UNC NROTC
Alumni Association
News Bulletin
July 2019
In this edition:
  • 2019 Distinguished Alumnus Award and the Distinguished Service Award selectees announced
  • North Carolina Piedmont Consortium NROTC Unit Change of Command: Farewell Captain Stern, welcome Captain Hertel.
  • 2019 Event Schedule Update
  • Board of Directors Nominations Update
  • Member Communications Update
  • Call for Membership: join and renewal, Membership Roster Update.
  • Now Hear This: Scuttlebutt
  • Taps
2019 Distinguished Alumnus Award and Distinguished Service Awardees Selected
Steve Fish '85, Awards Chair
2019 Distinguished Alumnus Award:
Lt. Col. James G. Zumwalt, II, USMC (Ret.) '70
2019 Distinguished Service Award: Captain Harold A. "Andy" Bunch, Jr., USN (Ret.)
The Awards Committee is pleased to announce this year’s Distinguished Alumnus Award selectee is Lt. Col. James G. Zumwalt, II, USMC (Ret.) '70 . Commissioned as in Ensign in the U. S. Navy in 1970, Lt. Col. Zumwalt initially served in intelligence, then switched to the Marine Corps. He served in numerous capacities during his career, serving in Vietnam, Panama, and the Persian Gulf during Desert Shield and Desert Storm. He is the author of several books, including:
  • Bare Feet, Iron Will – Stories from the Other Side of Vietnam’s Battlefields
  • Living the Juche Lie- North Korea’s Kim Dynasty
  • Doomsday Iran - The Clock is Ticking
He is a frequent contributor to USA Today, LA Times, Washington Post, Star & Stripes, The News & Observer, PARADE magazine, Naval Institute Proceedings.
Lt. Col. Zumwalt serves on the Board of Directors or Board of Advisors for The Vietnam Center at Texas Tech University, Thurman-Zumwalt Foundation (at NCSU), and Global Markets Consulting Group and he is a member of the prestigious “Committee on the Present Danger" along with Senators and former Cabinet members. He is also the son of the 19th Chief of Naval Operations and former UNC NROTC Instructor, the late Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr. and brother of fellow UNC NROTC graduate, the late LT Elmo R. Zumwalt, III '68.

Captain Harold Anderson “Andy” Bunch, USN (Ret.) UNC NROTC Staff 1985-1989 and Life Member #57 is the selectee for the 2019 Distinguished Service Award.
Captain Bunch served as Commanding Officer and Professor of Naval Science at our unit 1985-1989. Near the end of his tour as Commanding Officer, he began to organize, then led the development of what became the UNC NROTC Alumni Association, officially creating it in August 1990 at the behest of his relief, then Col. (now retired Brig. Gen.) Walls. He remained very active throughout the Association's early days, serving on the Board of Directors from 1992–1996, including service as Secretary in 1993 and then President from 1993–1995. He was a vocal and influential supporter of the Association becoming a corporation recognized as a charitable non-profit under IRS code section 501(c)3. Captain Bunch recently wrote the “History and Origins of the UNC NROTC Alumni Association”now posted on the website. He has not only been an ardent supporter of our Association, but he has often been the vision, impetus, “horsepower” and voice for new initiatives and making things happen and continues his support each year.

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. 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. Current Directors are ineligible for selection.Please see the Association website for a list of previous Distinguished Service recipients (click here) .
Above: Captain Andy Hertel, USN
Below: Captain Marc Stern, USN (Ret.)
Change of Command at NROTC Unit North Carolina Piedmont Region
On Friday, 21 June 2019, Captain Andrew C. Hertel, USN relieved Captain Marc Stern, USN as Commanding Officer of the NROTC Unit, North Carolina Piedmont Consortium, which operates the NROTC programs, at UNC Chapel Hill, Duke and N. S. State. Likewise, Captain Hertel is now Professor of Naval Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an ex officio member of the UNC NROTC Alumni Association. A link to Captain Hertel's biography in available on our website, here .

