UNC NROTC
Alumni Association
News Bulletin
April 2021
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In this edition:
- Message from the President
- Request from Jim Barge '85
- Seeking Website Project Volunteers
- Call for Membership: Join, Renew, Upgrade
- Now Hear This: Scuttlebutt
- Taps
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Message from the President,
Hello Alumni Association Members,
I am pleased to report that things are looking brighter in Chapel Hill this April than last!!!! The news we are getting from Captain Hertel, the Professor of Naval Science, is that classes are going well in a “hybrid fashion” and that the unit midshipmen are continuing to thrive.
The Association Board met virtually on Saturday March 6, for our Spring Board meeting. We are making some significant progress in a number of areas on which the board has decided to embark. I offer a short status on some of these that might be of interest.
· Under the purview of Rob Rivers ’73, we are working with the College of Arts and Sciences’ Senior Associate Dean Dr. Rudi Colloredo-Mansfeld to arrange a meeting this summer between a small group on our Association Preservation committee and UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz. This meeting is intended to share the history of the Armory as well as gain his advocacy for, in the near term, the placement of a NCDOT Historical Marker on the site of the Armory. Additionally, Rob Rivers is working closely with the editor of the General Alumni Association (GAA) Alumni Review magazine to publish an article of the history of the US Navy in Chapel Hill and its importance to the University.
· Thanks to Alumnus Colonel Jim Fullwood, USMC, ’92 we have made some significant progress in reconnecting with the family of Richard S. Johnson, Jr., for which our Marine Option honor graduate award has been named since the late 60s. Through the generosity of Col Jim Fullwood in 2020 & 2021, and the efforts of the Marine Officer Instructor, Capt Stanich, we will be awarding the Johnson Sword again this year to the most deserving Marine Option. As more information is gathered, we hope to provide more details on the family’s interest and plan to endow Richard S. Johnson, Jr. Award.
· Pat Connelly USMC ’85, has made some significant headway in exploring courses of action to update and improve our Alumni Association Website. The Board is committed to taking this step this year and we look forward to offering more details as this process evolves. We are looking for volunteers to assist with the website upgrade. Specific web design experience is not required. If interested, contact Pat Connelly '85 directly at flierpat@yahoo.com.
· Planning for our Annual Membership Meeting/Reunion in November, is currently underway. We are awaiting University schedules and hope to have an in-person event as we last did in 2019. Please stay tuned for more information on this FUN event which would also serve as our belated 30th Anniversary Celebration!
Important dates for our Alumni Association this time of year are for the UNC Midshipmen Awards Day and Commissioning day! This year the Awards ceremony, on April 29, will look different than it has in the past. Award recipients, award presenters, and Active-Duty staff will participate in-person at the ceremony while the rest of the Battalion watches via Zoom. I have been invited to attend in person, and intend to do just that.
The Commissioning Ceremony is currently scheduled for the morning of May 15, and will likewise, have limited in-person attendance. I have been invited and plan to attend in-person as the Guest of Honor and speaker for this important event.
Finally, our next Board meeting will, virtually if not in person, be in June and we hope to have more firm plans to share and the latest news on some of these initiatives we have been pursuing.
Happy Easter & Passover to you all & best to you in the coming months! Stay healthy and Go Heels!
Marianne Waldrop ‘87
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Hi Fellow NROTC Alums:
Some of you may know that in my spare time, I am working on my doctorate. My dissertation involves the creation of a survey tool to determine which of four moral worldviews that business leaders likely hold when making ethical decisions. The only criteria is that the participant work for a corporation and that he/she has a current leadership role with direct reports. The survey process doesn't take long. if you are interested and meet the criteria or can share with your network for others who might be able to participate, then please email me at jbarge@eastern.edu and I will give you further info. Thanks in advance for your help.
Jim Barge, CAPT, USN (Ret)
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URGENT Request:
Your Association has initiated a project to upgrade our Website. If there are any members with a web design background who would be willing to work on this project, please contact Pat Connelly, '85, at flierpat@yahoo.com
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2021 Membership
If you haven't already done so, it is time to join or renew your membership for 2021.
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Please become a paid member. We need you!
Most Popular option: Life Membership
GREAT VALUE: 5 YEAR MEMBERSHIP
5 years of membership for the price of four!
Click the green bar below to join, renew or upgrade.
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Your dues contribution pays for our website, database software, financial management software and the Distinguished Alumnus /Alumna and Distinguished Service Awards; these funds enable us to communicate with the graduates so we can host and organize alumni events to support our NROTC Unit and Midshipmen. The Scholarships, Dawson Library and Connor Awards are funded separately through charitable contributions. Events (Annual Meeting & Reunions) are funded on a pay-as-you go basis by event participants.
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Now Hear This: Scuttlebutt! |
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Ensigns Margarita Ayala (left) and William Verwoerdt (middle) Romeo Antolini (right).
UNC NROTC Navy Aviation 2020 grads in Pensacola this month.
Photo by Ens M. Ayala
Charles Wolfe '65
Your association thanks you for your continued support!
