2023 ALUMNI PICNIC
July 8th
Shaw Park in Clayton
We will gather at the South Shelter in Shaw Park.
(map here)
Chow will be served around 11:30 am

Action Report

I want to thank all that were able to make the summer picnic on 7/10. We had a good turnout with a blend of alumni, spouses & families, parents, one mid and two recent Naval Academy Summer Seminar (NASS) attendees. Please see below for a summary of the annual alumni meeting that was held:

  • A moment of silence was held for our alumni losses over the last year.
  • Memorial Day 2024 is Navy’s turn to host; Mike Dunham continues to be the lead with Kent Higginbotham assisting.
  • Sybergs (Dorsett location) looks to be the LZ for Army-Navy 2023 football watch. This year is the 1st time the game will be held in Boston.
  • USAFA viewing should be held at Sybergs (Dorsett) again. This will be confirmed as the date approaches.
  • Navy plays Notre Dame in Dublin this season, some local alumni are attending.
  • The Post (Olive location) remains as the LZ for standard game watches.
  • The following are Chapter Officer and Board updates:
    • After many enjoyable years as President of the St. Louis Chapter, I have turned over the reins to Lowell Crow ’84 who will take over as Chapter President on August 1st. I want thank all of you for your support and continued commitment with keeping our Chapter strong and attending the various events.
    • It was formally voted on and Will Chamberlain ’76 was approved as the Treasurer.
    • Raese Simpson ’61 has passed the pen to John Winkler ’85 as Secretary. Thank you Raese for the Shipmate submissions and taking roll call at our gatherings. We appreciate the news feeds that show the globe what the St. Louis Chapter does year after year.
    • All other Officers and Board Members remain the same.
  • Blue & Gold numbers were low for 2023 admissions. The Area Coordinators and the BGO’s continue the mission to find the best and brightest candidates for admission to USNA.

 

Before closing, a BZ and big round of applause needs to again to go to the XO, Josh Rich ‘97. “Cookie” led the logistics effort for the picnic, manned the grill at the event and made the day an all-around success. Thank you very much Josh!

 Dave Turnbaugh '89

SUMMER PICNIC 2022 - August 6th

Attendees:

  • Dave Turnbaugh, '89 - Chapter President

  • Josh Rich, '97 - Chapter Vice President

  • Will Chamberlin, '76 - Newly Elected Chapter Treasurer

  • John Boley, '63 - SOPA & Spouse

  • Bob Berger, '70 & Spouse

  • Mike Dunham, '70

  • Kent Higginbotham, '76

  • Chuck Hardy, '81

  • Rick Cassetta, '84

  • Alexa Maranhao, '09 with kids & parents

 

Great but hot afternoon in sunny St. Louis at Shaw Park in Clayton, MO. Good food & great times. Chuck Hardy keeps the crowd smiling with his sea stories and lore. Bob Berger takes the cake (actually brownies) for most desserts consumed. Now that he has fully retired as a dentist' he no longer plays by 'his' rules. Alexa's littles ensured the ice in the coolers was properly cycled to ensure they remained cool all afternoon. And the XO, Josh, volunteered again as Chef Rich to guarantee chow was continuous for the crowd. Thanks to all for making it a great sea story sharing time!

 

Our Annual Chapter Meeting was held, the following minutes apply:

  • A moment of silence was held for fallen Shipmates:

    • Dan Sullivan, '56, Captain, USMC

    • John McKeon, '93, CDR, USN

  • Will ('Doc') Chamberlin '76 volunteered to become the Chapter Treasurer, relieving Dave of this temporary / fiduciary duties. Once the account is turned over and Doc is added, communication will go out Chapter-wide for dues payments, etc.

  • We missed our Corresponding Secretary, Raese '61, due to a last-minute illness, hoping for a speedy recovery!

  • Other Officers & Board Members remain in place for another term.

  • BGO Coordinator update:

    • Kent provided a summary of MO & IL candidates' the best numbers we have seen in the St. Louis Metro area in years.

    • Last year was low due to COVID, this year rebounded tremendously.

  • Plebe recognition luncheon was attended by Kent, Josh, and Alexa

    • A great event was held with guest speakers from the class of '23

    • Brothers in Arms attended with a '22 grad and now a Marine 2nd Lt, James Moloney, who congratulated his younger brother, Doug Moloney, on accepting his appointment as a member of the Class of '26! Keeping it in the family' way to go and BZ to the parents!

