UNITED STATES AIR FORCE ACADEMY
PARENTS’ CLUB OF MINNESOTA MEETING
October 6, 2007
Metropolitan Airport Commission
ATTENDEES:
Class of 2008
Kent and Patrice Klayum,
Rick Biddle, Darrell and Linda Tamosuinas, Teresa Whitson, Jon and Heidi
Stignani, Terry and Stephanie Thome
Class of 2009
Deb Martenson
Class of 2010
Debra Baik, Bob Peplin,
Kim Landecker
Class of 2011
Mary Wood, Kirk Lewis,
Diane Witzig, Bill and Sharon Allen, Linda Tyner, Becky Tarvin, James
Sturdevant, Sue Bethke, Christine Nelson
THE MEETING WAS CALLED TO ORDER AT 9:08 a.m. by Patrice
Klayum, who welcomed and thanked everyone for attending.
MINUTES of
the May 5, 2007 meetings were distributed and approved.
TREASURER’S REPORT – Bob Peplin submitted a financial report that indicated our current
reconciled balance is $6761.51. This
report was approved as submitted and is attached to these minutes. Discussion
was held on the differences in revenues for the spring social from the current
year to past years. It was the consensus
that additional revenue could be obtain if more members attended the event.
OLD BUSINESS
Membership Dues:
Bob Peplin, Treasurer,
reported that the membership drive was successful by bringing in additional
club dues. The total dues paid for the
2007-2008 club year is $2760. At the
current time, 57% of the Minnesota parents are members of the club. 2008 has a membership of 65%, 2009 has a
membership of 50%, 2010 has a membership of 39%, 2011 has a membership of 79%,
and 2012 has a membership of 100%.
Spring Social Recap:
Kent Klayum submitted a
Profit and Loss Statement, which is attached to these minutes. This report showed the financial information
for the past four spring banquet events.
It was the general consensus that the 2007 social was the best ever and
that Olympic Hills Country Club was an awesome venue.
Discussion was held on why
so few current members of the club attend the social. This past social a sizable group of alumni
attended, which was welcomed and appreciated.
Total attendance for the social was 106.
Current members are not attending this event well and a suggestion was
made that a survey be sent out to all Minnesota parents to determine what we
need to do different as a club to get more parents involved and participating
in these kinds of events. This is a great time to meet and socialized with the new appointees
and their families and welcome them to our club.
One possible reason for
low attendance was related to a conflict with other events during this time
frame, i.e. prom and sporting events.
Teresa Whitson commented
that in past years hard copies of newsletters had gone out four times per year
with club news. This did not occur this
past year as the club tried utilizing the club website and e-mail to get
information out to the parents. She felt
that the club should return to sending out the hard copies of the newsletter,
as well as continuing to utilize e-mail to distribute current information. Discussion was held on making sure we have
current e-mails for all parents to facilitate this.
Orientation Recap:
Patrice Klayum reported that
the May 19, 2007 Orientation Meeting went well. She commented that the meeting went longer
than she had planned for several reasons, but the general consensus of the 2011
members present was that it was very informative and well-received. They especially enjoyed the speaker, Col.
Enger, commenting that he was very thoughtful and helpful. The packet of information that was prepared for each family was
also well received.
Discussion was held on the
timing of the event being held the last week of May rather than the first
weekend in June. It was felt that there
are a few less conflicts with the late May date. Rick Biddle pointed out that only the weekend
before Memorial Day in May would work, as that is the only time cadets would be
available to fly home for the weekend during what is called “dead week”, which
falls between class finals and graduation.
Otherwise, cadets that are home for first leave would be asked to assist
in the orientation to meet with the new appointees, which is what has been done
in past years.
Picnic Recap: Debra Baik, 2010 Rep, reported that 75 people
attended the July 21, 2007 annual club picnic.
She submitted a detailed report of the event, which is attached to these
minutes. This year the charge for the
meal was increased from $15 to $20 per family.
