March 2008 President's Corner

Mitch Rowland '71, USNAAA Atlanta Chapter President

Greetings from Atlanta. We had a small gathering this month at our monthly luncheon. On hand were Steve Frederick ‘72, Bill Williams ‘65, Ed Hux ‘61, Rick Lopez ‘79, Walt Sheffield ‘51, Rick Jacobs ‘72, Art Crowe ‘88, Steve Weise ‘72, Mike Miller ‘56, Bill Rentz ‘55, Ray Vuicich ‘89, Jason Pierce G, Scott Olsen ‘85, Jim Slemenda ‘66, Ken Ashley G, and Alvin Townley our speaker.

We were back at the Sheraton after a one month move. The Sheraton has easy access from I-285 and I-75. I’m hoping that our smaller than normal turnout was because it was the start of the President’s Day long weekend. The March meeting is scheduled on Good Friday. Hopefully we’ll get back to our normal turnout.

Alvin Townley has just published a book on Eagle Scouts. Alvin had earned his Eagle Scout and put up his uniform. He went off to college, graduated and got a regular job. He began to think about exactly what it means to be an Eagle Scout. He wanted to know if achieving the rank of Eagle Scout had an effect on those who had done that. So, he sold his house and traveled all over the United States interviewing people who had been Eagle Scouts. He said that he slept on floors, or anywhere a friend could put him, since he was on a limited budget. He said he began to see a connection between the military and Eagle Scouts. That connection was shared values and the wanting to help others.

One of those he interviewed had been an A-6 BN who was shot down over North Viet Nam when he was just 23. He escaped but was captured and returned to the Hanoi Hilton. As he endured the torture after being recaptured, he said that the only thing that kept him going was remembering the scout oath. That was the one thing he held onto.

He had interesting stories about meeting Ross Perot, Mayor Bloomburg and The Honorable Henry Paulson, Secretary of the Treasury. Mr. Paulson stated that he didn’t think that scouting had helped him very much. But, when he started recalling his years as a scout, he suddenly realized that scouting had had a big impact on him. To get all the stories, you’ll need to buy the book, Legacy of Honor.

Then on February 16^th, we had our annual Dark Ages Party. The Commandant of Midshipmen, Capt. Margaret Klein was our guest and featured speaker. In my four years by the bay, I never wanted to meet the Commandant! But it was an honor and pleasure to have Capt. Klein as our guest. After speaking with her and then hearing her speech, I don’t think that the alumni have anything to worry about back in the Yard. Capt. Klein is doing a great job. She has things under control and on an even keel.

On our schedule for May 5^th is the annual Army-Navy golf tournament. Sign up sheets are available on our web site thanks to web master Bob Schultz ‘71. In fact, Bob has everything on our web site. He does a great job keeping everything up to date.

Looking forward to seeing everybody on March 21 at the Sheraton.

BEAT ARMY!

Mitch Rowland ’71
Chapter President