Senate Report
22 August 2008
Dick Sexton - Senate President
Dear Classmates,
By now I am sure that you have seen the announcement that the AOG has a new CEO, William L. “T” Thompson, ’73. I sat in on the final interview before the formal vote was taken. To say that he was impressive is an understatement! He thinks big and brings new energy to the AOG. I look forward to working with him. He will face a lot of challenges. Among them will be rebuilding the AOG staff, review/revision of the By-laws and Strategic Plan, fundraising and relations with the USAFA Endowment (UE), relations with the USAFA leadership and meeting member expectations. The Senate will be involved in all of these issues and needs your input
.
The fact that “T” is a classmate of Gen. Regni will certainly be an asset. In fact “T” talked to Regni before taking the job as CEO. (He also talked to me, among others.) I don’t think he would have taken the job unless he felt that he had Regni’s confidence and support. That has to be an improvement over the Regni/Wheeler relationship. I am also trying to schedule a one-on-one meeting with “T” and I plan to invite him to address the Senate at our next meeting to share his vision for the AOG and how the Senate can be of help.
You should also have received Jim Wheeler’s Board Update. In the second paragraph he asks you to “… share your views with the Board, the AOG Staff and the Class Advisory Senate.” Consequently I would really like to get your comments and feedback. In the meantime I am going to give you my own personal assessment of where we are and where we need to go.
When the new Board took over a year ago they did not really understand the function of a Board and tried to micro-manage the AOG. That didn’t work and the Board has struggled to find its proper role. They have been helped by the addition of six new Directors to fill vacancies and resignations. Each was chosen for their specific expertise and they do not have the old ARC/anti-ARC baggage. They are more interested in getting the job done than in re-fighting old battles. Thus the Board is more technically competent and better focused than it was a year ago. It also has a better appreciation of the proper role of the Board vis-à-vis the CEO. What the Board still lacks are the “big names” who can open doors and give credibility to the AOG. They also need people who can think big.
In this regard there are two open seats in the up-coming election, scheduled for March 2009. There are also three incumbents whose term is up and who may or may not run for re-election.
One impact of the new Directors is the recent adoption by the Board of the “Carver Model of Board Governance.” This has become the industry standard for non-profit organizations. Congress recently mandated that the American Red Cross adopt the “Carver Model” and is considering legislation to revise the IRS code to virtually require all non-profit organization to operate in accordance with the “Carver Model.” The main feature, from my point of view, is that it takes the Board out of day to day operations and puts it in the policy making and oversight mode. It will shift the main focus away from the Board and onto the CEO. In my view, that is the way it should be and it will be a vast improvement over the way things have been done for the past year.
The AOG has also adopted a new financial management software package – Financial Edge. Apparently this is a state of the art program and will replace the 1990s vintage software currently in use. This is an important step since the AOG manages over 400 separate funds and over 1,400 separate accounts totaling some $50 million!
Speaking of money management, the AOG investment portfolio lost 4.5% for the year ending June 30. This compares with the S&P which lost 14.8% and the DOW which lost 15.8%. The Board also adopted a balanced budget for FY ’09 after a $440,000 shortfall the previous year. This all suggests that the AOG is doing a pretty good job of managing our money! You can see the complete financial report on the AOG web site along with the minutes of Board meetings.
Perhaps the biggest issue facing the AOG is fundraising and the relationship with the UE. The defection of a number of major donors and the departure of most of the fundraising staff has certainly hurt the AOG; but it is not the end of the world or of the AOG. In fact, one of “T”’s major jobs will be to rebuild the fundraising staff and develop a fundraising program to implement a revised Strategic Plan. Allison Hickey, one of the new Directors has taken on the task of revising the current Strategic Plan. She has stated that she wants to work closely with the new CEO and with the Senate.
