Awards Day 2018

The UNC NROTC 2018 Awards Day Ceremony is scheduled for Thursday, 26 April 2018 at 1400. The event will take place at the Newman Catholic Student Center, 218 Pittsboro, St., Chapel Hill, NC, 27516. There is on-site parking.

During that event, the Association will present the 2018 Lt. Patrick K. Connor Memorial Award to MIDN 1/c Samir Patel '18 who is pursing a career in Naval Aviation. As a result of a generous grant from CAPT Brian T. Smith, USN '84 the Association will also present Five-year memberships to the entire graduating class of 2018 and a Life membership to the top graduate.

Alumni are welcome to attend. Uniform is: Summer White (USN), Blue Dress Delta (USMC), Business Casual (Civ.)

Commissioning 2018

The UNC NROTC Class of 2018 Commissioning Ceremony is scheduled for Saturday, 12 May 2018 at 1400. The event will take place at the Tate-Turner-Kuralt Auditorium located in the UNC School of Social Work at 325 Pittsboro St., Chapel Hill, NC 27599. The guest speaker has not yet been announced; update to follow in the April News Bulletin. Alumni are welcome to attend. Uniform is: Full Dress White (USN), Blue-White Dress Alpha (USMC), Business Casual (Civ.)

Commencement 2018

We couldn't be prouder to announce to our alumni that the commencement speaker for the UNC Class of 2018 is none other than UNC NROTC Alumnus Rye Barcott '01, a noteworthy social entrepreneur. Commencement will take place in Kenan Stadium on Sunday, 13 May 2018 at 0900. No tickets are required. Additional information available HERE .

The UNC NROTC Alumni Association, the UNC Department of Naval Science and the UNC NROTC Battalion of Midshipmen are delighted to continue our collaborative effort with the UNC General Alumni Association to plan and host the UNC NROTC Alumni Association Annual Meeting and Reunion for 2018. Registering for the weekend and staying connected will be easier than ever.

 

Friday, 2 Nov 2018

President’s Reception , Courtyard by Marriott, open to alumni and family / guests, Unit Staff and Midshipmen. (Refreshments served, registration required, fee applies)

 

Saturday, 3 Nov 2019

Annual Meeting of the UNC NROTC Alumni Association ; NROTC alumni, family and friends welcome to attend.

• Update from NROTC Unit and Midshipman Battalion Leadership

• Presentation of Midshipman Scholarships

• Presentation of Awards

• Association update by officers and committee chairs.

 

Barbecue Lunch

• Join fellow alumni, NROTC Midshipmen and Unit Staff for a pre-game meal. Alumni, family and friends welcome (fee applies)

 

UNC vs. Georgia Tech Football Game

• We are currently working with the GAA to secure a block of tickets. Check back for more details.

 

Weekend Lodging - Recommend Book Early

We have secured room blocks at two Chapel Hill hotels:

Cut off for rooms at the block rate for each hotel is 2 Oct 2018.

Event Registration for President's Reception, Annual Meeting, Barbeque Lunch and game tickets (if available) will be provided at a later date and announced in a subsequent News Bulletin. The UNC General Alumni Association will be facilitating the registration process in conjunction with Homecoming.

The Awards Committee is now soliciting nominations for our two awards – the Distinguished Alumnus / Alumna Award and the Distinguished Service Award for 2018. We invite members to provide nominations to the Board prior to May 31, 2018.

As a member, log into the Alumni Association website and use the Awards Nomination Form (click here) to provide the your nomination to the Board.

The Distinguished Alumnus / Alumna Award is provided to recognize a graduate of the UNC NROTC program who has distinguished himself or herself in contributions to our nation, the armed services, industry or business, the arts, philanthropy, or other social contributions. This is not singularly a "distinguished member of the military" award, and the individuals need not have been career members of the armed forces. The board will consider the achievements of a non-military professional with an NROTC pedigree on equal footing with a career officer.

Please see the website for a list of previous Distinguished Alumni (click here).

The Distinguished Service Award is provided to recognize the graduate (or former staff member), usually a Member of the Association who has distinguished himself or herself in contributions to the UNC NROTC Alumni Association. This criteria is intentionally nonspecific, and can include any manner of contributions to the efforts of the NROTC Alumni Association. Current Directors are ineligible for selection.

Please see the Association website for a list of previous Distinguished Service recipients (click here).

The third iteration of our Alumni Panel held during the Midshipman Battalion Lab period on Thursday, 1 March was a rousing success. The event continues to be a highlight for both the Midshipmen and the participating alumni. The Midshipmen provide the subject matter for discussion and the participating alumni break into groups and are assigned one of the professionally relevant subjects to discuss with the Midshipmen as they rotate through the groups of alumni panelists at 30 minute intervals. The topics for this panel were:

The topics sparked some spirited conversation and lively question and answer periods. The event concluded with a Happy Hour and buffet dinner at the appropriately-named R&R Grill on Franklin St. The social is where the “real work gets done.” The evening is relaxed and casual, leading to a more interactive environment.

