January President’s Message

On behalf of the United States Naval Academy Oregon and SW Washington Chapter I would like to wish all of you a wonderful new year and hope that 2021 far exceeds 2020 (how can it not).

The Chapter continues to have its weekly happy hour zoom meetings at 1800 hours every Wednesday.  We are having consistently 10 to 12 participants each week.  We would love to have all of you join in.  There is no driving required and it is a fun time to connect with local alumni.  Contact the chapter for the invite.

The chapter is beginning a transition in leadership.  John Adams ’69 will be taking my position as chapter president effective 1 February.  I will take his position as vice president, but more importantly will begin a transition to relieve Butch Bewick of his duties as Oregon BGO Area Coordinator.  Butch’s shoes will be hard to fill as he has been such a dynamic force in ensuring Oregon has the highest quality of applicants to the Naval Academy each year.  The Academy Alumni Association leadership often tells me that the relationship between the Chapter, the BGO organization and the Parent’s Club is as strong as they have seen anywhere.  This is in great part due to the efforts of Butch over the many years he served as our area coordinator for the BGO organization.   While we are making this change now, once we start having meetings again, we will confirm it with a vote of the chapter.

Finally, I would like to acknowledge the Parent’s Club leadership, both current and future.  They have done a remarkable job and have strengthened both their and our organizations.

Outgoing officers:
Doug DiCola, Treasurer (Justin ’23),
Marie-Louise Vallancey-Martinson, Secretary (Alexandria ’21)
Jeneane Douglas, Social Media Administrator (Cameron ’21)
Kathy Barnes, Past President (Taylor ’20)
Transitioning:
Dawn Brucker, President to Past President (Evan ’21)
Shelley Liscom, VP to President (Kirk ’23)
Jennifer Scypinski , Web master to Secretary & Web Master (Jack ’22)
Remaining in Current Position:
Ilene Wells, Send Out Cards (James ’22)
Incoming:
Barb Rivoli, Treasurer (Jon ’24)
Jen Wiley, Social Media Administrator (Nick ’21)