CULVER MILITARY ACADEMY Class of 1956

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1 B a c k, B a c k t o C u l v er Days CULVER MILITARY ACADEMY Class of 1956 William H. Hanning Jr. William W. Slemmons James L. Dunlap Class President & Gift Chair Reunion Chair & Assistant Gift Chair Reunion Gift Harry G. Schoger Wallace A. Ross E.B. Vandiver Communications/Newsletter Editor Webmaster Legion Board Member Message from Class President February 2015 Dear Classmates: Your class leadership team is beginning to gear up for the planning of our 60 th Class Reunion scheduled for May 20-22, In addition to our leadership listed at the top of this newsletter we intend to extensively expand our Unit Representatives along with other classmates that will have special responsibilities for certain reunion activities. Since this is early 2015 I suggest that you resolve to seriously consider attending our 60th Reunion. Put the date on your calendar NOW! Many of our classmates over the years have asked me questions regarding our Memorial Scholarship Endowment Fund. Some of you have contributed to the fund which was begun in calendar year I would like to thank those of you have made gifts over the past years. This issue of our class newsletter has included information on how and when the scholarship was started, the current financial status of our efforts, and a listing of our scholarship recipients since Our scholarship fund contributions have dropped off over the past five years. I would encourage you to consider making a gift to our endowed fund so as to continue to increase the fund in order for other students to have tuition assistance. Beginning next year the class will have a new scholarship recipient. Hopefully this person will be a Fourth Classman so that he can remain receiving our scholarship for his four years at Culver. Ryan Walsh and Zach Sheldon were cadets who received our help for their four years at Culver. An update on Zach is below. Juan Gomez, our first scholar, was our first recipient during his First Class year in Following CMA, Zach attended Ball State University. He took a semester off to live in San Techla, El Salvador. He is majoring in Telecommunications with a minor in Tourism and Travel. He has been involved in several media projects. Most notably, he was on an immersive learning team which produced a documentary on the Auburn, Cord, Dusenburg (ACD) automobiles. Their group was called Barn Find Productions, and the name of the film is "Legacy of Perfection." It can be seen at the ACD museum in Auburn, Indiana. Zach is pursuing the film and media industry and would like to produce media productions. He will graduate from Ball State this year. In early March of this year, I plan to join some of the Culver grads from the Class of 1957 and travel to Puerto Rico for a mini class reunion. Jerry Ney is a leader of the class and has planned many small gatherings over the past several years. They have held these reunions in places such as California, Louisville, South Texas, Cancun, Mexico and this will be the second one held in San Juan, Puerto, Rico.

PAGE 2 I am certain that many of you travel. That makes for some news for your classmates. Harry Schoger always wants to hear what you re doing in retirement.

2 PAGE 2 I am certain that many of you travel. That makes for some news for your classmates. Harry Schoger always wants to hear what you re doing in retirement. With just a small paragraph, and possibly a photo, he can include some of your activities to share with your classmates via the newsletter. Help make the creation of the newsletter an easier task for the person who tries to keep you informed. Bill Slemmons will be serving as chairman for our upcoming reunion. He and I both will be calling on you for assistance. If any of you want to take part in putting this reunion together please call Bill (mobile: or home: ) or myself (mobile: ) if you are interested in helping in some capacity. There are many ways to give back to Culver or our class. Please consider and decide what you can do for Culver and our class as we move toward our momentous 60 th Class Reunion. Sincerely, Bill Hanning, CMA 56 Class President/Co Gift Chair MARK YOUR CALENDAR FOR OUR 60 th REUNION MAY 20-22, 2016 Do you remember what some us looked like nearly 20 years ago at our 40 th Reunion? Front Row (l-r): Larry Cleves, Bill Hanning, Skip Ross, Mike DeMarko, Harry Schoger, Tim Campbell Second Row (l-r): Pat Layne, Harold Clevenger, Phil Hatfield, Dick Moore Third Row (l-r): Pete Bikos, Jim Dunlap, Chuck Sommer, Mike Bacon, Bob Layne Back Row (l-r): Ward Schryver, Jim Medland, Dick Freeman, John Roberts, E.B. Vandiver, Tom Shumaker

PAGE 3 Class of 1956 Memorial Scholarship Fund Update By Bill Hanning Discussion of a class scholarship fund was begun some months prior to the 45 th Class Reunion held in 2001.

The reunion planning team and Alan Loehr, Alumni Director, planned a discussion for our class meeting during the 2001 reunion weekend.

