2020

Highlights

U.S. MERCHANT MARINE ACADEMY ALUMNI ASSOCIATION AND FOUNDATION

Best of Kings Point 2 0 2 0 The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) Alumni Association and Foundation (AAF) wants to thank you for your dedicated support to the Academy, the Regiment of Midshipmen, faculty, staff, and alumni. Thanks to you, there were many memorable moments at Kings Point in 2020, even amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic. Take a look back at the announcements, accomplishments, and awards that contributed to a truly unique and successful year.

Kings Pointer of the Year Robert Lavinia ’70 was named Kings Pointer of the Year.

The Academy Perseveres During COVID-19 Despite COVID-19 challenges, the Academy successfully graduated the Class of 2020, held Indoctrination for the Class of 2024, and brought the Regiment of Midshipmen back to campus to begin the academic year.

Countless KP Alumni embodied the motto Acta during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Non Verba through their service

An Academy First: Mark Kelly ’86 was elected as Arizona’s newest Senator and is expected to assume

office on November 30, 2020. Kelly was a former astronaut and retired US Navy Captain, and fills the

Senate seat formerly occupied by John McCain, who passed away in 2018. Kelly will now serve out the remainder of McCain’s term, which ends in 2022.

The AAF won the All Academy Challenge for the

fifth year in a row with a record 23.5% alumni

participation.

Thanks to our donors, the AAF helped boost Midshipmen

morale through such gifts

as Friday night concerts, Kayaks and paddle boards, hosting the First Class

Luau, implementing Taco Tuesdays and Chick-fil-A nights, and more to come.

The AAF made

total contributions to USMMA of

$1.1 Million despite the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Maritime Administrator, the Honorable Mark Buzby ’79, RADM (Ret.), received Shipbuilders

honor:

highest

the Maritime Leadership Award. Presented

during their virtual advocacy meeting, the award is given annually to national leaders who demonstrate

exemplary dedication and support of the U.S. shipbuilding and repair industry.

Two graduates were added to the AAF Burns ’89 and Warren N. Wright ’02.

The Class of 2020’s

socially distant

Board of Directors: Earl H.

graduation featured

the Honorable Elaine L. Chao as virtual commencement

speaker, Brian Coyne ’00 as the virtual alumni speaker, and

Robert J. Gaines ’20 as Valedictorian.

Dean White ’45 and Barbara White were named as the 2020

Acta Non Verba

award winners.

This is the highest award bestowed by the USMMA Department of Athletics.

William Rung ’70 was named the 2020 Skip

Prosser ‘72

Award by the USMMA Department of Athletics for the person who epitomizes the traits of Skip Prosser.

The 1958-59 Swim Team and the 1973 Soccer Team will be the next teams inducted into the USMMA Athletic

Hall of Fame .

Earle Bruce Carlsten ’62 (Wrestling), Michael Sullivan ’85 (Lacrosse), Anthony Jacobs Giacobbe

’98 (Football), Johnny Garrett ’01 (Basketball), and

Jesselyn LaValley Britton ’10 (Volleyball/Softball) were the 19th class to be inducted into the USMMA

Athletic Hall of Fame.

LT Spencer Grinnell ’11 and LT Kevan Stoekler

’13 piloted the Coast Guard (CG) MH-65 Dolphin

Helicopter that

landed on the USMMA Campus to

talk to Midshipmen about career opportunities in the

U.S. Coast Guard.

For

the

fourth-straight

year,

ESPN

live-streamed

the

between the USMMA and the USCGA with another KP

Secretaries’

victory ,

Cup

24-14.

Selected for the most

outstanding

male and female student-athletes through their

careers, Nolan Monahan ’20 of the Men’s Swimming & Diving team won the Admiral Giles C. Stedman Trophy and Kaleigh D’Arcy ’20 of Women’s Basketball, Cross Country, and Track & Field, won the Julie A. Berke Trophy

(her father, Kevin D’Arcy ’90, was the recipient of Stedman Trophy in 1990).

The Academy added a varsity women’s soccer program for the

first time ever that will begin competing in the

near future.

Basketball standout Kaleigh D’Arcy ’20 was named

the Skyline Championship’s Most Outstanding Player

of the Year for the second-consecutive year. She also earned her third-straight selection on the All-Skyline

First Team, and finished her career as the Mariners’ second-leading scorer of all time with 1,443 points.

Women’s basketball won the Skyline Conference Championships for the

second year in a row.

Men’s and Women’s Swimming & Diving teams won their

fourth-straight Skyline

Championships and a record-breaking number of men’s swimmers were named All-

Americans, including: Nolan Monahan ’20, Caelin Weaver ’20, Jack Welch ’21,

Daniel Moore ’21, Matthew Mizell ’22, Jack Higgins ’21, and David McCranie ’23.

John Coughlan ’20, Patrick Hume ’20, Johnny Lazear ’20, Tyler Reihs

’20, and Joe Vitelli ’20 were named to the National Football Foundation’s Hampshire Honor Society for maintaining a cumulative

U.S. Merchant Marine Academy sophomore wrestler

Dominick Esposito ’22 was named a 2019-20 Scholar All-American by the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA). This is the

second-straight

season that Esposito has earned this prestigious honor.

3.2 GPA or higher .

Thank you for your support The AAF needs your support to continue these kinds of successes. Your generosity this holiday season will make a difference at Kings Point. Impact the life of a Midshipman by making a donation at www.usmmaalumni.com/donate. If donating by check, please make it payable to “USMMA Alumni Association and Foundation, Inc.” Donations must be postmarked by December 31 in order to be credited for 2020. Check with your employer to see if they offer a matching gift. The AAF’s tax ID number is 11-6037948.

Thank you for sharing our passion and furthering our mission. Acta Non Verba!

U.S. MERCHANT MARINE ACADEMY ALUMNI ASSOCIATION AND FOUNDATION

ADDRESS

PHONE

ONLINE

300 Steamboat Road Kings Point, NY 11024

P : 516-482-5274 F : 516-482-5308

[email protected] www.usmmaalumni.com