  • Army / Navy Football: Please spread the word, send ideas to Chapter leadership. We are looking at alternate locations vs. Ballpark Village. FYI, The Brew Hub has gone out of business ' so that venue is no longer an option.

  • The USNA Parents' Club has reached out again in hopes of joining forces with our Chapter for various gatherings. They are a very active group with events scheduled throughout the year. We will provide them an open invite for our football watch parties, next year's picnic (they will pay their way), etc. More to follow on this throughout the year. All in attendance ratified this decision.

  • USAFA football watch party: Josh is our liaison for this, we are thinking it will again be held at Sybergs' ' Westport. More to follow as the event gets closer.

  • John Boley brought up a great point to remain close with your local Shipmates, distant classmates, far & near company mates, etc. His company holds monthly Zoom calls and has an annual (rotating location) mini-reunion each year. They love traveling to various locations (New Orleans, etc.) vs. the higher cost of Annapolis on the big (reunion) weekends. Food for thought to be the genesis for your group(s).

  • Memorial Day: Thanks again to Mike & Kent for organizing our portion of the Remembrance in 2022. Next year is USAFA's turn to host.

  • Hoping to see a larger crowd at future picnics and events. If anybody has ideas for other fun gatherings, your Chapter leadership is all ears and we'd be happy to assist with organizing!

  • Meeting was concluded with the singing of Blue & Gold.

 Attendees

 

Respectfully submitted,

Dave Turnbaugh, ’89, Chapter President USNA-AA St. Louis

 

Summer Picnic at Tilles Park - July 9, 2016

Shipmates,

 

What a great turn-out on 7/9!  All kids, big & small had a great time!!!  For those of you that made it, we are hoping you enjoyed it as much as the Chapter Leadership did with the preparation & execution.  Josh & Josh – thank you very much for the heavy lifting & BBQ prowess!

 

A quick re-cap / summary of the Annual Chapter Meeting for all that could not make it:

  •          Chapter President: I, Dave Turnbaugh, was re-elected for another term
  •          Chapter Vice-President: Ray Rodriguez, was also re-elected for another term
  •          Shipmate Correspondent / Secretary: Raese Simpson will continue in this capacity
  •          Treasurer: Ted Kretschmar (thank you very much) has been replaced by Joe Piganelli ‘06
  •          Board Members & Special Occasion personnel:

o   Per the By-Laws, we are allowed six (6) Council / Board Members.  All will remain in place.  Mike Carnes, Josh Gann, Ron Hill, David Noble, Josh Rich and Gary Thompson (also our web-master) are currently these Members.

o   Memorial Day Remembrance Coordinator: We are still seeking an individual to assist Mike Dunham and ultimately take over this role.  Please reach out to any Board Member or Officer if you are interested.

  •          Various “fun” events were discussed and all we need is somebody to set these up & execute the plan.  Don’t be shy!  Any / all events will be entertained.
  •          A hard-copy chapter list / roster will not be produced.  Any alum can query National to look-up Shipmates or Classmates.  You can also contact any Board Member or Officer for assistance.
  •          The quickly-approaching football season was discussed.  We are seeking alternate locations (other than Fandango’s) for the general game-watches.  Please send any suggestions directly to Josh Rich @ joshua_a_rich@yahoo.com, he is our football coordinator for the ’16 season.  Additional information will be also promulgated SEPCOR for Notre-Dame & USAFA.  Army-Navy will again be @ Ballpark Village this year!
  •          Mike Carnes provided a great update on the STL candidates for the Class of ’20 as well as the NAPSTERs!  We will have these #’s uploaded to the website soon.

 

We look forward to many more successful years and with your assistance, we will propel the fun-filled event calendar into the next decade.

 

Please visit the Chapter Website for additional information & gouge on upcoming events @ http://stlouis.usnachapters.com/.

 

GO NAVY & BEAT ARMY!

Spank ‘89

(Picnic photos by Raese Simpson)

Josh cooks his own lunch too.

Can't get much better than this

Who called this meeting?

Picnic anyone?

It's not loaded

Army Navy Game Watch - December 12, 2015 - Navy 21 / Army 17

Thanks to all who made yesterday a huge success!!!  I truly think we have found a good home for Army-Navy & the crowd had more energy this year than we’ve seen in the past!

