Thanks to CAPT Chris Paddock

There were a number of people who contributed time and effort to the UR NROTC All Hands Reunion. One person, in particular, was crucial to the success of the event and I did not thank him profusely enough Saturday night. CAPT Chris Paddock, USN-Ret., Class of '80, as Master of Ceremonies for the reunion dinner, did a spectacular job of keeping the party fun and lively. I cannot thank him enough!

The Inaugural UR NROTC All Hands Reunion

I may be biased but I think it is fair to declare the inaugural UR NROTC All Hand Reunion a big success.  About 50 former UR midshipmen participated in one of three NROTC events this past weekend. In addition, approximately 30 guests joined in.  A total of 26 different class years were represented, ranging from 1956 to 2009.  Of those, former midshipmen from 9 classes celebrated a five-year reunion.  In a special ceremony for members of the Class of 1965, seven former NROTCs were presented with the Gold Medallion to honor their 50th anniversary of graduation from the University of Rochester.

More Fun and Games

Introduction to Geocaching

Geocaching is a high tech scavenger hunt.  Enthusiasts hide containers for other geocachers to find.  The coordinates are posted on line for members to download to a GPS.  Once found, open the container, sign the log and replace it for the next geocacher.  It is not always as easy as it sounds. Caches can be very small, artistically camouflaged and cleverly hidden.  Or they might be as big as an ammo can and out in the open.  Also, GPS has a margin of error that means you might need to be looking in a 30 ft radius.

If you would like to learn more about it go to geocaching.com.  If it interests you, create a user name for yourself (I recommend a short one because sometimes you have to print it on very small logs) and download the application.  It does not cost anything for an introductory level membership.  You will soon discover there are many geocaches around and near the UR campus! 

The weather forecast for Saturday looks like it will be a nice day to be outside!  If you don't have plans to attend the football game consider geocaching instead. I will be at MelioraFest from 11:30 to 2 p.m. and will be happy to get you started.  Others who are already experienced geocachers may be available at MelioraFest to create a team of geocachers . . . the more eyes searching, the better.

I am hoping to hide a few caches that go with the NROTC Reunion theme so stay tuned for more information.

Sara

Fun and Games

NROTC Bingo

 On Friday afternoon I will distribute NROTC-customized bingo cards that will jog your memories, spark sea stories and break the ice throughout the weekend.  Spouses and children are welcome to play.  Similar to Bingo, the game is played by finding someone who fits the description in the block and asking them to initial it off (just like PQS). A card is complete when 5 blocks in a row (horizontal, vertical or diagonal) have been initialed by a former UR NROTC or the spouse. (A sample card is pictured below.)

Each year the UR NROTC unit sends teams to Cornell and Villanova to participate in Military Excellence Competitions (MEC) that demonstrate performance in platoon drill, trick drill, color guard, swimming, 10K, ironman etc.  A registration fee is required to compete but cannot be paid from the Commanding Officer's budget.  The midshipmen normally raise funds through activities such as the Ship's Store (which you will see on Friday afternoon) and then cover any remaining fees out of pocket.

A donation of $20 is suggested for 3 NROTC Bingo cards.  Completed cards will be entered in a drawing for prizes to be held at the All Hands Dinner.

Shuttle Bus Schedule and Map

The map and schedule for bus service between hotels and campus has been finalized and posted. 

https://www.rochester.edu/melioraweekend/documents/MelioraWeekend2015_Map_Final.pdf

NROTC Unit Fundraiser

To raise a donation to make to the Midshipman Battalion we will offer an opportunity to play an NROTC customized Bingo game throughout the weekend. Instead of B5, for example, you might need to find someone who was a Submariner while on active duty.  For those who plan to attend the All Hands Reunion, I invite you to send me (BY SEPARATE MESSAGE to urnrotc@gmail.com) any unusual duty assignments you had, equipment you operated (e.g. first to break the sound barrier), operation you participated in, unique qualification, etc.

Only 48 Hours . . .

On-line registration for the UR NROTC All Hands Reunion events closes at noon on Friday, Oct 2.  If you haven't done so already, please register today! Looking forward to see you there!

