Rogers Man Led Naval Academy Class

John-Rex Spivey, a Rogers native and president of the U.S. Naval Academy’s class of 2013, raises his fist May 24 after presenting a beer stein to President Barack Obama during the academy’s graduation and commissioning ceremony.
John-Rex Spivey, a Rogers native and president of the U.S. Naval Academy’s class of 2013, raises his fist May 24 after presenting a beer stein to President Barack Obama during the academy’s graduation and commissioning ceremony.

ROGERS — John-Rex Spivey’s graduation last week from the U.S. Naval Academy was an event he won’t soon forget.

Spivey, a Rogers native, was president of his class. As one of the graduation speakers, he also had the privilege of presenting the class gift to President Barack Obama, who attended and spoke at the ceremony in Annapolis, Md., on May 24.

At A Glance

Arkansas Graduates Of The U.S. Naval Academy

Seven of the 1,047 people who graduated with the U.S. Naval Academy’s class of 2013 were Arkansans. Here are their names and hometowns:

• Coy Bryant, Texarkana

• Kevin Moore, West Memphis

• Sam Rappeport, Fort Smith

• Colin Rockefeller, Little Rock

• Stephen Scales, Ashdown

• John-Rex Spivey, Rogers

• Jared Taylor, Judsonia

Source: U.S. Naval Academy

“On behalf of the great class of 2013, it is my honor to present you with a special edition 2013 pewter mug,” Spivey said to Obama. “It is great for any cold beverage, but I recommend a nice cold beer. Maybe a White House beer.”

Obama grinned and raised the stein to the sky.

“This will come in handy,” Obama said.

Spivey, 23, is back in Rogers. He plans to leave for Annapolis in a few weeks on his way to training to become a Navy pilot. The chance to meet the president was “kind of overwhelming,” he said.

The class decided to give Obama the stein, which has the class crest on it, because it was something unique, Spivey said.

“We heard the White House brews its own beer, so we thought it would be not only a good gift, but a practical gift,” Spivey said.

Spivey and Obama talked briefly in private after the ceremony.

“I said, ‘Thank you, sir, for coming.’ He said, ‘Congratulations, I’m proud of you. Thank you for making the decision to serve your country.’ Then he thanked me for the gift,” Spivey said.

Spivey, the son of Joe and Suzanne Spivey, attended Rogers schools through the eighth grade. He then transferred to Subiaco Academy in Subiaco.

He is believed to be the first person from Arkansas to serve as a class president at the Naval Academy, though he said that’s not been verified.

Jane Baldridge, a Rogers resident, has known Spivey since he was a baby and was his U.S. history teacher at Elmwood Junior High School about a decade ago. She called Spivey one of the most outstanding young men she’s ever known.

“Even as a little boy he was very, very serious,” said Baldridge, who retired from teaching in 2005. “He looked at everything with a more serious eye than you would think of a small child doing.”

She praised Spivey’s leadership skills.

“He leads by example,” she said. “I don’t see him giving orders and saying, ‘You go do this.’ He’s the kind who will say, ‘I’m going this way,’ and the rest will follow him.”

Mary DeCredico, a Naval Academy history professor, said Spivey is a great advocate for Arkansas, adding she thinks he wants to go into Arkansas politics someday.

“I think he would be fabulous for the state,” DeCredico said. “He’s always upbeat, always smiling. He has a great future ahead of him in the Navy and in civilian life.”

Spivey said his four years at the Naval Academy presented both academic and physical challenges. Asked what advice he would give to anyone interested in attending a military academy, he said it’s important to be ready for those challenges.

“The academy doesn’t give people much opportunity to be bored or lazy,” he said. “And if you are that way, you don’t make it.”

Being from Arkansas helped him get through the academy because of the strong values he got from growing up here, he said.

“There’s something special about our state,” Spivey said. “Everyone is friendly and we respect each other. That defines me and hopefully will continue to define me.”

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