Brief from the Executive Director
Fall 2026
Aloha Tailhookers,
Bravo Zulu and well-earned congratulations to our Tailhook Association (THA) staff and volunteers for making Hook ’26 happen. Many mahalos also to the professionals at the Grand Sierra Resort (GSR) for providing such a modern, pristine, exciting and friendly venue for our symposium. A special shoutout goes to Global Experience Specialists (GES), which flawlessly orchestrates the buildup and breakdown of the entire exhibit hall. Moving scores of exhibits, vendor displays and booths into position and then making them disappear just as efficiently is a major logistical evolution. GES makes it look easy; seamless, precise and impeccably executed from start to finish. Our partnership with GSR and GES gets better each year, and we look forward to continued success with them and everyone who makes our annual gathering so enjoyable and memorable.
Hook ’26 brought together 3,450 participants, nearly 50 flag and general officers and more than 130 exhibitors for several outstanding panel sessions, special events and social gatherings. Again, our compliments to all involved in making this year’s symposium such a successful and memorable event.
It was also an enormous success for your Tailhook Educational Foundation (TEF) as well. TEF fundraising results from Hook ’26 are highlighted below. Because the figures represent total fundraising, event period fundraising and individual gifts, some amounts overlap.
-
$400,000 was raised from the opening of Hook ’26 registration through one week after TEF’s booth closed, a record high.
-
$203,000 of the $400,000 was contributed in highly appreciated securities (HAS) by CAPT Joe Parker, USN(Ret) to upgrade his existing annual scholarship to perennial status. The resulting $203,000 Marjorie Parker Memorial Scholarship portfolio will fund a scholarship of at least $10,000 annually in perpetuity.
-
$127,000 was raised during Hook ’26 itself, $23,000 more than was raised in 2025, another record high.
-
$100,000 fully funded our new CAPT Royce Williams perennial scholarship.
-
$70,000 was donated by Andy “Truman” Caputi to sponsor TEF’s first externally funded perennial scholarship for an enlisted applicant.
-
$50,000 was contributed by GSR owner Alex Meruelo and the Meruelo family as the third installment of their four-gift pledge toward fully funding a $200,000 GSR perennial scholarship portfolio, now valued at $150,000.
TEF’s fundraising success at Hook ’26 was made possible by the generous support of our industry partners, like-minded charitable organizations, members and supporters. We also give great credit for our TEF booth fundraising success to those who donated the outstanding prizes for our two raffle drawings. The quality of those prizes helped drive raffle ticket sales to three times those of previous years.
TEF’s 2026 scholarship program also continues to improve across nearly every measure we track. Some year-over-year comparisons include:
-
Our awardees earned a record $801,000 in scholarship grant funds in 2026, $99,000 more than in 2025, $267,000 more than in 2024, and $440,000 more than in 2020.
-
Average grant value increased to approximately $5,050, $500 more than in 2025 and $2,000 more than in 2020, advancing TEF’s priority of increasing the financial impact of each scholarship.
-
Out of approximately 500 qualified Naval Aviation legacy student applicants, 159 earned scholarships in 2026, continuing TEF’s strategic goal of awarding more than 100 scholarships annually since 2017.
-
All 159 scholarships were awarded at $3,500 or more, establishing a new TEF minimum grant value, up from $3,000 in 2025 and $2,500 in 2020.
-
Of the 159 scholarships, 63 were awarded at $5,000 or more; of those, 18 were awarded at $10,000 or more, including four at $15,000 or more and TEF’s two largest grants at $20,000 each. CAPT Joe Parker’s perennial scholarship listed above brings TEF’s total number of perennial scholarship portfolios valued at $200,000 or more to seven, each providing $10,000 or more in annual scholarship funding in perpetuity:
-
The Intruder Association Scholarship: $262,000
-
RADM Kenneth W. “Pete” Pettigrew Memorial Scholarship: $244,000
-
LT Pat Buckley Memorial Scholarship: $235,000
-
CAPT Ray Alcorn Memorial Scholarship: $210,000
CAPT Rodger Welch, USN(Ret)
Executive Director
Tailhook Educational Foundation
-
ADM Leighton W. “Snuffy” Smith Jr. Memorial Scholarship: $204,000
-
Marjorie Parker Memorial Scholarship (new in 2026): $203,000
-
CAPT John Edward “Lobo” Brown Memorial Scholarship: $400,000 Perhaps TEF’s most impressive perennial scholarship success in 2026 came when Mrs. Dolly Brown contributed an additional $100,000 and CAPT Taylor and Mrs. Amy Beattie jointly contributed another $100,000 to the existing $200,000 CAPT John Edward “Lobo” Brown Memorial Scholarship portfolio. Their extraordinary generosity doubled the portfolio to $400,000, providing funding for a $20,000 annual scholarship in perpetuity.
