Legacy
The North Texas Association of Air Force Academy Graduates was founded in 1979 under the mentorship of
Tom McNeil, USMA '45 and MGen (ret) Ed Rafalko, USMA ‘45, with Jerry Smith, USAFA ‘62 serving as the first President. Since then, many Grads have served as President, Officers, Board Members and Committee Chairpersons, guiding our Chapter to being named “Distinguished Chapter” in every year the award has been presented. |
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| Chapter Presidents | Founding Members | Gone But Not Forgotten | ||
| 1980 | Jerry Smith, '62 | Gerald L. Ahmann '63 | Ed Rafalko '45 (USMA) | Bill Casement '74 |
| 1981 | Mike Gibbons, '63 | T. Lance Ammon '70 | Tom McNeil '45 (USMA) | Rich Estes '74 |
| 1982 | B J Bjorklund, '70 | Rick R. Barton '71 | Larry Jolly '59 | Randy Caraway '75 |
| 1983 | Bill Reemtsma, '63 | John D. Batchelor '68 |
Hal Brost '60
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Jim Dolan '76 |
| 1984 | Ron Hale, '70 | Richard Bjorklund '70 | Jim Clark '60 | Calvin "Buddy" Lott '76 |
| 1985 | Manny Cardenas, '64 | Raymond E. Brannan '71 | Bill Flynn '63 | Gary Fazio '77 |
| 1986 | Jerry Ahmann, '63 | David F. Brigman '71 | Mike Gibbons '63 | Richard Murray '77 |
| 1987 | Ron Schillereff, '66 | Laurence L. Casada '71 | Dave Morgan '63 | Larry Weaver '77 |
| 1988 | Rick Barton, '71 | Sidney A. Cook '65 | Bill Reemtsma '63 | Dave Groves '78 |
| 1989 | Lance Ammon, '70 | Robert A. Daly '68 | Wesley White '63 | Vince Wilcox '78 |
| 1990 | Stephen Pruss, '76 | Michael F. Gibbons '63 | Bill Skaer '64 | Paul "Sluggo" Williams '78 |
| 1991 | John Quincy, '70 | Charles Hamm '52 (USMA) | Dennis Murphy '65 | Robert Skeans '82 |
| 1992 | Jim Kuhn, '63 | Klem F. Kalberer '63 | Leon Rausch '65 | David Nelson '83 |
| 1993 | H Ownby, '69 | James C. Kuhn '63 | Bill Blitt '66 | Jay Sullivan '83 |
| 1994 | Richard Fairlamb, '61 | Stephen P. Muller '64 | Robert Brost '66 | Chuck Mladenka '89 |
| 1995 | Glen Shaffer, '63 | H. Ownby '69 | Howard Morgan '66 | Gaylon Richter '89 |
| 1996 | John Kuenzel, '60 | Edmund Rafalko '45 (USMA) | Charlie Weinert '66 | Mark Lishman '90 |
| 1997 | Jeff Wilson, '80 | William Reemtsma '63 | Jim Davies '67 | Rory Shrum '90 |
| 1998 | John Dallas, '79 | Jerry L.Smith '62 | Larry Ratliff '67 | MIke Schriever '97 |
| 1999 | Frank Moore, '68 | Thomas Stites '72 | Bob Daley '68 | Michael Morales '99 |
| 2000 | Bill Brandt, '77 | Ray Malinovsky '69 | Cody Hatch '02 | |
| 2001 | Randy Caraway, '75 | H Ownby '69 | Steve Beaulieu '09 | |
| 2002 | Bob Pavelko, '68 | Bill Purcell, '71 | Capt Mark Weber '11 | |
| 2003 | Buddy Lott, '76 | Bill Lovell '72 | C4C Tim Barber '20 | |
| 2004 | John Visser, '77 | Charlie Richardson '72 | C2C Nick Duran '23 | |
| 2005 | Ed Kirkham, '78 | Tom Stites '72 | Ava Moore '29 Appointee | |
| 2006-2007 | Lev Prichard, '89 | Mike Nishimuta '73 | ||
| 2008-2009 | Mike McGinnis, '76 | |||
| 2010-2012 | Kirk Bell, '76 | |||
| 2013-2015 | Mike Giles, '67 | |||
| 2016-2026 | Rick Wright, '74 | |||
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This bench was donated to the Center for Character and Leadership Development (CCLD) by our North Texas Chapter of the Association of Graduates |