Football season has arrived

Email sent 29 August 2018

Greetings ’85,

I am writing this looking at surfers on Waikiki Beach and getting ready for the morning walk with my wiife Sherry towards Diamond Head all because Navy is playing U of Hawaii Saturday at 1700 local Hawaii time. We have a GREAT crowd from our Class in attendance; as usual, the most of any individual graduating class (115 tickets sold). Thanks to those who made the trip and I will see you all this week if I have not seen you already. Check out our Class of ’85 Facebook group for the pictures we will post as we cheer the Mids to their first win of the season. So, let’s talk about our first home game. Charlie Smith and the crew in Annapolis have sent me this to attach:

****************  Home Tailgate Information  ************************************

I hope everyone is looking forward to another fantastic season of Navy Football. Navy hosts Memphis for the home opener at 3:30 on Sept 8th and our tailgate crew is already working on another great season of tailgating to complement our Midshipmen’s glory on the field.

With last year’s investments in the tent, trailer and gear, we have all the ingredients in place for an excellent tailgating experience. We are using the sign up page again this year and you can find the signup for the Memphis game here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080A48ABAB28AAF49-memphis

The theme for the first game is Memphis BBQ. Charlie and Bill have agreed to cook ribs to get things kicked off. We will have cold beer on tap and other beverages to keep you cool. Please sign up so we can get a good count and plan to bring something to share with Classmates.

Don’t hesitate to reach out to Charlie @ Charles.M.Smith@gmail.com if you have suggestions or questions. Your feedback is welcome.

Go Navy – Beat Memphis

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Home tailgates will follow the same theme as last year, we have the Class of ’85 Tent, trailer and tailgate site ready to roll out next weekend. Last year everyone pitched in to make this new and improved tailgate site possible. Those who came to any home saw just how nice it is to have such a quality tailgate each and every game. In order to help me fund class tailgating again this year, I will ask that anyone interested in a one time contribution to our Class tailgate fund ($25, $50 or $100) please send it via Paypal or Venmo to: MD11driver85@gmail.com and PLEASE indicate it is for the Class of ’85 Tailgate Fund being sent to friends or family. This will allow me to budget for catering and for beer and wine, as well as continued improvements to our Class of ’85 tailgate experience both at home and away games. We will still have our “Honor box” at tailgates, these donations will help add to the things we can do and will keep the food hot and the beer  and wine flowing.

Next week,  I will be sending out an email dedicated to our Class of ’85 trip to San Diego for the Notre Dame game on October 27th. I have all the events planned out, so it is time to start collecting money and finalizing my head counts at all the events. There is still plenty of openings to join us on this trip, the hotel block has a few rooms and the Friday night party and tailgate is WIDE OPEN. You can still get tickets to the game from local sources. We are over 100 people signed up for this weekend and I would love to see us reach 150 or more. Stay tuned next week as I roll out the schedule of events and payment information. For now, enjoy the Navy game late Saturday on CBS Sports Network at 2300 EST and look for the Class of ’85 about the 20 yard line on the Navy side in rows 6-10. Get signed up for Memphis if you are going on September 8th and help Charlie out AND, donate a few dollars to our class tailgate fund if you will.

Thanks and BEAT HAWAII!!

Bob Smith ’85

PS: Please see the USNA ’85 website for details on all upcoming class events: http://1985.usnaclasses.net