79/80 CLASS NEWS As Dave mentioned, Fred Gerheiser elected to not run for another term. And so I have the pleasure of Chuck Dixon, Vice introducing my President-elect roommate Chuck Dixon as Vice President-elect: M Greetings Classmates! Let me echo what our President-elect has said in that it is truly an honor and I am humbled to have the opportunity to give back to the class as the incoming Vice President starting in 2020. Many thanks to Sean and Fred for their dynamic tag team over the past 20 years. The attendance at our recent reunion and the fantastic execution of the weekend is a credit to the entire board and to our fearless event organizer, Valerie Gerheiser. Thanks Valerie!! I’m looking forward to our opportunity to provide another Link in the Chain (although not looking forward to what that says about my age) as well as finding ways to continue to keep us closely tied together, reflecting on our four years by the Bay. I’m also very pleased and thankful that Fred will still be our Tailgate Guru and Valerie will keep setting our food themes for each game. I hope to see many of you at the remaining games and now that we live in Edgewater and I work in downtown Annapolis, I hope to see many of you around town! All the best and O/V, —Chuck Thanks, Dave and Chuck, for your comments, and congratulations on your election.
Jeff Johnson, Treasurer
Jeff Johnson returns for another term as our treasurer. Jeff doesn’t get much press, but his strong fiscal
guidance over the years has been responsible for our excellent financial shape. Ever humble, Jeff pledges that he will continue to be a good and prudent steward of our class funds. And all classmates visiting in or around the Sarasota, FL area are welcome to give him a call for a visit. Sean and Fred have served as our class leadership for the last 20plus years. To thank them for their service, I asked them to each offer a few remarks as they step down from their positions. First, our outgoing Vice President Fred Gerheiser: M I am grateful to have been the Class of ’79’s Vice President over the last 20 years and to have been able to assist Sean in any way that I could over the years. I think the main contributions were my involvement to get the reunions much better organized and in venues where we could get as many classmates to return as possible in the Annapolis area while still being cost conscious. My wife, Valerie, and I took over the planning and organization of the 20th reunion in 1999 following in the footsteps of Frank Dombrowski and his leadership to plan and organize our 15th reunion. Due to the turnout that was expected for the 25th, we moved a little “out of the box” and chose the BWI Marriott for our major class social and HQ venue which worked out well. I think the reunions have been going well ever since and the involvement of more volunteers over the years has been tremendous. Going forward, I think we’re in great shape for the upcoming reunions. I also wanted to get the class more involved with Saturday afternoon football game tailgaters in the fall. When we started back around 1999, there was very little interest from the classmates living in the immediate area and the tailgaters were quite sparsely attend by our classmates. We kept at it, though, and it grew to where it is today. Adding the permanent perimeter tailgating spot helped tremendously. I will continue to assist wherever possible and look forward to the upcoming class initiatives such as the “link in the chain” program with
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the Class of 2029 and future reunions and, of course, fall Saturday afternoon tailgaters!! Sean Cate will be sending out a farewell email, but he asked that I include these few words in this, the final class column with his name on the masthead: M Old sailors never die, they just move closer to the middle of SHIPMATE. Classmates, it has been one of the highest honors of my life, and one I never expected on May 30, 1979, to be your Class President for the past 20 years. So many of you expressed your appreciation of my efforts at the Reunion in September that all I can say, it has been my pleasure. I want to thank so many of you for your support and confidence I won’t name names lest I exclude someone whom I shouldn’t, but it is those of you who have stepped up to assist me on projects and other undertakings that were the real keys to the success of our class. You know who you are, and you have my eternal gratitude. It is time for me to pass the watch to the classmate who will lead us through our most important post-service operation - the fiveyear Link-In-The-Chain experience. Know, good Sir, that I am not going anywhere, and I am here to assist in any way I can, but this is your class to lead now. And I wish you and Christine every success and happiness this position brings. Fair winds and following seas my friend! Captain Jackson, I stand relieved! Omnes Viri 1979! —Sean Sean and Fred, I join all ’79ers in echoing Dave’s comments thanking you for your service. And we all know that, while you give up your official titles, you both will still be actively involved in ’79 activities.
Wiz Withers, Secretary
Finally, classmates, I too want to thank all of you for allowing me to continue serving as class secretary. So many of you at the reunion specifically thanked me for my work in publishing these columns in SHIPMATE. I truly do enjoy hearing from all of you and chronicling the adventures of ’79ers across the globe. It’s always fun getting to know classmates that I didn’t interact with much as a midshipman. And every column I put together reminds me that our class bond today is just as strong now as it was at graduation. My wife Karen and I wish each of you a very happy holiday season, and I’ll be back in 2020. Until then… Omnes Viri, Wiz…
HAPPY HOLIDAYS Best Wishes for the New Year from your Alumni Association and Foundation.
’80
Life Membership: 96% Donor Participation: 18.45% Pres: Tim Kobosko Sec’y: CAPT Joseph A. Grace Jr., USNR 15 Allard Blvd., New Orleans, LA 70119 p: 504-915-6711; e: joe.grace@1980.usna.com Website: www.USNA1980.org
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Greetings Classmates, We have a date for the Reunion – the weekend of the 12th of September 2020. Right now, we are in the planning stages of the weekend festivities so there will be much more to follow. If you would like to