Captain Stern has retired from Naval Service after completion of 30 years and has returned to California. The Association thanks Captain Stern for his steadfast support of an enthusiastic participation in Association activities over the period of his command tenure. We wish him and his family smooth sailing on the journey ahead.
2019 Annual Meeting, Reunion and Elections
Set for 2 November 2019
UNC v. Virginia, UNC Military Appreciation Day
Pat Connelly '85, Events Chair
  • The UNC NROTC Alumni Association has scheduled the Annual Meeting of the Membership, presentation of scholarship and awards and alumni reunion BBQ for Saturday, 2 November 2019 which coincides with the UNC vs. Virginia football game and UNC Military Appreciation Day.
  • A Friday night's President's Reception is planned at the Pittsboro home of our Association President, Eric Schneider '86.
  • The traditional reunion barbeque with the Midshipmen and staff is also planned around the scheduling of the football game.
  • A Fall 2019 Alumni Panel with the Midshipman Battalion set for Thursday, 31 October 2019 just two days prior to our Annual Meeting and Reunion.
  • A link to register for Annual Meeting & Reunion Activities, the Fall Alumni Panel, is expected to be available in late August 2019.
  • A block of rooms at the rate of $99.00 + tax has been set aside at the Sheraton Chapel Hill Hotel (formerly the Hotel Europa), One Europa Drive, Chapel Hill, NC 27517. Click link for reservations.
Election of Directors for the 2020-2021 Term, the Associations 30th Anniversary Year
Elections for Directors to serve for the 2020-2021 Term will take place on Saturday, 2 November 2019 as part of the Association's Annual Meeting. All fourteen director positions are up for election and nine of the incumbent Directors have expressed a willingness to run for re-election.
Pursuant to our By-laws, a Nomination Committee has been formed to propose candidates for election as Director, which recommendations will be published to the membership not later than 30 days prior to the election, or 2 October 2019

The Nomination committee is made up of retiring Directors:
  • Eric S. Schneider '86, President
  • Willard B. Stubbs '85, Secretary
  • S. Jay Plager '52

Regular paid members (Life, Life Installment, Multi-Year, and Annual) are eligible to serve as a Director. The Board customarily meets 3 times a year, the first meeting in March, ordinarily in Chapel Hill, the 2nd meeting in June or July is often conducted by teleconference. The third meeting is customarily in the Fall on or before the Annual Meeting. Board meetings last between 2-4 hours depending on the complexity of the agenda. Directors ordinarily are assigned to serve on at least two committees. Directors in their 2nd or 3rd term often serve as committee chairs or officers of the corporation. A Director can expect to spend 1-2 hours a month on Association work; officers and committee chairs have modest additional workload.

If you are a paid member and would like to serve on the Board of Directors or nominate a candidate for the Board of Directors for the 2020-2021 term, please e-mail the Nominations Committee and the following link .
New and updated website content
WIll Stubbs '85
Membership Communications Committee Chair
If you have not visited the website lately, feel free to give it a surf. Recently added content includes:
  • History of the Association, authored by Past President / Past Unit CO and 2019 DSA recipient: Andy Bunch
  • Board Meeting Minutes from the March and June Board Meetings and the 2019 Budget (paid members content)
  • A great many historical documents from our Association early days, including archived Newsletters and Board Meeting Minutes, going back to the founding of our Association in 1990 up through 2002.
Recommendations for desired content are welcome; please use the following link on the website for your suggestions: link
Now Hear This: Scuttlebutt!

  • Mr. Leon Todd '42, one of the original members of the Navy's V2 Pre-Flight Training Program at UNC celebrated his 95th birthday over coffee in Chapel Hill recently with the NROTC Unit Assistant Marine Officer Instructor, Master Sergeant Carlos Aguillar, USMC. After Flight school, Mr. Todd was assigned to the USS STEAMER BAY (CVE-87) as a Grumman F6F Hellcat Pilot. He participated in the initial attacks on Iwo Jima and Okinawa that help the Marines conduct their Amphibious Landings. Happy Birthday Shipmate!
  • CDR Chris Kennedy, USN (Ret.) '87 (Life Member #46) was recently named as the inaugural winner of the Webster Award for best Virginia Author. Chris has written over 25 books and published over 100 others through the five imprints of his Chris Kennedy Publishing company. See more at: https://chriskennedypublishing.com
  • Burton Anderson '87, (Life Member #141) became engaged to Ms. Annaliese Green on June 15th, 2019.

The next News Bulletin expected to publish on Sunday, 8 September 2019. Deadline for input is Friday, 6 September 2019.
2019 Membership
If you haven't already done so, it is time to join or renew your membership for 2019.
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.
What do my dues pay for?
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 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 through non-dues contributions. Events (Annual Meeting & Reunions) are funded on a pay-as-you go basis by event participants.

Thanks to the following alumni (in addition to our 187 living Life Members) who have made the commitment of ongoing support to our Association.

Life members are listed in order of life membership here ;
Current paid members listed by both class year and alphabetically by last name here .

