February-April 2022

To support our alumni chapter, parent club and Shared Interest Group leaders along with Blue and Gold Area Coordinators, all the information in this email is meant to be shared with all of your volunteers.

Meet Jennifer Tyll '01: For a new feature of Yard Arm, we decided to highlight a volunteer leader member of our community. Our inaugural volunteer to celebrate is Mrs. Jennifer Tyll (USNA 2001). Jennifer is the President of the Class of 2001, the Chapter President for the USNA Alumni Association Maine Chapter. She is a member of the BGO Executive Steering Committee and serves on the Foundation Council on Annual Giving. She is a steadfast supporter of all things USNA and dedicates her time and talent to support alumni in her state, and in her class. As one example among many, she was instrumental in helping us ensure we properly honored the memory of her classmate CDR Brian Bourgeois after he was killed recently in a training accident. We are humbled by Jen’s dedication to USNA and her willingness to help us execute our mission “by initiating and sponsoring activities which perpetuate the history, traditions, memories and growth of the Naval Academy and bind alumni together.”

In coordination with the Alumni Association Board of Trustees and in preparation for the next 10-year strategic plan — Strategic Plan 2030 — the Naval Academy Alumni Association and Foundation surveyed the entire alumni community in April 2021 to understand how it can better serve them, receiving over 5,700 survey responses from a sample demographically representative of the alumni community. After 10 months of careful analysis of survey responses by two professional research firms, the Alumni Association Board of Trustees approved for release the Report’s Executive Summary of Main Findings and Detailed Analysis. Only alumni with a USNA.com login can now access the report materials.

The Alumni Association would very much value alumni feedback on the Report materials at alumnifeedback@usna.com. Survey results continue to be analyzed and will inform Strategic Plan 2030, which begins development this year.

Key Themes from the 2021 Alumni Survey Report:

• Over 5,700 alumni took the survey in April 2021, a 12% response rate; enough to deliver statistically meaningful results from a sample that broadly represents the alumni community in terms of gender, race and age.
• The Report is the result of 10 months of careful analysis of survey responses by two professional firms hired by the Alumni Association.
• The Report delivers vital alumni perspective that will be used by the Alumni Association to improve the services we provide now and inform our Strategic Plan 2030 as our roadmap for the future.
• As alumni we share an important identity, we are proud of, forged by our common experience as midshipmen, and this manifests through our active engagement with USNA and the alumni community, in our desire to be more engaged in the future, or both.
• We have great opportunity to bring more of our community under the tent where they want to be, by:
• Improving and driving awareness of our alumni services — especially career services.
• Meeting our younger alumni where they are in their lives.
• Being clearer about our separate and complementary functions within the Enterprise to serve our alma mater and our alumni community.
• More work is coming by the Alumni Association to develop what we are learning from survey results into action plans that better deliver on our service to the community.

Craig Washingtoni ’89, Executive Vice President
USNA Alumni Association

• 7 April - Foundation Board of Directors Meeting
• 8 April - Athletic and Scholarship Trustee Meeting
• 22 April - Counsel of Class Presidents
• 12 May - International Chapter Officers Forum
• 12/13 May - Alumni Association Board of Trustees Meeting

February marks Black History Month, a celebration whose origins date to 1926 that has been observed by presidents starting with Gerald Ford. As an alumni community, we want to celebrate the achievements of our Black alumni and the milestones they have reached in service to this nation. In addition to the video message, please enjoy a look at the curated content gathered from various sources. Also, be on the lookout for our ‘Becoming Blue and Gold’ series in 2022, in which alumni from those heritage groups tell their stories about how their experience as midshipmen and Navy/Marine Corps officers shaped how they lead and serve today. Are you interested in telling your story? Contact Bridie Bryant at bridie.bryant@usna.com.

To check the most updated reunion schedule please visit: www.usna.com/reunions.

Spring class reunions begin in April with ’52, ’55, ’56 and ’57 coming to Annapolis; some after cancelling their get-togethers for several years. We are so happy to welcome them back!

The Council of Class Presidents will re-convene on 22 April 2022 for an in-person meeting.

Wendy Owen, Director, Alumni Class Programs
USNA Alumni Association

We are proud to report that there are 102 USNA chapters in our alumni network: 93 U.S.-based and nine international. If you are trying to connect with a local chapter, you can visit our interactive map. In addition, you can find your area’s Blue and Gold Officer and USNA AA Parent Club on the same map. Sporting a new look, Chapter Officer tools are located at www.usna.com/home-chapters. Thank you for leading your Chapters because it is a great opportunity to bring together local Alumni, participate in social events, volunteering and networking. If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Sofi Loomis at sofi.loomis@usna.com.

