FREEDOM THROUGH VIGILANCE ASSOCIATION
P.O. Box 691616
San Antonio, Texas 78269-1616

1. APRIL 17, 2015 BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ MEETING:  After ascertaining that we had a quorum, President Ron Haygood called the meeting to order at 1330 hours in the SSFCU Board Room.

2.  Attendance:

3. MINUTES: The minutes of the MAR 2015 meeting were read and approved with minor edits.

4.  TREASURER’S REPORT: Was read and filed for audit.

5.  CHAPTER REPORTS:  

• SAN ANTONIO CHAPTER:  We had some local chapter members attend the Spring Social; our meeting in May will be in the Fair Oaks Ranch area on the 14th of May.  At the Spring Social, we talked about getting shirts, which we believe can be had for around $15.

2. ALOHA CHAPTER:  NTR.
3. NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION CHAPTER:  Planning over the past several months culminated in March with elections by members of the National Capital Region Chapter for a new Executive Committee. Outgoing Executive Committee members included Gary O’Shaughnessy, Janice Leach and Tom Carrington.  The new Executive Committee consists of:

• President:  Jerry Gething (CMSgt, Ret)
• Vice President:  Danielle Harmon (MSgt, USAF)
• Secretary:  Erreka Coleman (MSgt, USAF)
• Treasurer: Bob Bastian (CMSgt, Ret)

While the new Executive Committee is based primarily in the Fort George G. Meade, Maryland area, there are plans to hold meetings on a recurring basis in the D.C./northern Virginia area as well as around the Fort Meade area in order to serve this geographically dispersed membership.  The first general membership meeting following the election is planned for 13 May, and will be held at Burba Lake on Fort Meade in the midst of the Armed Forces Week BBQ. The new Executive Committee is looking forward to working with the NCR Chapter members to build an exciting and dynamic program of support to the Airmen that continue to serve and defend our country.  As a first step in that direction, the Executive Committee approved its first disbursement of $350 to support the attendance and participation of 10 members of the US Cyber Command and NSA/CSS Joint Service Color Guard during the Armed Forces Week Gala on 15 May.

• HERITAGE CHAPTER: We’ve had a busy month around here!  Here is a quick recap for you guys:
• Clever ceremony on 30 Apr: Col Joos awarded Paul & Nita Clever the AF Commander’s Public Service Award for their work in recovering remains from an EC-47 crash site in Laos; it was a great ceremony followed by a packed reception at Wing HQ; Paul & Nita went to Angelo State University the next day where their experiences were “harvested” by ASU history students working on the War Stories Project.
• Our chapter has formally partnered with the ASU West Texas Collection (the folks who put together “Vietnam: Through the Lens”), the EC-47 History Site, and Goodfellow AFB as registered partners in the 50th Anniversary Vietnam War Commemorative Program; we look forward to playing a key role in all activities related to this (the Clever ceremony was our first).
• Our EC-47 exhibit recently earned an AF-level award!  Dr John “Doc” Garrett, Tom Nurre, Joe Martin, and Danny Russell’s efforts were recognized as the recipients of the 2015 Air Force Heritage Award for the EC-47 Exhibit in the Norma Brown Building; this is a significant honor for an exhibit that has been on display less than a year!
• We’ll have a paver dedicated to one of our recently deceased, long-time members, Bill Allen, dedicated at the Vietnam War Memorial at Mathis Field on Memorial Day; our own Ed Bendinelli will serve as the event’s keynote speaker.

5. ROCKY MOUNTAIN CHAPTER:  FTVA RM Chapter was impacted by the loss of one of our plankholders, George Williams, this month.  We reached out to the family to provide support and were well represented at the funeral with full military honors.  The sun came out briefly during the funeral mass, held in Pueblo, CO on 8 May 2015, followed by a full military send-off and a get-together at the church. Burial at Fort Logan national cemetery near Denver is yet to be determined.  FTVA provided a memorial wreath and we will be remembering George at our next meeting on Thursday.  We will be meeting at 6PM, Thurs, 14 May for the FTVA RM Chapter at Rhino’s.

• SUNSHINE CHAPTER:  I just learned that there are photos coming of awards presentation at Hurlburt.  When I get them, I’ll share them with you.  Airman of the year and such.
• GOLD COUNTRY CHAPTER:  Our focus remains on recruiting new younger members from the base at Beale. Col Tim Sipowicz , Commander of the 548th ISR has been very active with us at our meetings. He has brought up the idea of recruiting from the Reserve and Guard units where their members have ties to the community. While we have and some luck getting active officers and enlisted to attend some meetings, before you know it we get struck by PCS. I believe that Col Sipowicz has provided a brilliant idea and I am going forward with the Deputy Commander Matt Fisher to get introductions to the Reserve and Guard Commanders. Unfortunately for us, we recently attended a farewell dinner for Col Sipowicz who has left for San Antonio to take up the A3 position. You should reach out to Tim since he is such a strong supporter of the FTVA. At the dinner we presented him a plaque thanking him and also commemorating his first flight in a U2 last month where he got to see the world from 85,000 feet. We will miss him. I wrote this when Tim arrived and it is worth saying again. Early on I discovered that one of the things he and I have in common is that we both flew Rivet Joint. Certainly never at the same time and definitely separated by a couple of decades. We never did get to compare tail numbers from our flight records.