Attached is the list of grads in attendance.  Raese- please use for your shipmate article (this is the easiest format that I could immediately get the information to you).

Thank you for making the Greater St. Louis Honor Flight feel welcome & the Chapter’s generosity was truly appreciated.

Also, from the Marines on station… they greatly appreciated the toy donations as well as the cash.

In closing, I would estimate Navy had > 100 fans (possibly 150 with the stragglers, friends, Honor Flight crew, etc.) – and Army had the young(er) crowd covered with their contingent of recent grads stationed @ Fort Lost-in-the-Woods… so if I had to provide an overall SWAG of football fans – I’d say close to 300 in the joint crowd.

Thanks again for a great celebration & 14th consecutive victory over the Whoops!!!

GO NAVY!!!
Spank ‘89

(click on the pictures below for full size view.)

click me

Click me

PB&J Open Golf - Reported by Raese Simpson '61

Speaking of Dick (Paddy) Padburg ’54, He once again hosted and coordinated the PB&J Open this past September 18th at the Cardinal Golf Course on Scott AFB. This involved bringing together alumni teams from all service academies, Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard. The price of admission was only $65 and 2 jars each of Peanut Butter and Jelly (for a local food pantry). In addition to a round of golf, this got you a steak dinner and four drinks at the Club House following the event. The All Academy winning foursome following the shot gun start consisted of Rick Roustio ’78, John Hueseman ’78, Greg Hightaian ’80 and Ned Hunter ’81 with a score of -10 (Navy, of course!). Prior to the event Rick Roustio hosted a Navy team get-together at his home to get everybody pumped up. This included any number of snack goodies plus Bloody Mary’s. it was so well done I detect a helping hand from Mary Kay in the back ground! Other participants were Tom Abernathy ’71, Terry Councilor ’70 and Raese Simpson ‘61. Well done Rick and Paddy, thanks for a great event. In our foursome Paddy had the longest put, not bad for the Class of ’54! (Sorry Tom & Terry, you missed the photo op!)


2015 Chapter Picnic in Tilles Park
(photos courtesy of Raese Simpson and Margarette Boley)


Guys, Gals and Kids


Bob ‘70 & Gloria Berger, Sara McCroary 
& Mike Dunham ‘70


Terry Councilor, Bob Berger, Mike Dunham - all ‘70



 BILL w/His BUD



Josh Rich ’97, Matt McCroary ’81, David Turnbaugh ‘89


All the Guys


2013 Armed Forces Bowl

December 30, 2013, Rookies Bar & Grill, St. Charles

Armed Forces Bowl
Rookies opened early to accomodate Navy fans witnessing a dominant Bowl victory

2013 Army Navy Football

December 14, 2013, Mile 277 Tap & Grill, St. Louis

USNA '70 Alumni
USNA Class of 1970: Bob Berger, Ron Hill, Terrence Councilor, Chuck Stout

USNA '92 Alumni
USNA Class of 1992: Steve West, Roland Klein

USNA '97 Alumni
USNA Class of 1997: John Comerford, Lisa Harper, Eric Bronner

2013 Founder's Day

October 5, 2013, Franco Restaurant, St. Louis

Mike Doolin
At the 2013 Founder's Day formal dinner, Guest of Honor Mr. James M. “Mike” Doolin spoke on Cyber implications in DoD today.

Founder's Day 2013
Jim Castano '91, Dave Turnbaugh '89, Susie Sablan '81, John Ciaravino '02, Matt McCroary '81, Mike Carnes '74, Dan Sullivan '56

Founder's Day Cake
Dan Sullivan '56 shares the honor of cutting the Founder's Day cake.

2013 Football Socials

Navy vs. Air Force, October 5, 2013

Navy / Air Force

Navy / Air Force
Over 30 Naval Academy and Air Force Academy alumni and guests were at the Lumiere Place Casino Stadium Sportsbar and Grill to watch the Navy/Air Force football game.


Navy vs. Western Kentucky, September 28, 2013

Navy vs WKU Social
Chuck Stout '70, Dick Padberg '54, Dan Sullivan '56, and John Ciaravino '02 (not pictured) had a good time at the Corner Pub and Grill in St. Louis, watching the Navy/Western Kentucky football game. Some Ross Perot '53 and John McCain '58 stories were shared, along with a humorous rememberence of Midshipman hijinks after Hurricane Hazel in 1954. Go Navy!

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