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With our new Class Board in place, a new Class of ’79 Gift Selection Committee has been convened. This committee and the Gift Fundraising Committee are open to any classmate interested in serving on them, will operate per Class Board direction to finalize gift selections, and will conduct giving campaigns to meet class goals. There are two aspects to our class giving strategy – a Class Gift, which may consist of one or more "Focus" gifts, as well as giving by class members to the Academy for other purposes. Our intent is to leverage the work done to date, which has been to identify and qualify five Focus gift ideas. While we strongly recommend that every class member make an effort to give back something to the Academy, the intent of the Gift Selection Committee is to finalize a selection of one or more specific Focus gifts as a "unified gift" from our Class to West Point.
The principal goals for our Focus gift selection were fourfold: (1) to be as open-minded and inclusive as possible about the type of gift(s), (2) to select a gift or gifts that would enhance the image of "West Point" and to inform the broader American public about the Academy and its graduates, (3) not to put money into gifts that should be appropriated for by Congress and paid for by the Army (unless we provided a "margin of excellence"), and (4) to maintain the Class’ flexibility to change or adjust our Focus gift(s) selection as necessary, depending upon changes in Class direction or Academy needs. Four gift options were presented to the Class at our 30th Reunion and a fifth one was recently added. Each gift option has already been vetted by the Gift Selection Committee and meets the above goals. A summary of each of these potential focus gifts can be found on this website by logging on, clicking on Class Business in the User Menu and then clicking on Class Gift or by clicking on the links below. Four of the five gift options are currently on the Superintendent’s Needs List (indicated by *** on the ballot). At a minimum, we would like to fund at least 3 Focus gifts through our fundraising efforts. This is in addition to our continuing obligation to provide support funding for the ’79 Climbing Wall, which requires an endowment of $500,000 to fund an annual support amount of $20,000.
As noted above, our gift strategy maximizes flexibility to match the dynamic environment existing at West Point. Since Focus gift levels are scalable, each classmate can make his own choice on the amount he chooses to allocate to each individual Focus gift. There is no minimum amount for any of the Focus gifts to be viable (as was in the case of the Climbing Wall). Therefore, contributions to each Focus gift will begin making a difference immediately upon receipt.
Per our Class By-Laws, the USMA Superintendent and the Class must agree on the use of our Gift funds. If the Class selects a Focus gift that is not on the Needs List, money can still be donated to our Class Gift Fund and will be "held" pending that gift’s inclusion on the Needs List. If one of the Focus gift selections fails to meet this requirement prior to our gift presentation to the Academy at our 35th Reunion, then its funds will be reallocated. Also, if the need for a particular Focus gift ceases to exist, then the Class will be able to redirect the funds to another West Point-approved need.
The intent is to conclude the voting for gift selection by June 2010, allowing 60 days for voting and any comments by the Class. Once the Focus gifts have been selected by the Class, and the results are announced, the effort will focus on fundraising. The Class Gift Selection Committee will stand down temporarily, but reconvene every six months to review the gift status, insuring that Academy priorities haven’t changed, as well as to recommend changes, additions, updates, etc. Six months prior to the 35th Reunion, the Committee will finalize the Focus gift(s) selection, based upon the latest USMA priorities and information. If necessary at that time, the class will receive an additional ballot to authorize any changes or any final reallocation of gift funds.
The gift selection ballot is show below. You can view a PDF version of this ballot that you can print, fill out and "snail mail" in by clicking here. You can download an RTF version of the ballot that you can fill out and e-mail in by clicking here. You can view PDF files with detailed descriptions of the five gift proposals by clicking on the links below (or by logging onto this website, clicking on Class Business in the User Menu and then clicking on Class Gift).
Admissions Diversity Recruiting Scholarships
West Point High School Leadership & Ethics Conference Program
Combating-Terrorism Center
Cadet Semester-Aboard Programs
Academic Enrichment Program
Class of ’79 Gift Selection Ballot
In addition to the ’79 Climbing Wall Maintenance Endowment, please review the various gift options below (listed in no specific order) and number them from 1 (highest) to 5 (lowest) in the priority that you believe each warrants being a Class Focus gift.
______ Admissions Diversity Recruiting Scholarships (ADRS) *** (Supports USMA Admissions diversity recruiting through Summer Leader Seminar scholarships, partnering with various local channels to quality minority candidates)
______ West Point High School Leadership & Ethics Conference Program (WPHSL) (Promotes West Point’s role as a premier institution in leadership and ethics to high school students)
______ Combating-Terrorism Center (CTC) *** (Operational and educational support branch of Department of Social Sciences located on Academy grounds)
______ Cadet Semester-Aboard Programs (CSAP) *** (Supports sending a number of cadets overseas for a semester of foreign language study abroad)
______ Academic Enrichment Program (AEP) *** (Endowment for Academic Department Professorships)
*** Currently authorized on Superintendent’s Needs List.
Currently authorized on Superintendent’s Needs List.
Please provide any details or comments below. Thanks for supporting the "Top of the Line"!
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NAME:________________________________________________________________
GRADUATING COMPANY ______________
Please mail your ballot to Steve Mahoney, RR 2 Box 4482, Jonestown, PA 17038-9542 or e-mail it to Steve at
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