While Bill and Harold were on campus in May 2005 to shadow the class of 1955 s 50 th Reunion, Harold wrote a check in the amount of $25,000 to Culver for our class scholarship.

When the fund reached a certain amount deemed necessary by the controller of the Academy, earnings from the fund would be available as financial aid for a current student.

3 PAGE 3 Class of 1956 Memorial Scholarship Fund Update By Bill Hanning Discussion of a class scholarship fund was begun some months prior to the 45 th Class Reunion held in Two members of our class suggested that we (the class) consider the creation of a Memorial Scholarship Fund to honor our deceased classmates. The reunion planning team and Alan Loehr, Alumni Director, planned a discussion for our class meeting during the 2001 reunion weekend. Bill Hanning had already appointed Harold Clevenger chairman of a committee to study the feasibility of our class beginning such a fund. The topic was discussed at a meeting with 56 attendees. While Bill and Harold were on campus in May 2005 to shadow the class of 1955 s 50 th Reunion, Harold wrote a check in the amount of $25,000 to Culver for our class scholarship. The fund was then to become an endowed fund that would be governed by The Culver Educational Foundation thenceforth. When the fund reached a certain amount deemed necessary by the controller of the Academy, earnings from the fund would be available as financial aid for a current student. That assistance began during the academic year. The Class of 1956 Memorial Scholarship Fund s market value as of June 30, 2014 is $130,296. Since the inception of the Fund, $68,352 has been distributed to our three scholarship recipients to date: Juan Gomez 06 (Troop); Zach Sheldon 11 (Co. B); Ryan Walsh 15 (Co. C). You will find Ryan Walsh s final letter addressed to members of the Class of 1956 elsewhere in this newsletter. Ryan is currently in his First Class year at CMA and has been our scholarship recipient since he began his tenure at Culver as a Fourth Classman in Thank you to those over the years who have contributed to the Class of 1956 Memorial Scholarship. Endowed scholarships like ours, as well as our annual Culver Fund gifts, provide financial aid for deserving students like Ryan, Zach, and Juan. Juan Gomez, CMA 2006 Zach Sheldon, CMA 2011

4 PAGE 4 Dear Members of the Class of 1956, I am finally a 1 st classman here at the prestigious Culver Military Academy. I would first and foremost like to begin this letter by expressing my deep appreciation for your more than generous investment in my education, personal experiences, growth, and future. Your contribution is serving as a truly substantial and considerate gift, and I cannot express my gratitude enough for your incredible aid, selflessness, and generosity. This is my fourth and therefore final year as a Culver Military Academy cadet and student. I am currently a Platoon Sergeant in Charlie Company in the Infantry Battalion. My current rank in Charlie Company is Staff Sergeant in accordance with my current position within the unit. The primary make for 1 st classmen will be concluding in approximately six weeks, while the first make for 2 nd classmen and below recently came to a close in mid-november. I am looking forward to the approaching second make for 1 st classmen in the corps of cadets and I am prepared to take on a fresh and new leadership role. In my academic endeavors, my current 2 nd term courses that I am taking are Advanced Placement Microeconomics, Religious Texts, and Health Issues. Previously during the 1 st term, I took Pre-Calculus, American Government, Servant Leadership, and Mythology & Literature. Thus far, my favorite class undoubtedly has been Myth & Lit taught by Dean of Faculty Kathy Lintner. Her class pushed me to improve my writing and textual analysis through myriad different techniques. It was a blessing to be her student, even if only for one short term. I am infatuated with the ever-challenging classroom setting instilled within Culver, and I m confident that it will serve me well in my college studies in the near future. My extracurricular activities currently include my involvement in Culver s Speech Team, Sailing Team, and Skeet Shooting Team. I ve been involved with the Speech Team since I was a freshman at Culver and have stuck with it since that moment. I take great pleasure in playing a role in Culver s reputation of being a significantly formidable opponent to other schools in the league. This was quite special to me during last year s season as I went to Indiana s Speech Qualifier and qualified for the State Championship. I was proud of my teammates, their tremendous efforts, and the coaches motivating words to push us all further. Additionally, I have been working hard to complete my senior service project. I have chosen to work with children involved with Culver s community elementary school. I work with the children there giving them homework help, playing sports, and discovering creative outlets such as building, drawing, and writing that can potentially serve them for the rest of their lives. With this being my final year at Culver, I must say that I have been getting increasingly sentimental in regards to the last experiences that I will have between now and May 31 st (graduation). Something that hits me each day is the sense of community that embodies Culver. Every student, faculty, and staff member is astonishingly personable and consistently reaches out to those around them. I cherish and greatly value the effort that those involved with Culver make to create new connections with others here. I see Culver as one enormous support system, while still pushing each person to step out of their comfort zone and embrace the opportunity to construct new friendships and grow as an individual, especially in CMA. The Corps truly yearns to go above and beyond in any situation. There is a nearly palpable desire to serve others, as each and every cadet eventually learns to take initiative without seeking credit or recognition. Finally, I would like to thank each member of the Class of 1956 for your charitable donations towards my education and my future. Your gift to me over the past four years has done far more than solely allowing me to attend Culver. I have grown in all aspects as a human being, developed lasting friendships, and gained more knowledge than I ever thought any high school education could provide. Simply put, I

