September 2006 President's Corner

Steve Frederick '72, USNAAA Atlanta Chapter President

As I write this missive, the kickoff of the ’06 football campaign is less than 72 hours away. By the time you read this, Navy should have at least one win under its belt and hopefully we will have crossed paths at Jocks and Jills, enjoying the Navy game. I know we are all looking forward to a special season – check out the website, www.usnaaaa.com for specifics on game times and which ones are available on television at Jocks and Jills.

We did not have a speaker at our August monthly luncheon, but we did have a sizable crowd and much camaraderie. Attendees included: Jim Hatch ’47, John Stark ’51, Bill Rentz ’55, Don Thompson ’59, Clint Johnson ’60, Carl McCallum ’60, Ed Hux ’61, Tony Womble ’63, Bill Holmes ’64, Jon Barton ’66, Jim Slemenda ’66, Gary Grant ’68, Paul Borer ’70, Dick Click ’70, Mitch Rowland ’71, Steve Frederick ’72, Ples Bruce ’77, Terry Hamilton ’77, Pete Knoetgen ’78, Terry McElroy ’86, Mary McElroy ’87, their son Darrin ’12, Mike Gabriel ’90, Ron Surfield ’90, Kary Brownlee ’93, and Bryan Lichtenstein ’96. Since we didn’t have a speaker, we simply conducted a bit of business and enjoyed each others company.

I had the opportunity to give my “membership” lecture, and for those who did not attend, please listen up: If you are not a member of the local Chapter, sign up ASAP, as we need your participation. Currently, the nine largest chapters in the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association are afforded the privilege of representation on the Board of Trustees with a local chapter Trustee. The size of each chapter is measured by membership, so your affiliation with our chapter through membership will help us continue to maintain that representation. At last count, we were the seventh largest chapter, a ranking that would seem to give us a bit of breathing room. However, there have been discussions about reducing the number of chapters represented by chapter trustees to the largest seven, so we do not want to take anything for granted. For you to count as a “member” for the official count, you must be a member of the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association (i.e. the national organization) and the local Atlanta Chapter. Go online to the national website, and you can sign up for both organizations. We need your participation for us to continue to have representation. Currently, Carl McCallum ’60 is serving as our trustee, and he is doing a great job for us, and for the Alumni Association. Additionally, we have Bill Rentz ’55, our immediate past president, serving as the Eastern Region trustee, having been elected last year. Both guys are serving as our eyes, ears and voices at the national level, and both are well respected and listened to at the national level. I am confident saying that no other chapter is so capably represented. SIGN UP NOW.

Once again I would suggest that you keep track of our events through our local website – while we may not have had a speaker for our August luncheon, the months ahead will include some great guests. In September, Pete Herrmann, former Navy basketball coach will speak, having been scheduled by Mary McElroy ’87. In October, Mary will speak on her experiences enroute to her current position as the first female African American Division I Athletic Director (she is the AD at Georgia State University). In November, Paul Borer ’70 has arranged for us to host Dick Williams, the local editorialist and political commentator, who will speak to us on what at that time will be the recent elections. In December, Jim Ravenel ’45 has arranged for Bob Barr, former congressman turned political commentator to be our speaker. In January we will hear Wayne Waddell, a USAFA grad who flew F-105s in Viet Nam and spent several years as a guest of the North Vietnamese in Hanoi. This line up looks great to me, but keep in mind things can change. That’s why I would recommend that you stay abreast of the chapter events via the website. Also, if you know of someone that you think could provide a presentation that would be of interest to our group, please let a member of the Board of Directors know.

I hope to see many of you at Jock’s and Jill’s for football games and monthly luncheons in the coming months. Please join us whenever you can to tell sea stories and cheer on the football team.

See you on the 15^th at Jocks and Jills.

BEAT ARMY!

Steve Frederick ’72
Chapter President