TxGC Foundation’s Top Gun Annual Benefit
In 2014, the US Naval Academy Alumni Association, Texas Gulf Coast (TxGC) Foundation, established a new tradition in the Houston area. The Top Gun Annual Benefit has become a noteworthy event that has integrated the community members at large with the local veteran population. The proceeds go to two handpicked, local veterans service organizations (VSOs), selected each year, in addition to a portion going to the TxGC Foundation. For 2018, the two primary VSOs are Team Rubicon and USO Houston. These organizations effectively enrich the lives of their members and communities. Team Rubicon unites the skills and experiences of military veterans with first responders to rapidly deploy emergency response teams. During Harvey, Team Rubicon was intricate in serving the community at-large, quickly and effectively. USO Houston continuously adapts to the needs of our men and women in uniform and their families, so that the service member can focus on their mission, serving their country. The TxGC Foundation supports the mission of the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, in developing young men and women into our nations future Naval Officers.
Over 800 people have experienced the beach volleyball, Kenny Loggins music, games, fun, food, and camaraderie that the Top Gun Benefit provides while raising, over the past three years, over $20,000 for local veteran charities, enabling them to continue their missions. With your support, the Top Gun Annual Benefit will continue to surpass each previous year’s numbers.
2018: Top Gun 5th Annual Benefit
Saturday July 7 @ Wakefield Crowbar
- Food & Drink Specials
- Beach Volleyball Tournament
- Silent Auction
- Family Activities and Games (Kids Activities)
- Giveaways & Prizes
- Top Gun Costume Contest
Sponsorships & Donations Wanted
- Support local veterans
- Interact with potential clients
- Make your mark in the veteran community
- Gain powerful advertising and media exposure
- More detailed information on sponsoring or donating (click here)
- Dan Hanley ’10
- 281-435-2523
- dhanley@2010.usna.com
TICKET INFO COMING SOON
STAY UP TO DATE ON TOP GUN BENEFIT FACEBOOK
2017 Results
- Online revenue: $474
- Door revenue: $1,291
- Volleyball revenue: $2,000
- Auction revenue: $7,135
- Donations: $889
- Sponsors: 4,750
- Total revenue: $16,539
- Expenses: ($1,539)
- Net profit: $15,000
- Funds contributed to benefactors
- USNAAA TxGC Foundation (50%): $7,500
- Lone Star Veterans Assoc. (25%): $3,750
- Team Red, White, & Blue (25%): $3,750
- Funds contributed to benefactors
Buddy Wellborn’s Navy Football Preview
Monthly Lunches are back! Join us for our annual Navy Football Preview, featuring Buddy Wellborn ’59. Buddy is well regarded as a Navy Football expert, having served as NAAA Trustee. Full bio.
TxGC MEMBERS ALWAYS GET $5 OFF!
- Advance purchase online: $30 ($25 for TxGC members)
- Week-of-event & walk-ups*: $35 ($30 for TxGC members)
- *if seats available
- TxGC Member discount is provided by a discount code via member-only newsletter
- TxGC Membership is only $10/year… join today
MENU
- Ice tea, water, soda, cash bar
- Choice of Sicilian salad or Mama’s gumbo
- Choice of entree
- Chicken John Kim: grilled chicken topped in mushrooms, roasted peppers, white wine butter sauce
- Penne Pasta with Meat Sauce: traditional penne pasta with Mama’s slow cooked meat sauce
- Blacked Trout: filet topped with etoufee served with red-skinned mashed potatoes and vegetables
- Choice of chocolate cake or cheesecake
Austin Huckabee
Commissioned as an Armor Officer from Sam Houston State University in 2007, Austin served as an Abrams tank platoon leader and an Air Assault Infantry platoon leader in Baghdad, Iraq from 2009-2010. Since 2012, he as worked for the Houston Police Department as a patrol officer in Greenspoint and Acres Homes, in the Gang Division in a city-wide street level anti-gang unit, and in the SWAT detail as a part-time officer. In 2016, he became a contract instructor for the State Department and Justice Department in Ukraine, training multiple law enforcement agencies in and around Kiev in high-risk tactics. Austin will talk to us about his experiences in training Ukrainian law enforcement agencies how to handle and respond to high risk tactical situations and the impact of the Ukraine’s current political climate affects its law enforcement’s ability to fight corruption.
