In January I received a letter from the Alumni Association congratulating us for our selection as a Distinguished Chapter.  The selection was the result of the contributions of many in the Chapter to the community, our organization and the Navy, and we are proud of our ability to stay connected with the Academy.

On February 9^th, we have our annual Valentine’s Day Dinner, and we are hoping for a good turnout as we manipulate our way out of the threat of COVID, and look for ways to communicate and assemble again.  Please consider attending the dinner the evening of the 9^th, and respond to the invitation promptly so that we can get an accurate count.

We are privileged to have Captain Don Walsh, USN (ret), PhD, Member, U.S. National Academy of Engineering (NAE); Member, Ocean Elders; President, International Maritime Inc; speaking to us at our April luncheon.  Captain Walsh, along with Jacques Piccard, was one of two people to first descend to the Challenger Deep, the deepest point on earth, in the bathyscaphe Trieste in 1960.

At the June Luncheon, Captain Gillian Richards, USN will speak to us about the Class of 2026.  She is the new Blue and Gold Area Coordinator and the class is off to an impressive start.  Let’s all welcome her and the Class of 2026.

We have decided to try to schedule our picnic again for 2022, and get an early enough start on it to avoid any rush to decide how, when or where to make things happen.  Soon I will be notifying the other academies to encourage their participation, and, hopefully, we will have great weather and an enjoyable event.

We received a good introduction to the Hivebrite system (myUSNA) from Dr. Sofi Loomis at our Wednesday Zoom Happy Hour on January 19^th.  This upgraded communications system for all alumni is hoped to be a step forward from the restrictions associated with having only a website.  I will be registering the Chapter in the system later this month and each of you will have the opportunity to provide your contact and/or background information as desired in order to take advantage of its offerings.

Wednesday Zoom Happy Hours will continue for the foreseeable future and we would like to remind you that the use of our Zoom capabilities is open for anyone who has the need.  Please contact Mike Carmichael if you would like to use it.

Go Navy,

John Adams ‘69, CDR, USN (Ret)

We had our Army-Navy gathering at Big Al’s, and despite having to share the venue with the Portland Timbers championship game, we had a great time.  The game was terrific and the result was exactly as we hoped it would be.  The December luncheon, however, was limited to a small number of folks.  As usual, those who attended enjoyed themselves and the comradery.  Because of the impact of the latest COVID surge, we decided not to have a January luncheon, and will resume in February.  We are hoping that the duration of this variant will be short lived as it has been in other countries who experienced it before we did.

The Chapter was once again recognized as a “distinguished Chapter,” which gives us opportunities to participate in unique ways in the Alumni Association.  Thanks to Mike, Doug, Ted and Janette for their contributions to the application.

You might be interested in going on line to familiarize yourself with what is available and the extent to which it might help you find/communicate with classmates and other alumni.  The Chapter will be looking at the other opportunities within the system that might help us operate more effectively.  We are considering asking Dr. Loomis to join us at a Wednesday Happy Hour to answer questions and provide more information.

Soon we will be deciding whether or not to continue our Wednesday evening Happy Hour on Zoom.  I have always been a big fan of the occasion and look forward to it, but it does have limited participation, usually consisting of the same people.  If you would like to see what it is like, please tune in.

Go Navy,

John Adams ‘69, CDR, USN (Ret)