Other Chapter Designation: Columbus, Tampa Bay and Tulsa Chapters are the “Other Chapters” for seating on the Board of Trustees for three years from Spring of 2021 until Spring 2024. For more information on our Chapter Trustees visit BOT site.

Distinguished Chapter Designation: Please help me congratulate our 2021 Distinguished Chapters:  Columbus & Central Ohio Chapter (Second Award), Greater Washington DC Chapter (Second Award), Hampton Roads Chapter (Fourth Award), North Carolina Triangle Chapter (Fifth Award), Oregon & Southwest Washington (Fourth Award), Puget Sound Chapter (Second Award), Quantico Area Chapter (Third Award), San Diego Chapter (Fourth Award), Tampa Bay Chapter (Second Award), Texas Gulf Coast Chapter (Fourth Award) and Tulsa Chapter (Second Award).

Start planning your Distinguished Chapter submittal which are due on 30 July 2022. You can review scoring criteria which can be found here: www.usna.com/chapter-club-recognition-award. Located on usna.com, Chapter tools, under Distinguished Alumni Chapters information.

2022 ICOF Save the Date-12 May
ICOF is scheduled for 12 May 2022. Looking forward to seeing all the Chapter Presidents who can make it to Annapolis. Remember, if you are unable to attend make sure you send someone to represent your group. Event details and invitation will be forthcoming when ready.

myUSNA Group Lead Onboarding
Group Leader Onboarding has started.  So far, we have onboarded sixteen Motivators and Hampton Roads Chapter is operating at 99+1%  on myUSNA.  Within the year, we are migrating usna.com's Group Volunteer tools to myUSNA. On myUSNA, you are able to manage membership, create events, post group news, send group emails and/or accept donations all within your Group platform. Please contact Sofi Loomis to find out your next step to onboarding.

Chapter Officers: Please update any changes to your chapter officers with Sofi Loomis with outgoing and incoming officers(s). Also copy the Shipmate team at Chapternews@usna.com.

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

Please submit all 2022 leadership changes for your parent clubs to Lori Coogan to verify that the contact information for your parent club is correct on the parent club map.

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 past and present to ask and share information and concerns in an informal leadership group.

Commissioning 101 Information event for 2022 is scheduled for 19 February, at the Byzantium 2747 Riva Road Annapolis, MD 21401. Registration and details were emailed to all parent club leaders and 2022 parents only as this will be a unique targeted presentation for this year’s Class of 2022 Commissioning Week. However this is open to all midshipmen families from all classes. We will also video record the presentation for those that cannot make it Annapolis for the event. Once the video is formatted, we will share the presentation on our website www.usna.com/parents/commissioningweek.

2022 Commissioning Week Schedule: bookmark this page for updates beginning in March regarding Naval Academy Class of 2022 Commissioning Week.

USNA Admission applications for the Class of 2026 are closed 31 January 2022.

Summer Stem and Summer Seminar applications are now open thru 31 March 2022

Class of 2024 Class Portrait

Nomination Resources

USNA Admissions Viewbook

The U.S. Naval Academy Admissions Forum event page has been updated.

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 and communities. Each Admissions Forum has details for contacts and registration for candidates. Please click here to view.

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 three alumni Shared Interest Groups. For more information and details on these groups visit our website. If you are interested in connecting with these groups, please click on the links provided and get involved.

USNAAA Women’s Shared Interest Group

This group offers local opportunities to provide alumnae mentorship, fellowship and support via local alumni chapters.

U.S. Naval Academy Minority Association

NAMA's mission is to attract and recruit minority future
leaders for service in the
Navy and Marine Corps.
Register for the 2022 NAMA Conference (29-30 April 2022)

Run to Honor

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’re Back! After 2 years of connecting service academy alumni with employers and advanced education opportunities through virtual events, we are excited to announce that SACC will start 2022 with in-person events beginning 24-25 February in Jacksonville, FL!

While we will continue to bring together industry-leading companies and premier academic institutions from across the globe, we are making several changes to enhance the experience for candidates and recruiters. From a new, improved website to a new resume database to more digital resources and less paper, we are looking forward to unveiling details in January. Stay tuned!

If you are considering a career transition or if your company is looking for well-qualified leaders, mark your calendars to join us in 2022.

• Jacksonville, FL 24-25 February
• Washington, DC 5-6 May
• San Diego, CA 25-26 August
• Dallas, TX 27-28 October.

For details, visit our website or email us at sacc@usna.com.

Our 2022 Alumni Travel information is available and marks our 50th year of traveling with alumni, friends and family. Please check out our travel offerings and join us to mark 50 years of U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Travel today!