A Question about Children

I got a question about whether children can attend the Saturday night dinner.  Children are welcome and, depending on age, a special child's meal will be offered at no cost.  There should be an option for  registering children at the meliora weekend website.  If you have already registered for yourself but not your child(ten) please contact me at urnrotc@gmail.com.
Sara

All Hands Reunion Events

The last day to register for reunion events is Friday, October 2.
Go to www.rochester.edu/melioraweekend/ to sign up and pay.

Here's an update of the events planned for former NROTC Midshipmen and their guests

Friday 4:30 to 6 p.m.  Leadership Panel Discussion (Bausch and Lomb Hall)

Friday 6 to 7:30 p.m.  Reception (Rush Rhees Library)

Friday 7 p.m. till ?  Meet and Greet at DoubleTree Hotel restaurant (1111 Jefferson Road)

Saturday 9:30 a.m  Veteran's Memorial Grove rededication

Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.  MelioraFest lunch on Wilson Quad (Pre-pay or food vans)

Saturday  2 p.m. till ?  Geocaching . . . bring your own GPS or application.  Learn at geocaching.com.

Saturday  7 to 9:30 p.m.  NROTC All Hands Reunion Dinner

Saturday Post Party Residence Inn (1300 Jefferson Road) BYOB and snacks

Register for UR NROTC Reunion

Dear Former Midshipmen,

Electronic registration is available at www.rochester.edu/melioraweekend/

The Evite RSVP does not constitute registration.

For planning purposes, please register as soon as possible.

Thanks!

Looking forward to seeing you in Rochester!
Sara

All Hands Reunion Events

I'm delighted to see so much activity on this blog as well as the UR Alumni Reunion FB page. I hope that means many of you are planning to attend or at least considering it.  I'll be away for the next 10 days.  Keep spreading the word about the All Hands Reunion.  I'll answer any questions you may have and update the blog upon my return on Aug 26.

Formal, on-line registration will be available starting Monday August 17 at https://www.rochester.edu/melioraweekend. The FAQ at that sight will address many issues.

Some All Hands Reunion events do not have firm details but here is a little information that may be helpful.




Hotel Rooms have been blocked for UR NROTC Alums at the Doubletree (By Hilton) at 1111 Jefferson Road, Rochester.  That is one of the hotels on the shuttle bus route that will service Meliora Events. Use other hotels as desired.

All Meliora Weekend activities are available to UR NROTC attendees, please register as desired.  There are several events that are specifically for former midshipmen and their guests.

Friday October 9

 4:30 to 6 p.m. Leadership Panel Discussion (Bausch and Lomb Hall)

 6 to 7:30 p.m. Reception with heavy hors d'oeuvres and cash bar (Rush Reese Lib.)

 7 to 10 p.m.  URNROTC Meet and Greet at a place TBD near the Doubletree

Saturday October 10

TBD Possible Breakfast at Doubletree

9:30 a.m. Re-Dedication of Veterans' Memorial Grove

11:30 to 2 p.m. MelioraFest (Lunch on Wilson Quad)

7 p.m.  All Hands Reunion Dinner  (Buffet w/ Open Bar $45/person)

Panelist Announcement and Introductions

From Captain Norberto Nobrega, USN
Commanding Officer, NROTC Unit

During the 2015 Meliora Weekend, the NROTC Unit will be hosting a “NROTC Alumni Leadership Panel” with a broad spectrum of professional expertise and experience.  The panel discussion will feature former Midshipmen alums, each having served in the Navy or Marine Corps during a different era of conflict in the past half-century.  The panel:

1)  is a great venue for alumni of different graduating classes to interact with successful classmates.  It opens up greater opportunity for dialogue and networking between those with a key common experience. 

2)  affords the opportunity for current NROTC Midshipmen to gain insight into the importance of the alumni body, to begin interaction and networking with those in various fields, and to broaden their perspective of career opportunities.

3)  unequivocally emphasizes that success can be reached by pursuing many paths.  

