HAPPY PRIDE MONTH!
Lots of news to share with our members in this June Pride newsletter, the first newsletter which is assembled from the news and events that are posted on our recently upgraded website. We know this newsletter is waaaay too long — We’ve got a full year backlog of news to share. Going forward with the communications tools built into our site, our all-volunteer newsletter team can now send more frequent, timely updates, and if you members keep your communications preferences up to date, you should also be able to receive geographically targeted communications
Events
New board member Brook Stevens ’12 has taken the lead in the 2018 Army Navy joint tailgate with the Knights Out in Philadelphia in December. We should also have a few opportunities to gather USNA Out members around the West in the coming months around these Naval Academy events:
- Navy/University of Hawaii Football in Honolulu (Game is 1 September)
- Navy/USAFA game in Colorado Springs (Game is 6 October)
- Navy/Notre Dame Football in San Diego (Game is 27 October)
- Army-Navy Joint Tailgate with Knights Out (8 December)
Events don’t need to revolve around a Navy Football game. Perhaps a significant LGBT movie at your local film festival, or a dining out activity. If you are willing to form a team to sponsor a USNA Out event, please contact the board to let us know.
Leadership changes
There have been several changes within the USNA Out Board of Directors.
Erik Schmidt ’04 resigned as a director and as Chairman of the USNA Out Board effective 20 June 2018. As Erik shared with those attending our 2018 Dinner in Annapolis at Ogle Hall and has shared with the midshipmen in Navy Spectrum events, USNA Out had a significant role in Erik’s life as a young 2nd Lt in the Marine Corps. It was through the role models of alumni who preceded him and through the personal connections Erik made through USNA Out that empowered him to remain serving our country past his initial commitment.
Tom Peterson ’91 has resigned as a director and passed on the duties of Treasurer to Jeff Morrison ’04. Tom joined USNA Out as he was completing his command tour on the USS PORTER (DDG 78). After retiring from the Navy, Tom got a JD degree and most recently is working as a public defender in New York City.
And as mentioned above, Brook Stevens ’12 has joined the board as of 16 June, and he promises to work hard to coordinate events to facilitate our membership engagement. Joe Soto ’83 has taken on the duties of the USNA Out Secretary.
Shared Interest Groups at USNA
We have some history here…. almost 15 years ago, in August 2003, a group of 31 LGBT Naval Academy alumni joined together by Jeff Petrie ’89 formed a new group in an effort to re-establish our relationship with the Naval Academy and the school’s alumni association as openly gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender alumni. We chose the name “USNA Out.” On November 11, 2003, using the RV chapter as a model for a nationwide chapter of alumni that share a common interest, the USNA Out alumni applied for recognition as an official chapter of the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association. Our request was denied, as we were deemed a shared interest group, not a geographically based chapter.
Roll the calendar ahead 14 and a half years…. At the spring 2018 meeting in Annapolis, the USNA Alumni Association Board of Trustees formalized a new Shared Interest Group (SIG) program. The two pilots SIGs (USNA Women and Round to Honor) were both formalized as official SIGs. A third SIG, USNA Minority Association was also confirmed.
After 15 years, USNA Out now is welcome to join the Alumni Association as a Shared Interest Group, just a the LGBT alumni associations of almost every major university in the USA.
There are a few requirements we need to meet for consideration, but we are 99% of the way there. We will need to assemble a listing of Alumni interesting in forming the SIG. The list may also contain a percentage of faculty, staff, parents and spouses. We must observe USNA trademark regulations, and our primary purpose cannot be fundraising. We previously have collected the names and classes of alumni who are interesting in forming the USNA Out SIG, but we failed to gather all information needed for the application (specifically, USNA Alumni Association membership status – life-member, annual member, non-member). Keep on the lookout for further news as we go forward.
Are You Ready to Serve?
The reality in organizations such as ours is those who desire to get more involved will get more involved. Did USNA Out have meaning to you as a midshipman or a junior officer? You can probably make more of a difference than you think your can if you want to be more involved. The first step is reach out to the Board and let us know you are eager to do more. We will add you to our list of Board Associates so you can stay in touch with
If you have feedback for the USNA Out leadership you can always contact us at board@usnaout.org.
GO Navy!
Steve Hall ’75
USNA Out Executive Director
steve.hall@usnaout.org