U.S. Merchant Marine Academy National Parents' Association

07/20/2023

06/17/2022

Thank you Admiral and Ginger.
Your leadership and passion for the Academy, and the men and women of The United States Merchant Marine Academy, goes beyond words.

You are a man of integrity, honor, passion, loyalty, and it was our pleasure and honor to work for you, and with you, these last four years.

You and Ginger will forever be part of our lives, part of the history of our Academy. Most importantly, you both were a part of our sons and daughters lives, day in and day out. Your dedication to them, your love for them, your guidance and never ending support for them during the most difficult time at Kings Point since war time. Well the two words, thank you, do not express just how much we appreciate you.

From the moment we left our sons and daughters on Reporting Day and heard you say, “Parents, we got it from here” to today, there was never any doubt our sons and daughters were in great hands. You took the best of the best this Nation had and made them better.

Thank you Admiral, thank you Miss Ginger, may God Bless you, and with over as you drive out Vickery Gate one last time as out Superintendent and watch over you in retirement.

Fair Winds and Following Sea Sir!!!

06/17/2022

03/03/2022

Important

Today, the history of the United States Merchant Marine Academy will once again forever change. It is with heavy heart that I share with you that today the thirteenth Superintendent of the United States Merchant Marine Academy, Vice Admiral Buono (’78), has announced his retirement, and is leaving on his own accord.

Having the honor of knowing Vice Admiral Buono for the last four years, we have seen nothing but true leadership at its finest during his tenure. We witnessed a man come back to his roots and give back to our Academy, and most importantly to our midshipmen. He never forgot where he came from.

From the moment of his arrival, Admiral Buono was instrumental in restoring a culture at the Academy that took on SASH, restored morale, created an environment of positive attitudes, addressed the many issues around accreditation, and led by example. He moved the Academy forward. Our sons and daughter are better leaders today as a result of having Vice Admiral Buono at the helm of the United States Merchant Marine Academy.

Admiral Buono is a man of integrity, honor, and always respects others. He gave 100% of himself to the academy, the midshipmen, faculty, staff, parents and alumni. He knew what it was to be a midshipman, and what it took to lead the Academy. He brought over 40 years in the maritime industry to Wiley Hall.

For parents, he was the face of Kings Point. The man who we all heard say that summer morning of Reporting Day on Barney Square, “Parents, we will take it from here”. While that day was tough for all of us, Admiral Buono’s sincere concern and passion for Kings Point and her midshipmen gave us the comfort needed when we walked out Vickery Gate without our sons or daughters that day.

Admiral Buono did take it from there. He was the person in charge, the leader who took our sons and daughters from boys and girls to men and women. When things were going well, or something great happened, he gave credit to others. When something went wrong or not so well, he took ownership of it.

He fought for our midshipmen. He made sure they were protected, had what they needed to grow into great leaders and held them and himself to the highest standards. “A permanent state of discomfort”, as he says.

Vice Admiral Buono has led the Academy during some rough waters recently. He guided the Academy through COVID, keeping the Academy operational and education continuing. He, from day one, took SASH at the Academy head-on. He built internal support networks and forever changed the culture at Kings Point.

As a parent organization, he welcomed us and gave us a seat at the table. That is a privilege for us, not a right.

He always communicated with us, valued us as stakeholders and saw us as having a part of making the men and women at Kings Point great. We stayed in our lane, and when he called upon us to help boost morale, or support him and the Academy, there was no greater honor than to do so.

Admiral Buono is a person who you want to work for, you want to help, for we know what he and his staff do day in and day out to lead the Regiment. We trusted him with our sons and daughters and did so with a high level of comfort because of the man Vice Admiral Buono is.

We must also acknowledge Mrs. Ginger Buono, aka Ms.Ginger, for she too gave 100% of herself to the Academy, the midshipmen - our sons and daughters. She welcomed them into her home for food and celebration and was there for our sons and daughters when they were having tough times. She cares for each and every Midshipmen as if they are her own, loved them when it was needed and gave them the tough love when that was needed as well. She calls it as it is, and when a Midshipman was done speaking with her there wasn’t anything they couldn’t do.

