Wednesday, August 9, 2017

Board of Directors Meeting Tuesday, May 2, 2017

WEST POINT SOCIETY OF DENVER
Board of Directors Meeting
Tuesday, May 2, 2017 1130-1300
American Legion Post 1, 5400 East Yale Avenue, Denver, CO 80222

1.       Call to order – Bob Walcott at 11:35 AM
a.       Twelve board members in attendance, making a quorum.
b.       Four guests in attendance.

2.       Nomination and Election of New Officers – Lindy Blackburn
a.       The following nominations were made for officers of the board of directors:
                                                               i.      President: Brian MacDonald
                                                             ii.      Vice President: Joel Martin
                                                           iii.      Vice President for Admissions: Tom Carroll
                                                           iv.      Secretary: Tim Griesmer
                                                             v.      Treasurer: Dave Jackson
                                                           vi.      Communications Officer: Mark Frank
b.       The nominations were approved 12-0.
c.       There was also a motion to create an appointed position for Young Graduate Engagement Officer. The position was filled by Mike Euperio and Cory Wroblewski.

3.       Secretary’s Report/Approval of Minutes – Tim Griesmer
a.       Minutes from February 21, 2017 board meeting were approved.
b.       Minutes from March 3, 2017 general membership meeting were approved.

4.       Golf Tournament – Chad Dalton
a.       Chad Dalton distributed information for the annual golf tournament.
b.       The tournament will be held July 7, 2017 at the Air Force Academy Blue Course.
c.       Chad Dalton is trying to lower the cost entry through corporate sponsorship before publishing the information about the tournament to the Society. Lindy Blackburn suggested contacting the owner of the Parker Chick-Fil-A, who is a USNA graduate.

5.       Treasurer’s Report – Dave Jackson
a.       There is currently $630 earmarked for outreach.
b.       Dave Jackson is expecting another $350 from a new lifetime member, Kevin Miller ‘79
c.       Founder’s Day review:
                                                               i.      Approximately $3,000 in donations
                                                             ii.      Founder’s Day resulted in approximately a $270 loss.
                                                           iii.      192 attendees
                                                           iv.      There were some increased costs associated with hosting the Commandant at the Brown Palace Hotel and purchasing the commemorative wine glasses twice.
d.       Treasurer’s report was approved 12-0.
e.       Membership update: 1,006 total members in the Society area. The number was just reconciled with the AOG database.
                                                               i.      152 total current active regular members; of this 152:
1.       97 are dues paying members
2.       55 are lifetime members
                                                             ii.      There was a discussion about whether the Society should offer automatic renewal on memberships. Dave Jackson will look into options, but thinks it will require a transition to different billing software (ie, AOG instead of WP.org)

6.       Admissions Update – Bob Walcott
a.       18 cadets have currently been accepted statewide for the Class of 2021; expecting one more appointment to USMAPS. This number is significantly lower than last year. The explanation seems to be a higher failure rate on the Candidate Fitness Assessment. Fourteen nominated candidates were disqualified for failure of the fitness assessment.

7.       Summer Leadership Experience – Bob Walcott
a.       No update. Amy Efaw will normally notify SLE attendees of the availability of a scholarship. Bob Walcott will contact Amy Efaw for an update. Dave Jackson said the deadline to present a scholarship is August.
b.       There is money in the budget for an SLE scholarship.

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. Tim Griesmer will circulate a final draft at the beginning of June and plan to submit the application by mid-June.
c.       The Society has already exceeded the criteria for Distinguished Society status.

9.       Baseball Games – Brian MacDonald
a.       The links are active on the Society website for attending baseball games.
                                                               i.      June 17
                                                             ii.      August 2
b.       Dave Jackson suggested inviting the Navy and Air Force societies.
c.       Brian MacDonald is looking for a volunteer to take over planning the summer baseball games.

10.   Summer Picnic – Mark Frank
a.       The link is active to sign up for the summer picnic.
b.       The picnic will be June 25, 2017 at Wash Park.
c.       No change to the cost: burger meal: $10; hotdog meal: $8

11.   Friend of West Point Nomination – Bob Walcott
a.       The Society submitted a nomination for District Attorney George Brauchler
b.       The plan is to hold the dinner and presentation on June 6.
c.       Lindy Blackburn coordinated the date with George Brauchler.
d.       Lou Schroeder coordinated the venue (Landry’s Seafood) and VIP attendance.

12.   Parents’ Club Update – Bob Walcott
a.       Matt Wentz is the new president of the Parents’ Club.
b.       Sendoff for the Class of 2021 will be June 10 at the Smoky Hill Vineyard Church in Centennial.
c.       The Society is still looking for a representative from the 50 year class.

13.   New Business – Brian MacDonald
a.       Joel Martin expressed interest in organizing a high school leadership conference to promote interest in West Point. He is looking for volunteers to assist in planning a conference for 2018. Dave Jackson suggested sending an email to the Society to solicit volunteers or sponsorship.
b.       Josh Kuehl ’01 gave a presentation on TF ISO, a nonprofit that supports veterans through teaching photography and connecting them to resources. He is looking for board members and general volunteers. There was discussion of making a $100 donation from the Society. The motion was tabled until the next meeting.
c.       Bob Walcott gave a presentation on the Healing Our Heroes gala. There was a motion to donate $100 from the Society to Healing Our Heroes. The motion passed 11-1.

The next board meeting will be held July 11, 2017 at 11:30 AM, at American Legion Post 1, 5400 East Yale Avenue, Denver CO 80222.
The meeting adjourned at 1:05 PM.

Submitted by: Tim Griesmer, ’02