USNA Class of 1978 and the Naval Academy Great Class Challenge

Posted byMatthew Elias

Classmates,

The Naval Academy “Great Class Challenge” starts tomorrow, Monday, May 6, and runs until Friday, May 10. This is the annual inter-class competition where the Class with the highest participation rate wins the Challenge.  It is not “how much” we give, but how many in our Class participates by making a gift. All gifts go to a variety of areas that directly support the brigade, and any gift, $10 or more, made now through May 10, counts towards the challenge. You can use this challenge to fulfill a current pledge, such as for President’s Circle, or you can choose to add to our 50th Class gift fund by following these steps:

  1. Go to www.navalacademychallenge.com
  2. Go to the bottom of the page and click “Make a Gift”
  3. In Step 1 of 2, choose the amount you want to give, or put $19.78 in the “other amount” block.
  4. On the same page, in the box labeled “I would like my gift to go to” click the down arrow and change the selection to “Other.” A new text box appears which says “How would you like this gift to be used?” Write in the box “Make my gift to the Class of 1978’s 50thReunion Gift.”  (Note: Although the second part of our 50th Class Gift has not been defined yet, our Class Gift Committee is currently working to shape it, and any amount you give now will be placed in our 50th Class Gift account. You will soon receive communication from our Gift Committee with a survey seeking your input on what areas of philanthropy our Class should support. Standby for those comms in the next few weeks.)
  5. Add or review your donor information and then click “Next.”
  6. Step 2 of 2 is your billing information. Once completed, click “Make My Gift” at the bottom of the page.

Last year ’78 came in third place with 341 participants and a 38.88% participation rate. Our top participating companies were:

  • 2nd CO (21 participants)
  • 21st and 29th CO (16 participants each)
  • 11/12/15/31 (12 participants each)

The Class of ’84 won in 2023 with a 51.7% participation rate and ’65 was second with a 48.29% participation rate. Let’s shoot for a goal of 441 participants this year, add to our 50th Class Gift, and finally win this challenge!

Thanks for your support. Go hard ’78!

Fair winds…

Glen

Glen Woods

President, USNA Class of 1978