TxGC MEMBERS ALWAYS GET $5 OFF!
- Advance purchase online: $30 ($25 for TxGC members)
- Week-of-event & walk-ups*: $35 ($30 for TxGC members)
- *if seats available
- TxGC Member discount is provided by a discount code via member-only newsletter
- TxGC Membership is only $10/year… join today
MENU
- Ice tea, water, soda, cash bar
- Choice of Sicilian salad or Mama’s gumbo
- Choice of entree
- Chicken John Kim: grilled chicken topped in mushrooms, roasted peppers, white wine butter sauce
- Penne Pasta with Meat Sauce: traditional penne pasta with Mama’s slow cooked meat sauce
- Blacked Trout: filet topped with etoufee served with red-skinned mashed potatoes and vegetables
- Choice of chocolate cake or cheesecake
TxGC MEMBERS ALWAYS GET $5 OFF!
- Advance purchase online: $30 ($25 for TxGC members)
- Week-of-event & walk-ups*: $35 ($30 for TxGC members)
- *if seats available
- TxGC Member discount is provided by a discount code via member-only newsletter
- TxGC Membership is only $10/year… join today
MENU
- Ice tea, water, soda, cash bar
- Choice of Sicilian salad or Mama’s gumbo
- Choice of entree
- Chicken John Kim: grilled chicken topped in mushrooms, roasted peppers, white wine butter sauce
- Penne Pasta with Meat Sauce: traditional penne pasta with Mama’s slow cooked meat sauce
- Blacked Trout: filet topped with etoufee served with red-skinned mashed potatoes and vegetables
- Choice of chocolate cake or cheesecake
Featured Speaker: Richard W. Murray, Ph.D.
We usually call on Richard Murray when an election is near and politics are on our mind. Certainly that is the case now, and Richard will weigh in on the Kavanaugh//Ford situation, as well as his views on everything from Beto v. Cruz to other key state and national races.
Bob Lanier Chair in Urban Public Policy, Department of Political Science, University of Houston
Director, Survey Research Institute, University of Houston Center for Public Policy
Richard Murray is a native of Louisiana with B.A. and M.A. degrees in Government from Louisiana State University (1962, 1963) and a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Minnesota (1967). Dr. Murray has taught at the University of Houston since 1966, and is the Bob Lanier Chair in Urban Public Policy. After serving as the Director of the University of Houston Center for Public Policy for over nine years, he is now concentrating on the Center’s polling operations as the Director of the Survey Research Institute.
His academic interests are in Houston and Texas politics, focusing on campaigns and elections, political parties and interest groups, and public opinion. Professor Murray has written extensively in these areas including co-authoring Texas Politics: An Introduction (6 Editions, 1972-1992), and Progrowth Politics: Change and Governance in Houston (1991), while teaching courses ranging from graduate seminars to introductory American Government.
Professor Murray has previously consulted in more than 200 political campaigns. He conducts polls for The Houston Chronicle, other media, and local governments, and is the political commentator for the local ABC affiliate, KTRK-TV, Channel 13. In addition, his analyses and commentary are carried by television and radio, as well as print media such as The New York Times, Washington Post, L.A. Times, and The Houston Chronicle.
Professor Murray is married to Deborah Hartman, public relations consultant, and has three sons and one grandson.
In January, each year, the TxGC Foundation awards the Smith-McCool Sword to the Midshipment from the Chapter area, with the highest order-of-merit, going into their First Class year. The sword, is named after astronaut Michael Smith ’67, who was lost in the Challenger disaster, and astronaut William McCool ’83, who was lost int he Columbia disaster.
For the graduating class of 2019, we’re proud to award Midn 1/c Francis Kim of Clear Lake High School. Link to full biography
Presenting Astronaut, and keynote by Sunita Williams (Captain, US Navy, Ret.) NASA Astronaut. Link to full biography
TxGC MEMBERS ALWAYS GET $5 OFF!
- Advance purchase online: $30 ($25 for TxGC members)
- Week-of-event & walk-ups*: $35 ($30 for TxGC members)
- *if seats available
- TxGC Member discount is provided by a discount code via member-only newsletter
- TxGC Membership is only $10/year… join today
TxGC MEMBERS ALWAYS GET $5 OFF!
