Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Annual Planning Meeting MINUTES OF MEETING – January 25, 2017

WEST POINT SOCIETY OF DENVER
Board of Directors Annual Planning Meeting
MINUTES OF MEETING – Wednesday, January 25, 2017
Piccolo’s Restaurant, 3563 S Monaco Pkwy, Denver, CO 80237

1.       Call to order – Bob Walcott at 7:05 PM
a.       Thirteen board members in attendance, making a quorum. One guest in attendance.

2.       Secretary’s Report/Approval of Minutes – Tim Griesmer
a.       One error was identified in the minutes. Item 7.d.iii. was amended to read “Bob Walcott will photocopy and display the Society’s historical minutes at Founder’s Day. He will also read from the historical minutes at Founder’s Day.”
b.       Minutes from December 6, 2016 meeting were approved as amended.

3.       Treasurer’s Report – Dave Jackson
a.       The Society currently has 1,006 members. Paid membership declined slightly to 90. Dave Jackson reminded everyone that they can check the membership roster on google drive to confirm the status of their membership.
b.       2016 Financial Review: the Society saw a net gain in 2017 attributed to quarterly dinners, an increase in membership, and surcharge on sporting event tickets. A projected loss of $1947 ended up as a gain of approximately $100.
c.       2017 Budget: The 2017 budget projects a surplus of $892.
                                                               i.      There was a motion to increase the budget for college fairs from $400 to $600 to be able to cover an additional two weeks of fairs. The motion passed 13-0.
                                                             ii.      There was a motion to add a budget item for the Army-Navy watch party of $300. The money would cover game giveaways, planning, gifts for the wait staff and some sort of commemorative item for Sports Column for hosting the game three years in a row. The motion passed 13-0.
                                                           iii.      There was a motion to approve the 2017 budget as amended. The motion passed 13-0.
d.       The Treasurer’s Report was approved.
e.       There was a discussion regarding the effectiveness of funeral notifications to Society members. There was a motion to email the full Society membership at the time of a funeral notification and to provide details of the service if available. The motion passed 13-0.
f.        Dave Jackson discussed the commemorative gift that was ordered for Founder’s Day. The Society ordered commemorative wine glasses which were later discovered to be low quality and could not be returned. The Board agreed not to distribute the glasses at Founder’s Day, but to give them away at other Society events.
g.       Dave Jackson presented a commemorative sketch that he asked to include in the Founder’s Day program. Dave Jackson also offered to donate the sketch to the Society to be used in a silent auction at Founder’s Day. The Board agreed that the sketch, along with donated football tickets, would be silent auction prizes at Founder’s Day.

4.       Admissions Update – Tom Carroll
a.       There are currently 278 files open statewide for the Class of 2021; 165 in the Society’s area.
                                                               i.      58 of these files have nominations
b.       Tom Carroll noted that there has recently been a higher instance of failures on the CFA.
c.       The Class of 2021 is projected to be about 30 cadets from Colorado.
d.       The college fair schedule will be published around July 1.
e.       South High School Denver Academy Day is on April 22 at noon.
f.        Senator Bennet will be making a presentation of nominations on January 28 at the Air Force Academy. Dave Jackson offered to attend.
g.       2017 SLE scholarship: generally, the Society will contact everyone going to SLE and see who needs financial assistance. The Society plans to do so again this year.

5.       Parent’s Club Update – Bob Walcott
a.       The Parent’s Club will elect a new president on April 1.
b.       There will be an admissible candidates meeting again as part of Founder’s Day.
c.       There will be a Parent’s club tailgate for the Army-Air Force game.
d.       The Parent’s Club sendoff will be in June. The Society is looking for a member who can participate as the representative of the 50 year class.

