January 9, 2023
Dear Alumni,
Happy New Year! As we begin another year of training here at the Academy, and as we look at the current culture in which we live, we want the Gospel to be paramount in our work more than ever. Our desire is that Christ would be made manifest to our men during their time here.
As we approach this coming year, here is a snapshot of some of the alumni initiatives we are working on in the coming months and years:
Reunion: We look forward to celebrating ALERT's 29th anniversary in just three weeks! I am looking forward to visiting with those of you who can make it out for that. During the reunion we will also announce more details on the 30th anniversary celebrations in 2024, so if you can't make it this month, keep an eye out for that information as it gets published.
Dive Program: We are excited to relaunch our 3rd Phase Dive program. This program will be 12 weeks long and run during the Spring and Fall Quarters of the training semester. More details will be posted online shortly.
Scholarships Initiative: Last year, we were able to hand out $27,750 in scholarships, and help 22 different men attend various portions of the program. This coming year we'd like to double that. One way we want to do this is by giving an automatic $1,000 scholarship to sons of the Alumni. We've had eight sons of Alumni come through so far, and are looking forward to more attending in the future. We are also looking at expanding some of our current scholarships this year to cover more guys. I’ll share more of those details once we finalize the scholarship program updates. If you would like to contribute to the scholarship fund, you can send a check or donate online. Just make sure to designate your gift to the scholarship fund.
Alumni Connections: As we look toward the next few years, we'd love to start a few different Alumni invitations/interaction opportunities.
Phone Calls: I want to continue our efforts to personally reach out to those of you who have had questions and concerns about your time here at the Academy, listen to those concerns, and provide clarity if possible. If you would like to have a call about your time at ALERT, please reach out to myself or Lt. Winkler to set that up.
Regional Reunions: We'd like to help support and communicate about regional reunions happing around the country, much like the one that SSgt. Scott Shetler held last year in the PNW. We want to set up a contact point in each of the five regions of the US to help line up, coordinate and plan such reunions.
Pre-Basic Training Connections: We'd like to use Alumni as local connection/mentorship type guides for guys who are preparing to head to Basic Training
Post-Basic Training Connections: We'd like to use Alumni to help guys leaving ALERT make the transition to the next stage of their lives. Help them find a local church to plug into, build community, find potential employment opportunities, etc.
Subject Matter Expert Invitations/Opportunities: We want to increase the Alumni involvement in our training by inviting subject matter experts back to campus to work with the men as they train. This can look like a guy coming back to teach class for a day, or just come answer questions about how to succeed in a career field.
ALERT Ambassadors: Throughout the year, we'd like to contact Alumni and connect them with opportunities to recruit locally in their area.
Be on the lookout for more details as we develop these initiatives, and if you are interested in any of these, please do not hesitate to contact us. You can reach out to either myself or Lt. Winkler for more information on our alumni efforts.
We love and care about you guys. Thanks for making this program possible. Here's to another year of forging!
