May 2008 President's Corner

Mitch Rowland '71, USNAAA Atlanta Chapter President

April and May have been busy months. We had a large crowd at our April meeting. Those in attendance were Jack Clay ‘56, Kent Gibson guest, Steve Frederick ‘72, Harvey Cybul ‘62, Art Crowe ‘88, Johns Jaudon ‘55, Rick Jacobi ‘72, Bill Rentz ‘55, Bill Holmes ‘64, Paul Hurst ‘62, Ken Martin guest, Sam Newton ‘68, Tony Womble ‘63, Don Thompson ‘59, Greg Morrow ‘85, Rick Haley ‘72, Dave Maples ‘63, Lee Whitfield ‘71, CM Plumly ‘55, Sibyl Plumly wife of CM, Carl McCallum ‘60, Pete Knoetgen ‘77, Jim Slemenda ‘66, Karlton Holston ‘02, Michael Lores ‘74, Mario Maddox ‘85, Gerald Mackey ‘54 and his bride.

Our speaker was Wayne Waddell a F-105 pilot and Viet Nam POW. Wayne was a great speaker. His manner of speaking spoke volumes about him personally. Even though things were very difficult, he still found a few stories that were humorous. I imagine that the years have helped with that aspect of his years in Hanoi.

It’s already May as I write this. This past Monday we had the Army Navy Golf challenge at Fort MacPherson. I will say that my predecessor, Steve Frederick, left some big shoes to fill as president. Steve was outstanding in every way, but one. We lost to Army two years in a row. However, with my superior coaching and playing skills (HA!! HA!!) we won! Hurray for the good guys.

I was in Annapolis on April 30 and May 1 for the International Council of Chapter Presidents meeting. We had several interesting presentations. Our new football coach was one of the more interesting. Army had just announced that it is now possible to go directly from USMA directly to the NFL. Coach Ken said that he really didn’t care whether or not a player could go directly to the pros, but he thought that it was very important that all the academies played by the same rules. Right now Army has a big advantage in recruiting.

There were other presentations on the profile of the class of 2012 and things we could do to help bring the Naval Academy to the attention of high school students. West of the Mississippi there is little to no knowledge of USNA.

Don’t forget to sign up for Babette’s Café on May 18^th. There is room for only 25 on our private patio, first come, first served. Marla really goes all out to give us a great menu. For those of us lucky enough to have been before, we want to go back. There are still openings, so check our web site and call for a reservation today.

The Lobster Fest is coming on June 14^th. This is our big event of the year. Right now the price hasn’t been set because we’re hoping to get a better deal on lobsters. Believe it or not, the board does look for the best deal. There will be a separate e-mail about this shortly.

Also, we have a great speaker signed up for May. Check the web site for all the information. Are you starting to see a pattern here? Our web site, USNAAAA.com has lots of information, and it’s updated often. It’s not perfect, but it’s better than it just about any other chapter.

It’s also the time of year we look for new recruits to our Board of Directors. Ples Bruce is heading the search committee. Feel free to contact him if you would be willing to serve. I spent four years as a general director and I can say from experience, you will enjoy the opportunity to serve.

Don’t forget the May 16^th meeting at the Sheraton. Check the web site for directions.

BEAT ARMY!

Mitch Rowland ’71
Chapter President