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Dear '68 Classmates,
The USAFA Cyber Competition Team has resumed its regular training and competitive events, and, under new cadet leadership (and with the largest number of members in its history), the Team has achieved an impressive string of successes while also increasing its visibility beyond the confines of the Academy itself. For the sake of brevity, we have included a couple of links that we hope will be of interest and which provide a more detailed look at the Team's recent activities: First, a memo (PDF) and several photos from Garry Dudley, which highlight the Team’s increasing recognition and stature among governmental and business leaders alike; and, second, the Team’s newly launched newsletter (PDF), which provides an in-depth review of its recent competitions and upcoming events.
Thanks to your generosity, we have now exceeded our initial $500,000 fundraising target by more than 100%. The '68 Cyber Competition Team Fund now provides up to $45,000 annually for cadet members' travel, awards and ancillary expenses -- none of which would otherwise be available from appropriated sources. Indeed, your past and continuing financial support of the Team enables us to justifiably claim that the Class of '68 is also the Academy's unofficial "Cyber Class." Although the Fund will remain open indefinitely to allow us to continue to “pay it forward” (both through outright gifts and planned giving*), in anticipation of our upcoming 55th Reunion, the Gift Committee also believes that it is both timely and appropriate to "honor our past." Accordingly, we now propose such a project.
Since our 40th reunion in 2008, our Class Fund has purchased memorial markers at the USAFA Cemetery for our deceased Classmates who are not interred there. (The Veterans’ Administration already pays for the markers of those who are interred at the Cemetery.) To date, our Class Fund has paid, in whole or in part, for 61 such markers. Often, the families of our deceased Classmates have contributed to this memorialization; however, in those instances where family participation has been unavailable or otherwise insufficient to defray the entire cost of the marker, our Class Fund has underwritten the purchase, which currently ranges from roughly $1,500 to $1,600 per marker (depending upon the inscription). Although our Class Fund has not found it necessary to make a marker disbursement for the past four years, that Fund has now been depleted to approximately $12,000 – enough for only a few more markers before the well runs dry. Accordingly, we have established a new fund with the Air Force Academy Foundation – the Class of ’68 Marker Fund – to ensure that each and every one of our Classmates may eventually be memorialized at the USAFA Cemetery, regardless of where he may actually be interred.
Since our arrival on June 29, 1964, the Class of ’68 has forged an incredibly close bond with one another. Now, as we look forward to our 55th Reunion, we hope that you will support our effort to ensure that all of our Classmates are ultimately recognized and honored in perpetuity as members of ’68 Forever Great. For that reason, we have included an informational sheet (PDF) on how you may participate in either or both of these highly worthwhile projects. Please join us!
Thank you, and best wishes from your ’68 Gift Committee,
Bill Begert
*Notably, a planned gift will not only assist the Foundation in meeting its goals in the ongoing comprehensive campaign, but also result in your immediate recognition as a member of the Polaris Society. For further details, please contact Dale Zschoche. |