Board of Directors Meeting: Wednesday, October 7, 2020

 

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

3. Admissions Office holds virtual briefings almost weekly
4. 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
5. 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
6. 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;
7. 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.
8. No formal offers will go out without a documented interview on file - more important now than ever.
9. 4 October CFA at South High / Washington Park was a success with over 30 participants; another CFA being organized for Denver metro
10. Trying to organize another one in Broomfield or Ft Collins on 5 December
11. 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