May 2014 – USNA Out

Alumni support for the dinner continues to grow
whether or not they are able to attend

Attendance by alumni was down by 30% from previous year. Analysis of 34 alumni identified as having attended one of the previous 5 dinners, 26 either RSVPd regrets or have moved out of the DC area. Reasons for no-attenance of 8 others unknown. Four alumni (20%) were joining the dinner for their first time.

Numbers by the Year

	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014
Mids – 1/C	4	7	5	18	13	8
Mids – 234/C	14	14	13	11	20	14
Mid guests	1	2	6	12	7	6
Alumni	6	18	33	30	30	21
Alumni guests	5	6	12	13	11	9
Others				6	1	6
Total Attendees	30	47	69	90	82	64

Donor attending	1	1	4	5	11	17
Donor absentia	0	0	3	5	10	9
Total Donors	1	1	7	10	21	26

Dinner Food & Bev	N/A	$1500	$8006	$6923	$4639	$5773
Decor/Printing	N/A	$0	$0		$94	$13
Dinner Total	N/A	$1500	$8006	$6923	$4733	$5786

Dinner Revenue	$0	$1500	$1999	$5445	$5026	$4960
USNA Out Subsidy	$0	$0	$6006	$1478	-$387	$812
Ticket Price	$0.00	$0.00	$50.00	$50.00	$60.00	$65.00
Cost/attendee	N/A	$31.91	$116.03	$76.92	$56.57	$90.20
Subsity/attendee	N/A	N/A	$87.05	$16.42	-$4.71	$12.69
Awards	N/A	$394.90	$557.79	$468.00	$429.00	$263.53

This report is here for info and resource of lessons learned for subsequent events, i.e. “how did we do it last time” and “how can it be better.” To see the history of all dinners, see http://usnaout.org/evolutions-alumni-student-dinners. Due to overwhelming very positive comments after the event, a post-event survey was not sent to attendees as in past years.

Attendance

Attending: 64

22 mids
6 guests of mids
21 alumni
9 guests of alumni

No shows: 3
Unplanned: 1 – “ally” midshipman 2/C
Tag along mids: 0

Note: No “hidden on the roster” nor unknown mids arrived at this event, a consistent pattern since the end of DADT.

Funding (unaudited)

The Class of 2014 executed the dinner event remaining within $1000 of collected funds which was the goal of the Chair & treasurer.

$5,000.00 contributions via PayPal®
$ (154.67) PayPal fees
$4,845.33 net PayPal receipts

$   115.00 checks
$     0.00 cash received at dinner
$4,960.33 Total receipts

$5,772.52 Catering
$   13.22 Printing

$5,785.74 Total expenses

$ 825.41 Shortfall paid by USNA Out

$292.71 in sales taxes which would have been precluded with Determination Letter (not received until 5/5/14)

The Event – What Happened and When

Planning

A POAM was re-developed from 2013 and followed. Most actions completed ahead or on schedule. Items not accomplished as planned were:

Linking alumni to midshipmen for awards. List of alumni attending with mini-bios was forwarded to Mid coordinator on 4/7 who forwarded list to 1/C on 4/21, received back from Mids on 4/23.

Printing of name badges on Friday night vice week before.

Email Communications

1/23/2014 (90 days before event) – Class of 2014 sent to all members “save the date” (SENT 1 DAY EARLY)
3/11/11/2013 – Invitations from the Class of 2013 emailed to membership (4 DAYS EARLY)
4/4/2014 – USNA Out sent early registration reminder (1 DAY EARLY)
4/24/201 – USNA Out sent to dinner attendees updated SOE of the evening (Not in POAM, but could/should be included as action item in the future.

RSVPs

The RSVP period was 48 days long.
46 total RSVPs received of 302 non-mid members (15.2%)

When

18 – 39% RSVPs received immediately after first email
13 – 28% RSVPs received after initial rush before 3 week reminder
12 – 26% of RSVPs received after 3 week reminder before deadline
2 – 4% received after deadline (1 AD)
1 – 2% received after event

How

4 RSVPs received via email after initial invitation
42 RSVPs received via website

About the Event

“Save the Date” via email 90 days prior to the event per common protocol.

Invitations composited via photoshop (file linked below) and emailed to all alumni, faculty, staff, parent members. No mids nor courtesy distribution. Invite included time/location as they were set in time for the emailing.

A “schedule of events” was prepared and printed on goldenrod card stock. 8 half sheets were placed notables but were quickly absorbed by guests.

Attendees were provided pre-printed name Avery 74461 badges created online at http://www.avery.com/avery/en_us/Templates-%26-Software/Software/Avery-Design–Print-Online.htm.
Merging CSV file of attendees (First name, Last name, class) with USNA Out logo in ULH corner, printed to PDFs which were then taken to FedEx to print on white & blue card stock.

Midshipmen had an option to be designated as “ok to be in photos” or “not ok.” All midshipmen name badges were reversible. Those who were OK were initially given their name badge with the white (same as alumni) side showing, those who were not comfortable were initially blue.

Program proceeded exactly per the programmed times.

Recommended changes: Add housekeeping announcements to the program. Needed announcements include:

explanation of the badge colors

returning badge holders

encouraging pictures for sharing the event with those not there

“Awards” presentation choreography went as follows: Eight alumni introduced the eight soon to be ensigns from ’14 and each alum introduced the next alum. Because of the size of the crowd all of whom fit under the tent, the awards ceremony felt more intimate and personal than other outdoor presentations of the past.

