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St. Louis Gateway Chapter of the United States Air Force Academy Association Of Graduates.  - As of 12 Sep 2017

 

St Louis-Gateway Chapter Minutes of the Quarterly Board Meeting – 15 AUG 2017

  

The St. Louis Chapter, USAFA AOG, quarterly board meeting was held on 15 August 2017 at 1130 at Lester’s in Clayton.

 

Members Present:  Kirk McDonald, John Bugner, Elizabeth Granier, Brian Lindsay, Reed Shafer, Bob Baker

Members Absent:  Dawn Hildebrand, Keith Heien, Lee Armstrong

Other:  Zach Roberts

 

Financial Report:  Brian Lindsey reported a balance of $2375.42 in our checking account. Checks were written to John Bugner to cover the remaining cost of the Founders Day dinner ($1311.27 for the dinner and $100.00 for the guest speaker), $158.96 to Reed Shafer for the Memorial Day flowers, and $10.00 to the Illinois Secretary of State to re-register not for profit status. This leaves a balance of $755.12.  Approval was given to spend $400 to file for Federal Tax-Exempt status and $15 to file with Illinois Attorney General as a Charitable Organization.

Unfinished Business:

·        Tax Exempt Status (Articles of Incorporation):  Three steps remain on the path to complete non-profit, tax-exempt, charitable status in Illinois.  1) Register with the Illinois Attorney General as a charitable organization which will allow us to receive contributions/sponsorships.   2) File with the Federal Government for tax exempt status.  3)File with IL Department of Revenue for sales tax exemption. Target for completion is prior to our Founders Day dinner.  After these steps, work will be begin to repeat in MO.

·        Service Projects:  

            The Mission Continues is holding the Summer Slam event on 19 August, from 0800 to 1600 at Missouri Hills, 13300 Bellefountaine Road in St. Louis.  This item will be posted on our facebook page and in our chapter web site.  Details are at the following link: https://missioncontinues.org/event/details?id=a1l40000004krSUAAY 

            Missouri Veterans Home:  Kirk contaced the director of volunteers to offer our services.  November 11th, Veterans Day, was suggested as a date visit the home.  We are waiting to hear back.

·        Distinguished Chapter:  The package was submitted on 10 July.  So far we have not received an acknowledgement from the AOG.  Kirk will contact Bill Preston and inquire as to our status.

·        AOG Chapter President’s Conference: The dates are set for 30 Aug – 1 Sep 2017.  Keith Heien and Elizabeth Granier will attend.  Elizabeth will purchase items from the gift shop to use as attendance prizes for our watch parties.

·        Watch Parties:  We are all set for Saturday Oct 7th from 2;00 to 5:30 pm at the Wheel House in dontown St. Louis  for the Air Force -Navy watch Party.  We should have tables upstairs with a few TVs allocated to play our game.  The notice will be posted on our facebook page and our chapter web site. 

Nothing to  report on the Air Force-Army watch party.

·        Joint Fundraiser with Parents Club:   The joint fundraising event at Strathalbyn Farms Gun and Riding Club occurred on 16 June, 2017.  Six AFA Grads participated in the event.  So far we have not heard any word on the financial success of the event.  Keith will inquire.

·      Member Outreach:  Through our outreach efforts, Zachary Roberts '07,  attended our board meeting.  He volunteered and was nominated and elected to fill the open position on our Board of Directors.  He will serve on the board from 2107 to 2019.

Our Current Board and Officer roster:

Board of Directors

Bob Baker, Elizabeth Granier, 2015 thru 2017

Dawn Hildebrand, Brian Lindsey, 2016 thru 2018

Lee Armstrong, Zachary Roberts, 2017 thru 2019

Officers

President                      Keith Heien

Vice President              Kirk McDonald

Secretary                      John Bugner

Treasurer                      Brian Lindsey

·         Founders Day:  The bills have been paid and the the books closed for the 2017 Founders Day dinner.  Planning for the 2018 event are on the shelf until next meeting.

