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Bylaws change /Single CEO/ Bob Munson, '73/Anonymous emailTo: Members of the "68 We're - Still Great Class!" From: Your Class Senator - Garry Dudley When is the last time you saw a "Subject to Letter"? I want to talk to you about the upcoming election. (You will probably receive a letter from some of our classmates about my running for the AOG Board in next month's election, but that is not what I want to talk to you about today.) This communication is about a change to the Association of Graduates bylaws to allow the AOG and USAFA Endowment (UE) to share a Single Chief Executive Officer (SCEO). Often referred to as the Single CEO Agreement (SCA), the implementing document. As this is a classmate to classmate communication, it is unfiltered and possibly not PC or sufficiently sensitive as it should be. So be it . . . This proposal for a Single CEO isn't anything new, this was on the ballot two years ago and 86% of those who voted approved it. Unfortunately, we came up short of the 25% of AOG members who needed to vote to make a quorum. A small group of folks took it upon themselves to get their way back then by encouraging others to not vote versus discussing the merits of the proposal. Looks like a few others are attempting the same this year. You may have seen letters from a member of the Class of '73, Bob Munson, who stated many opinions based on outdated material. He advocates that you not vote until the AOG Board/AOG give you "all of the information". He would have you believe your AOG Board is intentionally being dishonest and attempting to manipulate you by withholding information. Another individual, class of '67, just flat states incorrect, unresearched and false assumptions as if they were facts. In both cases, nothing could be further from the truth. These graduates call into question the integrity of the board members; fellow academy graduates you trusted enough to elect. (As a graduate yourself, you know how hurtful it is to have your integrity questioned without cause. Yes - I do take it personally!) No mention is made of the fact that information is available and has been available since mid-November on the AOG Election Website - www.aogusafa.org/election. If the purpose of these graduates was to educate you on the merits of the Board's proposal, the location of this information would have been mentioned in a fair and impartial manner and refuted if it were incorrect. Not the case here. They are attempting to short circuit the majority opinion to implement the desire of the uninformed few by pushing for a no vote and hoping a quorum is not reached. (As I said - unfiltered!) Before I direct you to a site for more information, I want to say two more things. First, throughout two careers, I was always aggravated by those without the responsibility to deliver the project/product or to move the organization forward who would sit on the sidelines and pontificate. Secondly, the vote to move forward down this evolving path was originally voted by a margin of 13 to 2. One director resigned and now leads a faction of the opposition while the other dissenting vote watched the Board improve the environment in which this agreement will take place. That director now is in agreement. Your current Board is unanimous in its support of this change! Please review these sources of information below and then vote! Vote for it or against it but vote. I will be voting for bylaws change. After reading the material, consider sending a note of confidence and support to the Board. [AOGBoardofDirectors@aogusafa.org] Election website - www.aogusafa.org/election It contains these items: • Single CEO Agreement • New Memorandum of Understanding between the Association of Graduates and the USAFA Endowment (signed Dec. 21, 2018) • Frequently Asked Questions (Updated regularly) • Proposed Changes to Bylaws • Bylaw Change Rationale • Some of the ways the AOG supports the Academy and the Long Blue Line • Current Bylaws Read the first Election Update http://www1.usafa.org/AOG2019ElectionUpdate1.html Second Election Update coming soon. There are links on the homepage as updates come out. A letter going out the some of those folks who have written the Board; we are trying to not mass email so much! Dear xxxx. Thanks for reaching out. My hope is that in addition to reading these anonymous, now signed, emails from Our Academy-Our AOG, you are also reading the source documents on the AOG Election webpage. They have been posted since mid-November and the FAQs are updated as questions come in. See https://www.usafa.org/Election As for the claims in this most recent mass email, it is important to note that one of the members of the 2016 Red Team, a non-Director, is the same one sending the mass emails. I promise you that the 2016 Board reviewed and thoughtfully analyzed this evaluation. Indeed, the Board requested this purposely negative examination to assist in its negotiations. Then the Board, including the Directors assigned to act as the Red Team, voted unanimously to continue the Single CEO effort. Fast forward to 2019--another Board is in place and also strongly supports this strategic move forward to a more formal and collaborative relationship with the USAFA Endowment. This Board also critically analyzed the previous Single CEO Agreement and found it to be well-constructed and complete. However, just to be certain, we had different Directors and our CEO take another critical look based on questions, feedback, and the strong collegial and collaborative working relationships between the AOG and Endowment Boards, leaders, and staffs. This new review resulted in the Single CEO Agreement presented to you today. While the Board Directors do not intend to undermine our fiduciary duties by sharing the Red Team evaluation, I am attaching the current set of Red Team FAQs from the AOG Election webpage for you. Please note that they have additional information to further explain the Board's position regarding release of the document. This Single CEO Agreement starts the journey we must take to be more impactful. Is it perfect? No. A strong foundation? Absolutely, and worthy of your support. In service, Cathy Cathy McClain, '82 |