Awards were given to all first class in attendance regardless of USNA Out membership as prescribed by the USNA Staff JAG.

Written script was provided to presenters.

Most of the name badges returned for reuse.

Award/Event Inventory

At the completion of the event, USNA Out has in stock:

NEEDS UPDATE FROM 2013

140 Avery 74461 clip on name badges
5 – soft ENS shoulder boards
5 – garrison cap officer shields
1 – collar devices
2 – Men’s hard ENS shoulder boards – unboxed
1 – Women’s hard ENS boards w/USNA Out logo and collar devices wrapped in BLUE tissue
2 – black Marine globe & Anchors in boxes
2 – sets of 2 Marine globe & anchor bright
1 – roll of tickets
a little bit of blue and little bit of gold tissue paper
4 – clear poly pint gift cans

April 15, 2014

Naval Academy LGBT Alumni Honor Class of 2014

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – U.S. Naval Academy (USNA) Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) alumni, midshipmen and their guests gathered here Saturday to recognize alumni and midshipmen accomplishments over the last year, commemorating seven months since repeal of the law commonly known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”.

Thirty-one midshipmen of all four classes and their guests attended, along with 34 members of USNA Out – the LGBT organization of U.S. Naval Academy alumni. Sixteen of the midshipmen are seniors, who will graduate on May 29 and be the first class at Annapolis to graduate under the new policy that now allows gay, lesbian and bisexual military members to serve without fear of discharge. The new policy became effective in September 2011, a few weeks after classes resumed for the year at the academy.

Senior LGBT midshipmen who are USNA Out members organized the annual event, a tradition which began in 2009. Naval Academy faculty and staff members and representatives of the Naval Academy Alumni Association also attended at the invitation of the midshipmen. During the event, the midshipmen met with LGBT USNA alumni from classes spanning six decades, including active duty and retired officers. The dinner was hosted at the residence of an USNA Out member who resides in the Annapolis area.

Throughout the event, alumni offered their insights about the exciting careers the senior midshipmen will soon commence and also encouraged all of the midshipmen to do their best in preparing to serve as officers in the Navy and Marine Corps. Following the traditional cutting of the cake by the most senior and most junior members present (Classes of 1961 and 2017), the Deputy Commandant of Midshipmen gave the keynote address reminding the graduating class to apply their Naval Academy training when they enter the Fleet and of their unique responsibilities as leaders in the Navy. An alumnus then presented each senior with Navy ensign insignia to wear following commissioning. The insignia will symbolically remind recent graduates serving the nation that the LGBT alumni stand behind them with pride. The evening closed with a singing of the Naval Academy alma mater “Navy Blue and Gold,” led by past and present members of the Naval Academy Glee Club in attendance.

As part of the dinner, He has been a USNA Out member since its founding in 2003 and its chairman of the board since 2009.

Since 2005, individual USNA Out members have donated more than $130,000 in private contributions directly to the USNA Foundation. According to Henderson, “Even before DADT’s repeal, many USNA Out members individually supported our alma mater because we believed in its special mission to provide leaders for the Naval Service and the nation. Their donations and those like USNA Out’s help fund school programs that provide a margin of excellence beyond what the government provides. And with organizations such as USNA Out, I anticipate more alumni will rejuvenate their relationships with USNA, their classmates and other alumni. For the vast majority of alumni, USNA played a significant role in our lives.”

“According to the feedback we have received from our midshipmen members, gay and lesbian midshipmen feel more comfortable and no longer must separate their personal identity from their professional identity” said USNA Out Executive Director retired Cdr. Steve Hall, of San Francisco (USNA Class of 1975). “They now can singularly focus on being good junior officers in the fleet like all of their classmates. We think that’s good for USNA, the Navy and Marine Corps, and the country on many levels.” Hall served on active duty for 20 years and commanded two nuclear powered attack submarines during his Navy career.

USNA Out officials report that DADT repeal appears to be going without incident for alumni on active duty and for midshipmen at the academy. According to Hall “The overwhelming feedback from our alumni out in the fleet is that repeal has been implemented without problems and in those instances where gay and lesbian alumni have told shipmates, there hasn’t been a problem. I think that’s what we expected. Sailors and Marines judge our alumni based on their performance, not their orientation.”

USNA Out is an independent organization established in August 2003 following discussions by various groups of LGBT alumni about how they could become more involved as alumni of the Naval Academy. The group organized as a 501(c)(3) in late 2009.

USNA Out currently has 330 members, including 73 active duty alumni serving in the fleet. USNA Out currently counts 32 midshipmen identifying as gay, lesbian or bisexual at the Naval Academy who are official members of USNA Out. Hall added, “We know there are more gay, lesbian and bisexual midshipmen simply based on the demographics of the Naval Academy, which draws students from the population of the U.S at-large. However, identifying as LGBT is a personal decision based on many factors Regardless, we as LGBT alumni have and will continue to be there to support them.”

USNA Out’s mission and objectives are available at www.usnaout.org/mission. For more information about USNA Out, visit www.usnaout.org.

–USNA Out–
Continue reading “4/15/2014 – Naval Academy LGBT Alumni Honor Class of 2014”

Month: May 2014

2014 Dinner Postex