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Subj: George Watt Talk to the Milwaukee
Chapter on May 8, 2003
Refer to: Central Region Letter 13-03; May 15, 2003
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PLEASE DO NOT HIT REPLY TO E-MAIL ME. I WILL NOT GET IT. E-MAIL ME DIRECTLY
AT MY USNA ALUMNI CLASSMAIL ADDRESS, len.wass@1964.usna.com
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Chapter Officers - Please give this e-mail the widest possible distribution
among your members and other alumni in your area.
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I was invited to attend the Milwaukee Chapter luncheon last
week, where George Watt ' 73, our Alumni Association President and CEO
gave the luncheon address. It was a fine group led by Guy Muscari ' 69.
(I also spoke recently at the Alamo Chapter luncheon in San Antonio to
another fine group of alumni, and would be happy to try to participate
in other Central Region meetings). George was kind enough to email me
his remarks and I thought I would pass them on to you. He is a dynamic
speaker and delivered an important message.
Go Navy! Len Wass ' 64, Central Region Trustee
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George Watt:
"As I probably said more than once, the Academy today is every bit as
relevant to the Naval Service and to the Nation as it was in previous
eras. In considering the actions that are ongoing now in the Middle East
and the many global issues we face, Naval Academy alumni are playing enormous
roles at all levels in the government and the military. The Alumni Association's
and Foundation's missions and the Academy's mission are those beacons,
if you will, that keep us on track in support of the Brigade and the Academy.
We will ask no more of you than we ask of the midshipmen.
USNA CAPITALIZATION
We are in the midst of a true renaissance at the Naval Academy. In fact,
it has been just about 100 years since anyone has seen the magnitude of
capital projects underway inside the Yard. Thanks to a public and private
partnership, we are experiencing an historical renovation and revival
of the Naval Academy we all know.
A quick look at USNA history: A little over 100 years ago, the Academy
was literally falling apart. A member of the Board of Visitors, Robert
Means Thompson USNA 1868, convinced the board to condemn the installations
in 1895. With the help of the Navy's success in the War with Spain and
an enthusiastic Teddy Roosevelt, new construction began in 1899 due in
large part to Colonel Thompson's vision and perseverance in obtaining
the eminent New York Architect Ernest Flagg to design what would become
the core of today's Academy. And, just this month we celebrate the opening
of the first two Flagg buildings: Dahlgren Hall and Macdonough Hall.
Flagg's Naval Academy design was certainly a tremendous refinement to
an already grand plan, but more importantly, these bricks and mortar became
the body of the Academy's soul. They house a soul of constancy of purpose.
This is found it the Academy's enduring mission, the people who support
the Academy internally and externally, and most importantly, the Brigade
of Midshipmen. And each of us who has gone before carry on that constancy
of purpose as members of the Extended Brigade.
GROWTH
There are several areas where we all (we in Annapolis, our chapters, our
class organizations and our parents clubs) converge. I have mentioned
mission. The Alumni Association, through its growing membership, supports
the Academy's mission. Our mission, simply put, is promoting advocacy
of the Academy. Simply put, we "EDUCATE AND MOTIVATE". Call us cheerleaders
if you want, but we prefer to think of this as "friendraising." Our goal
is to dramatically increase the number of proactive and informed alumni
- and eventually, the public at large - as advocates of the Academy. I
ask those advocates to commit to supporting USNA with their time, talents,
and resources, and help us accentuate the positive of today's Academy.
You in the chapters are the ones who bind our alumni geographically and
complement our parents clubs and class organizations that are today's
bond and our generational bond, respectively.
THE FOUNDATION
The Foundation's mission is also one of support for the Naval Academy.
In this case it is "fund-raising," harvesting sources of private funds
from donors, corporations and other foundations in strategic support of
the Naval Academy's centers of excellence. In fact, as I have said many
times before, the Foundation is the ONLY sanctioned fundraising entity
for the United States Naval Academy. It was necessary to create this singular
focus in order to eliminate confusion for our donors, and dramatically
minimize the diffusion of our advancement efforts. Currently we are embarked
on a comprehensive campaign known as "Leaders to Serve the Nation". To
date we have raised nearly $150 million from alumni, parents, friends
and other corporations and foundations. Every dollar given is a dollar
given to strategic purpose. Every gift is one of impact. We seek equal
sacrifice, not equal giving.
