MINUTES

Virginia State AFA                                                                       12 March 2011

Quarterly State Meeting                                                                    Ramada Inn

CY11 Q1 (Jan-Mar)                                                                  615 Atlantic Ave

                                                                                    Virginia Beach VA 23451

                                                                                        MEETING MINUTES

 1.  OPENING

·         The meeting was called to order by State President, James “Randy” Hobbs.  Randy welcomed the attendees to the 1st quarter VA State AFA Meeting and led the assembled group in the pledge of allegiance.

·         State Chaplain, Bill Cuthriell provided the invocation.

·         Tidewater Chapter President, Al Berg, welcomed the State EXCOM to Virginia Beach and reviewed the logistical details for the day and evening events.

 2.  OFFICERS’ REPORTS:

·         Secretary’s report/roll call – Bart Barton

·         Agenda, Tab 1 was previously provided to the EXCOM along with notice of the meeting in an email from Randy Hobbs.

·         Chapter roll call was completed with all chapters represented by their president or designated vice.

·         State Officer roll call was completed with a majority of officers present or represented by proxy.

·         A quorum, as defined in the Constitution and Bylaws, Article X, section 6, was confirmed

·         Minutes from the Nov 6, 2010, 4th Quarter Meeting in Herndon, Virginia, as posted on the VA State website, were reviewed and approved on motion by Jeff Platte, second by Goldie Golden and voice acclamation Tab 2.

 

·         Treasurer’s report – Jim Holt

·         Reviewed the 4th Quarter VA State Financial Report, at Tab 3.   The balance as of the EOY was $13,905.04.

·         Jim also reviewed the current state of the FY 11 expenditures.  He recommended that the EXCOM consider approving a waiver for the temporary use of Education Support funds for Operations Support expenditures due to National being up to 2 quarters in arrears on payments.  This temporary use would be in the form of a loan and would be reimbursed when Ops funds were available from National.  After discussion, the EXCOM approved a motion for to use Education Support funds as recommend by voice vote.

·         EXCOM approved a recommendation from the treasurer to move the State’s checking account from Wachovia Bank to Pentagon Federal Credit Union.  With EXCOM’s voice vote, the Secretary was directed to execute the required “Resolution By Organization” to effectuate the opening of the new account and the Treasurer was directed to move the entirety of the account to PFCU.

 

·   VP/Admin –

·         The State Annual Meeting is planned for June 4, in Danville.  Jerry will be forwarding information on registration and room reservations at the Comfort Inn & Suites.

 

3. CHAPTER REPORTS:

 

4. COMMITTEE REPORTS:

  • Aerospace Education: Jim Hannam presented the briefing at Tab 14.   He emphasized AFA’s Education Objectives, Funding and Grant Programs

 

  • Membership: Nick Abate presented details on the Virginia and CER Awards Programs, at Tab 15.  

 

  • Government Relations: Jim Holt report on the current state of planning for meeting with officials at the federal level.  He noted that the plan was still to forego the previous activity at the National Convention and encourage the Chapters to stay engaged with their representatives.

 

  • Leadership Development: Scott Van Cleef reported that the National Convention would include the election of a new Secretary and 3 members of the Board of Directors, including his current position.  He encouraged members of the EXCOM to consider service at the National level.  Currently there are no nominations from Virginia.  Scott also discussed “Project Loudspeaker” that is intent on developing a stable of nationally recognized spokespersons on air & space topics.

 

·         Membership: Chip Moran provided an update on membership and noted there had been numerous complaints from Chapters on IMIS along with a lack of useful information from National.  Jeff Platte requested the Chapters provide him direct feed on specifics so he can provide a combined report to National.  A discussion ensued on the use of new social media (twitter) to engage younger members.

 

·         Veterans Affairs:  In Dave’s absence, Chip Moran presented the briefing at Tab 16. 

 

·         Virginia Joint Leadership Council of VSOs Report: Jeff Platte and Al Pianalto spoke to the successful legislative program by the JLC.  They noted that 5 of 6 objectives became law in this session.

 

  • Fundraising: Mac MacAloon provided an update briefing on the status of the Virginia Suite at the National Convention.  He noted plans for sponsors was on track and we were halfway to our financial goals.

 

5. CENTRAL EAST REGION: Jeff Platte noted that Virginia was not alone in membership declines.  He emphasized that leadership development must focus on the core mission of AFA and Chapters are better served if they focus on one or two areas for their mission impact.  He wants to document all problems with National directly and requested input from the Chapter Presidents.

 

6. REGIONAL REPORTS:  

  • VP North:  Tom Shepherd reported that all 3 chapters are performing well
  • VP East:  Al Pianalto no report
  • VP West:  Jim McGuire reported that the Roanoke Chapter continues in good health.  He has not recently visited Danville and Charlottesville status is well known.

 

7.  OLD BUSINESS

·         Closing of Chapter 345 Jones:  The EXCOM discussed the impact of the closing of the Jones Chapter in the Charlottesville area to be effective with the State Annual Meeting.  After some discussion, it was agreed that Jim Holt would produce a breakdown of ZIP codes that would be used to re-assign current members to active chapters.  It was also agreed that Kevin Lavin’s long service to this chapter would be properly noted at the Annual State Meeting.

·         Jim Tubbs provided an update on State level communications. He offered a speaker on website development for a future meeting.  After discussion, it was suggested that this be in the form of a webinar.

·         Virginia AF License Plate:  Decision has been made to continue to raise interest for another year.  Currently have 140 of the 350 total needed to obtain permission to proceed.  Encourage your friends and neighbors.

 

8.  NEW BUSINESS:

·         Quarterly Newsletter Excusals:  Randy noted he had not received any to date and none were brought forward from the floor.

·         Aerospace Club:  Jim White presented an update on the Aerospace Club at L.C. Bird High School, Tab 17.  On motion, second and voice acclamation, the EXCOM endorsed the efforts by Leigh-Wade Chapter to continue to expand and develop the Aerospace Club concept.

·         State Drill Meet: Gordon Strong provided an update on the upcoming JROTC State Drill Championships, Tab 18.  This event is organized by Tidewater Chapter with the assistance of the other state chapters.  So far, 36 schools are registered to complete.  The EXCOM thanked Gordon for his long-term leadership of this premiere event.

·         National Board of Directors Meeting in Orlando:  Scott Van Cleef review several presentations from the recent BoD meeting, Tab 19, 20, 21.  These briefs highlighted  membership and strategic planning issues.

·         Alignment by Regions within Virginia:  The EXCOM discussed the necessity of maintaining the Regional VPs since the number of chapters has been reduced and the span of control could by maintained at the State level.  It was agreed to add this to the discussion of ZIP code re-alignment at the Annual State Meeting.

 

9. ADJOURNMENT:

  • Randy announced that the State Annual Meeting would be hosted by the Danville Chapter on Saturday, 4 June 2011, and that registration details would be sent by email as soon as possible.  He hoped to see everyone there.
  • Having completed all the official business on the approved agenda of the EXCOM, a motion to adjourn was forwarded by Chip Moran, seconded by Jim McGuire and approved by voice acclimation. 
  • The host Chapter invited everyone to join the waiting London double deck bus for the ride to the Virginia Military Aviation Museum.  It was anticipated that one of the AFA attendees would be given a ride in Jerry Yagen’s P-51.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 Harold H. Barton, Jr., Virginia State Secretary