New Life members for 2019: 11
  • #210 Melanie Kaye Ahle '04
  • #211 Parke L. Boneysteele, Staff '85-87
  • #212 George C. Wright '92
  • #213 Andrew J. Hoffman '99
  • #214 Janice M. Hamby '80
  • #215 Caleb R. Gill '19
  • #216 Ryan P. Smith '19
  • #217 Antonio Howard '19
  • #218 Cody Lupo '19
  • #219 Parker Simpson '19
  • #220 George W. Smith, Jr. '85

Life installment members : 3
  • Christopher J. Hinson '96
  • Mikal J. Phillips '97
  • David Pardue '09

Five Year Members for 2019: 43
  • Donald R. Ledford - Staff Alumnus
  • Kevin L. Martin - Staff Alumnus
  • Stephen Matts - Staff Alumnus
  • A. Earle Garrett, III '56
  • George Moseley '61
  • Chester H. Wilkinson '61
  • Robert C. Crates '63
  • F. Norman Christopher '65
  • Alan V. Monette '65
  • Charles J. Wolfe '65
  • S. Harbaugh Moore, III '66
  • Thomas W. Wright '66
  • Robert Young '67
  • Ronald B. Bobo '68
  • Bryant Byrd '68
  • Irvin W Hankins, III '68
  • Ronald N. McManus '68
  • Robert J. Shade '68
  • Andrew J. Arnold '69
  • William O. Leonard, III '69
  • David A. Fish '70
  • James C. Hardee '70
  • James Zumwalt '70
  • Robert N. Swacker '71
  • James Day '73
  • Nick Pulignano, Jr. '74
  • Michael Clark '75
  • Clifton W. Moore, Jr. '76
  • Michael Wellman '77
  • Steven Briganti '78
  • Anthony P. Donaldson '83
  • Thomas Brantley Burgiss '84
  • Michael J. Dodick '90
  • Robert G. "Butch" Bracknell '93
  • James W. Hendley '94
  • Michael Carreiro '96
  • Sarah E. Eason '18
  • Tatihana V. Moreno '18
  • Samir D. Patel '18
  • Thomas J. Singley '18
  • Alexander H. Stephenson '18
  • Bryan M. Towers '18
  • Carlos A. Urquilla '18

2019 Annual Members : 15
  • Alec Decker '61
  • James A. Thompson '64
  • Richard Greenamyer '66
  • Joseph Woods '67
  • C. Wesley Morgan, Jr. '70
  • Robert W. Etheridge, III '71
  • Phillip J. Tate '72
  • Robert K. Eby, Jr. '73
  • Robert Rivers '73
  • Margaret E. Karr Jacky '75
  • Robert E. Smith '82
  • James L. Barge '85
  • Douglas Montgomery '86
  • Richard D. Sampson '86
  • Andrew C. Eckert '05

Classes with the most number of Life members: 1985(14); 1986(11); 1959(9); 1987(8)
Classes with most number of total members:1985 (15); 1986(13); 1959 (10), 1970, 1987 and Staff Alumni (8 each);
Classes with no current members: 1962, 2006-2008, 2010, 2013-2016. 
Taps:
It is with deepest sympathy that the Association reports the passing of Life Member and Past President:
Commander Joseph E. Lyons, Jr., USN (Ret.) '66





In addition we have been notified of the following Alumni who have passed on since the last annual update from the UNC General Alumni Association:
  • John Robert Alexander 1958
  • Gordon Rives Brown 1957
  • Marion Eugene Costello Jr., 1960
  • Frank William Davey 1974
  • Richard Edmund Gordon 1950
  • Charles Riddell Huntington Sr. 1959
  • Albert Jack Jacobson 1945
  • Charles Borden Johnson 1953
  • Burton H. Jones 1950
  • Edgar Locke Kale 1944
  • Brian Paul Klinker 1964
  • Robert Alfred Mayer Jr. 1962
  • Thomas Lloyd Norris Jr. 1955
  • Mark C. Pope III 1947
  • William S. Pregnall 1952
  • David Rowe 1954
  • Dalton Dillard Ruffin 1952
  • Charles Gerrish Sproule Jr. 1946
  • Wycliffe David Toole Jr. 1949
  • Walton Leonard Ward 1965
  • Cecil McAteer Wilson 1947
  • W. Ruffin Woody Jr. 1954
As a service to our members, we have created a 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.

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".

Please send your announcements to secretary@uncnrotcaa.org .

UNC NROTC Alumni Association| Email: secretary@uncnrotcaa.org | Website: www.uncnrotcaa.org