June 2003 President's Corner

Outgoing Chapter President Bob Schultz '71, USNAAA Atlanta Chapter

This will be the last chance that I have to address the Chapter members as Chapter President. My two consecutive one-year terms end this June. Chapter by-laws provide that a maximum of two consecutive terms can be served in any one position on the Board.

I can truly say that I would not have traded this opportunity for the world. It has been an honor and a privilege to serve. I think the Atlanta Chapter is one of the finest, if not the finest, chapters in the country. I have been richly rewarded in ways that cannot be measured during my service over the past several years in various positions on the Board of Directors. I have come to know, on a personal level, more area USNA alumni than I can almost count. I have had a number of Chapter members make it a point to take me aside and tell me what a good job I was doing. Well, I can tell you this… to receive such a compliment, particularly from this special group of people, is perhaps the greatest compliment that I will ever receive. Thank you very much.

Even though I must move on, I won’t be gone. Chapter by-laws also provide that past Presidents remain permanent members of the Board of Directors, as long as they still reside in the Chapter territory and are dues paying Chapter members. So, you’re not rid of me yet! I plan to stay active in the Chapter and will continue to serve as the Webmaster for our Chapter web site at WWW.USNAAAA.COM.

Now just a word on serving our Chapter. You’ll remember from above that past Chapter Presidents are permanent members of the Chapter Board of Directors. There is method in that madness! This practice ensures a higher degree of continuity within the Chapter leadership and thereby the long-term management of the Chapter. We can keep from having to relearn how best to do things over and over with each newly elected slate of officers. However, we also need a continuing supply of “new blood”. i.e. people willing to step up and serve the Chapter as a Board member. Over the last seven or eight years I have watched the same dozen or so Chapter members rotate in and out of various Board positions. It’s great that they want to continue to serve, but we can’t expect them to stay forever. We will inevitably lose some experienced people as they come and go from the Atlanta Chapter area, or simply retire from the Board. We must have a supply of new members who are willing step up and serve! So, step up! Serve! The “pay” is low, but the rewards are great! To that I can attest.

We’ve been through a lot during the last two years. We’ve seen the 9-11-2001 “Attack on America” come and go. We’ve seen the resultant Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. More recently, with our nation at war, we watched live coverage of Operation Iraqi Freedom every day on television. We all know what it means to serve our country. Too many of us know what it means to loose friends and comrades in armed conflict. All of us have known all along what many Americans have just learned in the past few years… that “Freedom is not Free”. So, I close one last time as Chapter President with the following:

God bless America, and God bless our troops defending freedom around the world.

And… BEAT ARMY!

Bob Schultz ‘71