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

1.  MARCH 20, 2009 BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ MEETING:  President Chris Cook called the meeting to order at 1337 hours in the SSFCU Board Room.

Attendance:

2. Opening Remarks by Maj Gen Heithold, Air Force ISR Agency Commander:

a. It is good to meet everyone and I appreciate the focus you have on taking care of our Airmen, thanks for all you do for us. I was told on my first day on the job how FTVA supports Air Force ISR Agency, and I know you are one of our biggest contributors and I thank you for that. Little contributions can go a long way, but it is the big contributions that really make a difference. As a Commander, there are certain things that I can not spend my money on, and contributions such as yours do not force us into holding the car washes and other fundraising events. The Annual Awards banquet was a first class event, thanks to the FTVA’s generous contributions. The crystal awards purchased and presented were excellent. Thanks again for everything you do for us.

b. Response by President Chris Cook: We want you to know that we are here for you and the Agency. We are a force of around 2000 members strong and we appreciate you keeping your door open to us.

c. Following Maj Gen Heithold’s departure, the regular BOD meeting commenced at 1337.

3.  MINUTES: The Minutes of the February 2009 meeting were read and approved.

4.  TREASURER’S REPORT: Treasurer’s report was presented, and filed for audit.

5.  OLD BUSINESS

a.  SPRING SOCIAL.

(1) Guest Speaker is scheduled to be Maj Gen Heithold, Air Force ISR Agency Commander.

(2) The event is set of April 4 at the Kelly Field Club.

(3) Plan to honor Agency’s heroes who have returned from a deployment in the past year.

b. REUNION UPDATE:

(1) Everything is on track for another successful event.

(2) Base access for those who do not have an ID card (active, retired, or civilian) may be a problem but everyone is doing all they can to mitigate the impact. Directions for base access will be in the June newsletter.

(3) Maj Garcia passed out a list of AFISRA POCs for the events.

c. CANDIDATE COMMITTEE REPORT. Rass has assembled a team that will vet all the nominees in time to have a finalized version by May 10. Things are moving along well.

d.  CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS.  Joe Hurst will do a thorough scrub of the Constitution and Bylaws and send a copy out for coordination among the FTVA Board of Directors probably within a week. Everyone should review the documents and be ready to discuss at the April meeting.

6. NEW BUSINESS

a.  COINS. John Knotts has engaged with KB Koins to order 200. They will be available at the Spring Social.

b.  AFISRA/PA PICTURES. Air Force ISR Agency PA has a number of high quality pictures of the AFISRA Courtyard aircraft static displays and the plaques that FTVA funded. Will make arrangements to get the pictures on the FTVA website.

c. ANNUAL AWARDS BANQUET AFTER ACTION REPORT. The AFISRA Annual Awards Banquet was a great success. The crystal awards were exceptionally nice. Guest speaker was CMSgt Tom Rioux; he presented an excellent message for the audience.

d.  AFISRA AMBASSADORS UPDATE: The Air Force ISR Agency Ambassadors were in the San Antonio St Patrick’s Day Parade, and they once again expressed sincere gratitude for the support from FTVA. One of the Ambassadors will not be at the Spring Social, but Sgt Officer will attend, along with his spouse.

7.  CORRESPONDENCE.  NSTR.

8.  AROUND THE ROOM.

a.  Gen Heithold recommended a book called The Spider and the Starfish to the staff. It is about decentralizing command and control to improve operational efficiency. The ideas in the book are used in the Special Operations world with success.

b.  Fiesta Crow Association is hosting a golf tournament on the morning of April 19th if anyone is interested in signing up.

9.  There being no further business, motion was made, seconded, and approved to adjourn at 1455.  Next meeting will be April 17, 2009 in the SSFCU Board Room, starting at 1330.

Respectfully Submitted, 

LOREN R. “PHRED” SEVENING
FTVA Secretary