Please join us in congratulating WPAOG’s 2022 Distinguished Graduate Award recipients. This annual award is bestowed upon those West Point Graduates whose character, distinguished service, and stature draw a wholesome comparison to the qualities West Point strives for in keeping with its motto "Duty, Honor, Country." The 2022 Distinguished Graduate Award Recipients are Frederick C. Lough Jr. ’70, Lee A. Van Arsdale ’74, John F. Campbell ’79, Rebecca S. Halstead ’81, Alex Gorsky ’82 and Nadja Y. West ’82. Visit our website for more information about the award and our past recipients.

On January 21, WPAOG held the annual Class Ring Memorial Ceremony, where 71 West Point class rings were melted into a legacy gold bar, the highest number of rings received in one year. This legacy gold will be used to make the Class of 2023’s West Point class rings, which they will receive in August. This Class Ring Memorial Program creates a tangible bond between the members of the Long Gray Line. Including this year’s 71 rings, the grand total of donated West Point class rings is now 740. Eleven of this year’s rings were from the 50-Year Affiliate Class of 1973. For more information about WPAOG's Class Ring Memorial Program, please click here. Video. Full story.

Building on 105 years of success, Army Men’s Lacrosse announces the establishment of an endowment to secure our future as a top tier competitor in Division 1 of the NCAA. The unique advantage of an endowment is to provide necessary funding for the program in perpetuity. The initial goal is to raise $3 Million Dollars. Your gift to the Endowment will help provide a source of financial assistance that supports all program expenses, to include equipment, uniforms, practice & competition expenses, facility enhancements, staff, and much more. This effort is being headed by Coach Joe Alberici and LTG (R) KD Dahl, Class of 1982. Read more.

The Army Black Knights captured a nearly improbable victory, erasing a 27-point deficit, en route to a nail-biting 74-73 overtime win versus rival Navy on January 22. Army, which has now won four of the last five meetings with its rival, faced the 27-point first-half deficit with four minutes remaining in the opening period and trailed by 22 points with 11:46 left in regulation. The 27-point deficit is tied for the sixth-largest deficit in a comeback win in NCAA Division I men’s basketball history. Read more.

In close coordination, WPAOG and its sister alumni associations have decided to sunset the All Academy Challenge (AAC). For eight years, this collective effort energized our graduate bodies and communities and raised participation and support for our institutions to new heights. Thank you to Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, and Merchant Marine for being such worthy opponents. Thank you to the countless West Point volunteers who created spirit videos, sent messages to classmates, encouraged others to donate, and were true ambassadors for the effort. Please save the date: May 1-5, 2022! We welcome your input on how to rebrand, retool, and reenergize our upcoming West Point-centric annual effort launching this spring. We will keep the spirit of competition going and create new engagement between West Point classes, companies, decades, and affinity groups. To learn more, look for updates at westpointaog.org/westpointchallenge or email us at WPChallenge@wpaog.org to volunteer, provide any feedback, or ask questions. Get ready to take on a new Challenge in 2022. Let the best class win!

The WPAOG Career Services team is excited to reconnect in person with you at our fast-approaching Service Academy Career Conference (SACC), taking place February 24-25 in sunny Jacksonville, FL. As you hunt for your next job or transition to a new career path this year, you can count on the SACC to continue providing you with outstanding opportunities to meet with hiring managers and recruiters from our industry-leading employer connections. Learn more and register here. Career Services will be holding an informative webinar session on February 8 at 7:30pm ET to help you prepare for the SACC! Register through your Career Services Handshake profile HERE or email Career Services at careers@wpaog.org for details about joining the webinar, designed to help you get the most out of the SACC.

Join us on a 10-week countdown to the West Point Women’s Conference! The fourth West Point Women’s Conference will occur April 7-9, 2022, in-person at West Point and with a virtual component. Anchored by the conference theme “West Point Women at the Forefront: Breaking Barriers,” the event will celebrate how West Point women through the past 46 years continue to lead from the front in the military and beyond. Registration will open mid-February. Visit the West Point Women’s Conference AOG website for more information. Interested in becoming an event sponsor, email sponsorships@wpaog.org. To support the Women’s Conference Endowment, visit us here or call 845.446.1657.

Grads! If you’re interested in big banking and have not heard of Bank of America’s Military Veterans programs, you're missing out. Join Career Services as we tune in to hear Bobby Turner, VP of Diversity & Inclusion - Military Recruiting, as he shares the ins and outs of BofA's four military veteran rotational and direct-hire programs available to transitioning and recently separated military. For more information, head to your Handshake event profile HERE. Join the discussion on Thursday, February 10 at 1pm ET here.

The Gift Shop strives to provide you with great product and friendly customer service. In order to take our customer service to the next level, we need your help! If you have shopped with us recently, please take the time to log onto WPAOGGiftShop.com and write a review. Search for the purchased item and once located, click on the write a review button near the bottom of the page. Reviews help other customers make decisions on fit, size and style. Customers writing reviews between now and the end of February will be placed in a drawing for a WPAOG Gift Shop gift card. Please remember to add your email address in the appropriate location on the review page to be included. Thanks in advance for your assistance and continued support of the shop! Call us with questions or to send a review over the phone: 800.426.4725.

WPAOG is pleased to announce that Jaye Donaldson has joined us as Vice President of Communications & Marketing. For over 25 years, Donaldson has been working with organizations to develop brand, marketing and communications strategies that get results. In 1992, Jaye and her business partner purchased a design firm, which then became The Donaldson Group, where Jaye was the company’s President & CEO responsible for managing the business as well as the strategic vision and mission for the firm. In 2017, Donaldson sold the business to Maier True Communications and became their VP of Client Engagement. In 2003, Jaye was named Hartford’s Rising Star Business Leader of the Year and in March 2004, was recognized by the Hartford Business Journal as one of Eight Remarkable Business Women.