News, Events & More
From the President: Annual Update and Fall COCP Notes
Posted: 12/16/2019
Email sent via Classmail 12/10/19
Greeting ’96 Classmates.
It’s time for an annual update. In no particular order…
PENSACOLA SHOOTING
First, a moment to recognize our classmate (CAPT Tim Kinsella) for the incredible leadership during the horrible events this last week in Pensacola. Let’s also remember ENS Joshua Watson, a recent USNA graduate that helped save peoples’ lives after being shot 5 times. A true hero.
COUNCIL OF CLASS PRESIDENTS
I attended the COCP on 6 Dec and captured some of the highlights:
From the Alumni Association (full brief):
- They are looking to fill an open position for their V.P. of Finance. If you have a CPA/MBA/accounting background and are interested, they would love to have you.
- Ground breaking for the new Alumni building in ~1 year.
- They will sell the old building that we know outside gate 3 (Ogle Hall).
- Next week, they will begin dismantling the chapel dome. 90 years of neglect took a toll on the dome and it will be completely replaced. Once replaced, it will be a bright copper for ~7 days, then for ~25 years, it will be brown until the patina chemical reaction occurs.
- They will recover all of the copper and make a variety of keepsakes to sell.
From the Supe (full brief):
- ADM Buck hasn’t made any drastic changes since CoC on 26 July 2019.
- They have introduced numerous outdoor small-team leadership programs in austere environments to force people outside of their comfort zone (e.g., not just leadership in a company or sport team). Similar to YP training but with a variety of options.
- USNA Grounds are in bad shape. The yard is underfunded.
- Flooding is a huge issue. Affects Hampton Roads and downtown Annapolis too.
- Sleep deprivation is a big issue.
- Addressed recent Satanic Cult rumors. At no point has USNA ever (or will ever) allow a Satanic Cult to worship as an official club/activity. If they choose to meet on their own time, they have the freedom to assemble.
- King Hall is in bad shape. There are issues with quality and quantity.
- 96% of Firsties got their 1st or 2nd Choice at Service Assignment night. 2020 is a very small class so there are minimal people that selected Restricted Line.
CLASS GIFT UPDATE
30 Year Class Gift. We are currently just over $200k pledged/donated toward our class gift (with 190 classmates participating. About 30/190 is on recurring monthly pledges).
Help up improve midshipman development and the Yard: Consider pledging ~$1 a day. You can set up the $30/month to be charged straight to your credit card.
Side Note: You could be on recurring pledges but they *may* not be going to the CLASS GIFT (so ’96 gets credit for your donation but it isn’t going towards our $600k goal). The only way to know is by calling USNA or contacting Brian Reardon at Brian.Reardon@1996.usna.com.
Give here and make sure you choose “other donation options” then “support my class project” then select “pledge”. Or call 410-295-4115 to donate.
ARMY-NAVY GAME
If you are in Philly for the game, we will have a no-host social at Tir na Nog Saturday morning about 10:00. Show up and order what you want. If you prefer tailgating at the stadium, Johnny Harnett will be there in the parking lot. Contact him for details (john_a_harnett@yahoo.com).
NAVY-NOTRE DAME GAME
Don’t forget to plan for the trip to Ireland to watch Navy/Notre Dame 29 Aug 2020. People are planning to meet up with friends and classmates. Last time was a blast!
YOUR USNA.COM PROFILE
A message from Shane Macdonald to remember to update your profiles with the Alumni Association. We spent time collecting a lot of updated details on people, however, USNA has now changed their policy and we can no longer make changes for people. You are responsible for yourself now.
’96 WEB PAGE
As a reminder, for those that don’t have Facebook (or can’t stand going on it any more), Cara Albright maintains our class web page that repeats much of the same information from our class Facebook page.
ACTIVE DUTY RETIREMENT
As a wave of or classmates approach their retirement, don’t forget to reach out to your class for questions, recommendations, help, etc. Other resources include:
- Jenn Campbell runs The New ’96 Hour. An opportunity to hear about various topics monthly. UPCOMING EVENTS: Rhoan Boucher is booked 24 Jan 2020 spot, TBD on the 21 Feb 2020 spot.
- Our LinkedIn page
- Service Academy Career Conference (SACC)
- Benefit Finder
SUICIDE AWARENESS
The class of ’96+2 is still pushing suicide awareness very hard after their string of incidents. Please consider downloading the app OBJECTIVE ZERO and becoming an ambassador today. You just need to be ready to answer the phone if someone needs you.
ALUMNI WATCH BUY
The class of ’96-7 has organized a group Bremont USNA watch-buy. Cost is $3k (retails for $6k). Details here.
SINGING AT GAMES
There were questions about why some teams sing their alma mater after home & away games and others don’t. The Academy coordinates with each team a couple of months before the game and asks if they would like to sing their alma mater after the game. Some schools agree and some don’t care. It is up to the individual school.
BLUE AND GOLD OFFICERS
USNA is looking for more people to be B&G officers. We have several in our class so if you have questions about what it entails and job satisfaction, please reach out to Sharon (Eliassen) Barbins.
25 YEAR REUNION
Most of our large muscle movements are done and we eagerly await our 25th Reunion. It is scheduled for 1-3 Oct, 2021 (USAF Game) and our home base hotel will be the Westin. We are working on some alternatives for other hotel blocks to give people options. Put it on your calendars now and start saving!