·         Memorial Day Service: Seven grads attended the Memorial Day service at Jefferson Barracks.  It looks like it will be our turn to organize the service next year. 

·         All Service Academy Golf:  Army was scheduled to host this year.  So far there has been no action to hold the event this year.  Our chapter will plan a golf event for June of next year.

·         Doolie Brunch:  Six members of our chapter attended the Doolie Brunch at the SAFB Officers Club on 19 June.  Lt Gen Sharpy, class of '87,  was the guest speaker,

 

New Business: 

·         Surplus funds in our checking account:  For the first time in years, we have a “cushion” in our account.  We plan on additional funds from the fundraiser with the parents club.  What to do with money in excess of our operating expenses will be discussed at the next meeting. 

 

Next Meeting:  The next board meeting will be held on 17 October at 1130 at Lesters in Clayton.

 

Adjournment:  With no other business the meeting was adjourned.

 

John Bugner, ‘71

Chapter Secretary

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St Louis-Gateway Chapter Minutes of the Quarterly Board Meeting – 17 May 2017

 

The St. Louis Chapter, USAFA AOG, quarterly board meeting was held on 17 May 2017 at 1130 at Lester’s in Clayton.

 

Members Present:  Kirk McDonald, John Bugner, Keith Heien, Elizabeth Granier, Reed Shafer, Bob Baker

Members Absent:  Dawn Hildebrand, Brian Lindsay, Lee Armstrong

 

Financial Report:   The treasurer was not available to provide a report.  The financial activity since the last meeting was related to Founders Day activities.  John Bugner charged $1231.27 to his personal credit card to cover the balance due for the Founders Day dinner, and $100 for the Andria's Steak house gift card that was presented to the guest speaker. The dinner chairman presented a financial report for the event which showed that income exceeded expenses  by $248.73.

 

Unfinished Business:

        Tax Exempt Status (Articles of Incorporation):  Nothing new to report.

        Service Project:  Kirk reported that he is contacting the Missouri Veteran's Home to coordinate a visit/tour of their facility.  

        Distinguished Chapter:  Items for the distinguished chapter accrual spreadsheet were reviewed and inputs were received from the board.  The secretary will gather the details, fill our the spreadsheet and send it out to the board for review and final inputs.  Elizabeth will work on updating the membership roster.  Our proposed activities/events will be aligned with the AOG fiscal year.  The task should be finalized by 16 June. 

        Watch Parties:  Elizabeth will be the coordinator for the Navy game scheduled for 7 Oct.  Lee will be the coordinator for Army game scheduled for 4 Nov.  The plan is for our chapter to host the Navy-Air Force game and Army will host the Army-Air Force game.

        Joint Fundraiser with Parents Club:  The Skeet Shoot, a Parent's Club/Joint service event will be held Friday afternoon June 16, 2107 at Strathalbyn Farms.  $400 per four person teams included full dinner buffet, beverages and prizes  non-shooters may attend the the dinner only.  As of 9 May, there are nine teams plus several groups of two and $7500 in sponsorships.  The site for the club is http://strathalbynfarm.com/ 

      Member Outreach:  Updates to face book and the web site will be made to remind our area grads of the Memorial Day service and Skeet Shoot.  We will also post a request for board volunteers.

         Founders Day:  The Founders Day dinner was held at Stonewolf Golf Club on 29 April.  Our guest speaker, Tim Cantwell, class of  '76,  gave a presentation on the past, future and ongoing activities at Mid America Airport.  He also discussed the value of leadership he learned as a cadet and the importance the emphasis the academy continues to place its value in developing cadets in future life.  The attendance for this year increased from 40 to 44.+

        Social Hour Event:  Lee Armstrong invited grads working at the NGA (National Geospatial Agency) to gather at the 4 Hands Brewery on 23 March for a networking event.  Nine grads attended. 

         Memorial Day Service:  The Memorial Service at Jefferson Barracks is scheduled for 27 May.  Reed is working with the organizer and gathering information for our presentation and preparing a handout/agenda for the ceremony.  A notice will be posted on Face book and on our web site.

