From: "Jack Price" <wp25244@West-Point.Org>
To: "corps@west-point.org" <corps@West-Point.Org>
Date: Mon, 23 Oct 2000 18:03:26 -0400
Priority: Normal
X-Mailer: PMMail 2000 Professional (2.10.2000) For Windows 98 (4.10.2222)
Subject: WP-ORG Announcement: **Fund Drive VIII** WP-ORG's Constituencies
Reply-To: feedback@West-Point.Org
Graduates, parents, and friends,
Member generosity has advanced WP-ORG's Fund Drive VIII half-way to our
$65,000 goal. You may notice we have moved the goal posts a bit! We have
to replace a server room A/C unit due to over heating with our servers. This was
not in the budget! We have had a problem with clearing VISA and MasterCard
donations since the October 19th, due to our having exceeded a volume
parameter with the clearing house. Some of you may have had donations
declined. Please try again. They did not go through. To donate, please
visit our secure credit card site:
httpS://www-secure.west-point.org/online/pay/1,1261,2,00.html
or, if you prefer, mail your check payable to "WP-ORG" to
WP-ORG
P.O. Box 2108
Abingdon, VA 24212-2108
I was questioned the other day: "What are the constituencies of WP-ORG?"
I think you'll be surprised! Five years ago, we were an organization
focused on class forums (listservers) for graduates. The purpose of this
was to rejoin long separated classmates, help in reunion planning, and
bring classes back into a communicating mode.
All this has happened and more. My class, '64, is now closing in on the
90% level of class participation. We are more involved in activities with
USMA and AOG, much more aware of the needs of West Point, quickly
responsive to classmates who need assistance or to families in the event of
a classmate's death. We are there before the funeral, not just sending
condolences afterwards.
My son's class, '96, is in a different world. They are coming up on the
five year obligated service benchmark. Their class forum is a place for
talk about this watershed decision, a place for sharing thoughts about
today's Army, and tomorrow's future. Some look at our our JobBank:
http://defender.west-point.org/service/jobbank/
This offers a portal for those many employers looking for WP grads, and
gives those who have decided to serve outside the military a free gateway
into this arena.
Most WP-ORG members are not aware of our Feedback link. Anytime
you do an Internet search on 'west-point', you'll find numerous links to
WP-ORG and our Feedback link, handled by Dian Welle, a WP-ORG
advisor and our only paid staff member. She processes an average of
30 messages a day through this link. They range from graduates having
a problem with the lists, to a veteran looking for a prior CO, to descendants
looking for an ancestor grad, to a high school student wanting information
about how to apply to admissions. And, always, just people wanting to
know more about West Point. If you look at our Guest Book for the
Bicentennial page, you'll see a good cross section of those who visit:
http://www.west-point.org/family/bicent/guestview.html
Both USMA and AOG are major constituencies of WP-ORG. A strong focus of
both is fund raising for upgrading of academy facilities. We have 20,000
members who are drawn to West Point through our facilities, to hear about
needs and support requests for funds, as the cadet parents have done
recently with the Web Cam for the Plain.
The Annapolis West Point Society has used their WP-ORG internet
capabilities to create the first on-line site to assemble information for a
Distinguished Graduate application for AOG.
http://www.west-point.org/academy/dgrad/Nomination.html
They have also used our virtual hosting capabilities to build a site for
the Army Navy 2000 Tailgate to include buying tickets and clearing credit
card sales through our secure web server.
http://www.armynavy2000.com/
Before WP-ORG there was little flow of information back to West Point.
Now, through our on-line surveys, and the steady flow of traffic through
the West Point Forum, there is a community pulse to be monitored!
Cadet parents are one of our strongest constituencies. Previous parents
have organized FAQs and web pages to deliver exactly what they needed when
delivering family members to the gates, and current families keep this
upgraded and improved. Navy parents asked to come on board with their own
site, and we made room for them on the bench as well:
http://www.west-point.org/lists/parent.html
WP-ORG is always evolving, meeting the needs of our extended family,
providing the latest in internet connectivity, and giving a voice to the
Long Gray Line. Close to a hundred volunteer grads and parents make this
all possible. It's been a lot of hard work, but, you know, it's been a lot
of fun too! Thank you for your donations!
Jack Price
CFO, WP-ORG
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WP-ORG Inc. gratefully recognizes Armed Forces Insurance
http://www.afi.org
as our sponsor for this fund drive, its third straight year of such support.
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*** CORPS post by: PRICE John Stalker (Jack) 1964 25244 M2 <wp25244@west-point.org>