December 2004 President's Corner

Bill Rentz '55, USNAAA Atlanta Chapter President

Atlanta Chapter Mates,

I have just returned from Annapolis where I attended the Admissions Standing Committee meeting on 1 December and got to sit in as a spectator at the Alumni Board of Trustees meeting on 2 December. I also attended the "Mule Stew" reception, part of the hijinks including a pep rally, prior to the Army-Navy Game. Let me tell you, or maybe I don't have to, they were fired up! And you know what they did to Army. The Emerald Bowl against New Mexico University in San Francisco on 30 December is a just reward for the team and the Mids. Beat the LOBOS!

After our terrific win over Army, we are now focusing on the Emerald Bowl in San Francisco at SBC Park (kickoff 1:30 PST) on December 30, 2004. Many of you donated tickets last year for the Houston Bowl and we are asking you to do the same this year. The Naval Academy is trying to get 2,000 to 3,000 midshipmen to the game and they all need tickets. The Navy will get the Mids to San Francisco, but game tickets need to be provided by the alumni. Any left over tickets purchased this way will be offered to sailors and family in the Bay area. Please consider sponsoring a midshipman or midshipmen by purchasing tickets at $30 per ticket.

Please purchase your tickets through Navy Sports so that the Naval Academy gets credit for them (we need to sell between 20,000 and 25,000 tickets). You can do this by ordering online at www.NavySports.com or by calling 1-800-US4-NAVY.

It is vital for future bowl aspirations to not only have a great football team but to have Navy fan support at the game, including a march-on and stands full of Navy Blue like we did last year at the Houston Bowl.

In Atlanta we will gather to watch the game at Jocks & Jills in Brookhaven at 4:30 pm on Thursday, 12/30. (Our usual monthly luncheon location.)

Home Depot has given us two $100 gift cards to raffle to the Chapter which we will do at the first opportunity (maybe at the Christmas Party on 12/12 and at the Chapter monthly luncheon on 12/17). All the proceeds from these raffles will go toward purchasing tickets from USNA AA for the Mids to attend the Emerald Bowl. Thanks to Bob Ravener '81 of Home Depot for his generosity.

Along with the Trustees, I got a tour of the almost finished Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, including private boxes, press boxes, coaches boxes, and the banquet facilities. It is amazing, and if you haven't taken in a game lately, you should and see what your alumni contributions have done.

Many of you have been saturated with emails from the Alumni Association Staff on this subject and the Eastern Region Trustee about the details of the Board of Trustees meeting, including the vote on the Castro Chapter, so I won't repeat them here. But if you have not seen these emails and would like to see them, call or email me and I will forward them to you. I am impressed with the work of the Chairman, ADM Trost, and the Alumni Association Staff. They are doing a bang up job for our institution.

Happy Holidays to all.

See you at a USNAAAA event!

Bill Rentz ’55