6.  OLD BUSINESS:

1. ANNIVERSARY WEEK POC:  The 25th Air Force POCs for the 2015 Anniversary Week events are Major Jay Griffin and SMSgt Jason Wright.  SMSgt Wright attended today’s meeting to provide an update.  He shared that all NAF HQ POCs have picked up their continuity books, and the next step is to ensure the HQ POC is in contact with the FTVA BOD POC for each event.  Because of the reorganization from Air Force ISR Agency to 25th Air Force, there may be some shuffling of event sponsorship because most of the two-letter directorates in the HQ are much smaller, and there are two large entities that have stood up, the National Intelligence Coordination Center (NICC) and the Ops Center.  The NAF HQ team is working to factor the reorganization into the overall event management plan. 
2. FTVA BOD Chair for Remembrance Ceremony:  Ron Haygood confirmed that Ted Colquhoun is the new FTVA Chair for the Remembrance Ceremony.
3. 25 AF DEPLOYER’S PICNIC:  Ron Haygood presented a recommendation to have an FTVA booth at the upcoming Deployer’s Family picnic.  Need to have brochures and application forms available to sign up new members. 
4. NAMETAGS:  A third order has been placed with the vendor; the nametags appear to be a hit and are moving quickly.  Andy Smith will reach out to Chapter leadership to establish a process by which chapters can submit bulk orders. 
5. SPRING SOCIAL Recap:  Ken Williams provided an update, letting us know that this year was the 3rd year that we had more than enough food, and we may plan on as many as 120 attendees for next year and not increase the amount of food.  Overall, was a good event with 95 to 98 people attending (some came in late).  The event was over by 2030 and a good time was had by all. 
6. ANNIVERSARY BANQUET Guest Speaker:  Maj Gen Shwedo has been announced as the next 25 AF Commander; Ken Williams and Ron Haygood will work to get him locked in as guest speaker for the banquet in SEPT 2015.
7. NSA MUSEUM Update:  Bob Cope recommended that any member wishing to donate to the national cryptologic museum initiative send their donations to him as FTVA Treasurer and annotate that the donation is for the National Cryptologic Museum and he would ensure the donation is properly managed.
8. VIGILANT PARTNERS Program Update:  Ron Haygood is still working to identify a good POC to take over the Vigilant Partner Program.

7.  NEW BUSINESS.  

1. SKIVVY NINE Memorial Park:  There has been some on-line discussion regarding establishing a Skivvy Nine Memorial Park on Goodfellow AFB.   If the Heritage Chapter contacts us for support, we will act upon that request.
2. EXPANDING MEMBERSHIP Eligibility.  Under the new 25th Air Force reorganization, there are three new Wings in the “ISR Family” whose members were not previously eligible to become members of FTVA.  If anyone who has retired out of or otherwise left working at any of these organizations, they can be eligible for FTVA membership if the work they did while assigned was predominantly ISR in nature. 

8.  CORRESPONDENCE. None.

9.  AROUND THE ROOM.  

1. Dennis Rassmussen: 

• 1 May is suspense for input for the June Newsletter.
• FTVA BOD Nominating Committee Update:  Ron Haygood and Andy Smith both volunteer to remain in office for another term; at this point there are no other members to consider for President or Vice President.
• Andy Smith will provide guidance for input to the Newsletter on how members can order nametags.  The vendor prefers to avoid individual orders, so bulk orders will be the only way to get a nametag. 

2. Dennis Buxton:  The golf tournament for 2015 Anniversary Week is all set up; but we may have to find a new course for next year as this course has instituted some cost-cutting measures that may push us to find a new location.
3. Ken Williams: 
   • Maj Gen Shwedo has been announced as the next Commander of 25th Air Force
   • I dropped my retirement papers and will have a dinner/roast the evening of 23 July, followed the next day with a retirement ceremony presided by Lt Gen (Ret) Craig Koziol. And I plan to remain active in FTVA.
4. Col Kyle Forrer:  Thanks for the opportunity to serve as the 25th Air Force Senior Liaison; I will do my best to serve.
5. SMSgt Jason Wright:  I was a finalist in Sensor Olympics in 2008 and that was my first exposure to FTVA.  I benefited from FTVA’s generosity and I now want to give back; so I volunteered to serve as the Anniversary Week Alternate POC.  I will do my best in this capacity.
6. Barnie Gavin:  We have a young SSgt from NSA-Texas who has joined our local chapter; he has volunteered to help out in any capacity and we are glad to have him on board.

10.  There being no further business, motion was made, seconded, and approved to adjourn at 1414.  The next meeting will be at the SSFCU Board Room at 1330 on 15 May 2015.

      //Signed//
Loren R. “Phred” Sevening
FTVA Secretary