2020 Leaders Conference Is Going Virtual

Dear Volunteer Leaders:

I hope this email finds you and your families safe and well. Thank you for your continued support to West Point and your enduring commitment to each other during this unprecedented time.

This pandemic has cast a wide shadow over our lives, upending normal routines. As you may know, New York has been particularly hard-hit by Covid-19 and we anticipate that social distancing and other protocols surrounding large gatherings will remain in place for some time putting into question the viability of a large conference. Therefore, after careful consideration, we have decided to hold the WPAOG Leaders Conference virtually this year.

Please Save the Date, Thursday, August 13, 2020 for a virtual Leaders Conference, sponsored by the Class of 1967. More details to follow.

If you have a hotel reservation in one of the room blocks, the Alumni Events team will cancel your reservation and will contact you once they have done so. If you made a hotel reservation outside of the room block, you will need to cancel your reservation directly with the hotel.

I look forward to seeing you virtually on Thursday, August 13th; until then, my thoughts are with you, your families, and our brother and sisters of the Long Gray Line.

Todd Browne ’85
President and CEO
West Point Association of Graduates

President to Speak at West Point Graduation

WEST POINT, N.Y. – President Donald Trump will serve as the commencement speaker at the U.S. Military Academy’s Class of 2020 graduation ceremony at West Point, New York, on Saturday, June 13.

This will mark his first visit as graduation speaker.

“We are honored to host the Commander-in-Chief as we celebrate the many accomplishments of our graduating class,” said Lt. Gen. Darryl A. Williams, 60th Superintendent of the USMA.

The size and scope of the graduation ceremony will be determined by safety considerations for Cadets and the entire West Point community. The Academy leadership is conducting a thorough analysis and plan for the safe return of the Corps of Cadets.

“West Point continues to receive tremendous support from Army leadership during this unique time in its history and looks forward to commissioning the newest cohort of lieutenants into the ranks of the Army Officer Corps,” said Lt. Gen. Williams.

For updates on academy operations, restrictions or cancellations go to www.westpoint.edu/coronavirus

Founders Day Cancellation

I wanted you know that we are cancelling Founders Day for this year. We have been watching events regarding the Corona Virus unfold over the last two weeks and last week we started having some discussion about whether Founders Day should be cancelled.

Our first responsibility is to our graduates and guests attending this function and there is no way to fully mitigate the risks to those attending. For that reason, we are cancelling Founders Day.

The West Point Society will refund your tickets. We will also refund the sponsorship payments for those who signed up as sponsors. I first want to contact PayPal since PayPal no longer refunds their PayPal fees. I would like to see if they would refund the PayPal fees considering this situation. If they do not refund the fees than the WPSCF will cover those PayPal fees.

I want to thank all of you that have already signed up for Founders Day and also to thank our Sponsors who always help make this a great event. Next week I will send out a notification on who those sponsors were to make sure they we thank them pubicly.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

WPSCF Guest Speaker for 2020 Founders Day

The West Point Society of Central Florida (WPSCF) is pleased to announce that General Lloyd J. Austin III, USA (Ret.), will be  the guest speaker for Founders Day at the Rosen Plaza Hotel on Saturday, March 28, 2020. The picture shown here is of Genereal Austin, USA (Ret.) speaking at 500th Night for the class of 2021. 

General Lloyd J. Austin III culminated his military career serving as the 12th Commander of U.S. Central Command from 22 March 2013 to 30 March 2016. In this capacity, he was responsible for military strategy and joint operations throughout the Middle East and Central and South Asia. He also served as the Combined Forces Commander, overseeing the military campaign to defeat the terrorist organization, ISIL in Iraq and Syria.

A native of Thomasville, Georgia, General Austin attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, graduating in 1975 with a commission in Infantry. During his nearly 41 years of military service, he commanded units at every echelon, with duty in Germany, Panama, Iraq, Afghanistan, and the United States. He also has the extraordinary distinction of having commanded troops in combat at the 1-, 2-, 3- and 4-star levels. After his first assignment with U.S. Army Europe, General Austin was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C., where he commanded a company and served as an assistant brigade operations officer. General Austin then commanded a second company in Indianapolis, IN before earning a Master’s Degree from Auburn University and serving as a Company Tactical Officer at West Point.

Read more: WPSCF Guest Speaker for 2020 Founders Day