THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary ________________________________________________________________________ For Immediate Release November 14, 1994 PRESIDENT NAMES BENJAMIN F. MONTOYA AND RICHARD H. TRULY TO THE BOARD OF VISITORS, U.S. NAVAL ACADEMY The President today announced his intention to appoint Benjamin F. Montoya of New Mexico and Richard H. Truly of Georgia as Members of the Board of Visitors of the United States Naval Academy. Benjamin F. Montoya is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Public Service Company of New Mexico in Albuquerque. During his distinguished and decorated U.S. Naval career spanning 31 years, Mr. Montoya rose to the rank of Rear Admiral. While in the Navy, Mr. Montoya served in numerous positions including Commander, Western Division Naval Facilities Engineering Command, San Bruno, California; Director, Shore Activities Division, Office of Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Logistics), Washington, D.C.; and Commander, Naval Facilities Engineering Command and Chief of Civil Engineers. Among his numerous honors are the Distinguished Service Medal, the Navy Commendation Medal, the Navy Achievement Medal, the Bronze Star (Vietnam) and the Legion of Merit. Mr. Montoya was born May 24, 1935, in Indio, California. He attended the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland, and received a B.S., Civil Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1960. In addition, Mr. Montoya received a Masters of Science in Sanitary Engineering (Environmental Studies) from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1968, and a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1981. Richard H. Truly is Director, Georgia Technical Research Institute, and Vice President, Georgia Institute of Technology, in Atlanta,. In 1989, he became the eighth Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), having concluded his 30 year naval career one day earlier retiring as a Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy. A former naval aviator, test pilot and astronaut, Truly is the recipient of many awards including the Presidential Citizen's Medal, two NASA Distinguished Service Medals, and the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal. His military decorations include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, two Legions of Merit, the Navy Distinguished Flying Cross, and the Meritorious Service Medal. A resident of Atlanta, Mr. Truly was born November 12, 1937 in Fayette, Mississippi. He is a graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology, which he attended as a Naval R.O.T.C. midshipman and earned a bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering in 1959. The Board of Visitors visits the Academy annually and makes inquiries into the morale, discipline, academic methods, curriculum and instruction, and other matters relating to the Academy. -30-30-30-