Ms. Ginger led female Midshipmen formally and informally. She took her experience in the Army and as the CEO of a company she built on her own, to encourage and inspire our midshipmen to push forward, strive to succeed and know they could do anything they want if they put their minds and hearts into all they do.

As a team, as a couple, the Buono’s put their whole lives into Kings Point, into the midshipmen and into the staff.

This is a sad day in the history of the United States Merchant Marine Academy. For this hidden jewel of an FSA has lost its keeper. We are losing someone who lived day in and day out for our sons and daughters, protected them and nurtured them. Fought for them, inspired them and treated them as the finest young men and women in the Nation !!

We wish Admiral Buono and Mrs Ginger Buono nothing but happiness, success and many years of enjoyment in their retirement.

Sir, thank you does not say enough for how much we appreciate you and your service to our Nation and to the men and women of THE United States Merchant Marine Academy.

You leave this gem of a place better than the way you found her. No one could ask for anything more than that!

Sir, job well done!

All the Best Vice Admiral Buono!

Fair Winds and Following Seas

Keith McLiverty

Brian Coughlan
Frank Novakowski
Susan Coppa Collins
Karen Burzinski
Kristin Franz
John Kimmerlein
Susan Wagner McKenna
Margret Quinn

02/19/2022

All hands on deck

Good evening parents,

Per my earlier post today, I'm pleased to share the following opinion editorial that we placed in The Hill newspaper, a widely read DC publication that reaches members of congress, the administration and relevant staffers. Again, many thanks to Tom Wesley for lending his name and his experience which makes this piece so impactful. https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/594999-with-the-threat-of-international-conflict-we-must-preserve-americas

We will be circulating this piece to all appropriate parties involved in the Sea Year Pause and the media in Washington.

We also need your support to help amplify this piece. Please share the link to this op-ed on your social media channels including Facebook and especially on Twitter if you have a personal account. All members of congress are active on these platforms and have staff dedicated to monitoring them so we ask that you also tag your representative that nominated your son and daughter to ensure that they are reading this too. You can find your representative’s Twitter handle or page through a simple search, just be certain that you are tagging their official page. We are also starting a dedicated hashtag to help unify our messaging: .

KP parents Mike and Jen Burita can assist if you have any questions at [email protected] or [email protected]

One parent shared an example of his post below:

"My son was honored to be nominated to United States MMA by and Senator . Now his legally-required Sea Year training is in jeopardy due to unnecessary government red tape. It’s time get our cadets back out to sea! https://bit.ly/33BO6ay "

Congress must return midshipmen to Sea Year immediately and let the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy support our nation.

02/19/2022

Progress on the national media front

Good Afternoon,

Thank you to those who continue to get meetings and contacts with MOCs, this is mission critical both for the short term and long term, and all parents need to do use on this part of the efforts at this moment.

We continue to develop outlets and resources in the media space, part of our efforts to get the word out about sea year, and our Academy. We are seeing results.

This space is in addition to our parents, who to me are the greatest asset the Academy has when it comes to advocacy for KP with MOC.

I was approached about writing an opinion editorial (op-ed) for publication in a DC media outlet, the intent being to raise awareness and spark conversations and interest from those who are aware of crisis and curiosity from those not familiar with the crisis. A crisis we find our beloved Academy in.

Keep in mind this was before the CNN hit piece article went to print. While we were working on this there were no promises, so now we know it’s real and happening and sharing.

I didn’t want the letter to come from me as president of the parent group , nor should it come from a current parent or board member. It would read funny to some who don’t understand KP, or how much the NPA does as advocates of the Academy. I didn’t want those who don’t understand KP or the NPA to say- “oh look, a dad or mom all upset about his or her sons sea year!”. Would take away from the content and the issue. Having who I asked to write it keeps it focused on the issue.