- Advance purchase online: $30 ($25 for TxGC members)
- Week-of-event & walk-ups*: $35 ($30 for TxGC members)
- *if seats available
- TxGC Member discount is provided by a discount code via member-only newsletter
- TxGC Membership is only $10/year… join today
MENU
- Ice tea, water, soda, cash bar
- Choice of Sicilian salad or Mama’s gumbo
- Choice of entree
- Chicken John Kim: grilled chicken topped in mushrooms, roasted peppers, white wine butter sauce
- Penne Pasta with Meat Sauce: traditional penne pasta with Mama’s slow cooked meat sauce
- Blacked Trout: filet topped with etoufee served with red-skinned mashed potatoes and vegetables
- Choice of chocolate cake or cheesecake
GUEST SPEAKER
Anne Keene is the author of The Cloudbusters.
75 years ago the New York Yankees won the 1943 World Series but they were beaten by a Navy “fighter pilot” team known as the Cloudbuster Nine with Red Sox legend Ted Williams. As a child, Anne Keene’s father, Jim Raugh, (a future minor-league Detroit Tigers player) suited up as the Navy team’s batboy. Seven decades later a trunk revealed the untold story of this team manned by greats from the Yankees, the St. Louis Cardinals, the Detroit Tigers and every other big-league team. Learn about “Greatest Generation” heroes in this narrative including: Babe Ruth, Presidents George H. W. Bush and Gerald “Jerry” Ford; astronauts John Glenn and Scott Carpenter; and Alabama’s Paul “Bear” Bryant.
Keene has written about THE CLOUDBUSTERS in the New York Times, and her book was listed among the top 20 selling summer sports books on Amazon. Keene has spoken at the Texas Book Festival, and has been on tour in Boston, Dallas, North Carolina, and New York. She’s also been a keynote speaker at the South Carolina- Palmetto Chapter of the USNAAA, and will be speaking at the Los Angeles and San Diego Chapters.
All hands on deck! Great opportunity to network!
Join the Service Academy Alumni of USNA and USMMA!
We are nearly the same- fellow alumni of service academies, USN officers, and forever sailors at heart.
Go America! 🙌🏽👏🏽👊🏼
FM Bar will be serving specials😊
TxGC MEMBERS ALWAYS GET $5 OFF!
- Advance purchase online: $30 ($25 for TxGC members)
- Week-of-event & walk-ups*: $35 ($30 for TxGC members)
- *if seats available
- TxGC Member discount is provided by a discount code via member-only newsletter
- TxGC Membership is only $10/year… join today
MENU
- Ice tea, water, soda, cash bar
- Choice of Sicilian salad or Mama’s gumbo
- Choice of entree
- Chicken John Kim: grilled chicken topped in mushrooms, roasted peppers, white wine butter sauce
- Penne Pasta with Meat Sauce: traditional penne pasta with Mama’s slow cooked meat sauce
- Blacked Trout: filet topped with etoufee served with red-skinned mashed potatoes and vegetables
- Choice of chocolate cake or cheesecake
GUEST SPEAKER: Dr. Joseph Thomas, USNA
Joe is a graduate of Marine Corps Command and Staff College and a past recipient of the MajGen Merrit A. Edson Leadership Award, the Marine Corps Association Research and Writing Award, and the Col Donald Cook Distinguished Graduate Award of Command and Control Systems School. He is a former elected school board member, a life member of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7293 and American Legion Post 739 Whitehall PA, and is involved in a variety of community services.
His research interests involve experiential leadership development in austere and remote environments and he has advised student research for Rhodes, Mitchell, and Fulbright Scholarships. Joe has served as the Faculty Representative to the USNA Mountaineering Club, is a certified Wilderness First Responder and liaison to and instructor for the National Outdoor Leadership School in Lander, WY. He has led trekking expeditions to the Tibetan Himalayas, South Africa, Mongolia, Mt. Ararat in Turkey, Peruvian Andes, Vietnam, Morocco, Jordan, and elsewhere. Joe speaks on the topics of leadership and ethics regularly throughout the US, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.
