Greetings 78ers…

Happy 2019! I trust it’s been a great year for everyone so far. It has sure been an interesting one in so many areas.

Two of you truly Great Americans answered my call/plea to send in additional shots of reunion gatherings! First was Jeff Kindschuh and the gang from Eagle Eight. Not sure where it was taken but there are some fairly good-sized red rocks in the background…will let your imaginations run wild.

From left to right, Cindy Bingham, Barry Bingham, AOC Warren Miller, Ginny Miller, Cindy Ogrinz, Russ Ogrinz, Anne Chamblee, Bill Chamblee, Dennis Park, Jeff Kindschuh, Pete Zimowski, Glenda Park, Teresa Fennessy, Mike Fennessy, Sue Byerley, Dave Pepper, Aaron Byerley, Patti Pepper, John Hardeman, and Pam Hardeman

Jeff notes that Barry Bingham was in Eagle Eight as a sophomore and junior then moved to Fifth Squadron his senior year. AOC Warren Miller was Captain/Major Miller, the AOC for all of Sophomore year up to and including Firstie year. Well done Jeff and thanks for answering the call.

Next submittal was from Rick Benik with a cool snap of a 4th Squadron get together at Paul and Liz Valovcin’s house after the most disappointing football game. Paul and Liz have hosted a get-together for the past several reunions with this one being the first time a group photo was taken.

Front row left to right: Bob Zielinski, Paul Valovcin, LC Crowe, Johnny Weida, and Rick Benik.

Back row left to right: Steve Thompson, John Guth, John Pyzdrowski, Bob Clark, Mark Renelt, and Scotty Rogers. Thanks so much Rick…great to see you again. 

In other news, fellow Bulldawger John Parrot has been in airport management in Alaska for many years. He recently reported that “I have left the Great White North and am the new Airport Director at King County International Airport/Boeing Field in Seattle. Dee and the girls are still in Anchorage through at least the end of the school year.” This is quite the feat as you can see from the shot below:

Congrats to you John!

Finally, this issue of Checkpoints is supposed to be released in early to mid-March, hopefully before the 18^th which is the final day of the AOG election. If you’re reading this after the 18^th…don’t go any further. However, if it arrives before that day please do keep reading. One of our own, Al Myers is running for the Board of Directors. His candidacy statement is reprinted below:

I am volunteering to serve on the Association of Graduates Board of Directors so that I can give back to the institution a small fraction of what the Academy gave me, a fascinating 35-plus-year career serving our nation. I believe that, as a member of this board, I can significantly contribute to their mission of supporting the Academy, cadets and graduates; specifically I believe my unique perspectives of working for more than 35 years with my Navy peers can help improve our service academy standing in Washington, D.C., and build upon the progress of the AOG and Endowment over the past years, including increasingly close cooperation between the AOG and Endowment leadership.

If you’ve already voted, thanks for doing that and hope you voted for Al. If not, please consider voting for our classmate and someone whom I can personally vouch for. I’ve known Al since we were third classmen in CS-13. He is and always has been an extremely focused and sincere individual. I personally wasn’t surprised at his career success rising to the rank of three star admiral as we all knew as cadets that he was going to burn up whatever program he was in. 

You also may have received an e-mail from a group of grads titled “Our Academy Our AOG” encouraging you to NOT vote in the election (prevents the 25% quorum). This is due to their belief that the AOG Board has not been forthcoming with “full and fair disclosure” of both the positive and negative implications of voting for a single CEO of both the AOG and Endowment. I believe these grads are sincere and that they truly believe in their position. However, by not voting for the bylaw change, you are also not voting for six new BOD members. So please weigh this decision carefully and do what you think is best. I’ve gone out of the normal “swim lane” but felt this was an important topic to bring up.

That’ll be all for this edition. May you have a blessed summer and we’ll “see” you next time. As always, please send pix and info to yours truly!

God bless

’78 IS GREAT!