Minutes from Parents Club Meeting - September 8, 2013

Date:                           Sunday, September 8^th, 2013 following Founder’s Day Parade

Location:                     Chapel

Parents Club Officers/Board/Parents Club Members Present:     

Deborah Flaherty, Wendi Hall, Susan Wagner, Amy Marshall, Paul Jeffries, Judy Rutherford, Mr. and Mrs. Humberto Alessandrini, Vicki Dwyer, Russ Dwyer, Sherri Grotkiewicz, Lisa Heberli, Lori Kelley, Ann Knier, Jeff Knier, Cadet Knier, Deb Olson, Cadet Timm, Mary Plese,  Veronica Punla Smith, David Smith, Sara Carroll-Anderson, Susan Anderson, Lynette Stowell, Greg and Dawn Kempf

A.     Call to Order:  At 3:00 p.m. Deborah Flaherty called the meeting to order, asked Chaplain Jefferies to lead us in an opening prayer and then introducing President Albert for opening remarks.

B.     President Albert:  Overview of plans for the coming academic year. Currently the Academy has a capacity for 350 cadets in the barracks. At this point there are 253 cadets registered at SJNMA. President’s Albert’s goal for second semester is 300 cadets. He would like to see at least 50 day cadets. Retention is key to these numbers. Resident Life being a central point to the retention. President Albert continues to receive daily RFO reports from the barracks and improvements continue to be made. Previous Capital Campaign was $25 million which was raised over a 5-year period. Next Capital Campaign is $40 million. Currently have $7 million debt (previous renovations) which would be paid off through this campaign. It is the Academy’s only debt. The Capital Campaign would also be used to fund an auditorium ($10 million project-$2 million has already been contributed), tennis court construction, and faculty endowment. We have several estate gifts in wait and the International families are rallying for the upcoming campaign. Any interested donors are encouraged to contact President Albert.

C.     Meeting Minutes/Treasurer’s Report:  Deborah Flaherty read the Parents’ Club Mission Statement did an overview of the meeting agenda. Wendi Hall did a brief treasurer’s report.  

D.    Enrollment Activities/Update:  Judy Rutherford reviewed the enrollment numbers of 253 current cadets of which 135 are new cadets this academic year. There are 11 countries represented and 19 states in the 130^th Corps.  Encouragement to all families for new enrollment opportunities. Recruitments meetings are planned in Wisconsin (Madison) as well as Texas (Houston and Dallas). Recruitments meetings are listed on the main SJNMA Website now.   Open Houses are held once or twice per month at SJNMA. Enrollment is currently looking for more Parent Club members to speak to prospective parents at Open Houses. If you are interested, please contact Deborah Flaherty via email  parentsclub@sjnma.org.  Day Cadet Family/Guardian Meeting scheduled for Thursday, September 12^th at 5:00 pm in the Welles Dining Hall.

E.     Families Weekend Updates (October 11-13): Agenda for Families Weekend is still being finalized and now appears on the ParentsWeb (formerly RENWEB) and  we will post to Parents Club blog http://sjnmaparentsclub.blogspot.com/.

The weekend will start out on Friday with PC Golf Outing. Registration forms for the Golf Outing along with donation forms can be found on RenWeb under Web Documents. We are still looking for a few volunteers from Parents’ Club for a few of the events during Families Weekend to include the Sunday PC Luncheon and the PC table during registration, football game, and Parent/Teacher Conferences. Please see the email Deborah sent that has the shared document link for the chart of  volunteer opportunities  You can still sign up / add your name to the chart through the link she added to the email. If you did not receive the email, please contact Deborah via parentsclub@sjnma.org and she will add you / send it out.  PC will also be doing a fundraiser during Families Weekend of fleece water resistant/wind resistant blankets embroidered with SJNMA. These will be sold throughout the weekend. Plan is to order 240 blankets. They will be sold for $40 each. Possible pre-sale/pre-order.  Susan Wagner made a motion to sell the blankets and the motion was seconded. Wendi Hall presented the Ambassador Program. This program would involve volunteers from Parents Club who are available to answer questions during campus events from other parents and family members. They would wear “ambassador” ribbons or something similar to identify them as “approachable” to answer questions. Feedback from President Albert regarding the program was supportive. However “ambassadors” must be qualified and knowledgeable about Academy standards prior to stepping into this volunteer role to insure that incorrect information is not given out. The motion was made by Wendi Hall to continue to work on the Ambassador Program and seconded by Lori Kelley.

F.      Volunteer Opportunities for the Next Six Months:  Parents Club is looking for volunteers to help with several upcoming activities over the next six months. These include Lessons and Carols (December15th) (akin to Corps Holiday Party). This daylong event is open to all families and friends.  Susan Arndt has volunteered to be the project lead for the desserts that are served at the dinner following  Lessons and Carols. Decorating of the Mess Hall will be done in early December and the project lead is Amy Marshall. We also have End of Semester Packs (project lead Theresa Ambord) to be organized, assembled and distributed. Followed by Movie Night/Dinner Event (project lead Theresa Ambord) and Mid-Winter Ball. Mid-Winter Ball is March 9^th and PC will be actively involved along with SJNMA staff in organizing this event. PC also donates the senior quilt for Excalibur with Sara Carroll- Anderson as our project lead to design and follow-thru on completion of the quilt for live auction. A seamstress is available through Deborah Flaherty to complete the quilt.  To finish the year in appreciation of all staff at SJNMA we also will prepare a Teacher/Staff Appreciation Activity in late May.

G.    Parents’ Club Blog Page: The blog page is up and running!  Please take a look and provide feedback. Great way to communicate info and pictures and answer most often asked questions about “life at St John’s”   http://sjnmaparentsclub.blogspot.com/

H.    Christmas Ornament: Potential Christmas ornament of SJNMA shared. Lisa Haberli has offered to lead this fund raiser to select design, price, and take charge of selling the ornaments.

I.       Proposed Parent Club Meetings:  (7pm Dining Hall unless otherwise noted)

·       Sunday, September 29, 2013 7pm  (open weekend return) Dining Hall

·       October 13 Families Weekend Sunday 1:15 pm PC Reception/Meeting

·       November 17th

·       December 2^nd

·       December 15^th- Lessons and Carols ALL ARE WELCOME-PLEASE COME! (no meeting -just enjoy the event)

·       January 6^th- Preparation of End of Semester Packs

·       January 20^th

·       February 22^nd

·       March 1/2^nd Closed Weekend Event for Corp

·       March 8/9^th Mid-Winter Ball Activities

·       April 7^th- IMPORTANT MEETING Review and prep for Excalibur, Families Weekend and Start of Graduation Activities

·       April 25-27 Spring Families Weekend Golf / Vote new Officers PC Meeting / Excalibur

·       May 11^th

·       May 26^th - Preparation of End of Semester Packs

ALL MEETINGS ARE HELD IN THE DINING HALL AT 7:00 PM UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.

Deb Olson made the motion to pass the PC meeting schedule and the motion was seconded by Lori Kelley.

J.      Other items for discussion: Meeting minutes will be completed within one week of the PC Meetings and will be posted on-line through ParentsWeb (RenWeb) and included on the Parents website page. Next PC Meeting is September 29^th at 7:00 pm in the Dining Hall. The meeting was adjourned at 4:20 pm in a motion made by Vicki Dwyer and seconded by Mary Plese.

Minutes are draft and will be presented for formal acceptance at next meeting Sunday, September 29th, 7pm Welles Dining Hall.