Meeting opened by VADM Mustin at 0750. Administrative matters were dealt with.
Motion was made and seconded to approve minutes of Fall 2013 meeting. Approved unanimously.
Chairman announced approval of 2014-2015 Committee Resolution that was sent with the meeting read- aheads and encouraged Committee Chairs to fill their committees as provided for in the Charter – with decade representation – and inform the new Vice Chairman and USNA Alumni Association of members so they can be posted on the COCP Web Page – and included in Office 365 Folders.
Noted that records of COCP actions in the past had been misplaced and said that work was underway to recover them and insert them into Office 365 Folders for permanent retention.
Broke early (0803) for Decade Breakout Meeting.
Plenary Session - Reports of Decade Reps
- 30s/40s/50s – VADM Hank Mustin ’55: Suggested a moment of silence to honor past Chairman, VADM Frank Donovan who is seriously ill. He reminded members of the great service that VADM Donovan had given to the COCP in his years as Chair and throughout his membership. Members observed same. Noted that the “Issue Paper” previously provided by President of ’56 had been withdrawn. Indicated tha George’s previously submitted Action Plan will be added to minutes of this meeting to refresh its record.Reminded members that COCP is an independent organization and must “help itself” to accomplish improvements and take on issues that need resolution. Offered suggestions and guidance on various ways to formulate Action Plans to solve issues that the COCP decides to tackle. Discussed ideas for how to get younger classes involved in the COCP and Alumni Association. Recommended that a roster of class officers be put together and posted; asked that COCP members be as prompt as possible in responding to requests for input and recommendations.
- 60s – Jerry Smith ‘61: Discussed point paper that had been emailed to members; they support status quo and were pleased the paper has been withdrawn. Discussed the importance of reaching gift agreements with the Alumni Association prior to embarking on fundraising efforts. Experimenting with fundraising letters: Classes ’60-‘64 are receiving letters signed by Spencer Johnson ’63, while ’65-’69 are receiving letters signed by each class’ president. Recommended that AMP be pushed through the Another Link in the Chain program.
- 70s – Glen Woods ’78: Thanked VADM Mustin for the extra 10 minutes for breakout session. Had a discussion about bylaws; pointed out that Maryland state law constrains some options and that our current arrangement is the best available. Cautioned COCP to be mindful of competing for presidents’ time – it could come at the expense of Class projects or other worthwhile endeavors. Expressed a desire to get lessons-learned posted on a variety of topics including decedent affairs, fundraising, and reunions. It is a concern; simply cannot lose documents as we apparently did. Proposed to add BOT agenda and discussion items to our agenda so our discussions could be better informed, more relevant to BOT, and so decade reps could know their constituency’s opinions.
- 80s – Ingar Grev ’89: Discussed AMP; they have been hearing lots of good feedback on the program. Class of ’89 is piloting the move of Classmail to Office365; hope to have this completed in two weeks. Discussed best-practices for the removal of politics from class communications channels to prevent classmates from disengaging.
Presentation by Chet Gladchuk, Director of Athletics. (we will seek copies of his Slides for records)
Following Mr. Gladchuk’s presentation, motion was made and seconded to approve the results of the “pre-election” held online. Dave Forman ’98 who conducted the electronic poll announced the results, which were: Specifically, VADM Hank Mustin, USN (Ret.) ’55 as COCP Chairman, CAPT Spencer Johnson, USN (Ret.) ’63 as COCP Vice Chairman, and LCDR Josh Welle, USN ’02 as Secretary. Vote was taken and results Approved unanimously.
Paused the meeting to observe wounded warriors cycling along McNair Drive.
Byron Marchant ’78 led off the Alumni Association & Foundation panel with a briefing on financial status, support from the Navy for the Academy mission, and other items. Hank Sanford continued with more detailed explanation of the 2020 Campaign, which concludes the planning phase, and is now moving to the “Quiet” phase. Skip Heyworth ’70 briefed communications and outreach efforts; he also had a thorough and detailed answer to a question about decedent affairs. Upcoming events include 2 May meeting of the BOT and 23 May commissioning for Class of 2014.
The final two decade groups briefed from the breakout session.
- 90s – CDR Dave Foreman ‘98: Discussed other useful ways of using Office365 capability, including reunion deconfliction and as a pass-down log for an incoming class president.
- 00s/10s - Pat McConnell ’02: Murph McCarthy ‘00 provided a debrief of the lawsuit against the BOT from several years ago for those in the group who didn’t have the background for why this was even a point of discussion. Discussed reunion strategies, class response to operational losses, and AMP.
Spencer Johnson ’63 and John Spivey ’13 talked about their experiences with the Another Link in the Chain program. VADM Mustin held their successes up as the gold standard to which other classes should aspire.
Jim Minderlein '65 briefly discussed the display in Halsey Field House for FADM Halsey. Money has been allocated to the project, and it will be completed. Separately, the large goat statue previously discussed will be installed at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in 2015.
Ingar Grev ’89 gave a brief demonstration of Sharepoint 365. He also discussed the transition from Classmail to a hosted solution in Office365. This is an easy process, but does take some effort.
George Zeberlein ’54 reported that handrails will be installed at the stadium this summer.
During lunch, our sponsors gave brief presentations and held raffles.
After lunch, VADM Miller discussed the state of the academy. He will be retiring soon after 40 years as a commissioned officer; VADM Mustin led the members in three cheers for VADM Miller’s faithful and dedicated service to our country.
Colonel Art Athens ’78, Director of the Stockdale Center for Ethical Leadership, shared the extensive academic and practical training provided to midshipmen over four years. He also discussed the expanding role the center is playing in other Navy training settings, within the DoD and other parts of the Federal Government, and even industry. USNA is a recognized center of excellence for ethics and leadership.
Ed Wallace '72 presented an update on the Athletic & Scholarship Foundation.
Steve Comiskey '69 provided an update on the AMP. There are currently 764 participants and 287 matched pairs. Continuing to expand awareness, and will establish AMP as official service of Alumni Association. Eventually, would like to expand the program to include Midshipmen.
Motion was made and seconded to adjourn. Approved unanimously at 1437.
Minutes recorded by Patrick McConnell ’02 and Bill Peerenboom ’57
Updated: October 01, 2018
Curator: Ed Moore