Minutes, AFA Schriever Chapter 147 Board of Directors Meeting

27 Mar2014

Welcome

•Ed Peuraopened the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance.

Announcements/Introductions

•Ed thanked Brad Bolstad for volunteering to chair the Airmen/Family Support Committee.

Secretary's Report

•TheFebruary Board Meeting minutes were approved.

Treasurer's Report

•No report.

Topics for Discussion

•Air Force Ball 2014: A recap discussion took place.

The cost would be about $100K. We could sell perhaps 40 tables and price them accordingly. The 21st of November is the best date for us; National may have a problem obtaining a room at the Beverly Hilton for the Mitchell Institute the afternoon of the 21st. Most everyone agreed the large ball room (as opposed to the small one) is the room of choice.

Although there are no guarantees, National has committed to either the Secretary of the Air Force or the Air Force Chief of Staff attending. Will companies support the ball without the Secretary or Chief? Steve Scott said Lockheed Martin would still buy tables, although perhaps not as many. Others agreed.

Tav would like the Chapter to have control of the Thomas D. White Award. Choosing someone from industry could help attract industry to support the ball. [It was later learned that HQAF has already chosen the winner for this year. Ed will pursue our having a voice in the winner next year.]

Tav raised the possibility of a SPO Directors’ Round Table the morning of the Ball.

The Chapter needs the income from the Ball, or we will no longer have sufficient income to support our causes. Ed cautioned it would take the commitment and support of every board member to produce a successful ball. A vote was taken on hosting the AF Ball on our own. It passed unanimously.

•WAG for Salute Banquet: Joe Boyle hassubmitted the WAG request. It should be approved.

•60th Anniversary-Schriever Wall: The unveiling of the first class of Schriever Wall Honorees is set for the 19th of June. The committee decided on the format for the logo, the Schriever quote, and the six honoree names, and Ed passed around a graphic of it. Steve Quilici drafted a gift proffer letter to SMC for Ed’s signature. A motion was approved to spend no more than $5,000 for the memorial wall this year. Brian Polanco is working with CE to get the original engraver.

Events

•Salute to SMC Banquet: Tav agreed to be the keynote speaker at the banquet. Ed will try to get Gen Pawlikowski to present the Schriever Award this year. Elaine Knauf announced for Alison that the banquet prices should be raised: tables $2,500, honor seats $300, individual seats $250. Volunteers are needed to help. Ed said this will be a dress rehearsal for the Air Force Ball.

ROTC Relations

[Nancy FitzGerald emailed a report but too late to be read at the BoD meeting. However, I am including it in the minutes.] Lt Col Sean Marler, Commander Det-60 at USC, has requested funding for “Loadstone Adventures,” a cadet leadership development program. Since we gave LMU and UCLA each $2,000 this year for NATCOM, Nancy suggested we give $2,000 to USC for this endeavor.

Lt Col Joe Gordon, Commander Det-40 at LMU, provided contact information for the LMU Silver Wings organization, a sister organization of Arnold Air Society. Nancy said perhaps they could help with SMC 60th events.

Nancy has received invitations for the LMU Award Dinner (3 May at the Queen Mary) and the San Pedro High School JROTC Awards ceremony (23 May in San Pedro). She or a volunteer plan to attend both events.

Awards

•Ed asked that all who had received an email from Don to help with judging the nominees and who had not yet responded please let Don know if he can count on their help.

•Arnie has made a concerted effort to discipline the writers to produce more concise award nominations. Things improved last year, and he hopes this year will be the same. Jerry Saunders suggested a list of acronyms be sent out with the nominations.

Base Scholarships

•Bill Harding said the deadline for base scholarships (COG, enlisted, civilian) is the 31st of May. The commitment is $6,000: two $500 scholarships each semester for each of the three categories.

Education

•Steve Scott reported on the results of the Teacher of the Year (TOY) program. Laura Pope volunteered to oversee the program, identified the area schools (El Segundo, L. A. Unified, Manhattan Beach, Palos Verdes Unified, Redondo Beach, Torrance, and Wiseburn School Districts) and points of contact, and developed a rating spreadsheet to facilitate judging the nominations. She, Chris Harlambakis, and Steve Scott judged three entries and selected Christie Behanna (Adams Middle School, Redondo Beach) and Loraine Loh-Norr (Palos Verdes High School). The third entry (Steven Eno, El Segundo High School) was rated very close to the other two. The committee asked the board to award him a runner-up check for $250. The motion was passed. Tav offered to present the TOY awards to the two winners at their schools.

CyberPatriot/CAP

•Mark Williams is in Washington, DC for the National Finals (26–30 March).

Military Affairs

•No Report

Community Relations

•Jerry Saunders committed $6,000 to the Spouses club for scholarships. Tav reminded the board our contribution to the Spouses Club depended on fund-raising from SMC Industry Days. When SMC cancelled Industry Days, there was no money to give to the Spouses Club. Since the commitment was made, it was decided to go ahead with the contribution. Steve Scott said we should get the money to them soon, as the scholarship awards ceremony is in May. [Later Jerry realized he had only $4,500 left in his budget and adjusted our contribution accordingly.]

•The Whale Watching outing for the Veterans (we donated $1,500) will take place in April.

National AFA

•No Report

Constitution & Bylaws

•Bob Wickwire said updatesto the Constitution/Bylaws are still in progress.

Public Affairs

•Steve Pluntze once again encouraged all committee chairs to submit articles and pictures for the newsletter.

•Tom Hanks’ manager said she would have to get back to Steve about Tom Hanks attending the AF Ball.

•Privacy issues were discussed in connection with having the BoD Roster available on the Chapter website. Everyone felt comfortable with showing only name, company, and email address.

Membership

•The flyers for the 4 April mixer are ready to go. Ed will publicize the Salute Banquet and the Air Force Ball in his remarks at the mixer. Gen Feehan is scheduled to attend but only as an AFA member.

New Business

•Martin Ledwitz again complemented the Chapter on its newsletter. He told the Chapter that the CAFA president wants the activity/financial quarterly reports by the 5th of April, which means Martin needs them sooner.

Meeting was adjourned at 1:26.

In Attendance: Ed Alexander, Brad Bolstad, Joe Boyle, Bill Harding, Velvet Hoover,Elaine Knauf, Jim Knauf, Martin Ledwitz, Bill Maikisch, Bob Marohn, Dave Murphy, Ed Peura, Marcia Peura, Steve Pluntze, Brian Polanco, Steve Quilici, Jerry Saunders, Steve Scott, Tav Taverney, Dean Wiberg, Bob Wickwire.

Next meeting 24 April 2014