2023 - State of the Chapter Message

Here's what's going in this year!

President's Update 2023

Greetings North Texas!

 

On behalf of my fellow Chapter Officers and our Board Directors, I wanted to provide you a recap of highlights from 2022 and a preview of 2023, which figures to be an exciting year for the North Texas Chapter.  

Recap of Last Year
2022 was an active year for the chapter as we accelerated out of the pandemic and were able to more consistently hold in-person events.  A few of our most notable events included:

  •     Led by North Texas Parents Club, we welcomed incoming Plebes for the Class of 2026 to the Naval Academy family in the annual send-off picnic
  •     We welcomed the Navy Football team to Texas with a great turnout for the SMU game and tailgate, the first Navy tailgate in North Texas in four years
  •     We hosted the 51st Annual Blue Chip Dinner, the Chapter’s flagship event, for top notch candidates for admission to USNA; this year’s event had 285 participants and featured the Superintendent and Commandant at guest speakers, and the recently named President & CEO of the US Naval Academy Alumni Association & Foundation was also in attendance
  •     We were one of only seven chapters honored to be designated as a Distinguished Chapter

We are excited by the prospects of a robust 2023 event schedule and look forward to an even higher level of participation from all of you in the North Texas Naval Academy Alumni Community! We always welcome all of your input and recommendations on how to drive continuous improvement within the chapter in support of our mission.  We also welcome and encourage volunteers who have interest in being more involved in the chapter, including with some of our biggest events such as the Navy/SMU tailgate.  Please reach out to any of the chapter officers anytime!  To that end, be on the lookout for a brief survey we will be sending out to solicit your input and recommendations on how we can best serve you as members and support our mission here ion North Texas.

Upcoming Events
Here is a quick snapshot of what is in store for 2023:

  •     Chapter transition to the new myUSNA platform.  This will help you connect with your classes and other Alumni, align us with Annapolis, streamline database consistency, and facilitate more effective and efficient communications to the chapter going forward.  Our transition is now underway – look for important emails!
  •     Monthly chapter meetings with a variety of interesting guest speakers
  •     We anticipate an election of the next North Texas Chapter representative on the USNA Board of Trustees – More details to come on this soon
  •     Central Region Representative to the Board of Trustees Election – Voting is now open, closing at 5:00 pm EDT on April 23. Alumni will be getting an emailed ballot from the Alumni Association. Please note that the North Texas Chapter's own Darryl Smith is running.
  •     Class of 2027 welcome aboard and send off in June
  •     Navy/SMU football game and tailgate – November 25
  •     Service Academy Alumni Flag Football game in November – Navy will be defending its crown!
  •     Army/Navy Football watch party in December
  •     And of course, our 52nd Annual Blue Chip Dinner in December

Volunteers needed!
The Chapter runs on the efforts of its volunteers. We were one of seven AA-recognized "Distinguished Chapters" for a reason – our members pitch in to help. We are ALWAYS looking for more volunteer help. Whether it is event support, communications or social media, or to champion a new initiative or event you are passionate about – we need your help! If interested, please reach out to me or any of our other chapter officers directly.

Thank you for your commitment to our mission, and special thanks to our chapter officers and board members:

  • VP of Programs – Carrie Murdock
  • VP of Membership – Ty Rose
  • Secretary – Frankie Delgado
  • Treasurer – Greg Colandrea
  • General Director – Darryl Smith
  • General Director – Clif Colbert
  • General Director – Open Position recently vacated.  More details on selection of a replacement to come on this soon.
  • Trustee - Greg Colandrea

Go Navy!

Jamey Cummings ‘93
President, Naval Academy Alumni Association of North Texas