SYNERGY AND PARTNERSHIP
Since the Alumni Association's mission and the Foundation's mission complement
each other in their mutual support of the Academy, we have a single executive
overseeing the operations and mission readiness of both - me. We have
an integrated executive leadership team comprised of the senior execs
of the Alumni Association, the development arm of the Foundation and Foundation
Athletic/Scholarship Programs ("The Trustees"). And, we have four "shared
arms" that support our enterprise: Treasury, Human Relations, Information
Management, and Communications. Working together with their partners at
USNA and NAAA, they are charged to develop and nurture the synergy that
is necessary to achieve our ambitious objectives.
MEMBERSHIP
We and your chapter also converge at membership - we both want growth.
The Alumni Association intends to grow to 60,000 members by year-end 2005,
and to over 70,000 by 2010. Although we are making progress, we have to
do better. Chapters are always surprised when I share with them that of
our nearly 48,000 members, only 11,000 or so are in our 90 chapters around
the world! If you look at class membership in the alumni association over
the last twenty years, it ranges from 93% to 100% with most of the classes
in the 98% to 100% range. We can help your growth (and ours) by providing
you lists of alumni in your area, an area that you define. Just give us
the zips, and we will provide you whatever information you need. Contact
Cathy Deafenbaugh at cathy.deafenbaugh@usna.com.
BEST PRACTICES
You probably know what works best for your chapter, but I've charged Terry
Murray and his team to continue to harvest and share "best practices"
for growth in membership and in participation. There is a balance that
we need to strike between being "social" and being "purposeful." I can
tell you that those chapters that are growing, and especially those with
significant participation of its membership, have discovered that social
and purposeful (e.g. mission oriented) are not mutually exclusive. Having
listened to you and handled the very insightful questions at our last
gathering, I can see that you have made that discovery yourselves. We
don't have all the answers here in Annapolis, so your feedback and your
communication with our team are very important. Let us know how we're
doing and especially let me know what more we can do to support you.
ALUMNI LEADERSHIP AT USNA
I mentioned the relevance of the Naval Academy to the 21st Century. I
would attest that your USNA is perhaps even more relevant to today's Naval
Service than it was in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It is certainly
in the good and capable hands of other Naval Academy alumni who are posted
there in a variety of positions. Someone needs to wake up every day and
go to bed every night thinking about and worrying about the Naval Academy.
Thank goodness that such folks exist in the form of the Superintendent,
the Commandant, the Academic Dean and the Deputy Commandant, among many
others. Each one is a Naval Academy graduate and they too require, and
deserve, our support.
HOW CAN ALUMNI SUPPORT USNA
On that note, how can you continue to support the Academy's enduring mission:
"… to develop midshipmen morally, mentally and physically . . ." and "
. . . imbue them with the highest ideals of duty, honor, and loyalty in
order to provide graduates … to assume the highest responsibilities of
command, citizenship and government."
You can choose to support the Academy and The Brigade in much the same
way.
MORALLY:
Trust the institution and those charged with its leadership and care.
Trust that this Brigade will take on the legacy passed to them and improve
it for a future era, as we have done before them. Trust in the mission.
Although change is inevitable and necessary to maintain relevance, the
Naval Academy will not drift from the basic tenets of its mission nor
from its constancy of purpose.
MENTALLY:
Learn about the Academy. Become informed and educated about the Naval
Academy of TODAY, for that is the Naval Academy we are recruiting America's
"best and brightest" to join. You may see differences in today's Naval
Academy, but the similarities are far more interesting. Enduring mission,
enduring values…as with the current renewal and renovation of the infrastructure,
we combine the best of the old with the relevance of the new. The Academy
develops leaders…leaders of great character…leaders to serve the nation.
Let us know what information, tools and updates you and your chapter require
to stay knowledgeable of today's USNA.
PHYSICALLY:
Offer your time, talents and resources. Volunteer to serve your colleagues
locally with a role in the chapter. Help us in our communications and
admissions efforts. Become a Blue & Gold officer. Ask about committee
or board membership for the national organization. And yes, support the
most comprehensive and ambitious fund-raising campaign in Naval Academy
history with your dollars. Gifts to the Leaders to Serve the Nation campaign
will be dollars in support of the Academy's strategic plan and will assure
we maintain the margin of excellence in all we do. Why? Because we need
leaders of great character who serve our nation in a variety of ways -
not just in the military. It's all about command, citizenship and government.
THANK YOU
Once again, Thank You. Thanks for all that you do and continue to do to
support our alma mater. Thank you for passing on the above thoughts to
your membership. I hope you will find another opportunity in the not too
distant future for me to visit again. I look forward to seeing you and
your members when they next visit the Yard.
Go Navy!
GP Watt USNA, '73
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