PAGE 5 cannot express how grateful I am for the wonderful opportunity I have been gifted with.

been made to allow me to attend a school that I am so deeply proud of and love dearly. I will proudly carry Culver s legacy as long as I live. Thank you and God bless, Ryan P.

ard Update By E.B. Vandiver III, C Company For some years now the Culver Legion Board has concentrated on designing and implementing a lifelong strategy for all alumni to stay connected with Culver.

5 PAGE 5 cannot express how grateful I am for the wonderful opportunity I have been gifted with. Culver s legacy, values, and its cardinal virtues will continue to play a powerful role in my life for as long as I live, and I could not be more thankful for the significant contributions that have been made to allow me to attend a school that I am so deeply proud of and love dearly. I will proudly carry Culver s legacy as long as I live. Thank you and God bless, Ryan P. Walsh, CMA 2015 Ryan Walsh from Fourth Classman to First Classman Class of 1956 Memorial Scholarship Recipient (4 years) Culver Legion Board Update By E.B. Vandiver III, C Company For some years now the Culver Legion Board has concentrated on designing and implementing a lifelong strategy for all alumni to stay connected with Culver. For several years the Board concentrated on educating students about the Legion and their expected participation after graduation. More recently, we have concentrated on our graduates away at college. Of course we maintain high contact with all classes after college with the five year reunions and other activities. It became apparent to us after a while that a sizeable number of our alumni had no idea what the Culver Legion is and does. The reasons for this are numerous, but not important. What is important is correcting this situation. To this end, two years ago we revived an earlier four-page publication that explains exactly what the Legion is and does and have distributed it at the five year Reunions. We updated it in 2014, and it is enclosed with this newsletter. This Reunion Weekend will mark the end of my six years on the Culver Legion Board of Directors: three terms of two years each, the maximum permitted. This service has been one of the most satisfying things I have done in my life, and I am very grateful to the Board for having reelected me for these terms. Editor s note: Thanks, E.B. for your service and fine representation of the Class of 56!

6 PAGE 6 Class News As I was perusing the latest Culver Alumni Magazine I noted that one of the faculty from our era passed away. It was Hugh Ayer, who taught American history at CMA from After he left the Academy he went on to serve as a professor at the University of North Texas from There he was a Professor of History, Chairman of the Division of Social Science and Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. How many of you had him as an instructor? I also noted from the same magazine that Bob Bon Durant checked in to Class News. He and his wife, Ginny, live in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, and travel extensively to visit their son, Rob, CMA 1986, in California and their daughter Carolyn and her family in Germany. Over the past few years Eatha and Chuck Sommer have had some nagging physical issues that have required medical attention. "...much of our travel has been to medical facilities. At this time we do not have any conditions that we cannot either correct or live with." How many of us can attest to that kind of good news? This past Christmas was the 52nd the Sommers have celebrated together. "The first one was shortly after a blind date in mid-december The second one was 20 days after our wedding on December 5, 1964." They have two sons, Mike, CMA 1985, of Dublin, OH, and Roger, CMA 1989, a new home-owner in Raleigh, NC. Mike works for Scott's Miracle Grow in Marysville, OH, is married to Rica, both of whom are blessed with son Cameron, a ninth-grader, and daughter Mia, a sixth-grader. Roger works for NC State University, is married to Lori and has sons Malcolm, a first-grader, and Erich, who is only one and a half. Chuck and Eatha have been making up for lost time with respect to pleasure travel. In August they went to Ashville, NC, to celebrate an early 50th anniversary with the family. In late October they visited sisters in New Jersey and Maryland and later spent Thanksgiving in Raleigh, celebrating the holiday with the entire family. In mid-december they went to Dublin, OH, for Mia's performance in "The Nutcracker" and finally to Upstate New York to celebrate Christmas with Roger, Lori, their two grandsons and Lori's family. Class of 1956 Current Statistics Number of classmates that graduated in the Class of 1956 on June 6, Number of classmates in the Class of 1956 as non-graduates attending with the Class of 1956 over four years 43 Total number of classmates (graduates & non-graduates) that attended with the Class of Current active classmates (graduates & non-graduates) listed on the Alpha Class Roster 116 Current widows listed in the Alpha Class Roster currently 7 Current number of deceased classmates (graduates & non-graduates) 67 Current number of classmates that are listed as lost/awol ) 11 Current classmates that have requested non-contact or mail 4 Current classmates residing outside of the United States 6 Current number of deceased classmates 68.