         All Service Academy Golf:  Army is scheduled to host this year.  The Army contact implied that the Joint Fundraiser at the Strathalbyn Farms Gun and Riding Club would replace the golf event.  Reed will contact the Army POC, Sam Gladney, and push for the golf.

         Doolie Brunch:  The USAFA Parents Club of Metro St. Louis is hosting the annual Doolie Brunch scheduled for Sunday 18 June.  All grads are invited to attend and use this opportunity to meet cadets and share your stories with appointees from the USAFA Class of 2021! 

         Election on Board Members:  We are still looking for one more chapter member to serve three year terms. Keith received an email from Zach Roberts, Class of '07 indicating interest in getting involved in out chapter. Kieth will reach out to him to see if he is interested in filling the opening on the board.  Dawn Hindebrand will be moving within the year and we will need to find a replacement for her. 

Our Current Board and Officer roster:

Board of Directors

Bob Baker, Elizabeth Granier, 2015 thru 2017

Dawn Hildebrand, Brian Lindsey, 2016 thru 2018

Lee Armstrong, Open Position, 2017 thru 2019

Officers

President                      Keith Heien

Vice President             Kirk McDonald

Secretary                      John Bugner

            Treasurer                      Brian Lindsey

 

New Business: 

         AOG Chapter President’s Conference: The dates are set for 30 Aug – 1 Sep 2017.  This year the conference will be held just prior to Parent's Weekend which is also Labor Day weekend.  It will include some joint briefings with the parent club presidents and hopefully a Wednesday night reception at the Carleton House.  More details as we get closer, but you also have the option to stay for the football game as the Falcons host VMI on Saturday, 2 September.  Kirk McDonald will represent our chapter at the conference.

 

Next Meeting:  Next meeting is scheduled for 15 August, 1130 at Lester's in Clayton.

 

Adjournment:  With no other business the meeting was adjourned.

 

John Bugner, ‘71

Chapter Secretary

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St Louis-Gateway Chapter Minutes of the Annual Board Meeting – 20 Jan 2017

 

The St. Louis Chapter, USAFA AOG, Annual Board meeting was held on 20 Jan 2017 at 1130 at Schneithorst’s  Clayton.

 

Members Present:  Kirk McDonald, John Bugner, Keith Heien, Elizabeth Fontenot

Members Absent:  Brian Lindsay, Dawn Hildebrand, Reed Shafer, Bob Baker

Others Present:  Lee Armstrong, ‘90

 

Financial Report:  Our chapter account at Busey Bank was closed out and a new account opened with Regions Bank.  $608.42 was transferred from the Busey account to the Regions account.  $167.00 was added from the AF-Army squares game.  Our total balance at Regions is now $775.42.  Currently we have no outstanding obligations or receivables.  

 

Unfinished Business:

·         Checking account transfer:  Transfer from Busy Bank to Regions bank complete. Brian Lindsay, Kirk McDonald and John Bugner have signature authority.

·         Tax Exempt Status (Articles of Incorporation):  Our treasurer filed NFP 102.10, Non-Profit, status with the Illinois Secretary of State.  The next step is to register with the Illinois Attorney General and file with the IRS for Tax-exempt status.  The board agreed that we should proceed.

·         Service Project:  Mission Continues:  Kirk will contact The Mission Continues and determine a service project for 2107 that we can participate as a chapter project.

·         Distinguished Chapter:  The secretary provided a plan for 2017 that, along with the other essential chapter activities, should qualify us for the Distinguished Chapter award. It was reviewed and approved by the Board

·         Watch Parties:

·   Both the Navy and Army watch parties were a success.  We had 20-30 grads and families on hand to cheer Air Force to victories and the securing of the Commander-in-Chief’s trophy.

·   We failed to organize a watch party for the AF-Southern Alabama Arizona Bowl game.  The primary reason was the lack of major TV network coverage.  This will be a primary focus for next year.

