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