USAFA AOG President’s Conference – Minutes
Minutes: Chapter Presidents Conference, 15-16 Sep 2016 At the Chapter President’s Conference, everyone had the chance to meet and interact with many fine graduates and USAFA Staff members. Presentations started with Mr William “T” Thompson, CEO and President of the AOG and Mr Gary Howe, the Executive Vice President. They emphasized the working relationships with and between various chapters around the world. Chapter and Graduate events include, among others, tailgate parties at football games or other USAFA sporting events, Golf tournaments, Career Conferences, Reunions and, of course, Scotch Tastings. Heritage Events include the Plaza of Heroes Dedication, Next of Kin Receptions, Homecoming Memorial Ceremonies, Jabara Award Banquets, Founders Day Dinners and the BCT Heritage Briefings.
Times have changed as the Academy and its graduates have matured. In comparing with both West Point and Annapolis graduates, in the past we had far fewer chapters and far fewer graduates. Today, we are nearing comparable numbers of living graduates. That gives our numbers comparability in strength of numbers and what we are able to accomplish for our members, and for the larger community. In 2010 we had 31 chapters and today there are 80. Our goal is to keep these Chapters active. This has not been the case in the past. Numbers are important, but functionality is crucial! We have about 48,000 living graduates and are currently working to organize and establish new chapters in Chantilly, VA, Asheville, NC, New York, NY, and Buffalo, NY.
A new AOG website is in the final design and will be implemented soon to better serve all of us. Stay tuned for all the amazing new features.
One of the AOG goals is to increase Service Academy Career Conference (SACC) participation. Beth Wade is in charge of career programs. These include but are not limited to Career Services, Graduate Programs, Business Owners and Opportunities, Resumes, etc. Go to www.usafa.org/careers. The AOG will need a volunteer career liaison in each chapter. Currently, all grads are in the system.
Chapter Presidents were warmly greeted by the Vice-Supt (Col Dave Harris), Commandant (Brig Gen Stephen Williams), Dean (Brig Gen Andrew Armacost) and Athletic Director (Mr. Jim Knowlton.) They all shared with us that the current graduates are as ready to serve, as capable as ever, and we can be proud of them. Even though Graduates tend to think life is easier now at the Academy, it certainly is not. The multiple factors affecting a cadet’s life today are far more numerous than in the day. Dropping and giving me 20 was the way to lead years ago. Today, setting the example and displaying the characteristics you want the leaders of the future to have is far more important. They stressed that dropping and giving me 20 has not gone away, but if a subordinate deserves 20 pushups, maybe you do too! Whether you agree or not, they are correct. A lot of things we endured simply did not make us better. The AOG is involved in much of the discussions when it comes to training and the four year experience at the Academy. The Academy welcomes the AOG perspective and the AOG participates fully.
Of extreme importance to the graduate community is the upcoming election of Directors of the AOG. The AOG is confident that we will have good candidates from which to select new Board Members, but there will be some important decisions that will affect the AOG and graduates. They will decide how the AOG and the Endowment will be structured in the future for the management and financial processes. Whatever kind of MOU and reorganization plan is recommended will have to be approved by 25% of grads. The AOG strongly recommends that everyone vote, after carefully reading and understanding the proposals and what the AOG board recommends. Visit http://www.usafa.org/Election for all the gouge.
The Chapter Presidents had the opportunity to eat with cadets in Mitchell Hall. Some things have changed but overall, the Academy still feeds 4000 cadets in 20 minutes. And it’s still mystery meat!
Tours were given throughout the Academy Athletic Department. The Cadet Gymnasium has undergone an 80+ million dollar renovation for the past seven years. This was appropriated dollars through the Sustainment, Restoration and Modernization fund. The Athletic Department, through both government and private funds, has upgraded facilities and programs by more than 130 million dollars since 2007.
Chapter Presidents also visited the new SEA Pavilion and Plaza of Heroes, designed and built with private donations with lead gifts from the Classes of 1970 and 1965. View these projects on the AOG website. They are impressive.
The new USAFA AOG Mobile App was presented and demoed for all the participants. If your chapters need any info, please check out the AOG website. http://www.usafa.org/App The App is simple and there are so many features to keep members informed and aware of graduate activities and programs.
Academy activities in your region are happening all the time. The AOG is now posting events in 7258’ and we encourage everyone to visit the Academy and Athletic Department websites for activities in your area. If you notice an event in your area and want to support, please contact us or the coach (number listed on the Athletic Department website staff directory;
http://www.goairforcefalcons.com/school-bio/afa-staffdir.html).
One interesting idea that Senator Mike Rose from the South Carolina Chapter shared is a Conference on Leadership and Ethics that is held annually in the DC area to focus on our high school students. Basically they hold one (or more?) Saturdays with 2 students from each high school in the metro area. West Point has a manual that outlines everything. If chapters are interested in serving the wider community beyond just our grads, something like this could root out some great candidates for any of the academies. We could, if we wanted, do this with help of grads from other services. This is certainly an idea worth looking at.
Lastly, 501(C) 3, tax exempt status was touched upon. The AOG encourages all chapters to research all options. Federal tax exempt status may not be right for everyone or even most chapters. But incorporating is encouraged.
Again, it was our pleasure to host this conference. The discussions were lively and informative. Presentations from the conference are on the AOG website for Chapters. Slides include the AOG CEO brief, AOG App, Career Services, Election Update, USAFA Endowment, Marketing and True Blue. We will hold this conference around the same time next year.
wertzj@earthlink.net