·   Future Watch Parties:  Keith will propose to his Army and Navy counterparts that we alternate hosting watch parties.  For 2017, Air Force will host the Army- Air Force game and Navy will host the Navy-Air Force game. (No further action to report)

·         Joint Fundraiser with Parents Club:  Wally Sparks, president of the local USAFA Parents Club, will host a joint service academy/parents club fundraising event at Strathalbyn Farms Gun and Riding Club on 16 June, 2017.  Registration is limited to 25 teams.  $1500 sponsorships are being solicited.  Invitations will be sent by March 1st.  The web site for the club is http://strathalbynfarm.com/.

 

·      Member Outreach:  Elizabeth continues to post pertinent information about our chapter on Facebook.  Items being posted:  Meeting minutes, board member search, AOG App, Distinguished Chapter announcement.  She will also set up a Twitter account to expand our outreach. Reed will update our web page.

 

 

New Business:

·         Election on Board Members:  Lee Armstrong, ’90, Volunteered, was nominated and elected to fill one of the two open positions on the Board.  We are still looking for one more chapter member to serve three year terms. Keith will contact Monty Montgomery, Kirk will contact Mike Ziemann and John will contact Brandt House for possible candidates to fill the open position.

Our Current Board and Officer roster:

Board of Directors

Bob Baker, Elizabeth Granier, 2015 thru 2017

Dawn Hildebrand, Brian Lindsey, 2016 thru 2018

Lee Armstrong, Open Position, 2017 thru 2019

Officers

President                      Keith Heien

Vice President              Kirk McDonald

Secretary                      John Bugner

Treasurer                      Brian Lindsey

·         Plan for Next Year:  The following plan was submitted to the board and approved for 2107:

·         Annual Board Meeting, Jan

·         Founder’s Day event, Apr

·         Quarterly Business Meeting, Mar

·         Memorial Day Ceremony, 30 May

·         Parent’s Club joint event (Skeet Shoot) 16 Jun

·         Doolie Brunch Sponsored by the Parent’s club 18 Jun

·         Happy Hour event , date TBD

·         Quarterly Business Meeting,

·         Mission Continues, 1 Events, date TBD

·         All-Academy Golf tournament, date TBD

·         Quarterly Business Meeting, Sep

·         Watch Party, Navy, 7 Oct

·         Watch Party,  Army, 4 Nov

·         Other Watch Parties, Dates TBD

·         AOG Chapter President’s Conference, Oct

·         Quarterly Business Meeting, Dec

·         All Service Academy Ball, Dec

                                                              

·         Founders Day:  The plan is to return to Stonewolf Golf Club in Fairview Heights with a date of 1 April (depending on guest speaker availability.  John will lead the project, Dawn and Elizabeth volunteered to help.  I contacted the AOG Chapter Support Team and confirmed that we will get a $250 check toward our Founders day expenses and we still have $200 (retail) in AOG store credit to spend in merchandise for give-aways. 

·         Memorial Day Service:  Bob Baker was unable to report on the plan for this year.  We will get a report at the next meeting.

 

Next Meeting:  Scheduled for 17 Mar 17, 1200 at Schneithorst’s Restaurant, 1600 S Lindbergh Blvd, St. Louis.  Wear green.

Adjournment:  With no other business the meeting was adjourned.

 

John Bugner, ‘71

Chapter Secretary

 

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St Louis-Gateway Chapter Minutes of the Annual Board Meeting – 29 JUL 2016

 

The St. Louis Chapter, USAFA AOG, Quarterly Board meeting was held on 29 July 2016 at 1600 at The Basso Restaurant in St Louis.

Members Present:  Kirk McDonald, John Bugner, Keith Heien, Brian Lindsay, Reed Shafer, Dawn Hildebrand, Brian Lindsay, Bob Baker, Elizabeth Fontenot

Members Absent:  None.

