tjyoung70@comcast.net SENDS:

The 50 Year Affiliation Class efforts thus far have been extremely successful and very enjoyable. There are a number of future activities that will require our help. Rather than send individual notes and clutter your inbox, these events are explained below. Please consider supporting these efforts if possible.

50 Year Legacy Yearbook: Wally Kaine has agreed to head this monumental effort. The plan is to publish a Howitzer like product around our 50th Reunion time period that captures the various class activities over the last 50 years and provides individual summaries. Each class member will be asked to provide a write up with photos that tells what they’ve been up to for all these years. We’ll also get this information for all deceased classmates. The Class of 1969 produced a fabulous product. If you are near any member of that class, ask to see it and it will really stimulate you. Collecting (and prodding) classmates will require some help, so Wally is asking for volunteers to be company and regimental reps. Their responsibilities will be to assist anyone who has questions and coordinate/follow-up on individual write ups and photos. If you are interested (or want to throw your old roommate under the bus) please give your name to Terry Young (tjyoung70@comcast.net  or 717-580-8216)

Leadership Challenge (March 6, 2018): This is a classroom setting, interactive platoon exercise run by the cadet company leadership and given to the Yearlings. They are given video clips of actual leadership challenges and are broken into small groups to discuss These groups are changed after each vignette. 50 Year Affiliation Classes are asked to provide members to serve as participants and mentors. Nine classmates have graciously volunteered to participate (William Geiger, Frank Monaco, Jim Sullivan, Larry White, Jim Price, Fred Lough, Jim Snider and Terry Young) but we can certainly use more. Your duties are minimal. We would meet at the Community Club around 9 AM where The Simon Center provides a continental breakfast and instruction on the exercise. We then meet our company representatives and accompany them to lunch in the mess hall. That is followed by the actual exercise in Thayer Hall classrooms and a short after action review. Again, contact Terry Young if you can make it.

Inspiration to Serve (August 19, 2018): This is a relatively new ceremony for the Cows. As you recall, once you begin your second class academic year, you incur a service commitment. In an effort to demonstrate the significance of this commitment leading to lifelong service to the nation, the 2nd Class affirms their commitment in an Affirmation Ceremony, held the night before the fall academic semester starts. The Commandant will address the cadets as the first speaker; Jim Lovelace has tentatively agreed to be our guest speaker. Immediately following the addresses the Commandant will administer the affirmation oath, and then our class will present a joint class coin (our crest on one side, Class of 2020 on the other) to each 2020 member. This is an extremely meaningful and moving ceremony.

Our goal is to have a rep from each of our cadet companies at the Affirmation Ceremony—’69 was able to pull this off last August and we need to follow their lead. Since this ceremony is conducted at night, it would likely require an overnight stay, although some involved with other class ceremonies left after the event. Chip Leonard is heading our efforts for this event. Please contact him at leonaha@verizon.net  if you can attend, and cc Terry Young at tjyoung70@comcast.net