My goal was to have it come from a respected person who came from as many tranches as possible, a part of as many stakeholder groups as possible . Someone who could write with authority, experience, and capture the issue.

It is expected to print today, it took some time and effort to get through the process but appears we are good with it running.

I asked Tom Wesley to write it. Beside being a graduate of KP, he is a former Naval Aviator, a parent of a KP graduate , and the former president of the NPA, preceding me. He loves Kings Point, fought for her as a member of the NPA from 2012-2014 as a member, and then as President from 2014-2019.

I want to thank Tom for answering my call, sorry so late at night, and putting his heart on his sleeve, staying in the game, and scoring a big point when his beloved United States Merchant Marine Academy and her Midshipmen needed him again.

Tom is a man of wisdom, commitment, integrity, taught me and us when to press on, when to hold tight, when to take a breath and when to step back and see the battle field from on high. When to put the defense on the field and when to put the offense in.

I also want to thank two parents who I spoke to a couple months ago, who wanted to help and who lent their professional expertise to us. Their input and perspective, late night and early morning texts and calls were valuable to helping me and us navigate these troubles waters. They are Jen and Mike Burita (2025) from The Commonwealth of Virginia. Thank you for all you two did to help me and help with this, your giving of yourself as a parent is beyond words.

Every parent matters, from reaching out to your MOC, to participating in the NPA efforts, to keeping the faith and staying strong.

Reaching out to and working with your chapter president is critical. It makes us stronger.

We are in this for the short term and long term. We will prevail and be successful. We stay positive. Advocate and fight the fight. We will have times when the offense is on the field and times when the defense will be. No matter what , we are advocating for the finest young men and women in our Nation, those who graduated KP, those Midshipmen there now, and those who will be coming. All men and women who decide they want to put their lives on the line for our nation and us, all of us. “Us” including those working against KP, working against sea year and those working to shut us down.

Our economic and national security and the SSO Corp are in good hands. The hands of United States Merchant Marine graduates.

Check out the letter once we post the link , and we will be asking everyone to push the link. Push to friends and family, push to every MOC that nominated your son or daughter.

Instructions will come with how to push it , so stay tuned.

Keith McLiverty
President

12/06/2021

08/01/2020

Good Evening,

We are in a time period where there is so much unknown, unrest, and angst in our world. Fear of the unknown is everywhere, will jobs be there tomorrow, will schools open, will Mids get on ships, when will we see our Mids next, what will happen in the next couple of weeks and months?.

These days there are some things we can control, and a lot we can not. One of the focuses the NPA committed to when we took office in January was to help Chapters, and improve social media. This applies to product promotion especially. While some wanted this sooner, we were focused on more pressing and important things like the parents and the Midshipmen during a global pandemic and navigating that issue, as well as working with the Academy on each of the four phases focused on getting the Mids back to the Academy.

We recognize that the Parent FB Pages are important to our parents, they are a safe place for parents to engage in posts, dialogue, and questions. Many asked that the integrity of those pages remain as is, and not be modified to have products posted- for they would lose their integrity and become clouded with products and discussions.

The Social Media Committee of the NPA met recently, and in a short term attempt to assist our Chapters with product promotion, we want to beta test a new FB page where we post and allow the promotion of Chapter products and Class Fundraisers.

We do not know what will happen with Parents Weekend, and we all know that that is the primary and major revenue generator for many, if not all Chapters. We also know many folks want to purchase KP items, and proudly wear and promote our beloved Academy.

Given the Regiment and the Parent Associations are in a period of flux, this new FB Page will also be the venue for posting of USMMA Class Fundraisers (provided they have the required internal approvals from the Commandant and Academy- This is the responsibility of the Class Officers).

