Central East Region                                                                    March 13, 2010

Bi-Monthly State Presidents

MINUTES

1.  The bi-monthly meeting of state presidents in the Central East Region was conducted at the conclusion of the Virginia State Meeting and as a teleconference on Saturday, March 13, 2010, beginning at 3:00PM.  Notice of the meeting was provided by email from CER President Jeff Platte with the following Agenda:

a. Reports

·         Secretary

·         Treasurer

·         State Presidents

·         CER President

·         Leadership Development

·         Aerospace Education

·         Awards

b. Old Business

c. New Business

2.   As an adjustment to the published agenda, the CER meeting began with a presentation by Jim Lauducci, at Tab 1, that was presented at the conclusion of the VA State Meeting.  Jim presented an update on AFA operations over the past year. The topics covered included a Board of Directors Update, current AFA Focus Areas, CyberPatriot, Field Council Activities, and. Region President Activities

3.   Secretary’s report/roll call:  Roll call was completed with the following conferees:

a.       Jeff Platte, CER President

b.      Mason Botts, Past CER President

c.       Dick Bundy, Delaware State President

d.      Bob Roit, Maryland State President

e.       Randy Hobbs, Virginia State President

f.       Curt Osterheld, National Capital President

g.      Scott Van Cleff, National Director & VP CER Leadership Development

h.      Jim Hannam, National Director & VP CER Aerospace Education

i.        Nick Abate, VP CER Awards

j.        Bart Barton, CER Secretary

Minutes from the Dec 1, 2009, CER were reviewed and approved on motion by Randy Hobbs, second by Jim Hannam and voice acclamation.

4.   Treasurer’s report: Bob Roit reported that the current balance of the CER treasury was $16,471.02 consisting of the following accounts:  Checking: $1,287.04; Savings $2,513.60; 3 laddered CDs at $3,648.37@3.75% 2012; $4,683.96@5.5% 2011 and $4,338.05@4.25% 2011.

5.  State Presidents’ View:  Verbal reports were presented on the current state of affairs for Delaware, Maryland, National Capital Region, Virginia and West Virginia.  Consistent themes were growing new leadership and encouraging active membership.

6. CER President’s view:

a.       Modified Financial Report template, at Tab 2, supports the new I.R.S. reporting requirements for 501(c) (3) status.  Can be download from the AFA website.  Not a significant change, simply groups education/charitable expenses so HQ AFA can better describe our 501(c) 3 status when required.  The information collected can also help individual Chapters to better posture themselves when seeking donations. 

b.      Congressional visits – best way to participate in the discussion, start now for September. 

§  Double back to ensure each of your Representatives and Senators has the opportunity to accept or decline a complementary membership in AFA. 

§  Use the proper “Congressional Membership” form when sending that forward.

§  Membership is good for two years; someone in their office must sign up for it.

§  Make the case now to get on your congressional reps calendar for an office call (State Presidents cover the Senators) and to the AFA reception Tuesday morning of National Convention

§  See AFA web site for good “how to” in establishing a dialogue with your representatives. 

c.       Membership – need more, need better “branding,” start in JrAFROTC w/ parents.

§  Driving factor in a chapter’s life.  New members, new leaders

§  Jones Chapter in Charlottesville is hoping some members who work for the DIA which is moving some of their operations to C’ville, may help the Jones leadership challenge.  Please pass on any leads you have on members moving to Kevin Levin. 

§  Last year 41% of chapters made the 3% annual goal, thank you leaders!

§  However only about 25% made the .75% goal for Oct – Dec.  Kudos to Leigh Wade for nailing their entire year’s requirement in the first quarter of membership year and then exceeding the entire annual goal again by 150% in January!  Thank you Leigh Wade, a real success story given a year ago they were in suspended status. 

§  Where to go from here.  It is in a chapter’s best interest to hit their goal in the 1st quarter of the CY (i.e. reporting year 2010) since they excess carries you for the rest of the quarters. 

§  Chapter sizing: Are your chapters large enough to succeed?  Are some “wrong” sized to compete for national awards?  Are recruitment goals of 3% annual meaningful?

d.      Annual Awards - Important to recognize the work our members that do our meaningful work.  PLEASE: Packages and prioritized list to CER by 21 April.  We will present them at the CER caucus at the September AFA convention.  Citations/Certificates are easy, MoM and ESAs are competitive so build a track record and write your best stuff

7.  Leadership Development: Scott Van Cleef provided a copy of the Leadership Development briefing, at Tab 3, that he presented to the VA State meeting and led a summary discussion of its contents.

8.  Aerospace Education; Jim Hannam presented a briefing on Aerospace Education, at Tab 4.  The briefing covered the following topics: Educator/Instructor Support, Classroom Teacher Recognition Programs, Chapter Matching Grants for Education, Classroom Programs, New Initiatives and CyberPatriot.

9.  CER Awards:  Nick Abate reviewed the master spreadsheet that is maintained as a record of previously presented awards.  The listed is divided by state and chapter and is updated based on the annual award cycle.  Nick also provided a copy of an award tracking sheet that the State Presidents can provide as an aid to their chapters, at Tab 5.

10.  Old Business:  There were no items of business carried over from previous meetings.

11.  New Business:

a.       Revitalization of Chapters in West Virginia:  Mason Botts led a discussion on the need to put some effort into the 2 chapters that cover West Virginia. 

·         Chapter #209, Chuck Yeager, Charleston

·         Chapter #225, Gen Pete Everest, Fairmont

No specific action was agreed but, Jeff Platte will discuss with Sandy Latimer to determine what action could be taken.

12.  Adjournment: Having completed the official business on the planned agenda and with a motion to adjourn and seconded, the meeting was adjourned.

Respectfully submitted,

Harold H. Barton, Jr.

Secretary, Central East Region

5 Attachments:

1.       Briefing on AFA Update, Jim Lauducci

2.      New AFA Quarterly Financial Form

3.      Leadership Development, Scott Van Cleef

4.   Briefing on Aerospace Education, Jim Hannam

5.   Award Input Sheet