TEF’s Gold Star scholarships were again awarded at $10,000 each in 2026, supported by ADM Bill McRaven’s second $250,000 donation from his Courage and Civility Award (CCA), created by Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez. ADM McRaven’s two extraordinary gifts have provided $500,000 to TEF in just two years.
Collins Aerospace also doubled its Gold Star scholarship support in 2026, increasing its funding from $5,000 to $10,000 for both the Eugene Ely and CAPT Willie McCool Gold Star scholarships.
TEF’s transition from internally funding Gold Star scholarships with undesignated funds to externally funded perennial scholarships began in 2023, when Mrs. Barbara Torrey-Smith and her son, Bill Smith, funded TEF’s first $100,000 Gold Star perennial scholarship honoring her father, CDR Phillip H. “Tarzan” Torrey Jr. Mrs. Torrey-Smith was just three years old when her father did not return from World War II. She asked that the perennial scholarship honoring him support a Gold Star awardee each year.
Another significant success in TEF’s 2026 scholarship program was increasing the value of all four Naval Aviation enlisted scholarships above their previous $3,000 level to one to $5,000 and three to $3,500. These grants remain internally funded for 2026 but funding them by external sponsors and increasing the value of our enlisted scholarships remain a TEF priority. Andy “Truman” Caputi’s new $70,000 perennial scholarship, to be awarded starting in 2027, is TEF’s first externally funded enlisted perennial and an important first step toward that goal. We will continue seeking external sponsors to grow the enlisted scholarship funding pool and increase these grants to at least $5,000 each and higher as funding permits.
The generous support of our corporate partners, like-minded charitable organizations, Tailhook members, and individual donors empower TEF to award these increasingly meaningful grants. These contributions provide our student awardees greater financial stability in meeting the rising cost of their college education, allowing them to focus more fully on their academic success.
TEF scholarship awardees continue to distinguish themselves academically while preparing for careers that will make our communities and our nation safer and better. Their paths include aviation, engineering, medicine, law, education, science, technology, military service, and many others. These remarkable young men and women continually remind us why increasing the value and impact of TEF scholarships matters.
TEF extends our sincere gratitude to the many individuals and organizations whose generous support makes these scholarships possible, and to our student awardees, whose achievements continually validate the investment made in their futures.
Tailhookers, we remain deeply grateful for your charitable contributions and continued support throughout the year. Sustained year-round giving allows TEF to grow scholarship funding, increase grant values, and help our student awardees keep pace with the continually rising cost of a college education.
Other increasingly popular ways to support TEF include Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) made directly from an IRA. Eligible donors may begin making QCDs at age 70½, even before they are required to take annual Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs). Once RMDs begin, a QCD can satisfy all or part of the donor’s annual distribution requirement while excluding the qualifying amount from taxable income. We also see an increasing number of TEF contributors donating HASs, most commonly shares of stock, through our financial advisor, Richard Carlquist, at Manning Wealth Group. These options complement TEF’s planned giving program, which includes naming TEF as a beneficiary in a will or as a beneficiary of a trust or life insurance policy. If you have questions or are interested in any of these ways to support TEF, please do not hesitate to contact us.
TEF and THA continue our combat spread operations, working together in supporting or supported roles, task dependent, to accomplish our respective missions and serve our members, donors, sponsors and supporters. We thank you all again for your resolute and inspiring support of TEF and THA and look forward to seeing you 19–21 August at Hook ’27.