To keep structure and order, the following Guidelines will apply:

A) Only products will be posted that are Official Chapter endorsed items and are being sold by an Official NPA Parent Chapter, as well, Official Class Fundraiser products that are approved by the Academy will be posted on his page
B) All posts will be approved prior to being posted by a page Administrator
C) There will be no comments allowed at this time under each product posted
D) Any post for private or personal profit or gain will not be approved
E) Approved items and posts will only be on the Class Parent page the fundraiser is intended (2021,2022,2023 or 2024), and the new FB Page ( USMMA Parents Merchandise and Fundraisers)

Keep in mind this is a beta test, meaning a test to see what works and works efficiently and best for all. If it does work, then we will make it formal and institutionalize it. If it doesn't work we can modify and adjust.

Thank you to the Social Media Cmtee and to the Board for rowing together on this.

NOTE It will go live over the weekend- final touches remaining.

All the best

07/24/2020

To Our Stakeholders; Parents of Midshipmen at the United States Merchant Marine Academy

As our Nation continues to see escalating cases of COVID from shore to shore, we keep those of you working on the front lines in our thoughts and prayers. For our families who have lost loved ones to the pandemic, you too are in our thoughts and prayers.

The time has come for our Midshipmen to return to Kings Point, and continue their learning and advancing through the academic rigors of the toughest federal service academy in our nation.

The Mids are returning because they are essential and critical to our nations economic and national security.

They are returning because our nation needs these fine Americans to be ready in each coming year, to take on the roles of leadership in both the commercial arena and in our armed forces.

The easy thing for the Academy to do would be continue distance learning, tell everyone stay home and everyone will be advised when to return once things get better.

Just as each of the other four Federal Service Academies will have their Regiments back at their respective Academies this weekend, so will Kings Point. This is the result of hundreds of man hours by the Academy leadership, Regimental staff, faculty and staff, and local and federal health experts working collaboratively to ensure the healthy and safety of our Midshipmen as they return to Kings Point.

Things could have been “see you soon”, the harder thing was “let’s get everyone back , get them learning and keep the KP process moving for we have leaders to get into the fleet and into our armed forces. The Kings Point mission can not stop nor be interrupted.

So now the hard part. The ex*****on.

Starting tomorrow, our Mids will be packing their bags and starting their journey back to their Academy. Good byes will be exchanged with each of you, siblings, grandparents and relatives. Tears will be shed for it is never easy to say goodbye to the finest young men and women this nations has to offer when they depart our homes. A piece of our heart goes with them each time they leave us, for we don’t know when we will see them next. Add the unknowns due to the virus, and the fear of the unknown kicks in.

The Corona virus has rocked this nation to its core, families have changed how they celebrate normal events, the workplace has changed, possibly forever. Schools have changed how they will deliver education.
There is one advantage, That is that our families have been blessed with an extended stay of our Mids being home, some since spring break. Time under normal circumstances we would have never had.

We have witnessed their commitment to their education. Hours upon hours in their bedrooms, offices, dining rooms, with laptops and books spread out, staying not
until the assignment was done, but done correctly. These Mids have demonstrated their commitment to Kings Point, to themselves, their classmates and to the American taxpayers.

While other schools have said “ sorry, to complicated see you soon,” Kings Point has said , “ we are ready, let’s gets these Mids back, and let’s start the new tri“!

So we will be sharing some key points with you in the coming hours about the return to the Regiment. Stay tuned.

We also want to stress that the Academy has been communicating with the Mids directly, which is proper communication protocols, and our communication with our partners later tonight is secondary and more of an FYI to the parents.

For those who have one more night together , or maybe a day, enjoy your time with your Mid and make great memories

We will be sending out shortly an update on the return expectation for our Mids to Kings Point. Phase IV of the Master plan is about to be executed, just as successfully as each of the three prior phases.

God bless all our Mids and all of our families during this most difficult time and bless them on their journeys back to Kings Point !!!

All the best

Keith Mcliverty

Brian Coughlan
Susan Coppa Collins
Jenny Mills
Karen Burzinski
Kristin Franz
John Kimmerlein
Susan Wagner McKenna
Susan Wolbrueck

07/03/2020