This is the Army s highest honor for those in this career field and cannot be awarded to anyone on active service.

The Hall of Fame is located at Aberdeen Proving Ground Maryland.

D) on February 3, 2015. He resided in Montreal, Canada with his wife Francine. He is also survived by his daughter Stephanie and son Sebastian.

7 PAGE 7 Class News, Continued E.B. Vandiver III was inducted into the Department of the Army Operations Research/ Systems Analysis of Fame on 9 November 2014 in a ceremony at Edgewood, Maryland. This is the Army s highest honor for those in this career field and cannot be awarded to anyone on active service. Fortunately it does not have to be a posthumous award, and so E. B. got to take his wife, children and one grandchild to the ceremony. The Hall of Fame is located at Aberdeen Proving Ground Maryland. Lake Maxinkuckee, January 2015 Photo by Ann Rutledge 79 TAPS Just as we were going to press on this newsletter we learned of the passing of Frederick T. Day (Co. D) on February 3, He resided in Montreal, Canada with his wife Francine. He is also survived by his daughter Stephanie and son Sebastian. Following CMA, Frederick served seven years in the U.S. Army, mostly in France, and earned a degree in administration from the University of Maryland. His career included real estate broker and developer in Seattle prior to his move to Montreal, Canada in 1972 where he worked in various enterprises involved with energy and environmental greenhouse gas reduction (GHG) in Brazil. In addition to the English language, Frederick was fluent in French, Portuguese, and Spanish.

8 PAGE 8 Class of 1956 Fundraising Update Making a Culver Fund gift is an opportunity to express support of Culver and its outstanding academic and leadership programs. To date, 25 members (22%) of our Class have made a gift, totaling $34,300 toward our 45% participation and $55,000 goals. Their names are listed below. Thank you! For those who haven t made a gift yet, we encourage you to join us. You may make your gift online via credit card at or by sending a check made payable to Culver Educational Foundation to 1300 Academy Rd. #153, Culver, IN Bill Hanning Bill Slemmons Class President & Co-Gift Chair Co-Gift Chair & Reunion Chair Cell: (740) Cell: (513) bhancma56@aol.com slemmons1969@gmail.com Bob Baer Pete Bikos Bob Bon Durant Tony Brannon Martin Brown Frank Cox Bill Davidson Jim Dunlap Chuck Fulmer Bill Hanning Tom Hawley Don Hochschulz David Howell Andy Massaro John Newman Larry Parker Hugh Pease Bob Peck Bob Rich John Richards Harry Schoger Ward Schryver Tom Shumaker Bill Slemmons E.B. Vandiver Upcoming Culver Club Events Southwest Florida Culver Club (Naples) Friday, February 27, 2015: Luncheon Club at Pelican Bay Tampa-Sunday, March 8, 2015: Yankees Spring Training Game and Luncheon Culver Club of Indianapolis- Wednesday, March 11, 2015 District Tap Mixer/Happy Hour Culver Club of South Florida-Sunday, March 29, 2015-Wellington Polo Event 2015 ONE Culver: Chicago- Wednesday, April 8, 2015

FAMILY DINNER. Planning Guide. Table of Contents. Suggested planning timeline. Tips for gaining local sponsorships. Message points for press, speeches

FAMILY DINNER. Planning Guide. Table of Contents. Suggested planning timeline. Tips for gaining local sponsorships. Message points for press, speeches Planning Guide Table of Contents Suggested planning timeline Tips for gaining local sponsorships Message points for press, speeches Sample letter of invitation to groups Sample media release Sample media