Welcome and Opening Remarks

Dennis F. Haley
CEO
Academy Leadership, LLC

Dennis Haley, Chief Executive Officer of Academy Leadership, LLC, opened the second annual Leadership Excellence Summit at the United States Naval Academy by welcoming the crowd of about 240 to Alumni Hall, a place where many distinguished speakers had come over the years to speak with the midshipmen. Haley went on to say that the speakers at the Summit would explain what leadership excellence means to them.

What distinguishes the Summit from other conferences is the ability to network with many people in a variety of companies, in a variety of positions, from all over the country, he said. To get the ball rolling, Haley asked that everyone stand and introduce themselves to a few people around them that they haven't met before.

After a few minutes of rousing introductions, Haley explained the agenda for the first day of the Summit. General sessions would be held in Alumni Hall. There would be two breakout sessions during the day in other buildings, giving Summit participants the chance not only to choose a session that appealed to their particular interests but an opportunity to see more of the Academy.

Finally, Haley explained the mission of the United States Naval Academy Foundation and how it would benefit from the conference. He introduced the Chief Executive Officer of the Naval Academy Alumni Association and Foundation, George Watt.

Watt began by expanding on the mission of the Foundation. It provides support to the USNA and has been doing so for 120 years. It ensures a margin of excellence for the Academy through private fundraising. Alumni Hall itself is a great example of what the Foundation does. The Hall was created through private fundraising and federal money and is a wonderful model for what can happen when these two entities meet.

The USNA's business is to provide leaders with great character to the Navy, Marine Corp. and Professional Officer Corp., Watt said. Leaders must have a vision and be able to articulate it. They must have a passion for carrying out their mission and the discipline to make sure their organization is on track.

Watt further explained his definition by listing four characteristics that each leader must have - a conscience, moral integrity, moral courage and the ability to make tough decisions that aren't always popular.

Vice Admiral Rodney P. Rempt
Superintendent
U.S. Naval Academy

Introducing Vice Admiral Rodney P. Rempt, Superintendent of the USNA, Watt remarked that he could not think of a better leader to kick off a leadership summit. Superintendent Rempt came to the USNA at the age of 17 and graduated with the class of 1966. He is currently the longest serving officer on active duty in the Navy today. Watt led the crowd in giving a standing ovation to Admiral Rempt.

Admiral Rempt began by noting the many distinguished guests that were present and saying that he was "honored to talk with you a little about the Naval Academy" and how leadership works there. The mission of the Academy has been the same for 161 years - develop midshipmen morally, physically and mentally and give them the highest ideals.

"In our mission, the moral part comes first," Admiral Rempt said. Furthermore, he wants midshipmen to not only know what honor means but "to take it into their soul and to become honorable people."

Leadership is not just taught in the classrooms of the Academy; midshipmen are challenged with hands on experience. Teaching leadership and ethics is very important, especially in today's environment where many tough issues are present, like harassment and drug and alcohol abuse. Midshipmen are taught how to deal with and avoid these problems.

Admiral Rempt said that there's no single formula to being a good leader. The key to being a good leader is implementation; finding the key that turns on the enthusiasm so that the leader and those he or she leads can perform beyond what they thought they could. He told the crowd that they were all there to discuss how to actually implement this into their everyday lives and over the two days of the Summit they'd look at credibility, trust and character and each would come a long way in his or her own understanding of leadership.