Prepared by: Murph McCarthy, USMC, ’00
Date: May 1, 2017

0750-0815 AM:
Call to Order / Opening Remarks – Spencer Johnson ’63, Chairman COCP
Welcome to the fall meeting. It is wonderful to have everyone here. Thank you for travelling so far be with us today.

Administrative Opening Remarks, CAPT Spencer Johnson, USN (Ret.) ’63
Spencer recognized new class presidents and Active Duty Members and initiated a moment of silence for the Presidents lost since the last meeting. We approved the minutes of the last meeting and then introduced our corporate sponsors.
New Class Presidents: Jacques Hadler 1941, Christos Zirps 1953
New Decade Reps: Dave Cooper 1957, Gary Storm 1968, Mike Novak 1970, Murph McCarthy 2000
Class Presidents Lost since last meeting: Max Duncan 1942, John Slaughter 1937, and Russell Crenshaw 1941
Motion to approve minutes from Fall Meeting
Approved at 0757

Thank you corporate sponsors
USAA, Trident Home Loans, Westin Hotel of Annapolis, and Double Tree Hotel of Annapolis

0815-0855:
Decade Breakout Meetings and Decade Rep Elections
Chair of the Planning Committee, Colonel George Mushalko sent breakout topic information prior to the meeting. The focus of this meeting breakout sessions was reunions (good / bad / ugly) and what we can do to improve this process. Special thanks to Holly Powers who manages the reunions for multiple classes. We were instructed to keep a record of useful information to emerge from our discussions and to email summaries of our respective breakout sessions to Col. Mushalko.

0915:

Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Admiral (Ret) Natter
Admiral Natter addressed the timeline of the nomination of James Webb for the Distinguished Graduate Award and his subsequent decline of the award. He answered several questions related to the selection process in general and expressed that he had limited first-hand knowledge of the actions of the selection committee since he, as the chairman of the board of trustees, is not a member of the selection committee and was not part of the selection process. He then noted that in light of recent events, work was underway to amend and update the Distinguished Graduate Award selection process and that our alumni community would be updated as this work progresses.

0900-1000:
Alumni Association Panel (Bill O’Connor, Bill Dawson ‘82, Kristen Pironis, Jamie Wolff ‘03)

Update from Bill O’Connor:
Bill talked specifically about the Alumni Fund and provided a quick summary. Some quick statistics include: 23 classes on active projects, 5 new classes each year. Various restricted priorities are listed. He expressed gratitude to the Council for their part in the growth of the Alumni Annual fund and the 1st Gift Program. The
last class to start the first gift program is enjoying a 52% rate of participation. This is well above the average for other colleges that have first gift program. Overall alumni participation in the first gift is about 26%. He also noted that every class but one is part of the Athletic Excellence. He explained that a plan was underway to start using names and faces to tell stories about the impact of various giving efforts. In addition, the Foundation is working to determine the best ways to recognize those that give generously to the annual fund, give consecutively, and to properly thank our most loyal donors.

Update from CAPT Bill Dawson, USN (Executive Vice President for Engagement)
Thanked the group for a deep engagement in our community and expressed appreciation for class leadership. He provided the following stats: 80K living, 62K members, 94 chapters, 84 parents clubs. He reported that the Alumni Association is growing and thriving. The following key programs are going well: Another Link in a Chain, SACC, Alumni Mentoring Program, Bonds of Gold Ceremony, and other amazing key activities. He implored the group to not be reluctant to submit a distinguished graduate award (DGA) even if a young class. Reported that there are many more career efforts increasing, 82 companies will be in San Antonio for recent graduates and transitioning classmates. He also informed that the “Another Link in the Chain” is a growing program that is doing good things for both the younger and sponsoring classes.

Reunion activity continues to be a positive. Participation rates are high. 17 reunions occurred. Another great reunion opportunity to show support to the Greatest Generation and for Vietnam Veterans era. It’s important to reach your class by mail. Make sure you are able to reach your classes by mail and email. The investment in contacting classmates pays off over time.

Update from Kristen Pironis
Kristen went over the recent change to Shipmate magazine. Changes include: 1) Make the size of Shipmate bigger, 2) Still get 8 issues + Donor report. We learned that special issues and stewardship did not resonate with anyone. They wanted updates from the Fleet. 3) New font wanted; 4) New table of contents, 5) Class news will be the same, same word count, more columns for flexible space. Webinar will be held for chapter secretaries and it will launch and be received Jan / Feb 2018. Other updates from communication coming include: usna.com to be revised in 2017, upgrade email communications, integrate social media / video. They are working to provide the best tools available to communicate your amazing stories with the larger community. She asked the group to please keep the feedback coming, so that her team can continue to make this better for you.

Update from Jamie Wolff ‘03

1015-1030: Break

1030-1130
Chairman, United States Naval Academy Foundation Mr. Daniel F. Akerson '70
Mr. Akerson spoke to the group about ways to be more deeply involved in our current Capital Campaign and shared his passion and commitment to our mission.

1130-1200
Navy Athletics (Chet Gladchuck)
Chet informed that this is an exciting time for Navy Sports! People are upbeat. The stadium is selling out. You always have a vision. Set the stage and you go for it. I am proud of our school and what we have accomplished. The game was huge and played so important for us. Great job in the Western Conference. We intend to extend and make the stadium better and better. Our next goal would be to improve the home side.

The Physical Mission site is going to be the focus for the Terwillinger. We are going to focus on the importance of the physical mission in its entirety. When talking to your classmates, you can think about and support the Margin of Excellence. Class giving makes that difference to get us to the next level. Make a commitment to the academy. Consider and apportion the gift to the physical mission, as well as academic and moral development. There is a plan to have the Red Sox vs. the Nationals for a special event. There is also a plan to have a hockey game for Washington Capitals vs. New York Islanders. Special thanks to everything Class Officers do the for the team.

Q: What is the status of the bowl game?
A: If we are leading, number 1 team in the polls, they will wait after the Army Navy Game, we go into the playoff structure, and we fall back to the Armed Forces Bowl. We will take tickets now for the championship game.

Q: What is the status of next year’s schedule?
A: We will know the schedule in late January. We have to wait for the television stations.

1200-1300: Lunch

1300-1400 Superintendent’s Brief

1400-1415 Election of Officers

1415-1430 Special Topic: The Loop (George Mushalko)
Colonel Mushalko educated the group about a hearing loop (sometimes called an audio induction loop). This is a special type of sound system for use by people with hearing aids. The hearing loop provides a magnetic, wireless signal that is picked up by the hearing aid when it is set to ‘T’ (Telecoil) setting. He went on to explain the many benefits this system might provide if it were installed in venues around the Yard and NAAA facilities.

1430-1445 Break

1445-1600 Decade Breakout Recap and Wrap Up discussion and New Business
**A notes page will be pushed from the Alumni Association to the classes with more details from this segment of the meeting

Meeting Adjourned
Meeting adjourned at 15:57.