The author of numerous articles on the subjects of command and control, military training and education, and leadership, his published books include, Leadership Education for Marines (UMI Press), Leadership Embodied (The US Naval Institute Press, 1st and 2nd Editions), Naval Leadership Capstone (McGraw-Hill), Leadership Explored (AcademX), and Leadership and Ethics Discussion Guide for Marines (Marine Corps University Press). He co-published chapters in Leadership in Dangerous Situations (USNI Press) with colleagues from West Point, the US Air Force Academy, and the NYPD and Perspectives on Modern Honor (Lexington Press). Joe’s education includes an M.S.Sc. from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University, a M.S.S. from the US Army War College, a Ph.D. from George Mason University, and Certificate in Public Leadership from the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC.
TxGC MEMBERS ALWAYS GET $5 OFF!
- Advance purchase online: $30 ($25 for TxGC members)
- Week-of-event & walk-ups*: $35 ($30 for TxGC members)
- *if seats available
- TxGC Member discount is provided by a discount code via member-only newsletter
- TxGC Membership is only $10/year… join today
MENU
- Ice tea, water, soda, cash bar
- Choice of Sicilian salad or Mama’s gumbo
- Choice of entree
- Chicken John Kim: grilled chicken topped in mushrooms, roasted peppers, white wine butter sauce
- Penne Pasta with Meat Sauce: traditional penne pasta with Mama’s slow cooked meat sauce
- Blacked Trout: filet topped with etoufee served with red-skinned mashed potatoes and vegetables
- Choice of chocolate cake or cheesecake
GUEST SPEAKER: Mike Matson ‘06
Are you ready for a motivational lunch?! Ready to meet a bad ass? Mike Matson has made a name for himself as an adventurer, most notably earning two Guinness World Records skippering a three-man rowboat over 3,200 miles across the Atlantic! Mike’s love of ocean adventure began at the US Naval Academy, where he first learned how to sail as a crew member of a Navy 44′ MKI visiting ports along the US Eastern Seaboard. Mike was also a member of the Men’s Heavyweight Crew team, the Trap & Skeet team, and completed two marathons. After leaving the Navy, Mike returned home to Houston and became a volunteer firefighter/emergency medical technician in the City of Stafford while simultaneously earning a doctorate in Chemistry from Rice University. As a new professor, Mike authored Inorganic Chemistry for Dummies and taught undergraduate classes at the local University of Houston-Downtown. When his research shifted from biomedical applications to shale oil extraction, Mike transitioned into the oil and gas industry and currently he is a drilling engineer with Kinder Morgan CO2. Mike first met his wife, Sami, in 7th grade, and they now have two happy, healthy Scouts (Morgan, a Brownie, and Cooper, a Bear) that love living in the Heights. When not at his desk downtown, Mike is likely found weight lifting atCrossFit Live Oak in Montrose with Brian.
TxGC MEMBERS ALWAYS GET $5 OFF!
- Advance purchase online: $30 ($25 for TxGC members)
- Week-of-event & walk-ups*: $35 ($30 for TxGC members)
- *if seats available
- TxGC Member discount is provided by a discount code via member-only newsletter
- TxGC Membership is only $10/year… join today
MENU
- Ice tea, water, soda, cash bar
- Choice of Sicilian salad or Mama’s gumbo
- Choice of entree
- Chicken John Kim: grilled chicken topped in mushrooms, roasted peppers, white wine butter sauce
- Penne Pasta with Meat Sauce: traditional penne pasta with Mama’s slow cooked meat sauce
- Blacked Trout: filet topped with etoufee served with red-skinned mashed potatoes and vegetables
- Choice of chocolate cake or cheesecake
Guest Speaker
James Olson
Professor of Practice, Texas A&M University
Jim Olson served in the Directorate of Operations of the Central Intelligence Agency, for more than 30 years, mostly overseas in clandestine operations. He will speak to us about past covert operations, his opinion on current threats to the U.S., and the need for effective intelligence agencies.
Jim worked as a Case Officer in the field, created elaborate “covers” for effectiveness, and looked for individuals with information who were willing to betray their country in exchange for some sort of inducement. Joining the CIA also introduced Jim to his future wife. The two worked in tandem undercover focused on gathering intelligence during the Cold War.
In addition to several foreign assignments, he was chief of counterintelligence at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia.
In 1997, Jim Olson came to The Bush School of Government and Public Service – Texas A&M, to teach courses on intelligence, counterintelligence and international crisis management. He is the author of two books related to spying and counterintelligence. Visit https://bush.tamu.edu/faculty/jolson/ . Prior to his career in the CIA, he served in the US Navy, where he attained the rank of LCDR.