West Point Society of the Tennessee Valley
Bricks at Davidson Center to remind others of academy's space role
The second man to walk on the moon, Buzz Aldrin, is a West Point graduate.
So are astronauts Frank Borman, Ed White and about 15 other men who have flown in outer space. At least another 20 West Point graduates were involved in the Explorer I and Apollo projects.
I just wanted to pass on a few items of interest:
1st the February Society Luncheon date will be 12 February – a week earlier than normal. This is an important meeting, since by our by-laws it is the annual business meeting, where nominations are received for the vacating positions. The other major item of the meeting is to make the basic plans for the coming year, so if there is something you wish the Society to get involved with, this is your opportunity to bring the idea up, or if you have ideas for speakers at the luncheons, or lastly to make comments on what the Society is or is not doing. Final item will be any loose ends of Founders Day or the Dedication of the Bricks.
At the meeting on Tuesday (which had an above average of turn-out – thank you) it was suggested that we invite the officers of WPAOG to attend the dedication and Founders Day. I have sent invitations to Ted Stroup ’62, Chairman and Bob McClure ’76, President and CEO, with the note that if they can not attend, if possible could a Board Member and/or Senior Staff officer of the WPAOG be made available – especially for the dedication. Both have responded positively in working to get a representative here. (Ted is already committed to an AUSA event.)
It was also suggested we invite close by Societies. I will be sending out to all Societies and Classes an invitation, but have been waiting until we have a better handle on the dedication. I will be adding the attachment to this message with these invitations. (It was sent to both Ted and Bob,I think when you see it, makes what we are doing very impressive and inspiring).
Ok, now to the other items of interest:
As you may have seen in today paper the Veteran’s Memorial kick-off has begun. Also in Madison City, Post 229 American Legion is in the process of raising money for a Memorial in their town.
Honor Flight has a big event planned for the 29th of January at Woody Anderson Ford from 5 – 7 pm. They are trying to raise money for more Flights, their goal is to fly 500 WWII vets to DC this year. The event itself is not a fund raiser, but to meet the veterans who have made the trip, meet those who are on the list, and to learn more about Honor Flight. (They will accept donations however.) The plan flights for this year are: April 19th (this is funded), May 31, Sep 13, and Oct 18 (all unfunded). Each flight will take 125 veterans.
The North Alabama Veterans and Fraternal Organizations Coalition will be holding its annual Awards and Recognition Program and Dinner on the 20th of February at the Veteran’s Memorial Museum at 6 pm. The awards are to recognize organizations, business, and others who have been major supporters of Veteran activities over the past year. This Coalition is an umbrella organization of all numerous organizations that involve or support veterans, the actual number I can’t remember, but when the list is printed out, it takes at least one page on an 8×11 sheet. The Coalition also is the primary organizer for making sure returning service members are greeted at the airport with flags and handshakes.
I don’t know about the rest of you, but it has been fun reading the old front pages of the Times about the Space Exploits of the past. The other articles on the front page are just as interesting, putting the context of the Space program in perspective. Like today, the Eagle Scout badge on the front page indicating three boys were receiving this award – when was the last time you recall something like that being on the front page of a paper.
Mike Lyman tells me that the website is set for receiving reservations for Founders Day. Here is the site http://www.west-point.org/society/wps-tenn-valley/
One other apology- I misspelled Jeffrey Williams name in the invitation.
Art Meier ‘63
The monthly WPSTV meeting will be held on the 15th of January at 1130 hours in the Loft of the Redstone Officers and Civilian Club.
The main items of discussion will be surrounding Founders Day activities. Several individuals have said they would help, but we need to make specific assignments. Macy has volunteered to take care of publishing the program and Marty Eaton is going to take care of the escorting of the speaker. None of the assignments take a lot of time, just that much of it can not be done until the last week or so, and then it requires a lot of coordination between individuals. . (A lot of things for the dinner get done by individuals who have done it in the past, such as name tags by Mike Lyman, but they could use some assistance.) The last week is when table assignments will be made, flowers ordered, name tags printed, meals ordered, an older and younger graduate identified (volunteered only) program finalized, final layout of floor plan, coordination of any videos with USSRC, as examples. This is just for the Dinner part of the day. We still have to resolve the dedication ceremony with the USSRC. I have talked with Al Whitaker on the phone, so they are aware of our interests, but no plans have been made yet. I am looking for someone who has time to work with me and the USSRC on setting up something to make this event very special. This will require work on invitations, a program, and a lot of coordination.
I have talked with “The Times” and an article on the bricks is being written – not sure when it will be published – it may be part of the big splash on the 31st, or closer to the 7th of March.
There were two messages with the invitation to Founders Day sent out. This was because the Lyris server was having problems last week, I was not sure if my first message got lost. I am happy to report that we have had one couple who have sent in their reservations! The cost of the dinner is based upon having at least 200 attendees. One would not think this should be a problem, there are 335 email addresses to the message with the invitation and we are sending out another 125 invitations by mail to those who do not have email. This represents the total number of graduates (and widows or ex-cadets) on the roster. In addition the West Point Parents Club is sending out the invitation to their members. Please do not wait till the last week to send in your reservation. (I won’t have to send out so many reminders if the response is pretty positive and steady early on.)
The Society has changed the procedures for selecting the oldest and youngest graduate to speak at the dinner. We will be asking for a volunteer from the classes before 1987 and one after 1987 to make the remarks. The year 1987 is about the mid-point of graduates. Solicitation for volunteers will take place a week before the dinner. Do not use the fear of being told that your are the oldest or youngest graduate as an excuse to not coming to the dinner. No one will be placed in that position if they do not want to.
At the February meeting the nomination of rotating officers and board members will take place. (The election is held at the Founders Day Dinner.) The nominating committee consists of the outgoing officers and board members. The positions being vacated are: Membership and Admissions Officer and two board positions. If anyone is interested in these positions or would like more information on these positions please contact one of the members of the nominating committee. They are: Membership, Valerie Coffey (Valerie.Coffey.CTR@mda.mil); Admissions, Richard Jackson (rkjackson61@bellsouth.net); Board Members; Jimmy Hill (jimmychill@bellsouth.net) and Ray Tomlinson (rfrt@tomlinsonline.com). There has been some positive response to some positions, but more interest is desired.
I am attaching the reservation form, just incase you have misplaced it. If you want to help with some specific task for Founders Day or the Dedication, but can not make the meeting on Tuesday, please call me or send me an email or your interest.
Art Meier ‘63