WEST POINT SOCIETY OF DENVER
Board of Directors Annual Planning Meeting
MINUTES OF MEETING – Wednesday, July 30, 2025
Meeting held remotely via Zoom
Call to order – By President Steve Best at 7:06 PM
Attendees
·
There were 8 voting board members in
attendance: Steve Best, Tim Griesmer, Chad Dalton, Katie Wilson, Sam Thiessen,
Joel Martin, Shannon Sharrock, Tina Morris, Dave Jackson (emeritus)
·
A quorum was established.
Secretary’s Report
·
Minutes of January 21, 2025 Annual Planning
Meeting and the March 8, 2025 General Membership Meeting were approved.
Distinguished Society
·
Tim Griesmer completed the Distinguished
Society application. The WPSD was 39 points above the minimum required points
and has once again earned Distinguished Society Status.
Treasurer’s Report
·
Mike Euperio was not present. The Treasurer’s
report will be emailed to the Board.
Communications Report
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Katie Wilson gave an update on communications
initiatives and has been sharing West Point’s social media activity.
Admissions Update/WPPCCO Update
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Alec Lee was not present but submitted the
following updates, pertaining to admissions and the Parents’ Club, via email:
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Admissions
On 30 June, 31 Colorado new cadet reported for
R-Day. We currently have about 300 files open for the Class of 2030. At the
kickoff call with CPT Nate Lundquist, the new regional commander, I learned how
important Colorado is from an admissions standpoint. Of the nine “Tier 1”
cities (providing significant numbers of top candidates) in the ten-state
Southwest Region, Colorado has three (Denver, Ft. Collins, Colorado Springs).
Texas has four (and that state accounts for 10% of WP applicants), and the
other eight states only have two between them.
West Point is investing more effort into
recruiting enlisted soldiers. Vinni Viola’s foundation is donating generously
to enable that, so field force will be involved to support enlisted candidates
and to identify soldiers to participate in the expanded overnight visits.
Admissions runs recruitment events at major army installations and Ft Carson’s
will be 30-31 Oct in conjunction with the Army-Air Force football game.
CPT Lundquist’s annual visit to Colorado will
be in late October, also in conjunction with the AF football game. He will
conduct Academy Information Meetings in Ft. Collins (10/27), Denver (10/29),
and Colorado Springs (10/27) as well as supporting a major college fair in
Boulder.
Admissions is always looking for more Field
Force reps and MALOs. They attributed much of 2029’s exceptionally qualified
class to the increased number of Field Force reps and improved support and
outreach. They are also going to invest more in reaching out to “influencers”
such as counselors and administrators, so our pilot outreach efforts with
Aurora Public Schools is on point.
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Parents’ Club
We had a bumper crop of new cadets for 2029 and the parents are joining the
club. Longtime parent liaison Deb Dalton retired last spring, her replacement
took a severance package this summer, and the federal hiring freeze has left
USMA unable to backfill. A recent ruling by USMA JAG has prohibited Field Force
reps from sharing candidate information with parents’ clubs. This was supposed
to be addressed by creating Sallyport groups with those parents who had given
contact information to USMA but that effort appears to be paused due to the
lack of a parent liaison.
We held the new cadet send off at the Lone
Tree library and the 2029 candidates were introduced to their 50-year affiliate
class. The new cadets had their scheduled call home at change of detail and the
parents club followed up with the new cadet parents to help them process the
call. The Moms’ shadow march back is next weekend and should be another great
event to support the new parents. We also have a boodle box event in September
to put together care packages for all Colorado cadets.
I’ll be attending the APG conference during
reorganization week, representing the parents club. While I’m in the area, I
plan to have lunch with CPT Lundquist and introduce the Colorado society
presidents to him.
2025 Completed Programs/Events AAR
1. Founder’s Day 3/8/2025
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There was a small decrease in attendance from the
previous year
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The planning committee will continue to seek
sponsors to offset costs
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There was not a lot of pushback on the price
increase, although younger grads in particular did say it was too much money
2. WPLEC 5/02/2025
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WPLEC was once again a very successful event
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The event was right on budget approx. $5700; Joel
has good leads for fundraising for the next event
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A record number of schools participated
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The next event will be Friday, April 10, 2026
at the same venue
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Not having a speaker worked out fine
2025-2026 Upcoming Programs and Events
1. 2027 Exchange Cadets Affirmation @ USAFA (8/18/2025)
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Exchange cadet affirmation ceremony for class of
2027
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The Pike’s Peak Society has primary coordination
on the event
2. 2025 Service Academy Alumni Golf Tournament (8/22/2025)
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Air Force has the lead this year
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110/144 slots already signed up
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Shotgun start at 8:00 with breakfast burrito
and lunches provided
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5 academies invited: Merchant Marine, Coast
Guard, USAFA, USNA, USMA
3. WPSD Regional Happy Hours/Football Watch Parties (TBD)
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The board discussed setting up happy hours or
watch parties for a selection of football games. More planning will be done.
4. Army – Air Force @ Falcon Stadium (11/1/2025) 10:00am (Tailgate
7:30am)
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The Pike’s Peak Society has the lead on the
tailgate, but they need assistance on social media to promote the event.
5. Army-Navy Watch Party (12/13/2025) 1:00pm
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Planning TBD
6. Founders Day 2026
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Date TBD
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The WPSD will request the Commandant as a
guest speaker for the 99th Founder’s Day. Steve will ask him at the
Leadership Conference.
·
We expect to be back at University Club this
year but looking at other venues for the 100th Founder’s Day in
2027.
7. WPLEC 2026
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The next WPLEC event will be held April 10,
2026
·
Planning TBD
New Business/Open Discussion
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The Board elected officers for 2025-2026. The
following slate of officers was elected unanimously:
o
President: Steve Best
o
Vice President: Chad Dalton
o
Vice President for Admissions: Alec Lee
o
Secretary: Tim Griesmer
o
Treasurer: Mike Euperio
o
Communications Officer: Katie Wilson
·
Steve would still like to create the position
of membership director and asked members of the board to help find someone to
fill that role.
The next board meeting is tentatively scheduled for
Wednesday, October 8, 2025 at 7:00 PM.
The meeting adjourned at 8:00 PM.
Submitted by: Tim Griesmer ‘02