6.       Founder’s Day – Bob Walcott
a.       The Founder’s Day dinner will be held Friday, March 3, 2017 at the University Club.
b.       The Commandant, BG Holland ‘90, will be the guest speaker. Bob Walcott is looking for classmates of the Commandant to escort her and introduce her at Founder’s Day. MG(R) St. Onge will be in attendance and would be a good person to introduce her.
c.       Bob Walcott will explore other options for a commemorative gift.
d.       To commemorate the 90th anniversary of the West Point Society of Denver, Bob Walcott will display the minutes from the first Society meeting. Bob is also soliciting other ideas for the commemoration.
e.       Brian MacDonald is working on the program for Founder’s Day. The Board reviewed the program
f.        A request was made for a commemorative letter from the Governor and the Mayor.
g.       Oldest and youngest grad (pending attendance):
                                                               i.      Al Griebling-oldest grad
                                                             ii.      Anastasia Efaw-youngest grad
h.       Toasts:
                                                               i.      Commander in Chief: Lou Schroeder
                                                             ii.      Army: Sam Thiessen
                                                           iii.      Corps: Cory Wroblewski
                                                           iv.      Deployed Soldiers: Mike Euperio
                                                             v.      Ladies/Significant Others: Tom Carroll
i.         Lindy Blackburn will procure the necessary flags.
j.         The Board volunteered Steve Best to lead a song from the songbook.

7.       Golf Tournament – Chad Dalton
a.       July 7, 2017 at 8:00am.
b.       Chad Dalton asked to give a sleeve of golf balls to each participant. He will try to find corporate sponsorship to pay for them but needs the money fronted from the Board.
c.       There was a motion to authorize $250 for the golf tournament. The motion passed 13-0.

8.       Distinguished Society Application – Tim Griesmer
a.       Tim Griesmer reviewed current work on the 2016-2017 Distinguished Society application.
b.       The application is due on June 30, 2017.
c.       There was a discussion to nominate George Brauchler as a Friend of West Point. Lindy Blackburn will discuss the nomination with him.
d.       There was a motion to nominate George Brauchler as a Friend of West Point subject to his acceptance. The motion passed 13-0.

9.       Summer Picnic- Mark Frank
a.       The picnic will be held at Wash Park.
b.       The date is pending.

10.   Sporting Events – Brian MacDonald
a.       Baseball games: June 17 at 1:00 v. Giants; August 2 at 6:40 v. Mets.
b.       There will be a West Point cadet participating in the Ironman in Boulder this summer.

11.   Leadership Conference – Bob Walcott
a.       Brian MacDonald will attend the conference this year.

12.   Pike’s Peak Society Liaison – Bob Walcott
a.       Stover James will continue serving as the Pike’s Peak Society liaison.

13.   Army-Air Force Game – Bob Walcott
a.       The game will be at the Air Force Academy this year. The Society will join in tailgates/other events with the Pike’s Peak Society and the Parent’s Club.
b.       The Board wants to hold another watch party in 2018.

14.   Army-Navy Watch Party – Bob Walcott
a.       Navy will host the watch party this year.

15.   New Initiatives – Bob Walcott
a.       Chad Dalton will work on determining if there are any opportunities for corporate sponsorship for other Society events.

16.   Nominating Committee – Lindy Blackburn
a.       Lindy Blackburn reviewed the list of Board members and terms that will be voted on at Founder’s Day.
b.       There has been some interest from new prospective Board members.

17.   Old Business/New Business – Bob Walcott
a.       Any candidate interested in attending Boys State or Girls State should be put in contact with Lindy Blackburn.
b.       Schedule of Board meetings for 2017, to be held at American Legions Post 1, 5400 East Yale Avenue, Denver CO 80222:
                                                               i.      February 21, 2017
                                                             ii.      May 2, 2017
                                                           iii.      July 11, 2017
                                                           iv.      October 3, 2017
                                                             v.      December 5, 2017
The next board meeting will be held February 21, 2017 at 11:30 AM, at American Legion Post 1, 5400 East Yale Avenue, Denver CO 80222.
The meeting adjourned at 9:10 PM.

Submitted by: Tim Griesmer, ’02