Patty (McCaffrey) Dorroh ‘79
After serving eight years on active duty, then seventeen in the USMC Reserves, and being recalled to active duty twice, Patty and her husband decided in 2002 to “raise their kids free” and moved to frontier eastern Oregon. In addition to working their cattle and hay ranch, Patty has worked in children and families services and is currently in her second term as Harney County Commissioner.
Chris McCullough ‘86
Chris served 8 years on active duty in the Marine Corps. During that time he flew AH-1W Cobras out of MCAS Pendleton, saw combat in Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm, completed a FAC tour in Okinawa with 1st Battalion/ 5th Marines and was a T34 Instructor at NAS Corpus Christi. Chris was hired by United Airlines in 1997 and he has been flying with them ever since. He has flown the 727, 757, 767, 777, 787 and the Airbus 320. Chris is currently flying international on the 787, based in Newark, NJ. He and his wife, Lynn, reside in Yardley PA. They have two adult children, Spencer and Georgia, and their third is a high school senior, Grace.
Allie Hutchison ‘87
Al served four years in the Marines with Hotel Company, 2d Battalion, Eighth Marines, then he and his wife Linda went to work with a graphics business for the next 23 years. In 2014 they retired to a small farm just outside of Winston Salem, NC growing fruits and vegetables. Their oldest son, JC is in the engineering program at NCSU. Their youngest son, Grant is a cross country and track runner in his junior year in high school.
If you are ever around the triad, you are welcome to stop in, have a beer and enjoy the sunshine out here. Of course we are known to put visitors to work planting harvesting or weeding.
Chris Kennedy, USN, '87
Chris retired in 2007 with a total of 20 years active duty as an aviator in the navy. After five years as an elementary school principal and a couple of years as a GS, Chris became a Scifi/Fantasy author/publisher. He has written over 30 novels and published over 200 more across the eight separate imprints of Chris Kennedy Publishing, including over 60 books in the mega-successful Four Horsemen military scifi universe. Find out more at https://chriskennedypublishing.com/. He currently lives on the Inner Banks of NC with his wife Sheellah, their dog, and two crazy sugar gliders.
Jeff Kennedy USN, ’87.
After UNC I was a deck officer on the USS Germantown (LSD-42) out of San Diego. Frank Linkous’87, Ford Bowers’87 and I kept the Tarheels traditions alive in SOCAL. Afterward a WESTPAC, I got a chance at flight school. Pensacola and Beeville, TX with my sister Sheila and brother in law Pat Connelly ’85. Selected F-14’s in NAS Oceana. Was in a couple of Tomcat squadrons Jolly Rogers of VF-84 (USS Theodore Roosevelt) and the Pukin Dogs of VF-143 (USS George Washington). While in Va Beach drank a few libations with Chris Kennedy ’87 at the Oceana O Club 😊 Follow on orders to the Hunters of VF-201 at NAS Ft Worth and during the tour transitioned to FA-18’s flying mostly adversary support for the fleet. Survived an ejection in Dec 1999. Got back flying after 6 months healing a broken neck but ultimately resigned from active duty and joined the reserves in Ft Worth. Spent some time at American Airlines, Lockheed Martin (F35) as well as being mobilized flying C-40’s/B737 during the second gulf war out of NAS Sigonella. Retired as a Commander in January 2011 after little over 23 years of Naval Service.
Still living in Ft Worth, TX and recently took a COVID 5 year leave of absence from Southwest Airlines. Presently flying B737’s for a Dallas billionaire hauling people and cargo around the world. Oldest son Matt is a sophomore at Texas Tech and twins Gavin/Logan graduate high school in June. My wife Teri and I are planning some international travel when this pandemic ends.
Enjoyed seeing such a wonderful group of old and new tar heel shipmates at our last reunion. Sincerely appreciate the efforts of preserving the armory. It is an historic building !! Looking forward to meeting again soon and getting back to normal….. sans masks😊
The next News Bulletin expected to publish on Sunday, 23 May 2021. Deadline for input is Friday, 21 May 2021.
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It is with deep sadness that the Association reports the passing of our member:
CAPT Maurice "Reese" Glatzer USNR (Retired) '58
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It is with deep sadness that the Association
reports the passing of former Staff member:
SGTMAJ Larry Darnell Greene USMC
(Retired) (Asst. MOI 1971-1974)
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In a recent major database refresh from the University, the Association has updated its master database of NROTC alumni. In doing so we learned that 237 alumni have passed over the past ten years. 572 NROTC alumni are recorded as deceased out of over 2060 total recorded graduates. As a service to our members, we have created a new feature on the website available for paid members entitled Deceased Alumni. The feature may be found on the Alumni Service and Information Resource tabs of the website. Please notify the Secretary if you know of errors or additional alumni who should be listed here.
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If you know of a UNC NROTC Alumnus who has passed away, let us know so that this information may be reported in the News Bulletin under "Taps".
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UNC NROTC Alumni Association| Email: secretary@uncnrotcaa.org | Website: www.uncnrotcaa.org |
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