FREEDOM THROUGH VIGILANCE ASSOCIATION
P.O. Box 691616
San Antonio, Texas 78269-1616
1. September 27, 2014 FTVA ANNUAL GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING. After Vice President Andy Smith determined we had a quorum, President Ron Haygood called the meeting to order at 1201 hours in the Bernard A. Larger Auditorium (BALA), building 2007 (Larson Hall), HQ Air Force ISR Agency, Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas.
2. Attendee who traveled the farthest: Several states mentioned but no determination made on who traveled the farthest. California, Washington (state), New Jersey and Washington DC were all mentioned.
3. Attendee with the earliest employment connection was Bob Finch who started his service in 1952.
4. Reading of the Minutes: Minutes of the SEP 2013 FTVA General Membership Meeting were read and approved.
5. Treasurer’s report: Was read and filed for audit.
6. Vigilant Partners Update: Jim McLendon provided excellent update on the Vigilant Partners program and its continued success. Corporate donations are down, but individual donations are up.
7. Hall of Honor Update: A.J. Harrison thanked everyone for their help and contributions during the Hall of Honor nomination and selection process for the year. The 176th HoH member was inducted today and joins a small number of exceptional and highly deserving members. There were 17 nomination packages submitted this year; and, as always, the selection process was difficult.
8. Social Activities Update: Ken Williams provided a recap of the Spring Social earlier this year. It was held off base again, and was very successful, we plan to continue with the off-base venue. The banquet this year is the largest ever with a total of 310 tickets sold. Cocktail hour starts at 1730; hope to see you there.
9. Sports Update. Ron Haygood updated on behalf of Dennis Buxton who could not be here. The golf outing was another tremendous success, enjoyed by all. Joe Hurst got to golf for the first time in years, thanks to Dennis taking over his duties as Sports Chair.
10. Picnic Update: Jacque Lerma briefed that the picnic this year was another great event. Donations totaled $890.
11. Newsletter Update: Dennis Rassmussen provided an update on Newsletter highlights and activities over the past year. He repeated his thanks to the many people who have opted to switch to receiving the Newsletter electronically because it saves us time, money, and effort (not to mention paper). Ted Colquhoun manages the Fallen Eagles program; in order to ensure that data is presented in the Newsletter, need some help please. Chief Joe “Pepito” Figueroa volunteered to be the Fallen Eagles Editor for the Newsletter.
12. FTVA History Update: Barnie Gavin provided a recap of the previous year’s history and let us know that he adjusted the time window of the history report to match the General Membership Meeting. The annual History Reports are now available on the FTVA website.
13. Chapter Reports:
- HERITAGE CHAPTER, JJ Graham: 2014 has been yet another busy year for us, with many interesting projects in the works. Col Kim Joos is the new Wing Commander at Goodfellow and she has been incredibly supportive of us and all our activities. We also support the FTVA main chapter as well, of course. We finished the EC-47 displays, and now have electronic photo displays that portray lots of historical data that all of our student Airmen get to see regularly. It is an amazing display, recommend you stop by to see it if able. On the 27th of October we are having a ceremony to commemorate the fact that all the crewmembers of Baron 52 shot down in Vietnam have been identified; bringing closure to several families who lost loved ones in that tragic event.
- ROCKY MOUNTAIN CHAPTER, Barnie Gavin: Greg Roman is President, and George “Ike” Eichelberger is Vice President. They continue efforts to partner with the 544th ISR Group; and they are still working with the staff of the Air Force Academy to identify and mentor 14N intelligence Officer Cadets. And they are still working to recruit new members from the Buckley and Denver areas.
15. ELECTION OF OFFICERS: Bob Cope was re-elected as Treasurer, and Loren “Phred” Sevening was re-elected as Secretary, both for two-year terms.
16. OPEN FORUM:
- RON HAYGOOD: Thanked everyone for the support in another great series of events, and for working through the issues of sequestration, cutbacks, reductions, and other problems. We have a great team and continue to do great things. We need our help in bringing in a new crowd, new lifeblood, into the organization. If you are in San Antonio, Texas on the 3rd Friday of the month, stop on by and join us for our monthly meeting, everyone is welcome.
- DENNIS RASSMUSSEN: Please be on the lookout for Skeeter Dickerson’s photo album. He shared that with us while we were preparing for his Hall of Honor induction, and it ended up missing. It was supposed to go to the Air Force ISR Agency History Office, but it never made it there.
- BILL SHECK: What happened to the idea of getting nametags for lifetime members? Way too many of us see people at these events and we have to start out with “I know I know you….” And having nametags would sure help avoid that embarrassment.
- PEPITO FIGUEROA: I just moved here to retire from the Air Force and I want to get actively involved with FTVA. I have had many fantastic mentors from among you over the years, and I want to pay it back. I want to help, but I need your help to let me know what can be done.
17. There being no further business, a motion was made, seconded, and approved to adjourn at 1309.
Respectfully Submitted,
//Signed//
LOREN R. “PHRED” SEVENING
FTVA Secretary
