Norton to Speak at Graduation Reception for D.C. Navy Grad She Nominated, Anthony Clay, Friday

WASHINGTON, DC – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) will speak at the graduation reception for a 2014 Naval Academy Graduate she nominated for the Academy, Anthony Clay Jr., tomorrow, Friday, May 23, 2014, at 8:00 p.m., at the Navy Yard Conference Center (1454 Parsons Ave SE Bldg. 211). Clay, a graduate of McKinley Tech in the District of Columbia, will receive his commission as an officer in the Navy on Friday. Prior to the Congresswoman's remarks, Clay's parents will be acknowledged. His father, Anthony B. Clay Sr., is a retired Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officer, and his mother, Juritha Gibson, is currently a Sergeant in the MPD.

"D.C. is proud of Ensign Clay for his graduation from the Naval Academy, and we are grateful for his service to our country," said Norton. "Our city's public schools – driven by our dedicated teachers and parents – continue to produce impressive young men and women who have become increasingly interested in the service academies as a viable and honorable future education."

Every year, the Congresswoman makes nominations for the U.S. Military, U.S. Naval, U.S. Merchant Marine, and U.S. Air Force Academies, who compete for appointments to which they have been nominated. The U.S. Coast Guard Academy uses a direct appointment system. Norton's Service Academy Selection Board, which consists of 18 D.C. residents, most of whom are alumni of a Service Academy, is chaired by Commander Kerwin Miller, USNR Ret. (USNA '75), who will also speak on Friday. Norton and the Board hold an annual D.C. Service Academy College Fair, which provides an opportunity for D.C. students and their parents to meet admissions officers and alumni from D.C. schools who then attended the Service Academies, and to get a jumpstart on the application process.

Clay's high school alma mater, McKinley Tech, is also the alma mater of Admiral Joseph Paul Reason, USN Ret. (USNA '65), the first African American officer in the Navy to become a four-star (full) admiral.

Published: May 22, 2014