Classmates,
Looking back on 2022, our Class accomplished many exciting things I want to review with you.
First, we had our first classmate, Cecil Haney (29th Company), recognized by our Alumni Association and Foundation as a Distinguished Graduate (DG). The DG Award ceremony will be on March 24, 2023, in Annapolis, and we hope that many from the Class will be able to show up in force to recognize and congratulate Cecil on his outstanding achievements.
A special thanks goes to our classmates that formed our Distinguished Graduate Award (DGA) committee to survey, select, and write nomination packages for this years’ DGA Nomination Committee: Matt Elias (Committee Chair)(11th CO); Vince Balderrama (11th CO); Rusty Cone (11th CO); Scott Provow (21st CO); John Wissler (21st CO); Joe Leidig (14th CO); Ray Kwong (32nd CO); Ray Luevano (6th CO); and, Bob Schermmund (15th CO).
Our Class continues to stay involved and lead. While we bid farewell to Byron Marchant (26th CO) as he retired as CEO/President of the USNA Alumni Association & Foundation, we welcomed Mark Ferguson (7th CO) as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Alumni Association. Our former Class VP, Sean Coffey (13th CO), helps guide our Navy and keep our SECNAV out of trouble as this year he became the 34th General Counsel of the Department of the Navy. Many other classmates continue to volunteer within the Association and hold leadership positions among the Chapters nationwide. A big BZ to you all!
We also reached our Class goal to raise $750,000 to support the building of our new Alumni Association and Foundation Center – 242 classmates made donations and pledges to help us reach this goal. A special thanks goes to our 50+ classmates that became plankowners and will have their names prominently displayed in our new Center (This list may have missed a few names as some just recently became plankowners):
| Raymond W. Bracy |
| William R. Burke |
| Michael R. Clendening |
| John P. Coffey |
| Charles N. Cone |
| Ralph (Rudy) R. Costanzo |
| James R. Cranford |
| Scott S. Darling |
| Thomas J. Dudley |
| Mark E. Ferguson |
| Michael O. Fifer |
| John G. Gardiner |
| Jackson L. Hanson |
| Stephen R. Howell |
| Charles W. Jones |
| John R. Kovalcik |
| Jon B. Kutler |
| Scott A. Langdon |
| William Levis |
| Kevin G. Liddy |
| Charles A. Lowther |
| Gregory A. Mankey |
| Byron F. Marchant |
| Daniel D. McCready |
| Michael A. McEntee |
| Thomas D. McLeod |
| Douglas R. Meyer |
| John C. Orzalli |
| Christopher L. Powers |
| Morrison W. Ray |
| John C. Rudder |
| Michael J. Sagness |
| Robert P. Schmermund |
| Howard C. Seeger |
| John H. Semcken |
| Scott L. Stafford |
| David M. Surgent |
| Lee E. Sutherland (In memory of by 13th Company) |
| Martin R. Valenstein |
| Robert A. Vogt |
| Frederick G. Von Ahn |
| John E. Wissler |
| David A. Williams |
| Alden G. Williams |
| Lewis J. Wolfrom |
| Glen O. Woods |
| Randle L. Yarberry |
| Richard J. Yasky |
| John F. Young |
If you are still considering becoming a plankowner, please act fast as the opportunity ends on Saturday, December 31, 2022. Use this link to learn more about what is a plankowner and how you can become one: www.usna.com/support/plankowner
All our donations for the Center count towards our 50th Class Gift which we will formally announce at our 45th Reunion next October.
We are equally grateful to all those that participated in this year’s great “Class Challenge.” Once again ‘78 led from the front coming in third place with a 42% participation rate from 364 donors. The Challenge raised over $2 million which is being used today to support opportunities for today’s midshipmen that they would not otherwise have without private support – International Programs, ECAs, the Midshipman Activities Fund, Experiential Leadership Development, etc. Next year’s goal is to beat ‘84 who had 424 classmates participate. Go hard ‘78.
Additionally in 2022, under Rusty Cone’s leadership, we worked to identify our Class of ’78 “Sports Legends” which will be displayed on a video board in the new Terwilliger Center that is now a part of Ricketts Hall. We will submit our “Legends” in January and hopefully they will all be available for our viewing during our Reunion next October. If you would like to learn more about the Terwilliger Center follow this link: Terwilliger Center for Student-Athletes a ‘spectacular’ showcase of Naval Academy physical mission – USNA 1978.
We added a new logo to our Lands’ End store. This logo encompasses both the classic Naval Academy “N Star” and our class numerals. You can now order Lands’ End merchandise with either our Class Crest or the N Star 1978 logo. Here is the link or you can find it on our website:
Looking ahead to 2023, we will have Class Officer elections next year for all positions: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and 5 Members-at-Large. We will form a Nominations and Election Committee to oversee the process of accepting nominations and determining the outcome of our election. We will post the names and contact information of the Committee on our Class Website early next year, together with the deadline for submitting nominations for the forthcoming election which will be no earlier than sixty days after the Committee members’ names and contact information have been posted on the Class Website. If you wish to serve in an elected office, please contact a member of the Committee to place your name in nomination. A member of the Class may also nominate another qualified member of the Class for any elected office. The Committee will determine the eligibility of each candidate, and for those candidates nominated by another, determine if they are willing to serve. In no case will a person be placed on the ballot who is not qualified or not willing to serve in an elected position. The Committee shall report the nominees for each office to the President and Secretary at least two months prior to the election to allow for promulgation to the Class via email, SHIPMATE, and the Class Website. Please refer to our Class Charter, Article III, to find out what the qualifications to serve as a class officer are, and to see what the duties are for each position. The Charter can be found on our website under the “Classmates” tab.
Finally, our 45th Reunion will be in Annapolis on October 19-22, 2023. Our reunion headquarters will be at the Annapolis Westin hotel. We will put out a more detailed Schedule of Events in January. Please take the time now to update your contact information with your Company Rep, and at both www.usna.com and www.usna1978.org.
Wishing you all a Happy New Year in 2023!
Fair winds…
Glen
Glen Woods
President, USNA Class of 1978