May 2005 President's Corner

Bill Rentz '55, USNAAA Atlanta Chapter President

The Atlanta Chapter Board of Directors voted unanimously to send the name of Carl P. McCallum ’60 to the USNA Alumni Association to serve as the Atlanta Chapter member of the Board of Trustees starting in May 2005 to run until May 2008. In the same week we learned that yours truly, Bill Rentz ’55, had been elected to serve as the Eastern Region representative on the USNA Alumni Association Board of Trustees. That term also running from May 2005 until May 2008.

Carl and I have both served as Atlanta Chapter President, have both had a term as Atlanta Chapter Trustee, and have both remained active participants on the Atlanta Chapter Board of Directors. My current term as Atlanta Chapter President ends next month and a new slate of Chapter Officers will be approved and submitted for your information at the May monthly luncheon meeting on May 20 and for vote by the Chapter members present at the June 17, 2005, monthly meeting. Chapter Vice President Steve Frederick headed a nominating committee last month of three Chapter Board of Directors members who recommended the new slate for approval. If the names are available by the time this newsletter goes to press, we will publish it here also.

This is an appropriate time for me to remind all alumni in the Atlanta area, Chapter members and non-members, to become active participants in the Atlanta Chapter and the USNA Alumni Association. We need for you to communicate your ideas, inputs, and complaints to the Chapter Officers who can get you an answer and address your concerns.

The May monthly luncheon meeting on May 20 does not have a speaker scheduled, but we will meet at our regular place at Jocks & Jills Brookhaven to have an open discussion of Chapter business or anything you want to bring up. All the golfers will be at the Army-Navy Golf challenge at Ft. McPherson on that day so we may have a small turnout for lunch, but we will be there as usual.

As I finish my fourth term as Chapter President I would like to reflect on the gratitude I have for the Chapter Officers and Directors with whom I have been privileged to serve. You all know their names and you can read them on the Chapter web site and at the front of the Directory of Members. What makes this job such a pleasure and easy is the caliber of people I deal with. I know they all come from an institution that instilled in them the same foundation of honor, integrity, trust, and good moral behavior that you all were exposed to. I never have to worry that if I ask a question or get an answer from one of them whether or not it will be the unvarnished truth. Also that if they are tasked with something, it will be addressed with a conscientious approach to getting the task done properly. Now that may sound simple and corny to some of you, but if you have had experiences in business or with other shady characters, you appreciate the qualities of people with ethics and morality as the cornerstone of their education and experiences. We may not always agree on what is the ethical approach to how to do something, but I always know that ethics were strongly considered by all involved in the decision.

We close out our Events this year with Army-Navy Golf on Friday, May 20, at Fort McPherson, and the world famous Atlanta Lobster Fest on Saturday, June 11, at Red Top Mountain. We’ll start the fall with a new cycle of events and a new set of Chapter Officers and Directors elected at the June 2005 monthly meeting.

Bill Rentz ’55