WEST POINT SOCIETY OF DENVER
Board of Directors Meeting
MINUTES OF MEETING – Wednesday, October 7, 2020
Meeting conducted remotely via Zoom
1.
Call to order – Joel Martin at 11:30 AM
a.
Fifteen voting board members in attendance, making
a quorum.
b.
Board members attending: Dave Jackson, Steve
Best, Brian MacDonald, Andy Benson, Cory Wroblewski, Lou Schroeder, Lindy
Blackburn, Bob Walcott, Jace Johnson, Mike Euperio, Chad Dalton, Deb Case, Joel
Martin, Tim Griesmer, Katie Wilson
c.
Guest: Guy Higgins, USNA
2.
Secretary’s Report/Approval of Minutes – Tim
Griesmer
a.
Minutes from the July 15, 2020 board of
directors meeting were approved 15-0.
3.
Treasurer’s Report – Brian MacDonald
a.
The society has seen in increase in funds of
about $2,200 due to new registrations.
b.
Treasurer’s report was approved 15-0.
4.
Membership Update – Brian MacDonald
a.
There are currently 153 paid members of the
society with an increase of one additional lifetime membership.
5.
Distinguished Society Award Application – Tim
Griesmer
a.
Tim Griesmer has the 2020-2021 DSA application
and will be responsible for submitting it this year.
6.
Admission – Jace Johnson submitted the
following report for the board:
a.
15
Sept - Virtual Academy Day, ~ 300 participants; will try to do another one in
the Spring; hits the sweet spot of our target audience of 9-11th graders; still
strive to organize large in-person event at South High when it makes sense and
smaller Academy Days previously planned at Prospect Ridge Academy in north
Broomfield and Liberty Common charter school in Ft. Collins
b.
28
Sept - Virtual College Fair of big 3 service academies for 45 minutes; ~ 90
participants; not really our target audience based on Q&A; we will
participate in the large Denver Mart Fair next fall if or when available
- Admissions
Office holds virtual briefings almost weekly
- 307
files opened in this Class of 2025 cycle; 11 admissible, ~ 100
competitive files, 155 risk, ~ 30 undetermined due to lack of test scores
at this time; risk status not that alarming - about half are never that
competitive with each cycle; LOA window has closed; 4 LOAs in CO - one
was a recruited athlete
- Admissions
initially held hard and fast on the ACT/SAT testing rule, but has now
relented; they will try to work with candidates that could not get a test
done, but want written justification of what tests were scheduled and got
cancelled; Admissions confident they can process “no scored” candidates
with a PSAT (dated), but they will heavily scrutinize depth, breadth
& rigor of academic record and class standing; off the record,
general thinking is that the resourceful candidates got their testing
done when they needed to
- Admissions
is cleaning up FF access across the country. If no access since June 30,
then access will be shut off. Many FF members have access to a particular
district or area of the country they no longer need due to moving, etc.
Admissions also being a bit more formulaic in how new FF members are
brought on board. FERPA and latest Varsity Blues scandal exposing lots of
holes in Admissions across the country. Admissions does not want just any
graduate for FF - focus is on more dedicated FF members and not
“seasonal” participants that come and go due to only wanting to help
immediate and distant family members or friends; new FF members will
get onboarded after they have been vetted by District & State
Coordinators, and RC;
- Somewhat
related - new interview form makes FF specify relationship with each
candidate beyond just the typical FF encounters, examples of what they
want to know about include work with extracurriculars such as Boys /
Girls State, Scouts, CAP, community or sports exposure, neighborhood kid,
etc.
- No
formal offers will go out without a documented interview on file - more
important now than ever.
- 4
October CFA at South High / Washington Park was a success with over 30
participants; another CFA being organized for Denver metro
- Trying
to organize another one in Broomfield or Ft Collins on 5 December
- CFA
& Medical remain a big struggle for many candidates; last year we had
well over 30% of all nominees fail their CFA; another handful failed
Medical on issues they should have done their homework on; FF still
stresses candidates to research DODMERB resources early in their process.
7.
Founder’s Day – Andy Benson
a.
The Founder’s Day committee met on October 6.
The meeting participants were Joel Martin, Steve Best, Dave Jackson, Katie
Wilson, Brian MacDonald, and Andy Benson.
b.
The committee discussed options for either an
in-person a virtual Founder’s Day or a hybrid event that includes multiple
simultaneous meetups.
c.
If Founder’s Day is held in-person, the
committee discussed whether the board should consider a new venue.
d.
The board will send out a survey to society
members to gather feedback on these options. AOG can facilitate the survey.
e.
The committee will present a summary of the
survey results and a recommended path forward at the Dec. 2 board meeting.
8.
Army-Air Force Football Watch Party – Joel
Martin
a.
There is a reservation for 30 at the View House
DTC, due to COIVD restrictions.
b.
The board discussed whether there should be
additional locations.
9.
All Service Academy Ball – Joel Martin
a.
November 4 is the date for a Go/No Go decision
for holding the ball
b.
Joel Martin will follow-up at the next meeting
to determine if the board wants to donate funds to support the ball.
10.
Leadership and Ethics Seminar – Joel Martin
a.
The WPLEC was cancelled this year due to COVID.
b.
The committee met a few weeks ago to work on
planning for the 2021 seminar, preparing for either an in-person or virtual
event.
c.
The Pike’s Peak chapter will participate next
year as well.
11.
LEADS (Leadership, Ethics, and Diversity in
STEM) – Joel Martin
a.
While WPLEC is geared toward candidates, LEADS
targets underserved or underprivileged school districts that may not have
access to a STEM curriculum.
b.
Event will be held in the fall.
c.
Joel Martin would like to host a LEADS event for
the society.
d.
Jace Johnson said the board could start by
focusing on a few schools in the metro area.
e.
If the society commits to hold a LEADS event, it
should be revenue neutral.
f.
The board voted 15-0 to host a LEADS event in
the fall of 2021. Joel Martin volunteered to chair the planning committee.
12.
Other Business
a.
Chad Dalton announced that despite the
cancellation of this year’s golf tournament, he will serve as the society lead
for next year and Navy will be running the event.
b.
Bob Walcott informed the board that Ryan Rodriguez
’09 is organizing a real estate professional symposium from West Point for
anyone interested. The society can promote the event on Sallyport.
The next board meeting will be held December 2, 2020 at 11:30 AM. The
board would like to return to an in-person meeting and will evaluate possible
venues.
The meeting adjourned at 12:37 PM.
Submitted by: Tim Griesmer ‘02
