Athens, Ga. – A joint news conference will be held on Thursday, July 29, at 10 a.m. to discuss a series of commemorative events planned this fall to celebrate the 57-year history of the U.S. Navy Supply Corps School in Athens. The conference will be in front of Winnie Davis Hall on the Navy Supply Corps School campus.
University of Georgia President Michael F. Adams, Athens-Clarke County Mayor Heidi Davison, and Captain William Hayes, Commanding Officer of the Navy Supply Corps School, will participate in the news conference.
The base is being closed under the federal Base Realignment and Closure Process.The property is being returned to the University of Georgia to become the UGA Health Sciences Campus. Formal handover of the base will take place in spring 2011, but UGA, the Navy and community representatives will honor the legacy of the Navy School in Athens this fall.These will include a number of events prior to the final graduation ceremony for Supply Corps School trainees in Athens, which will take place Oct. 29. Most Navy personnel will be reassigned following the graduation.
A tour of the grounds of the Navy Supply Corps School, formerly the Georgia State Normal School, will be available to interested members of the media following the announcement and a question and answer session.
For security reasons, media and other attendees are asked to RSVP to Lt. Greg Hiltz of the Navy Supply Corps School by e-mail at greg.hiltz@navy.mil by 5 p.m., Tuesday, July 27.
The iron gates between Winnie Davis Hall and Prince Avenue, closed and barricaded following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, will be reopened during the event to symbolize the return of the facility to the community.However, guests should enter through the Oglethorpe Avenue gate and will need a photo ID, auto registration and proof of auto insurance.