I am certain that interaction with today’s Midshipmen--tomorrow’s junior officers--will be reassuring to those of you who have already served especially any lessons learned from your experiences that you can impart to Midshipmen.  We have an outstanding group of leaders preparing to take the reins of leadership of our Navy and Marine Corps. We truly hope you can join us for Meliora Weekend and our NROTC Unit events.

The following UR NROTC Alumni will participate in the panel discussion to be held on Friday, October 9 from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m.

James A. Merkle (NROTC Class 1962)

A graduate of NROTC Class of 1962 with a BS in chemical engineering, he entered flight school and was designated a naval aviator. His initial fleet squadron was VA-35 where he flew the A6 Skyraider and deployed to the Mediterranean Sea aboard the USS Saratoga (CVA-60) in 1964. In 1965, he transitioned to jets and joined VA-95 where he flew A-4 Skyhawk. In 1966, he deployed to the Western Pacific aboard the USS Intrepid (CVS-11). With Intrepid off the coast of Vietnam, he flew 130 combat missions and was awarded nine Air medals, a Navy Commendation Medal (with combat “V”) and various Vietnam combat medals. In 1967, he finished his naval service with 350 carrier landings and 1550 flying hours.

In 1967, he transitioned to civilian life and worked at Eastman Kodak until 1978.  From1978-1995, he worked at Allied Film Laboratory in Detroit, Michigan.  He became President of Allied Film in 1993 and CEO in 1995 of the then publicly traded Allied Digital Technologies (AMEX ADK).  Since 2002, he has been a small business consultant.

Ambassador George Ward (NROTC Class 1965)

After commissioning from NROTC Unit Rochester in June 1965, Amb. Ward served in the Marine Corps for over four years in the counterintelligence specialty, including active service in the Republic of Vietnam.  He served in the Marine Corps Reserve until 1978 where he reached the rank of Major.

A Foreign Service Officer with the US Department of State from 1969 to 1989, his assignments included Germany, Italy, and the Office of the Secretary of State. From July 1989 to June 1992, he was the Deputy Chief of Mission in Germany and was actively involved in the reunification of West and East Germany.

In 1992, he returned to the Office of the Secretary of State and served as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Organizations. During this time period, he served as Acting Assistant Secretary for two years.

In 1996, he was appointed the United States Ambassador to Namibia where he served until March 1999.

In April 1999, he became the Vice President and Director of the Professional Training Program at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) in Washington, DC. After his six-year tenure at the USIP, he joined World Vision in June 2005 as the Senior Vice President for International Programs.

Since January 2011, he has been a research staff member at the Institute for Defense Analyses.

Paul Stryker (NROTC Class 1981)

A graduate of the NROTC Class of 1981, Paul was a biology-geology major in the College of Arts & Science with a minor in jazz performance (trombone) at the Eastman School of Music.  Paul served on active duty from May 1981 to December 1991 in Navy Special Operations.  As an explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) specialist, he served with numerous EOD units in various capacities including officer-in-charge (OIC) of EODMU ONE Detachment 301 on USS Tarawa and OIC of EOD Group ONE Detachment North Island.  He served in the Navy Reserve for over 17 years as an EOD officer and served as commanding officer of Mobile Diving Salvage Unit TWO Detachment 201 in Newport, RI and Expendable Ordnance Training Unit 2 in Charleston, SC. In June 2009, he retired from the Navy Reserve as a Commander.

After his transition from active duty in 1991, Paul has worked in various information technology (IT) positions in the civilian sector including Service Delivery Manager for the city of San Diego where he managed a 35-person department of software developers; as the Chief Operations Officer for Rose Clinic/Thermal MD; and, as IT Project Lead for Sempra Utilities leading software development and support projects for SDG&E and SOCAL Gas.  

Since June 2013, Paul has been a senior IT project /program manager with OptumInsight out of San Diego specializing in quality and risk assessment with an emphasis in data and geographic information systems.

Gene Peters (NROTC Class 1987)

A Marine option Midshipman at NROTC Unit Rochester, Gene was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1987 and remained on active duty with the Marine Corps until 1991 and the Marine Corps Reserve until 1996. 

