7 May 2008 

Dear Shipmates, 
 

            The U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association Greater Washington DC Chapter (GWC) will conclude our 2007-2008 operating year on Wednesday, May 21^st at a joint luncheon with the Navy-Marine Corps Council.  The speaker will be The Honorable Donald Winter, Secretary of the Navy.  The address by Secretary Winter will cap another busy and successful year for this largest chapter of the Alumni Association.  Serving as the chapter president for the last two years has been a distinct honor and privilege. 
 

            Thanks to the hard work of the chapter’s Board of Directors, especially Treasurer Bill Erickson ’65, we have achieved significant improvements to the chapter website including online membership sign up and renewal, and online contributions and luncheon registration.  Rich Perry ’81 has pulled together another set of highly successful Academy Awareness Program events aimed at informing and attracting the best area candidates for admission to our alma mater.  These programs are the most important activity of the GWC as we seek to do our part to make sure every link in the chain is the best and strongest it can be. 
 

            The GWC Board of Directors is especially pleased to have invigorated itself over the last two years by making our board more representative of all USNA alumni.  By recruiting and electing as directors more recent graduates like Kevin Jackson ’99, Chris Castleman ’96, Cathy Masar ’89, Jenn Rossi ’01, Joel Spangenberg ’00, and Ryan Sturgill ’99, we have secured a strong, vibrant future for the chapter.  A well-deserved Bravo Zulu to Pierce Johnson ’66 for his efforts as chairman of our nominating committee charged with recruiting candidates to the Board. 
 

            The chapter has also given our support to the Capital Alumni Network (CAN) and its active and exciting athletic competition.  The GWC sponsored “Yard Dawg’s” softball team is a great way to attract alumni of all year groups into closer association with the chapter.  Another Bravo Zulu to DJ Johnson ’91 for organizing and coaching this team and to John Camp ’55 for his representation of the chapter to the CAN. 

            The last twelve months have been especially interesting and in many ways distressing as we have closely followed the challenges faced by the national USNA Alumni Association.  At the May 2^nd Board of Trustees meeting, the Alumni Association’s Governance Committee introduced a series of motions for changes to the Association’s bylaws.  The most significant of the motions entered had to do with the process and procedure by which the Alumni Association’s Board Chair and Vice Chair are selected. 
 

            This subject has generated more than its share of attention over the last two years, culminating in a lawsuit filed against the Association Board by two alumni.  The litigation alleged that the Board of Trustees had acted illegally in its governance of the Association.  The main point of contention centered on the issue of a single slate of nominees for the Chair and Vice Chair versus a contested election.  Following the dismissal of the lawsuit, the proposals brought forth by the Governance Committee on 2 May did away with the Chair’s/Vice Chair’s election by the general membership and substituted selection by the Board itself – a procedure consistent with that used by most public corporations and non-profit organizations. 
 

            The proposals generated some additional controversy.  The GWC Board of Directors discussed it at length and unanimously concluded that regardless the merits of the bylaw changes proposed by the Governance Committee, the timing of the vote was ill-considered.  A vote in May was likely to unnecessarily reinforce the perceptions of those who did not agree with the changes.  Our view was based on three factors.  The lawsuit, while dismissed by the court, could still be open to appeal by the plaintiffs; the Association is entering a prolonged period of transition following the CEO’s recently announced resignation; the open wounds resulting from an unfortunately overheated public debate about the Association’s purpose and governance are still festering.  The GWC Board of Directors counseled a tabling of the bylaw changes allowing tempers to cool and more time to restore civil communication among all interested parties.
 

   The chapter Trustee on the Association Board, Pierce Johnson, entered a motion to table at the meeting, which was thoroughly debated and subsequently defeated by a vote of 22 to 6.  The Board of Trustees went on to approve all proposed changes to the bylaws, some unanimously, others not.  The discussion which preceded each of the individual votes was unimpeded and comprehensive.  The Board acted clearly and consistently within the rules and procedures by which it is governed under Maryland law.  It is time now for all USNA alumni to come together and move the Association forward in its mission to support the Academy and the Midshipmen who follow in our footsteps. 
 

            We will be publishing on our website detailed reports of the Board of Trustees meeting from the Chair, Carl Trost, and the regional Trustee, Mike Collins. 
 

            What is most distressing are the vitriol, rancor, and ad hominem attacks used by some fellow alumni in the course of this unfortunately public “debate.”  The unfounded accusations, inappropriate language, and personal invective used by some alumni in public forums demean and diminish all alumni.  These actions reflect poorly on the Naval Academy as an institution, and worst of all, they cause us all to look unprofessional and foolish in the eyes of today’s Midshipmen.  We can and must do better.  Mutual respect, even for those with whom we vigorously disagree on procedural or policy issues, ought to be point of personal honor.  We all learned this when we memorized John Paul Jones’ “Qualifications of a Naval Officer.” 
 

            The USNA Alumni Association Board of Trustees has acted entirely appropriately and legally.  Whether we agree or disagree with the Board’s actions, all alumni owe a duty of loyalty to the institution which has given us so much, and we should all work as hard as we can to move forward the Association and the Academy it supports.  Perpetual guerilla warfare in hopes of imposing a minority view on majority rule is not an option.

             I will turn over the GWC president’s seat to Jim Bryant ’71 after the May luncheon.  Jim will do a great job and be ably assisted by Vice-president Lee Geanuleas ’77 who will continue to lead our luncheon speaker’s program.  The chapter has a strong and committed board, but it remains your chapter.  I urge each of the almost 5,000 alumni in the greater Washington, DC area to visit the chapter website (www.usnaaagwc.org) and register as a member.  We need your support and active participation to maintain our position as the flagship chapter of the USNA Alumni Association.  Your generosity will enable us to continue to improve our outreach to prospective USNA candidates through our Academy Awareness Program. 
 

            Thanks for your support and encouragement during the last two years.  I have enjoyed getting to know many of you and step down as chapter president with an enhanced appreciation of the great service you have all given to our Nation and our Navy-Marine Corps team.  I ask your continued support for the chapter and the Alumni Association in the years ahead.

GO NAVY!

Yours Aye,

Jerry Farrell ‘70

President, USNAAAGWC

We continue to look for ways that the chapter can support the Brigade, as well as looking for ways to include an even broader spectrum of alumni in the Greater Washington D.C. area.  We welcome your thoughts and suggestions and look forward to seeing as many of you as possible!