In the meantime, the AOG and the UE have formed a Joint Working Group (JWG) to come up with a plan for the two organizations to work together. This has turned out to be more difficult that is might seem at first. Two attempts at a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) have failed. The main sticking point seems to be who is going to pay the costs of fundraising. Apparently the UE wants the AOG to pick up the fund raising costs for both organizations. The AOG is understandably reluctant to take that on since it would have to come at the expense of the AOG’s own programs. Instead of an umbrella agreement, the AOG members of the JWG have proposed that the two organizations select a single project and see if they can figure out to get that done. It would serve both as a “confidence building” measure and a model for other projects. Eventually it might lead to a more general understanding. Another option is for each organization to go its own way and for the JWG to serve as a coordinating body. We will have to wait and see how things work out.
Two other items of interest came out of the latest Board meeting. The Register of Graduates will no longer be published in hard copy. It will be all electronic. I don’t completely understand how this will work (since I am “computer challenged) but it will enable the AOG to keep the Register up to date as soon as information is received instead of waiting until the next printed edition. It will also save the AOG $50,000! I am not sure which is more important.
The second item is that the 2009 election will be a hybrid electronic & mail in ballot. Again, I am not really sure how that will work. Apparently the election will be mainly electronic but you can request a paper ballot. The Nominating Committee was also given guidance on developing a slate of candidates. That committee should come out with specific information on how the process will work.
A final word about the Senate; according to the By-laws the Senate is an “outreach arm of the AOG leadership” and “will be consulted by the Board & will inform the Board on relevant issues.” Our own Procedures describe the Senate as a “two-way channel of communications … between the graduate community and the AOG leadership.” In Wheeler’s Board Update, he states that “the Board supports the continued development of the Class Advisory Senate (CAS) and is steadily increasing its use of the CAS for broad-based input from the members on significant issues of policy & service.” In a personal e-mail Jim reiterated that “the Board needs to know what the members expect and will support.” That is essentially our charter from the Board. Let’s make it happen. Please give me your thoughts and questions. I will do my best to keep you informed.
Dick Sexton August, 2008
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Dick Sexton
Senate President
August, 2007
Dear Classmates,
Here is an update on the Class Advisory Senate meeting of July 11. (The minutes are posted on the AOG website. Go to “About AOG,” then “Class Advisory Senate”. There are links to the By-Laws, procedures, members, minutes, etc.) Jim Wheeler, the new Board chair was present by phone as was Pat Rosenow, Board liaison. Steve Dotson was on the phone for a while but had to drop off. Jim Shaw, AOG president, & George VanWagenen, new Board member, were present in person.
After some administrative maters we got down to a discussion of fundraising and the various foundation proposals. It was too early to advocate any specific proposal so the discussion focused on the general topic of fundraising & the need for an effective fundraising structure – whether or not that involved a foundation. Jim Wheeler stated that the new Board is considering establishing a Fund Raising Advisory Commission (FRAC) to develop specific proposals. The Senate will be actively involved in this process. In this respect we (as class representatives) will try to keep you informed of what is going on & get your feedback before things get set in concrete. You might also want to take a look at Zoomienation & USAFAToday for more discussion. Both Bob Heiges & Mike Loh have contributed some intelligent discussion in contrast to some of the vitriolic rantings that can also be found there.
In a more recent development after the meeting I understand that some of the grads have already formed an independent foundation completely outside the AOG structure. I can't find any details on who, what or when – I think I know why – or what the objection/strategic view of this foundation is. If anyone has any information I would appreciate it if you would share it with me & the rest of the class. If this is in fact correct it is a major development that will have a major impact on the whole fundraising issue.
The new Board will have its first meeting on August 11-12. I will be there as president of the Senate & will let you know my impressions when the meeting is over.
Sincerely,
Dick Sexton
p.s. I am forwarding this via the AOG because they can do a mass mailing. If you reply to the AOG they will forward it to me – or you can contact me directly at sextonrch@aol.com . I will also try to post it on our class web page & Jock is working on another method for sending these reports to the class.