 

Financial Report:  A check for $1554 was deposited representing receipts for the Founders Day dinner and another check was deposited representing the receipts for the All Academies golf challenge.  Checks were issued for $1263.46 and $2271.76 to cover the cost of these events.  Another check was cut for $142.10 to cover other expenses.  This brings our checking account balance to $620.42

 

Unfinished Business:

·         Founder’s Day wrap-up:  A financial report was provided by the Founders Day chairmen to the treasurer.  Our expenses exceeded our revenues by $59.49. 

·         All Academies Golf wrap up:  The Air Force team of Sam Cox, Joe Zahn, Chris Dieter and Tim Thoren turned in the best score and the Air Force re-claimed the trophy from Navy.  A financial report was provided by the Golf chairmen to the treasurer.  Our revenues exceeded our expenses by $67.24.  We also collected $101.00 from the 50/50 drawing. 

·         Checking account transfer:  The chapter will transfer our checking account to Regions bank, which has numerous offices in St Louis and in the Metro East.  Brain Lindsey, Kirk McDonald and John Bugner will have signature authority on the new account.  However, the transfer is on hold until the state approves our Articles of Incorporation.

·         Tax Exempt Status (Articles of Incorporation):  The document to request our chapter be incorporated as a 501 (3) (c) organization was reviewed and approved at the meeting.  All the board members signed the document and ourtreasurer will send it into the state of Illinois for approval.  Once this is approved, we will request that the state of Missouri recognize our status as a tax exempt organization.  The approval by the state of Illinois will also enable our chapter to open our organizational checking account at Regions bank.

·         Service Project:  Mission Continues:  Their flagship project this year is going to be on September 10th and will be a revitalization of the Gamble Recreation Center in north St. Louis. Here is the link: https://www.missioncontinues.org/event/details?id=a1l40000003xwb7AAA.  The details of the service project will be posted on our web site (Reed Shafer), on face book (Elizabeth Fontenant)  and an email (Kirk McDonald) will be sent to chapter address list.  We will follow this up with a reminder two weeks prior to the event.  We will make an effort to capture member participants by having them respond to our media posts.  One attempt to capture our grads is to have them put “USAFA Grad” on the registration page in the Military Status box.  Pictures will be taken to document our participation (Reed Shafer?).

·         AOG Chapter Presidents Conference:  Keith Heien has registered for the conference.  Our suggestions for inputs for agenda items are: 1). Chapter web site support and enhancements and 2). Chapter notification by the AOG of any cadet activities that will take place in the St. Louis area.

·         Distinguished Chapter:  The documents for this year’s Distinguished Chapter were submitted by the secretary on 13 July.  The plan for next year is to execute the remainder of our plan for this calendar year and develop a plan for next year that will contain enough activities to qualify for the award. 

·         Watch Parties: Dawn Hildebrand will contact both the Army and Navy alumni organizations and discuss a venue for the AF-Navy game Sat 1 Oct 14:30 start, and AF-Army game Sat 5 Nov TBA Start.  Among the locations mentioned are Morgan Street Brewery, Syberg’s, Cardinal Village.  Other games may be no host gatherings at locations TBD.

New Business

·         Joint Fundraiser with Parents Club:  Keith Heien spoke with Wally Sparks, president of the local USAFA Parents Club.  He suggested a shooting event at Strathalbyn Farms Gun and riding club.  It's a great venue and Wally is a member.  He also offered it as a location for football watch party or Founders Dinner.  Elizabeth will post something on face book and Reed will post something on our web site to get feedback from our members on their interest in participating in any of these types events at this location.  The specific watch party in mind for this location is the Hawaii game on 22 Oct.  The web site for the club is http://strathalbynfarm.com/

·         Chapter Flag:  Notice was given to the Bees Kellenbence that our flag has been “misplaced”.  So far we have received no response from the AOG.  Depending on their response, we will weigh options to replace the flag.

·         Member Outreach:  Reed will post the minutes of our meeting on our chapter web site and make other updatesas a result of this meeting,

Next Meeting:  Scheduled for 14 Oct 2016.  Time and place to be determined.

Adjournment.  With no other business the meeting was adjourned.

 

John Bugner

Chapter Secretary

 

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