A tip of the cap to Bud Alexander
who contributed to the
following reunion summary:
On Thursday, we enjoyed a luncheon in
the elegant, new Akerson Tower at
the Navy- Marine Corps Memorial
Stadium. Superintendent VADM Sean Buck ’83 described the significant
steps made to keep the Academy open
and operating during the coronavirus pandemic.
As examples of the impact, know that the whole Second Battalion wing was
converted to a covid isolation ward, and a signification number of midshipmen
were temporarily quartered at St. John’s College, which was itself
closed.
The
Commandant of Midshipmen, the Academic Dean, the Director
of Athletics and the
head of Cyber Security Studies each updated us on current and new developments
in the curriculum and activities.
On
Friday, we attended
a Memorial Service
at the Chapel that "honored and celebrated the
lives of those who have gone before us.” The service included comments from six
classmates who spoke in memory of classmates from their battalion and closed
with memorial comments from classmate
Bob
Shumaker. The memorial
program provided a listing of our 440 deceased classmates. In the afternoon,
we attended the Dress Parade on Worden Field — all 36 companies of midshipmen
passed in review. As an honor to our
great Class of ’56, the superintendent invited class chair Jim Van Metre to join him and a Marine general in taking the review. That evening we enjoyed a
dinner banquet at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. During dinner, Doug and Judi
Hayman were recognized for their decades of service to the Class.
On Saturday, we were bussed into the
Yard and updated on the changes including the new Terwilliger Center for student athletes, an addition to Rickets Hall that
celebrates the history and tradition of Navy athletics as well as a visit to the
expanded Midshipmen’s store. After lunch in Dahlgren Hall some toured the
Visitors Center, walked the yard, visited the Rotunda and Memorial Hall and
attended the women’s Army Navy Lacrosse game (my first experience with women’s
lacrosse) that unfortunately was won by Army. (The men played at West Point and
Navy won that game.) That evening, we enjoyed the final get together and dinner
back at the hotel. Then Sunday was a return home, for us to St. Petersburg, FL.
Max Baldwin also wrote a complimentary review. It is too long to include
in this letter, but I expect he or Doug would send you a copy if they were asked Secretary Doug
will also send upon request the list of names of those who came.
Financial
Our class treasury
with no outstanding obligations now stands
at $14,387. As previously reported, we had $28,791 as of our spring letter
last year.
The depletion almost
entirely results from costs of the reunion
which included reduced registration fees to encourage
the attendance of children and grandchildren.
Parkinson’s
Discussion Groups
The Alumni Association has sent all class presidents a letter
describing a discussion group established by the Class of 1965 for classmates
to share ideas for coping with Parkinson’s disease, that is evidently so
helpful that they are suggesting that other classes might have members who
would be interested in forming such a group. Contacts in the Class of ’65 were
named who would be glad to provide further information.
A quick survey was
made by our company reps who found two of our classmates who said they would
join such a group and identified two more as being possible. That may not be a
large enough group for the purpose, and we mention this in case there are some
more who might be interested who have not been found. If you are, please
contact Doug.
Report of fundraising of AA and Foundation Center
The center is expected to be completed for use well before the end of 2023. We ’56 exceeded our goal of $250K, contributions from 59 donors
totaling $275,182 to date, which will result in our recognition with placement
on the Center grounds of a monument with our class crest mounted singularly on
it.
As found in the 2021 Donor Report available at usna.com>Shipmate,
‘56 has the highest participation rate, 36.21%, and third highest total gift
amount, $290,598, among the classes of the 1950s. The fundraising campaign will continue to run to the end of this
year. The building promises to be a
fine place for a class gathering. We
will secure a date for a mini-reunion, possibly as soon as 2024 and keep you
posted.
Recognition
on behalf of the class
At the reunion
grand banquet Jim presented to Doug and Judi Hayman, in recognition
of their support to the class, a handsome desk lamp and framed citation that
reads as follows: “Given with enduring
affection and heartfelt thanks for your decades of leadership and support of our classmates and our wives and widows
by providing clear, detailed
and consistent administration of all class activities throughout the years
which has kept us bonded together as a great Naval Academy class.”
2022 Homecoming October 29
The alumni at Ginger Cove have a long tradition of staging a
dinner banquet on the Friday
evening prior to the homecoming football game. If you reside
out of the Baltimore-Washington-Annapolis area but plan to be there on October 28 and would like
to join us at the banquet, please contact Jim or Doug closer to the
date.
For your convenience we are enclosing the current lists of
company reps and Executive Committee members, including
new Reps George Connolly and Jim Bruso for the Fifteenth and Twentieth Companies. Thanks to George and Jim for
volunteering. The reps’ most important duty is keeping contact with company
mates, now about ten per company more or less, and roughly the same number of
widows. Everyone can help by letting your rep know when your mailing address,
email, or phone information changes.
On behalf of your Executive Committee, we thank all of you who were able to attend our 65+1 reunion, and who made it a genuinely
memorable and enjoyable event. Please stay well and stay safe.
Jim Van Metre Doug Hayman
Co-chair USNA Class of
1956 Secretary, USNA Class of 1956