TEF GiveDirect Donation QR Code
TAX ID: 33-0487778
About TEF
The Tailhook Educational Foundation (TEF) is a charitable nonprofit California corporation created in February 1992. The Foundation's charter is "to educate the nation's public with regard to the history and present day activities of the United States Navy carrier aviation and its importance to our country's national security."
The main activities of the Foundation are:
To support the Tailhook Association
To distribute The Hook magazine to schools throughout the nation at no cost to the schools
To provide scholarships to qualified applicants
To support U.S Navy and Naval Aviation leadership
TEF Scholarships
TEF awards over 100 scholarships annually averaging more than $5,000 per grant with our top two grants awarded at $20,000
Funding TEF scholarships is achieved either annually or perennially.
Perennial Scholarships
A perennial scholarship is funded by donating $70,000 or more to TEF. A $70,000 TEF Scholarship portfolio yields a $3,500 grant for your named scholarship per year in perpetuity.
An $80,000 TEF Scholarship portfolio yields a $4,000 grant for your named scholarship per year in perpetuity. Several of TEF’s perennial scholarship portfolios now exceed $100,000, all yielding at least $5,000 in an annual grant.
Sponsors funding perennial scholarships should also add funds to their portfolio whenever they can to ensure these portfolios continue to grow to keep pace with the increasing costs of colleges (1%~2% per year). When donations to existing perennial portfolios reach $10,000 or more, the annual grant yield for that scholarship increases $500 per year from that year on.
Annual Pass-through scholarships
An annual or “pass-through” scholarship is funded by providing TEF a payment of $3,500 or more each year to sponsor your named scholarship that year.
Pass through scholarship donations can also be for more than $3,500, and they can change each year by donating more than $3,500.
TEF’s current annual scholarships average more than $5,000 with our top grant awarded at $20,000.
.
Gold Star Scholarships
TEF has a special interest in our Gold Star applicants. We will award Gold Star scholarships to Naval Aviation legacy students who lost their TEF eligible sponsor parent while they were still serving on active-duty.
These scholarships are not awarded based on merit; all qualified Gold Star students will receive an annual grant each year they apply.
Proof of sponsorship is the parent-sponsor's
CASREP, OBIT (etc.). TEF will award Gold Star grants for up to four years to qualified undergraduate students at an accredited college or university. Gold Star scholarships are only available to those students whose parent-sponsor passed away while still on active-duty, not their grandparent-sponsor.
Enlisted Scholarships
Current or former Naval Aviation (USN, USMC, USCG) enlisted personnel who earned their Aircrew wings or who served on a US Navy aircraft carrier in ship's company or in an embarked staff are themselves eligible to apply for a TEF Enlisted scholarship. These scholarships are merit-based and competitive, however TEF has found most qualified current, or former enlisted TEF scholarship applicants who apply will earn a scholarship based on their Naval Aviation related enlisted service to our nation. Since these enlisted personnel are also qualified as eligible TEF scholarship sponsors, their children and grandchildren may also apply for TEF scholarships. To apply, they will need to complete and submit TEF's graduating high school senior or current college student application.
.
TEF awards over 150 scholarships annually averaging more than $4,000 per grant with our top two grants awarded at $20,000.
A number of our annual scholarships are awarded to students pursuing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) curriculum.
All TEF grants assist Naval Aviation legacy undergraduate students obtain a higher education.
Call Today
Scholarship Eligibility
To qualify for a Tailhook Educational Foundation scholarship, an individual must graduate from high school and be the natural, step, or adopted child or grandchild of a current or former (U.S. Navy / U.S. Marine Corps / U.S. Coast Guard) Naval Aviator, Naval Flight Officer, or Naval Aircrewman. Also eligible are individuals or children/grandchildren of individuals who are serving or have served on board a U.S. Navy Aircraft Carrier. Eligible applicants must also be accepted for undergraduate enrollment at an accredited college.
Applications are currently closed.
Applications are available at 1200 NOON PT on 15 December 2026 through Monday, 1200 NOON PT 16 February 2027
Scholarship Timeline
