| 9 August 2010 The following minutes were captured by Dick Sexton, President, of our Class Advisory Senate (CAS). I’d like to add a few of my comments as a lead in!
Soon, you will receive an updated version of the Bylaws. Several people put a lot of work into them. Clarification, organization and compliance with Colorado law constitute the majority of changes. Any and all changes of any significance will be highlighted so you can concentrate on the key points. MAIN POINT – to approve and ratify the new bylaws, at 25% of the members must vote. Of course, the required majority must approve the bylaws. Our class advisory senator (ME!) recommends you vote in the affirmative. Your class senate had a good discussion after we read the draft document. While not speaking for the others, I am very pleased with the new draft of the bylaws with NO changes of significance. The draft will be out soon with a couple of minor cosmetic changes. I’ll keep my opinion available to you should any changes of significance occurs. Please – ensure you read the bylaws as soon as they are available and VOTE!
Here comes another opinion or two. First, thank you for your confidence in me to represent you and your opinions to this advisory body. There is a lot of information available of the website, so take advantage of it. However, many of us (you) do not avail (y)ourselves of the information BUT still have opinions! Definitely your privilege – But that is why I offer opinions; I have the opportunity to hear and see a lot by attending the CAS meetings.
Opinions
T Thompson has been great for the AOG and will continue to be. With an excellent board in place and a great CEO, the AOG has returned to greatness! The USAFA Endowment is an impressive organization; dare I say a great organization? The USAFA Endowment and the AOG are working well together. Bottom line – if you have distanced yourself from either of these organizations, it is time to reengage! Both organizations could use your support.
The official minutes of the last CAS meeting are available on the AOG website.
Please review the attached documents after reading the minutes. Call or write with comments, opinions to take before the leadership should you choose this avenue, or questions. As always, thanks to Pat Russell for the class website.
Check the AOG website regularly for all kinds of information! A brief intro to the attachments . . . Attachment 1: CEO Briefing – T Thompson gave a review of the work and continuing efforts of the AOG. Attachment 2: “The Connection Project” – T has produced a document NOT filtered by the Board or anyone else. The document is an excellent summary of how T sees the progress of the AOG and where it is going. Attachment 3: Endowment Briefing – The Endowment continues to make excellent progress and the attached slide presentation is the update given to us.
CLASS ADVISORY SENATE
Wednesday, 28 July 2010 Members in Attendance: Attached
Others Present: T. Thompson ’73 (AOG President/CEO), Erv Rokke ’62 (UE President), Terry Storm ’61 (AOG Board Chair), Gary Howe ’69 (AOG Senior VP), Mark Hille ’97 (UE VP for Development), Rip Blaisdell ’62 (BLTF Chair)
I. Call to Order: Dick Sexton called the meeting to order at 6:00 pm.
II. Approval of Minutes: Minutes of the 14 April meeting were approved.
III. CEO Update: T Thompson briefed the Senate on current programs and future opportunities (Slides attached). The briefing focused on two changes with the AOG to address the lack of cohesion among grads and connection with the Academy. The Chapter Program has been completely revised with a new handbook and an incentive program. The results so far are that 18 new chapters have been added and another 16 are in progress. At the same time the AOG is launching a major membership drive targeted at the 16,000 non member grads. It features a “segmented” campaign focused on specific elements of the graduate community along with a revised dues structure. The briefing concluded with a look at future opportunities to increase loyalty and cohesion among graduates. T also discussed some of the larger issues that can’t be solved by the AOG alone. These are addressed in his White Paper “The Connection Project” which was sent to the Superintendent and Chief of Staff, as well as the Board and the Senate (Attached). T stated that so far he has had favorable responses from both the Chief and the Superintendent. He also authorized the Senate to release the paper to their classmates. IV. Endowment Update: Erv Rokke introduced Mark Hille who briefed the Senate on current and planned fundraising operations (Slides attached). The briefing focused on the fundraising process as well as the actual accomplishments to date. The briefing showed that the Endowment is moving forward to become a major fundraising organization on par with our sister Academies. V. Board Update: Terry Storm reminded the Senate of the upcoming election and the need to get members to vote. He then turned the meeting over to Rip Blaisdell for the Bylaws review. VI. Bylaws Review: Rip Blaisdell presented the initial draft of the revised Bylaws to the Senate (copies had been previously distributed for comment). Rip stated that the proposed revised Bylaws avoided any major revisions but instead focused on improving the organization and structure to make the Bylaws more readable and at the same time to insure that they were in accord with state law and the strategic governance model. A general discussion followed. The consensus was that the proposed revision was a substantial improvement over the current version. There were also some specific comments that were provided to Rip. Rip stated that he would take these comments, along with comments from Board members and selected BRC members to a Bylaws Task Force meeting on July 29. That meeting would produce a Revised Draft that would go to the Board at its August 6 meeting. VII. Social Networking Update: Adam Grayson reported on developing best practices within the social networking framework, identifying mentors for classes wishing to set up or expand their own social networks, and development of a Senate Face Book page. Adam stated that mentors have been identified and that a Senate Face Book has been established. He will send instructions to Dick Sexton on how to utilize the Face Book. Dick responded that if he could learn how to use it, anybody could. VIII. Nomination of Officers: Dick Sexton called for nominations/volunteers for Senate officers by Sept. 1. Current officers are: President – Dick Sexton, ’60; VP – Gary Dudley, 68; Secretary – Scott Dumbauld, 85, Executive Committee – Pete LoPresti, 64; Larry Fariss, ’75: and Adam Grayson, ’99. IX. Moving Forward, 2011-2013: Dick Sexton noted that the AOG is moving into a new era. There is a new governance model, an agreement with the Endowment, a CEO who is moving aggressively to expand and improve AOG programs. It is time, therefore, to assess where we are and where we want our AOG to go in the next two years. Dick suggested as a starting point that we take a look at Moving Forward 2009-2011 and assess what has been accomplished, what still needs to be accomplished, what is no longer relevant, and what new challenges are ahead. He asked for initial input on topics/issues to be addressed in Moving Forward 2011-2013 by Sept. 1. The Executive Committee would then prepare a draft for further development. X. Other Business: T informed Dick Sexton that General Gould had indicated that he would welcome an invitation to address the Senate. Dick immediately extended the invitation, through T, for General Gould to address the November 10 meeting of the Senate. XI. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 8:00 pm.
Attachment 1: Members in attendance (in-person or by phone) Ed
Montgomery ‘59
Attachment 2: “The Connection Project”
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