Friday, May 22, 2026

Annual Planning Meeting: Sunday, February 1, 2026

 

WEST POINT SOCIETY OF DENVER

Board of Directors Annual Planning Meeting

MINUTES OF MEETING – Sunday, February 1, 2026

Meeting held at Mission BBQ

5525 Wadsworth Blvd, Arvada, CO 80002

 

Call to order – By President Steve Best at 1:13 PM

Attendees

·        There were 10 voting board members in attendance: Steve Best, Tim Griesmer, Chad Dalton, Katie Wilson, Mike Euperio, Alec Lee, Bob Walcott, Sam Thiessen, Clark Ragan, Shannon Sharrock, Dave Jackson (emeritus)

·        A quorum was established.

·        Pete Lagasse ’60 attended as a guest and potential board member

Secretary’s Report

·        Minutes of the December 11, 2025 Board Meeting were approved.

Distinguished Society Update

·        Tim Griesmer will submit the Distinguished Society Application. Items for points should be sent by May 31, 2026.

·        Tim will send out Distinguished Society criteria to the Board.

Treasurer’s Report

·        Mike Euperio presented the draft budget to the Board.

·        2025 was a break even year for the Society.

·        There is approximately $24,649 in Society accounts.

·        The budget for 2026 is projected to be approximately $27,000 with an approximately $4,000 deficit.

·        The Society will include links on the Founder’s Day communications for donation opportunities.

·        Bob Walcott reminded the Board that any gift in excess of $250 must be acknowledged in writing and that the “short term” 990 can be filed if revenues are less than $50,000.

·        Dave Jackson said there are various grant opportunities available from Wells Fargo and other banks.

·        The Board approved the annual budget.

Communications Report

·        Katie Wilson is working to keep website and social media accounts current.

New Business

·        The Board discussed ways to recruit new Board members and raise donations. Alec Lee emphasized the importance of laying out specific programs and goals for individuals to want to volunteer for.

·        Pete Lagasse ’60 will serve as a new Board member in one of the vacant positions. There is currently one other Board vacancy.

2025 Program Review

·        Admissions: West Point applications are holding steady in the face of diminishing college applications nationally. File completions are up. Alec Lee would like to expand the Field Force in Colorado. The acceptance rate has declined, however. Files for 2030 will open on February 15.

·        Founder’s Day: attendance was slightly down

·        WPLEC: the number of attendees is increasing and planning is under way for next year

·        Army-Air Force: approximately 1,000 people attended the tail gate at USAFA

·        Army-Navy Watch party: there were nearly 400 attendees; parents club likes to be included in the watch parties.

·        USAFA Affirmation: successful Affirmation Ceremony for Class of 2027 hosted by the Pikes Peak society at USAFA and includes a 50 year affiliation event.

·        Service Academy Golf Tournament: was sold out once again this year

·        Service Academy Interview Panels: the Board continues to encourage Board members and general membership to participate in these panels.

·        “Brothers on Three” movie premier: several Board members attended the premier of the film.

2026 Program and Events

·        Founder’s Day

o   March 7, 2026

o   The Director of Athletics will be the guest speaker this year.

o   The email will go out in the next 24 hours.

o   The prices will be increased this year.

o   Chad wants to put the original minutes book from 1927 on display at the University Club. The Board voted to approve loaning the minutes book to the University Club for display through the 100th birthday of the Society.

o   The Board approved a motion to loan the original minutes book to the University Club for display in the museum in preparation for the 2027 100th anniversary.

·        Meeting dates for 2026. In person Board meetings will occur on the following dates (subject to change):

o   May 19, 2026

o   July 21, 2026

o   September 15, 2026

o   November 17, 2026

·        WPLEC Planning

o   Planning is underway.

o   April 10, 2026

o   Getting ready to recruit attendees.

·        Service Academy Alumni Golf Tournament

o   August 21, 2026

o   USAFA Blue course, 8:00AM tee time

·        Army-Air Force

o   November 7, 2026

o   Alec Lee volunteered to organize and coordinate with the Parents’ Club.

·        Army-Navy watch party

o   December 13, 2026

o   Society will coordinate with Navy again at Stoney’s.

·        Other Watch parties

o   Schedule is not out yet but Steve Best would like to try to coordinate more watch parties or happy hours surrounding Army football games.

·        Other programs or events

o   The Board discussed starting the summer picnic up again.

o   Dave Jackson is trying to create a history of the WPSD presidents including photos and bios. He asked for bios from current and past Society presidents. He also needs the names of presidents in the 1950s and 1960s and some other missing names. AOG is also aware of this effort.

 

The next board meeting will be held May 19, 2026.

The meeting adjourned at 2:30 PM.

Submitted by: Tim Griesmer ‘02

 

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