From 1991 to 2005, he worked as a consultant in the private sector for about 14 years before entering the federal civilian service in 2005 as a government scientist.  From 2005 to 2010, he worked with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission before joining the FBI. 

Gene is the Chief of Counterterrorism and Forensic Science Research at the FBI Laboratory in Washington, DC.

Brian Chontosh (NROTC Class 2000)

Brian joined the NROTC Unit as a Marine Sergeant in 1996 under the Marine Corps Enlisted Commissioning Program (MECEP).  He attended the Rochester Institute of Technology as a Mechanical Engineering Technology major and was commissioned in May 2000.

After graduation from The Basic School and the Infantry Officer Course, Brian became a Marine infantry officer.  Brian was assigned as a Platoon Commander in Weapons Company, 3^rd Battalion, 5th Marines. As part of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM, Brian was awarded the Navy Cross for his leadership and courage.  On March 25, 2003, during an ambush while advancing upon Baghdad, Brian aggressively attacked an entrenched enemy position, resorting to using captured enemy weaponry when his M16 ran out of ammunition. He is reported to have killed at least 20 enemy soldiers during the incident.

Brian returned to Iraq during the second half of 2004 as the commanding officer of India Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines. During this deployment, his company took part in Operation Phantom Fury, the second assault on Fallujah in November 2004. During this time, his company was also the focus of a Fox News documentary titled Breaking Point: Company of Heroes.

Prior to retiring from the Marine Corps in 2013, he served as the 8th Company Officer at the United States Naval Academy.

NROTC Unit Staff

Please spread the word about the All Hands Reunion to former staff members. It would be great to see them!

Attendees as of Aug 15

As of August 15, the following former UR NROTCs have RSVP'd for the All Hands Reunion at UR (Oct 9 - 11).  Official registration packets will be coming out this month.  Spread the word! Urge your classmates to attend!  Please consider an informal RSVP at  http://evite.me/J9S8sERZdb.

Attendee      Number                 Class Year Jim Doebler                           2                              60 James Merkle 1 62 Stephen Susch 1 63 George Ward 2 65 Bob Osieski 1 77 Dave Wunder 1 78 Rich Schollmann 2 79 Paul Nitkowski 1 79 Chris Paddock 1 80 Sara Zak 1 80 Paul DiNunzio 1 80 Rick Pass 80 Mike Taylor 1 80 80 Curt Powell                                               Martha (Cuddy) VanCleve 2 80 Valerie (Pilner) Denney 1 80 Joel Denney 1 81 Paul Strkyer 1 81 Wendy (Hanig) Chiado 1 81 Stephen Zuegel 1 83 Betsy Boyd 2 83 Dave Duryea 2 83 Dan Koharski 1 85 Gene Peters 1 87 Michael Nosbisch 2 88 Lara (Gutschneider) Mulvaney 1 90 Richard Butler 2 95 Heidi (Hall) Timmerman 4 96 Amy (Woods) Donaldson 2 97 Matt Piester 1 98 Orestes Benitez 1 01 Nikolaos DeMaria Alexandra Schott 1 1 05 09 Maybe Jim Schloss 2 65 Chris Kyrios 1 79 Dave Wassink 2 79 John Underhill 1 81 Mike Rosato 1 82 Dave Abrams 1 87 Travis Reese 2 96

Meliora Weekend Info

Information pertaining to all the events associated with Meliora Weekend can be found at:

https://www.rochester.edu/melioraweekend

Check out all the tabs there, especially FAQ.  Once you are registered for Meliora Weekend you are eligible to attend events of interest.

 Extra events for the All Hands Reunion are in the planning stages.  There will definitely be an evening reception on Friday, for example.  If you have any ideas for events on Saturday or Sunday, please let me know.

RSVP for the All Hands Reunion

The Outreach volunteers have started contacting over 700 former NROTCs from UR.  They are providing a link to evite to RSVP for the occasion.  I encourage everyone to leave a note at the RSVP sight as soon as possible. Your RSVP at evite will not obligate you. Formal registration and payment will begin in August.