25 YEAR CRUISE
Cruise Planners has put together a cruise trip that will provide a great opportunity to share in our 25th and ’96-5’s 30th anniversary of being commissioned. The 25th anniversary commissioning cruise that we have put together is a 9-night Norwegian Cruise Line cruise aboard the Norwegian Escape from May 28th, 2021 through June 6th, 2021 (second option is July 3rd – 12th, 2021). The cruise sails from Copenhagen, Denmark and sails to Warnemunde (Berlin), Germany; Tallin, Estonia; Overnights in St Petersburg, Russian Federation; Helsinki, Finland; and Nynashamn (Stockholm), Sweden before returning to Copenhagen. The current pricing has a 30% discount promotion running through December 16th, 2019. There may be other sales, and while our group pricing is better than “regular” prices, this promotional pricing should be the lowest we can get. Deposits are only $50 per person and refundable, so if you are interested, please contact Dan so he can give you more information as well as reserve a cabin for you. He can be reached at: 844-GoNavy-1 (844-466-2891); via email at Dan@GoNavyTravel.com. (price is ~$5k/couple)
Dan will be on this cruise with members of his class on the May/June cruise as well and he looks forward to sailing with you for your 25th anniversary of commissioning.
With that, I sign off. Please feel to reach out with any questions or comments.
Nagel Sullivan
301-904-1526
Navy Football is Bowl Bound!
Armed with a slew of Top 25 rankings, a decisive routing of Army, and a 10-2 record, we are headed to the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, TN, for the first time since 1981! Bowl game and ticket information (to purchase or donate tickets) is available here, or call 1-800-US4-NAVY during business hours. GO NAVY!
12/31 – Liberty Bowl v. Kansas State (@ 1545)
Catch Tony Magrogan’s Recent Interview on The New ’96 Hour
Posted: 10/23/2019
From Jennifer (Campbell) Stillings: My interview with Tony Magrogan for last month’s New ’96 Hour was so much fun! Show notes will be coming soon. In the meantime, you can enjoy the video recording (available for a limited time only) right here. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on strategy, Tony!
Alumni Survey Request
Posted: 10/22/2019
USNA is soliciting survey inputs from our class in support of a joint effort between the Economics Department (Dr. Michael Insler) and the USNA Office of Institutional Research to build a truly unique database that ties graduates’ views of their educational experiences with their actual performance at USNA. This will provide the researchers many opportunities for academic research and analysis. For example, we may be able to better explain—by combining graduates’ responses with curriculum evolution—the lofty collegiate ranking of the Naval Academy. We may also be able to leverage this dataset to assist in the analysis of warfare community selection by an office recently established at USNA.
The survey is designed to expand our knowledge of the history of the Naval Academy curriculum over the last 40 years by seeking responses from the transition class of graduates of the Academy’s majors program in 1971 through graduates of the Class of 2016. Thus, the survey is designed to capture graduates’ responses to their educational experiences at the Academy from the time they decided to attend USNA through their time at the Academy and on into their Navy or Marine Corps career and subsequent civilian employment.
If you would like to support this effort, please choose the appropriate survey below based on your current status.
In the News: Kim Mitchell and VVSD Celebrate New Clinic
Posted: 8/26/2019
Many of you are already familiar with the amazing work that Kim has been doing as the CEO of Veterans Village of San Diego. For anyone in the San Diego area, Kim recently shared an invite for an event on 05 September to celebrate the opening of the Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinic. The Clinic will provide mild to moderate mental health services for Post 9/11 Veterans and their spouses and children, as well as to the dependents of Active Duty service members. Please see invite below to RSVP if you would like to attend!
It’s Navy Football Tailgating Season!
Hey classmates! T-5 days until the first Navy home game. Hope to see you all there. To get things rolling this year we’re asking for donations to keep the tailgater up and running. We will have the kitty at the game, but if you don’t want to carry that pesky thing called cash please feel free to PayPal the ‘96 account (usna1996tailgater@gmail.com). Or if you’re hip and with it Zelle the money to me (904-535-5810) and I recommend $96!!! Can’t wait to see everyone! Beat Army!!! –Nikki Battaglia
In the News: Ryan Stone and SmartSky Networks
Ryan Stone has been breaking barriers with his tech startup company, SmartSky Networks, based in North Carolina. Read his latest press release, learn about the history of this venture, and watch his featured interview with Jenn (Campbell) Stillings for the launch of The New ’96 Hour.
In the News: Mark Mhley Leads F-14 Restoration on the Yard
Posted: 5/20/2019
Mark Mhley has been leading a team of volunteers in the restoration and repainting of the F-14 Tomcat that made it to the Yard last year and is now on display in Ellyson Park just inside Gate 8. With their work almost finished, the team was recently featured in the Capital Gazette photo gallery section. BZ, Mark!
In the News: Todd Ferris Fuels Big Analytics in Chocolate World
Posted: 4/23/2019
Our classmate Todd Ferris was recently interviewed by the Wall Street Journal about his career and the analytics work he does for Hershey. Check out the article here (subscription required to view entire article):
Sweet Spot: Where Data Analysis Meets Chocolate (29 March 2019, WSJ)
BZ, Todd! Keeping ’96 on the map… and probably the only one of us who’s been photographed sitting under a portrait of Milton Hershey. Great work!
Class Project Update: Donations Just Got A Whole Lot Cooler…
Posted: 4/5/2019
…and easier, too! Check out our link below, which is hosted by Give Campus via the Naval Academy Foundation. It’s even mobile friendly! It is set up for both recurring pledges and one-time donations, so feel free to share it with friends and family.
The great Class of 1996 is piloting this new fundraising platform for the Foundation, so please send any feedback you have to our Class Project Officer, Brian Reardon.
25th Reunion
BEAT ARMY!!!
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