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

1. JANUARY 19, 2018 FTVA BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ MEETING: After ascertaining that we had a quorum, President Ted Colquhoun called the meeting to order at 1330 hours in the Larson Hall (building 2007) Cafeteria.

2. Attendance:

3. MINUTES: The November 2017 meeting minutes were read and approved.

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

5. CHAPTER REPORTS:

1. ALAMO CHAPTER: Happy New Year.  The January meeting of the FTVA Alamo Chapter was called to order by President Barnie Gavin at 5:45 PM at Saltgrass Steakhouse at 11745 I-10W.  There were 27 members, spouses and family members present.  Items discussed included:
   1. Whether to meet to continue to meet at Saltgrass or find another restaurant in the future.  There’s a possibility Saltgrass may charge a room fee in the future so please provide us your feedback as well as any other locations that may be suitable for groups up to 30 people. 
   2. The “They Served in Silence” DVD is still available.  You can still pick up a copy at the next meeting. 
   3. Barnie again is reaching out to the commander of the 543rd to discuss how the Alamo Chapter can support that organization.  We currently have $450 in our treasury that needs to be allocated to a cause or possibly returned back to the FTVA.
   4. The meeting adjourned at 6:00 PM where we continued to share stories and enjoy each other’s fellowship. The next meeting is scheduled for 15 February at 5:45 PM at the Saltgrass Steakhouse.  If that changes we’ll be sure and let you know.
2. ALOHA CHAPTER:  Awaiting input.
3. GOLD COUNTRY CHAPTER: Awaiting input.
4. HERITAGE CHAPTER:  Awaiting input.
5. MID-ATLANTIC REGION CHAPTER: Awaiting input.
6. ROCKY MOUNTAIN CHAPTER: Awaiting input.

6. OLD BUSINESS:

1. New Special Activities Chair:  Ted and Lee are still working this issue, hope to have substantive input at the next meeting.
2. Spring Social Update:  Ken Williams will contract with the Marriott to lock in a date and time, and let all of us know.  Steve Doucette will work with 25 AF leadership to lock in a guest speaker.

7. NEW BUSINESS: Remain in Touch Newsletter Update:  Dennis Buxton is stepping up to take over the RIT Newsletter; will have to step down from his position as the Golf Tournament Chair.  Everyone is asked to think about a good replacement to take over the golf tournament responsibilities and get back with input at the next meeting.

8. CORRESPONDENCE:

1. Received a letter from a member asking to be removed from the membership list.  Ted Colquhoun notified Bob Baert of the member’s name for removal from emails and other correspondence.
2. Received a query from a member about membership numbers; learned from Bob Baert that there are membership numbers but those numbers are hardly every used for anything other than tracking when Bob reaches out to members, as using that membership number helps him track responses.

9. AROUND THE ROOM:

1. Steve Doucette: In his capacity as 25th Air Force Senior Liaison, Steve shared updates with us on the following topics:
   1. Update on the impending government shutdown, and the impact to 25th Air Force.
   2. The IG Inspection for 25 AF is scheduled for next week.
   3. The planned merger of 24th Air Force and 25th Air Force is on track and will be implemented in three phases.  Potential window for completion is late summer or as late is the new fiscal year (1 October 2018). 
   4. The 25th Air Force Vice Commander, Brig Gen James Cluff, will leave this summer. 
   5. Steve plans to bring the 25th Air Force Command Chief, CMSgt Cadell, to a future FTVA meeting.
   6. Steve offered to source the guest speaker for the 2018 Spring Social.
   7. The 25 AF/CC gets three to five notifications each day about issues throughout the NAF, concerning people problems and/or mission impact.  Steve believes there is potential for FTVA to play a role in ensuring resolution to some of those issues, and at the same time to increase knowledge of our organization among the NAF’s Airmen.

2. Pepito Figueroa:  I recently negotiated terms for my new contract with my company, which should allow me more time off to attend FTVA meetings, so you should see more of me in the future.  I am here to help the FTVA in any way possible, and that desire to help extends beyond the FTVA to Veterans as well.  I work for a non-profit that is structured to assist Veterans in need, and I am here to tell you that there are Veterans in this town from within our intelligence community.  I review the DD-214 of every Veteran we help, and I have seen linguists, analysts, and more that are out there and need our help. 
3. Mark Hess: The Vigilant Partners program has slowed down over the holidays.  I need to get on Steve Doucette’s calendar to do a deep-dive.  Because individuals normally have trouble with making a large contribution, we depend on the Vigilant Partners program for the bulk of our annual funding.  Those corporate donors are usually in a position to add value to the 25th Air Force mission as well. 
4. Bob Baert:  What is the status of the Sunshine Chapter? Answer:  Consider them dissolved for now, still looking at options but don’t expect anything to be worked in this area for some time. 
5. Ron Haygood:  I will retire from Civil Service in May of this year; Kathy retires later this month. 
6. Ted Colquhoun:  Today is Bob Cope’s last meeting with us.  Over the many years he has been active, very active, in FTVA, he has held every office on the Board of Directors.  Thank you sir, for your selfless service, you loss will be hard to fill.
7. Bob Cope:  Thanks Ted, I have been active on the FTVA Board of Directors for over 26 years, and from the inception of this organization there have only been three Treasurers.  We have never had an audit and all money spent was with full transparency, approved by the elected Board, and accounted for.  It has been tough keeping the Vigilant Partners program going, and we have had outstanding effort in this program over the years, up to and including the current Chair, Mark Hess.  We have some serious recurring expenses each year, most notably now is the Larson Awards program.  It is sad that social media is taking the place of face-to-face meetings, and organizations such as ours are suffering as a result.  I don’t know how to overcome this challenge.  It has been very rewarding over the years, and I thank you all for the opportunity to serve. 

10. There being no further business, motion was made, seconded, and approved to adjourn at 1420.  The next meeting will be February 16, 2018 in SSFCU Dining Room, starting at 1330. 

//Signed//
Loren R. “Phred” Sevening
FTVA Secretary
Secretary@ftva.us