The meeting commenced by teleconference at 2100 EDT. Present were Galloway, Voorhees, Schwehm, McNeil, Kovel, Wells, Stevens, Golden and Gadd. Absent were Stephenson and Kehoe. Class Trustee Hatch did not attend.

The minutes of the previous meeting, 13 March 2008, were approved.

1. McNeil reported a total of $24,360.23 in the several administrative Class accounts. He reminded that the accounts had held about $22,000 prior to the series of 50^th Reunion expenditures and receipts, so we are secure financially, with adequate seed funds for a future reunion.

2. Schwehm initiated a discussion regarding the Class gift fund, now standing at approximately $122,000. He recommended that we give the money to West Point for some particular purpose approved by the Class. He reasoned that without a major fund drive or windfall, the treasury will remain insufficient for a significant gift and will eventually revert to an AOG general fund, not the purpose for which the Class made contributions. He further proposed that we discourage future contributions to the gift fund and encourage financial support of West Point in other ways. It was decided to retain the funds, but Galloway will draft a letter to the Class to explain the status of our fund and to detail giving opportunities to the Academy.

3. Voorhees, Chair of the Board’s 2009 distinguished graduate selection committee, reported that the Board had voted approval of the committee’s nomination. Three chosen Board members will prepare the application.

4. Schwehm noted that the Board had previously decided to initiate a project to produce a Taps memorial article on each deceased classmate. Kovel described a scheme for organizing cadet company representatives (CQs) tasked to oversee the production of articles on their previous and future deceased company-mates. Galloway asked that he prepare some text on the subject to include in the forthcoming letter on giving. Kovel also detailed our past efforts of encouraging classmates to preposition personal information (with the AOG, for instance) to ease the burden on family, classmates and others who will write articles.

5. Galloway reported that some classes have a system that provides helpful contact between the Class and a new widow through a designated classmate who can give assistance in matters pertinent to the deceased’s military service. The concept was favorably received and he will provide more details at a later meeting.

6. Kovel reported highlights from the 3 June DC Area Class Leaders’ Meeting with AOG staff members in attendance. The well-publicized alterations to the lyrics of West Point music and the First Class Club incident were discussed, with little truly new or hard information available on the latter. The new AOG website was criticized. The comments were noted and will be referred to the responsible staff. It is generally understood by graduates that the AOG extracts a fee of 15% from contributions to the West Point Fund. In the past the money was taken when the gift dollars were actually put to use, i.e., expended. In the future it will taken into the AOG coffers immediately upon receipt. This will be of considerable financial advantage to the AOG; the level of harm to the contributors depends upon the length of holding time and interest rates. Changes will be coming to Assembly. Younger classes are poor subscribers compared to the older. Additionally, they are highly computer-oriented. Early planning foresees a gradual change to more of an electronic product.

7. A certain amount of interest has been shown in a mid-cycle class reunion. Galloway pointed out that it should not be the Board’s responsibility to organize, but we could assist in some ways, such as providing seed money. One of the regional groups would seem to be the best entity to run such an event. Wells offered to raise the issue with the Southeast Group.

8. Stevens reported that the AOG has shown an interest in taking over stewardship of the mess hall mural reproductions and marketing them. There was concern, however, over possible copyright problems. Stevens has obtained a positive legal opinion on that issue and will meet with the AOG shortly. He recommended that we pass ownership and reproduction rights to them. He stated an arrangement could be proposed for the Class to gain financial benefit in the form of royalties from sales, but recommended against because we have no real need of the funds. Galloway noted that records are maintained showing the totality of contribution to West Point by each class. He suggested we relinquish ownership totally, and that Stevens negotiate an agreement whereby all or part of every year’s AOG profit be credited to the Class as a gift contribution. No monies will change hands. Conceivably, the arrangement could be perpetual. The Board concurred. The Class would retain a portion of the prints on hand for gifts to individuals such as guest speakers. Golden suggested that the turnover be highly publicized to enhance Class prestige and stimulate AOG sales. Galloway added that it could be accomplished in conjunction with a dedication ceremony of our gifts to the library.

9. Galloway reported the library is expected to be completed in August and dedicated in September. An issue of considerable interest to the donor classes is that of "memorialization," the means of recognizing the numerous donors. The Academy intends a standard identification for all; no individual decorative memorials. Our stated intent throughout the discussions that led to our gifting the coffee shop has always been to put a class crest on its wall. He will report again after discussions take place in a few weeks. Galloway provided photographs of the honor kiosk area and described remaining issues: the basic design, placement, size of the video screen, and memorialization. Our tentative plan is to conduct a dedication of the kiosk and the coffee bar in the Autumn with as many classmates as care to come. He asked the Board members to be prepared to suggest suitable dates at the next meeting. Voorhees reported that he recently toured the structure, guided by the contractor, and noted that the coffee shop appeared to be split into two rooms, which was not the original plan. Galloway will seek clarification.

An informational letter recently published by a 1962 graduate and forwarded to our Class by Vaughn was lauded for its readability and news about changes at West Point that have not yet been seen elsewhere. Galloway will investigate the possibility of our Class getting routine access to this sort of timely information.

Galloway announced that the 2008 West Point Leader’s Conference is scheduled for 21-23 August and invited Board members to consider attending.

The meeting adjourned at 2235, the next to be in mid-July. The focus will be on gift memorialization and the gift fund.