She suggested that perhaps another location be considered for this event
because of airport/airplane noise throughout the afternoon. The weather was perfect for the picnic and
everyone had a great time. Thanks were
given to Debra and her family for coordinating this event and for the great job
she did
Tailgate Recap: Kim
Landecker, 2010 rep, reported that she was still working on details of the
tailgate and would submit a detailed report for the records. She asked for suggestions on what could be
improved for next year, and whether we should continue to have both a breakfast
event and an after-game event. The
general consensus was that the having the breakfast event before the game was a
great place to start out the day and that it should be continued.
Kim reported that working
with the vendors in Colorado from Minnesota was a challenge, in that there was
a lot of communication that had to be resolved over the phone and e-mail to
facilitate the event planning. She felt
that the provider of the tent and the food, Bennett’s Barbeque, was a good
choice. Pre-event rsvp’s totaled 167
people. The tailgate was well attended
and enjoyed by all. Thanks were given to
Kim for coordinating the tailgate and for all the hard work and effort she put
into this successful event.
NEW BUSINESS
Mom’s In Touch:
Sue Bethke reported that a
prayer group called Mom’s In Touch is being formed with the idea of seeing if there
is interest from the moms in our group.
The group will meet for one hour, twice per month, praying for our
cadets, the professors, and their leadership. If you are interested, please
contact Sue at 651-797-2209.
The first meeting will be held at 5:45
p.m. at the home of Diane Witzig. Her
address is 3500 Wright Road SW, Rochester, Minnesota, 55902. Directions are as follows: Coming north from Minneapolis on Highway 52
South, merge onto Salem Road SW (CR-22-W).
Turn left on Bamber Valley Road SW (CR-8-S)... Turn right onto Meadow Crossing Road SW. Turn right onto Wright Road SW.
Meeting Location:
Rick Biddle reported that
there could be conflicts with his schedule during the upcoming hockey season
and that he might not be available to open up the MAC Building for our
meetings. Members were asked for ideas
on alternate meeting locations for this year in the event we are not able to
use the MAC Building, and also for a permanent relocation for next year’s
meetings.
James Sturdevant volunteered
that he would ask if his church in Brooklyn Park would be able to accommodate
our meetings. He will report back to us
if this is a possibility. An e-mail will
be sent to all Minnesota parents soliciting additional meeting location
possibilities, asking for centrally located ideas.
2011 Class Representatives: Patrice
introduced the new reps for the Class of 2011.
Sue and Kevin Bethke, and
Diane and Tom Witzig.
She also reported that Bob
and Mary Peplin have become Class of 2010 reps, along with Debra and Jin Baik
and Kim and Tim Landecker.
USAA Guest Speaker:
Kent Klayum introduced our
guest speaker, Mr. Romey Pelletier, Financial Services representative with
USAA. Mr. Pelletier gave the attending
members information about USAA, the eligibility requirements for membership,
and the benefits USAA can provide to our cadets. He was very informative and stayed for the
remainder of the meeting so that he could answer any questions at the end of
the meeting.
Website Update and Discussion: Becky
Tarvin reported that she has been looking at, and updating the club website,
and asked for ideas on how to improve the site and what members want to see on
the website. Discussion was held on
whether a message board could be added to the site so that pertinent information
could be published. Discussion was also
held on how to improve usage of the website by Minnesota parents, as well as
cadets. Becky stated that she is a web
developer, not a web-designer, and asked if anyone in the club was a designer
that could help in giving the website a more up-dated look. Please contact Becky if you know of anyone
that can facilitate this. She will
continue to work on the site and hopes to have it in a much better place in the
next few months.
Attending parents shared news
about their cadets and the meeting was adjourned at 12:06 p.m.
Announcements
Parent’s Night Out, Thursday,
October 11, 2007. 7:00 p.m.
At the Olive Garden –
17th Avenue NW, Rochester, MN
(507)288-8722.
The next monthly Parents’
Club Meeting will be held on Saturday, November 3 , 2007
A winter ski report
will be given by the Tamosuinas’ and a USO report will be given by Teresa
Whitson.
Cookie Packing – Saturday,
December 1, 2007 (cadet’s favorite meeting).
Respectfully submitted,
Deborah Martenson,
Secretary