Let your classmates and other friends know that you are planning to attend or are at least thinking about it.  Go to http://evite.me/J9S8sERZdb

Outreach Campaign

Recent activity on this blog and the FB UR NROTC Reunion group tells me the Outreach Campaign is well underway.  Thanks to the volunteers who are making it happen.

We hope that one-to-one contact with an outreach volunteer will spark a "Snowball Effect" that will guarantee a huge turnout for the upcoming All Hands Reunion.  I'm sure there will be a lot of comments such as, "I'll go if so-and-so goes."  Please capitalize on the work of the outreach volunteers by contacting all the so-and-sos you know.  Make a group commitment to attend the reunion. Make it a challenge to get your entire NROTC class to Rochester October 9-11.

Get the ball rolling by responding to the elite link that you have received. Let us know if you are at least thinking about joining us for this special occasion.

I hope to see you there!

UR NROTC All Hands Reunion

Thank you for coming to this website.  It will be an ongoing source of information pertaining to the inaugural All Hands Reunion in October 2015.

Please read the following series of posts to get all the details you need!

Please respond to the evite link you received from the outreach volunteer that contacted you!  In turn, reach out to others you would like to see at the UR NROTC All Hands reunion.  We're looking forward to a huge turnout!

You are welcome to contact me with any questions at urnrotc@gmail.com

Event Planners Needed

We’re also looking for a few good former midshipmen help us plan and create other events (in addition to the planned Saturday dinner) to bring UR NROTC alumni together. Some options might include a happy hour at a local establishment, a Sunday breakfast, golf tournament or even an early morning PT session (kidding!). If you are interested in joining the Events Committee and brainstorming programming ideas, crafting descriptions of activities, and organizing events, please contact Cristin Monahan at cmonahan@admin.rochester.edu.

Reunion Video

One of the highlights of the previous smaller UR NROTC Reunions has been the video that Valerie (Pilner) Denney ('80) has been enthusiastically producing.  She has graciously volunteered to continue this project.

All she needs are pictures!  Whether you plan to attend the reunion or not, you may have some photos you would like to share with your fellow former midshipmen.  The most fun photos are those of groups of midshipmen during some NROTC event.  In the past, individuals have submitted a picture of an important career event or a funny situation.

If you have any pictures that you would like to share please post them on the UR NROTC Alumni Facebook page.  (If you are not currently a member of Facebook or the UR NROTC group please sign up.) Valerie will download and incorporate them into the video.

Friday Panel Discussion

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During the 2015 Meliora Weekend, the NROTC Unit will be hosting a “NROTC Alumni Leadership Panel” with a broad spectrum of professional expertise and experience.  The panel discussion will feature former Midshipmen alums, each having served in the Navy or Marine Corps during a different era of conflict in the past half-century. 

As in previous leadership panels, the upcoming panel’s objectives will be four-fold:

First, as part of the Meliora Weekend, the panel is a great venue for alumni of different graduating classes to interact with successful classmates.  It opens up greater opportunity for dialogue and networking between those with a key common experience.  In this case, NROTC and military service in the Navy or Marine Corps.

Second, the panel affords the opportunity for current NROTC Midshipmen to gain insight into the importance of the alumni body, to begin interaction and networking with those in various fields, and to broaden their perspective of career opportunities.

Third, it unequivocally emphasizes that success can be reached by pursuing many paths.  Again, for the current Midshipmen this can lead to an active duty military career, to an active/reserve combination or to using their military experience as a springboard into an entirely different field, nationally or internationally.  In order to capitalize on the diversity of NROTC graduates, we are inviting panelists from a variety of career choices and backgrounds.

Finally, I am certain that interaction with today’s Midshipmen--tomorrow’s junior officers--will be reassuring to those of you who have already served especially any lessons learned from your experiences that you can impart to Midshipmen.  We have an outstanding group of leaders preparing to take the reins of leadership of our Navy and Marine Corps.

We truly hope you can join us for Meliora Weekend and our NROTC Unit events.