. Deadlines and guidelines for Shipmate articles can be found here. 

Naval Academy Alumni Association Chapter Leader Facebook Page:  Chapter Leaders & Regional Trustee Facebook Group is our closed Facebook group for chapter presidents, vice presidents and regional trustees. If you (or your VP) are not already a member of this group, please request to become a member. This group was created to help chapter leaders share information and best practices that will make our Alumni Association chapters even stronger and more successful. Chapter and regional trustees are also included in this group.

If you are part of the leadership board of your parent club, please join the Naval Academy Parent Club leadership Facebook group, an open forum for all leaders current and past to ask and share information and concerns.

Parent Event/Academic Calendar: Month-to-month academic, military and leave/return information for all midshipmen, updated through August 2020.

Special Valentine's Offer for parents of midshipmen, sponsored by NABSD.

USNA Spring Break dates: Friday, 6 March to Sunday, 15 March. Midshipman leave commences on Friday, 6 March after last class or military obligation. All classes end at 1345/1:45 p.m. EST. Leave expires on Sunday, 15 March at 2000/8 p.m. EST.

Naval Academy Parent Club annual update email: This message included the 2020 List Usage agreement, USAA Welcome Aboard support information, 1974 ALITC Rep info and Naval Academy Award program. These programs, documents and links can also be found on the Naval Academy Parent Club Officer home page.

Class of 2020 Commissioning Week: A draft/tentative schedule will be found here.

Commissioning 101 Information event: Saturday, 15 February 2020 at the Byzantium Center at 2747 Riva Road, Annapolis, MD 21401 from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. RSVPs are required for this free event. This is open to all current parents and sponsor families. The Alumni Association has partnered with the Maryland Naval Academy Parent Club to host this Annapolis vendor fair (9:30 a.m.) and Commissioning 101 brief (11:30 a.m.) to help parents understand and plan for this big week. All information, briefs and details for Commissioning 101 can be found on our website.

Check out the USNA ECA/Sports Events Calendar spreadsheet for all team/club events at USNA and for away travel ECA and sport team events in an area near your parent club.

USNA Admission applications for the Class of 2024 are open.

The 2020 USNA Summer Seminar and USNA Summer STEM program registrations are open.

• Summer Seminar registration will be open until Tuesday, 31 March 2020.
• Summer STEM registration will be open until Wednesday, 15 April 2020.

Class of 2023 Class Portrait

Nomination Resources

USNA Admissions Viewbook

USNA Admissions Forum event page has been updated through March 2020. The Naval Academy Outreach team depends on the Blue and Gold Officers, local parent clubs and alumni chapters to spread the word about upcoming outreach activities to their respective networks along with support of these events in their communities. We look forward to another great year supporting interested applicants during the upcoming Admission Forums.

Please contact Louise McKernan or Lieutenant Lauren Zaccheo ’12, USN, to volunteer at an admissions forum. Your support is greatly appreciated.

If you are interested in becoming a Blue and Gold Officer, please contact the Area Coordinator for your area from the BGO Area Coordinator webpage. Thanks for your support of the Admissions process! 

The Naval Academy Alumni Association has established three alumni Shared Interest Groups. For more information and details on the Alumni Association Shared Interest Groups visit our website.

If you are interested in connecting with these groups, please click on the links provided.

USNA Women: The Women’s Shared Interest Group offers local opportunities to provide alumnae mentorship, fellowship and support via local alumni chapters. Nationally, the group connects through social media. Anyone who supports our work is welcome to participate: women, men, graduates, non-graduates, parents, staff, faculty and friends. For more information, check out our website. You can follow the Sisterhood of Mother B Blog and Waypoints Podcast to learn more about the triumphs and challenges of USNA alumnae.

USNA Minority Association Objectives:

• Attract and recruit minority future leaders for service in the Navy and Marine Corps
• Retain minority midshipmen and help improve the graduation rate
• Provide a career mentoring network
• Support community and education outreach
• Provide philanthropy to support USNA initiatives
  

Run to Honor: is an all-volunteer charity that exists to enable you to remember the nearly 2,700 men and women in the Naval Academy's Memorial Hall. We strive to achieve this by organizing memorial gatherings of all kinds. “Joining” Run To Honor is as simple as emailing us or following our Facebook group.

The U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association is dedicated to the success of our graduates—during their military careers and beyond—whether through reunions and tailgates, celebrating multi-generational bonds with Another Link in the Chain or in one of our signature programs, the Service Academy Career Conference (SACC).

For 25 years, SACC has connected countless service academy alumni transitioning to new careers with companies across the country. Top industry employers and Forbes 100 companies seeking exemplary leadership skills and proven experience know SACC is the only career conference open exclusively to service academy graduates. Aided by our resume database and job posting board, SACCentral, alumni have the ability to find meaningful careers at any time.

Our next SACC is 26-27 March in Jacksonville, FL. Check our website for details.

Our continued success is made possible by the connections you help us make. If your company is looking for well-qualified leaders, connect us with your talent acquisition team. Feel free to contact us for details at sacc@usna.com or 410-295-4022.

Check out our travel programs for 2020. Where in the world will you travel with us?

And don’t forget: Navy Football goes to Dublin, Ireland in 2020.