July 2009 President's Corner

Ples Bruce '77, USNAAA Atlanta Chapter President

As my first official duty as President of the USNA Alumni Association Atlanta, let me say that I am honored and privileged to be your new President. I look to working with all of you to make the next 2 years that best our chapter has had as it relates to fulfilling our mission, which is to:

1. Serve the members.

2. Advance the goodwill and honor of the United States Naval Academy in our community.

3. Assist the Academy by being positive examples and role models for young men and women considering a career of naval service.

Pasts Event Highlights:

Navy once again defeated Army in the annual Navy/Army Golf Tournament held on May 1^st at Ft. McPherson golf course. If you have not had the chance to participate in this event, I encourage all grads to sign-up next year and help us continue the streak.
The 35^th annual Lobsterfest was held at Red Top Mountain State Park, June 6^th. As usual, a great time was had by all. The annual Lobsterfest is always one of our largest attended events of the year, second only to Army/Navy, and is always our biggest fundraiser. We served up over 240 lobster dinners, over 45 hotdog/hamburger dinners and enough sheet cake to choke a horse. This year we had in attendance George and Peggy Watts who fit right into the swing of things, with official Lobsterfest Aprons and claw crackers. Fortunately this year, Carl and Marilyn McCallum who started this event, were able to actually relax, beat the heat and enjoy themselves. BZ and thank you to both Marilyn and Carl for all the years of hard work and dedication. We have some great pictures from the event and we’ll get them posted on the website shortly.
At our monthly Alumni Luncheon, which is always held the 3^rd Friday of each month at the Sheraton Suites Cumberland, we had a special presentation by Dan Branch class of ’96. Dan has spent the past year working with local grads from the other Academies to organize and activate an online Networking Group in Linked-In entitled Academy Connect. Dan does a much better job than I in detailing the purpose and benefits of belonging to the group, so download a copy of his presentation and comments at our website; www.USNAAAA.com. I believe “Academy Connect Atlanta” will be a great tool and resource for online interaction between local Academy grads, which should prove beneficial for offline professional and personal communications and collaboration. Luncheon attendees included: Mitch Rowland ’71, Bill Rentz ’55, John Stark ’57, Matt Coy ’01, Tom Galloway ’71, Karl Schwelm ’71, Ed Sunberg ’68, Rick Jacobs ’72, Ed Hux ’61, Le Whitfield ’71, Bayly Taff ’84, Bob Schultz ’71, Mike Miller ’66, Pete Knoetgen ’77, Jim Slemenda ’66, Jon Barton ’66, Mario Maddox ’85, Michelle Maddox ’13, Brian Jackson ’81.

BEAT ARMY!

Ples Bruce ’77
Chapter President