Blue Chip Dinner - December 20, 2023
Colonel James P McDonough, USNA '94, will be our keynote speaker at our chapter's flagship event.
***UPDATE 14 December 2023: Seating at dinner is sold out. Thanks to everyone for the great support! We have a WAITLIST managed by John Wroten '65. Historically, some parties have been seated from the waitlist. If you would like to add your name, please email or call John at jwwroten@earthlink.net / mobile 214-533-1746. ***
Our annual Naval Academy Blue Chip Dinner will be held Wednesday, December 20, 2023, 6:30 PM at the
Royal Oaks Country Club, 7915 Greenville Avenue, Dallas.
This event, hosting a number of outstanding candidates for admission to next year’s Plebe class, has been a major event for our chapter for over thirty consecutive years. These young men and women are top academic and athletic prospects who are in demand by other universities and academies.
We are honored this year to have as our featured speaker Colonel J.P. McDonough, USMC, Commandant of Midshipmen of the United States Naval Academy. Colonel McDonough, Class of ‘94, will inspire these young men and women with his enthusiasm and knowledge of the mission and work of the Academy. His many accomplishments and awards are included in the biography on the reverse of this letter.
Your presence at this event is important. You can have a direct and significant influence on these candidates and their parents as they see the lasting influence and fraternity that attendance at USNA affords. Your financial help is also critical as the entire cost of this event – with a budget of $21,000 this year – is borne by our local chapter. These costs include dinners for our invited guests: candidates, their parents, and USNA participants and representatives. The dinner ticket cost this year will be $65. You can help by being a financial sponsor or donor as shown below:
- $600 Table Sponsor: sponsors 10 invited guests (2 candidates, 4 parents, 2 midshipmen and 2 guests);
- $260 sponsors two candidates and one set of parents;
- $130 sponsors two candidates or one set of parents;
- $65 sponsors one candidate or one midshipman; or a donation of any amount.
Please note that the Blue Chip Dinner is intended to let Candidates specifically designated by the Admissions office meet Alumni, current Midshipmen, and parents from the Naval Academy family. As such, seating priority will be given to those groups. We expect to reach our capacity for this event. We may not have capacity for non-official candidates or other interested parties. Seating for this event is subject to such constraints, and we reserve the right to turn away, with refund, those who cannot be accomodated due to this constraint.
Please make your reservation and payment on our web site. Reservations need to be made as soon as possible due to limited seating, but not later than Friday, December 15, 2023. A wait list will be utilized for any over-subscription.
***PLEASE NOTE: Our communications for this year's event will be entirely online. We are NOT SENDING A POSTAL MAILING THIS YEAR. This saves substantial $$$ (in the face of rising costs) and countless volunteer hours. Please continue to support us so generously as you have in the past.***
Online donations & reservations: Click here to Reserve Seats and Donate!!!
To mail a printed form for your donations & seats: Click here for our donation and reservation form!!!
Please seriously consider this request for support. We look forward to seeing you there.
Respectfully,
John W. Wroten, Jr., ‘65
Click here to Reserve Seats and Donate!!! - or - Click here for our donation and reservation form!!!
About COL. J.P McDonough, Commandant of Midshipmen
Colonel “J.P.” McDonough graduated from the United States Naval Academy with a Bachelor of Science in Systems Engineering and was commissioned in May 1994.
A career artillery officer, Colonel McDonough’s operational assignments include: platoon commander with Battery C, 1st Battalion, 11th Marines; Kilo Battery Commander, 3rd Battalion, 10th Marines in support of Operations Swift and Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan; battalion operations officer, 3rd Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment; officer in charge, Embedded Training Team 6-5, Afghan National Army in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan; regimental executive officer, 12th Marine and 11th Marine Regiments; commander, 1st Battalion, 11th Marines; and most recently as commander, 10th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division.
Colonel McDonough’s staff and joint tours include serving as the executive assistant to the Deputy Commandant, Plans, Policies, and Operations at U.S. Marine Corps Headquarters in the Pentagon; the Joint Staff where he served as an action officer and division chief in the J39, Deputy Directorate for Global Operations; a modeling and simulation analyst for training systems and project officer for multiple simulation programs at USMC Training and Education Command; and staff platoon commander at The Basic School in Quantico, Virginia.
Colonel McDonough assumed his duties as the 89th Commandant of Midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy in June 2021. His decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Navy Commendation Medal, and various unit and service awards. He earned a master’s degree in modeling, virtual environments, and simulation from the Naval Postgraduate School in 2005, and graduated with distinction from the Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy at National Defense University in 2014
***UPDATE 14 December 2023: Seating at dinner is sold out. Thanks to everyone for the great support! We have a WAITLIST managed by John Wroten '65. Historically, some parties have been seated from the waitlist. If you would like to add your name, please email or call John at jwwroten@earthlink.net / mobile 214-533-1746. ***