These events would not be possible if not for the Alumni volunteering their time and expertise to participate. The Association is represented extremely well by these willing volunteers.

Participating alumni:

Jay Plager, ‘52

Joe Fluet, ‘65

Carver Rudolph, ‘70

Howard Petrea, ‘72

Carol Petrea, CDR USN (Ret)

Brian Smith, ‘84

Frank Linkous, ‘87

Eric Oxendine, ‘92

Mike Carreiro, ‘96

Bogamir Glavan, ‘97

Mikal Phillips, ‘97

Amy Knight, ‘99

Ross Fearon, ‘04

We will continue to plan these panels every semester as the Midshipmen continue to ask for them. Please consider volunteering to participate; you will be impressed by the quality of young men and women stepping up to serve their nation as commissioned officers in the Navy and Marine Corps.

The Dawson Memorial Library is alive and well. The library was named in memory of Captain David Powell Dawson, USMC (’86), a former Midshipman Regimental Commander and the top graduate in the Class of 1986. He went on to serve as an infantry officer with the 2 ^nd Marine Division and 2 ^nd Force Reconnaissance Company following graduation from UNC. Dave was tragically killed on May 6, 1995 while on a mountain climbing expedition in Zermatt, Switzerland. 

The Dawson Memorial Library was commissioned following Dave’s death in 1995 and was completed was completed in 1997 through generous donations from the Dawson family and many former UNC NROTC midshipmen and friends. The library has served the UNC NROTC Midshipman as a place to conduct Battalion meetings and individual study ever since. 

The library’s furniture and displays have begun showing their age in recent years. The original plaque that had been displayed in the library became damaged at some point over the past 20+ years and was very much in need of replacement. A new plaque was procured to replace it and now proudly hangs in its place. Speaking of furniture showing its age, the conference table could definitely benefit from a little TLC. To that end, we are currently looking for a skilled local craftsman to refinish/refurbish the conference table. More to follow on that this summer.

We are very happy to report that the library’s collection of books from the CNO’s and CMC’s reading list grew substantially this past year thanks to a very generous donation from CAPT Brian Smith (’84). Unfortunately, we appear to be running out of space to house these very welcomed additions. The very fine barrister bookcases purchased when the library opened in the Fall of 1997 are out of room. The Library Committee is currently conducting market research to identify sources for additional barrister bookcases that match as closely as possible to what we currently have. We hope to find a suitable source and have the new bookcases in the library prior to our Fall meeting.

The Dawson Memorial Library Committee is also looking for additional ways to serve the UNC Midshipman and honor Dave’s memory. A natural fit seems to be through the sponsorship of a recurring Leadership Lecture Series. We are still working through this concept and look forward to sharing our progress with you in the next update.

We welcome your input on ways to keep the Dawson Memorial Library relevant for our UNC Midshipman and Dave’s memory alive. We also welcome any contributions you might consider making to the Dawson Memorial Library Fund to help support the capital improvements and proposed leadership program support. To make a donation click HERE

Semper Fidelis!

The UNC NROTC Alumni Association website is a vital communications conduit to our alumni and members and we are constantly evaluating ways to improve how we present and maintain content to provide value to our members. Among the new features:

Features coming soon:

On Friday, 16 March 2017, Captain Frank S. Linkous, USN '87 retired from the U. S. Navy after 31 years of service in a ceremony at the Navy Yard in Washington, DC. Major General Timothy C. Hanifen, USMC (Ret.) served as the guest speaker.

Frank's most recent assignment was as Director of Security Cooperation at the Navy International Programs Office in Washington. A career Surface Warfare Officer, Frank commanded the USS SENTRY (MCM 3) and the USS CARTER HALL (LSD 50) the latter of which he had served on as a plankowner some years before.

UNC NROTC Alumni were well represented in the audience for the ceremony, including: Will Stubbs '85, Eric Schneider and Rob Gionfriddo '86, Dave Jackson, Jeff Kennedy and Pat Riordan '87 and Stacey Hayes '89.

2018 Goal: 120 paid members: (annual, new five-year, new life installment or new life members) Progress to date: 29 of 120 or 24% with 25% of the year elapsed.

Thanks to the following alumni (in addition to our Life and Multi-Year Members) who have made the commitment of ongoing support to our Association in 2108.

New Life members for 2018: 5

New Five Year Members for 2018: 9

Annual Members for 2018: 15

The following members have made generous donations to the UNC NROTC Alumni Association in 2018 above and beyond the payment of dues; please join us in extending thanks to:

Scholarship Fund

Dawson Library Fund

General Fund