The ROCKS, Inc.
National Board of Directors

 

ROCKS, INC.

National Board of Directors Meeting

26 January 2008

Call to Order

The January meeting was conducted at Hilton Alexandria Mark Center, Golden Ash Boardroom, 5000 Seminary Road, Alexandria, Virginia, 22311. BG(R) Adams-Ender called the meeting to order at 0915 hours. Attendees: LTG(R) Ed Honor, LTG(R) Larry Jordan, BG(R) Earl Simms, COL Ray Bingham, COL(R) Frank Francois, COL(R) Lucretia McClenney, and Sharene A. Cook of WSC Associates, LLP.

Chair’s Welcome

(BG (Ret) Adams-Ender) The Chairperson thanked and welcomed the board for coming out to the meeting and started the meeting with a story. She is seeking assistance for a young male West Point appointee who has parental rights of his brothers. He has been the father figure for his brothers, and is trying to figure out what to do in regards to who will be responsible for his brothers should he accept the appointment at West Point. LTG(R) Jordan and BG(R) Simms both know someone at West Point and will make contact.

Reading and Approval

The minutes for the October 2007 Board meeting were distributed to the board members for review and/or comments. All comments have been updated to the minutes for acceptance and approval. A motion was made and second to accept and approve the October 2007 National Board Meeting minutes.

Finance Report (COL(R) McClenney)

The bank balances as of 31 December 2007 are as follows: General Operating Account = $17,505.32; R.C. Cartwright Scholarship Fund = $32,371.03; SunTrust CD #1= $21,701.22; SunTrust CD #2 = $11,248.88. TOTAL = $82,826.45. LTG(R) Honor recommended purchasing a CD with monies in the Scholarship Fund and try to have it coincide with the mature dates of the current CDs. COL Bingham and LTG(R) Jordan recommended opening a Money Market account. LTG(R) Honor stated that the money market account would be good however, the interest rate could drop. Scholarship money should remain in a safe place. He recommended $14K be withdrawn from the Scholarship Fund and placed into a CD that will coincide with the other CDs maturity dates so that all the money can be together. Action was approved to withdraw $14K from the scholarship fund and purchase another CD. A motion was made and second to accept and approve the 31 December 2007 financial reports.

 Old Business

2008 Budget - The 2008 budget was discussed. LTG(R) Honor recommended that the amount for membership dues be increased from $30,000 to $33,000 ($30,319.24 was collected for 2007). He also recommended that the Don Stiver Print amount be increased from $1,000 to $3,960.00 ($750.00 was collected in 2007). The cost for Awardees Dinner and Trophies & Plaques will be reduced to reflect the lower number of awardees & guests selected and the lower number of trophies to be given.

For the 2008 Scholarship budget, the amount for donations will be increased from $25,000 to $30,000 ($28,267.00 was collected in 2007).

COL(R) McClenney discussed seeking another estimate from a different auditor. The current Auditor, Mr. Ancel Hendrix currently charges $1,950 for his services. SB Company, a financial services firm, mailed a proposal to LTG(R) Honor for review. The Washington, DC Chapter has signed a contract with SB Company for $1,200 per year for three consecutive years beginning 2008. WSC will obtain a quote from SB Company. (After review of Mr. Hendrix’s contract with National, it was discovered that his contract does not expire until the end of 2008. He will provide auditing services for year ending December 31, 2008. WSC will obtain a quote from Mr. Hendrix and SB Company to provide services for years ending 2009, 2010, 2011 in December 2008 to be presented at the Board’s January 2009 meeting.)

COL(R) McClenney agreed to leave the budget open for an additional week in order for Board members to provide additional input and an email will be sent seeking approval.

Strategic Communication Plan – COL Bingham stated that he has failed to create a strategic communication plan. BG(R) Adams-Ender had an opportunity to speak with the Chief briefly and she is planning to schedule a meeting with him as well. LTG(R) Honor and LTG(R) Jordan will accompany her. COL Bingham suggested that the ROCKS provide some type of recommendation to the Chief as it relates to diversity.

New Business

The briefing on UCMJ Changes & Article 123 – Sexual Assault was deferred to the April meeting. LTC Patricia Harris was not present.

The discussion on SROTC Cadet Membership was deferred to the April meeting. BG(R) Velma Richardson was not present.

National Leadership and Training Conference – LTG(R) Honor provided the following details for the conference: Notifications for the conference have been sent to all members. Letters have been sent to the speakers and sponsors. BG McMaffy will replace LTG Thurman. LTG Speakes, LTG Rochelle, MG Bostick and MG Bagby, MG Winfield, LTG(R) Jordan, BG(R) Simms, and Mr. Dominquez have accepted the invitation to speak. MG Black has blocked his calendar and he will be there. GEN Ward is working on his calendar. LTG(R) Honor will try to get BG Pinckney to speak. BG(R) Adams-Ender will follow up with the Surgeon General. Army of National Guard (LTG Vaughn) has declined and he is current seeking a replacement. HR Command has declined; COL Bingham will follow up with them. He is waiting for a response from BG Pittard. LTG(R) Honor informed COL Bingham that it is time to distribute the annual report format to the Chapters. Online registration is open and the Schedule of Events is available online. He will invite Senior Generals to attend the conference and the meet and greet receptions.

Mentoring and the Hawaii Chapter – BG(R) Adams-Ender stated that many people believe you have to be “higher up” to mentor people, however, even a LT can mentor people; “Blooming where you are planted.” She mentioned that we (The ROCKS) need to enlighten some people. BG(R) Adams-Ender had the opportunity to visit with the Hawaii Chapter (Talented Tenth). She stated that it was a good visit and one member mentioned that they could feel the togetherness of the group. At this time the group is planning to move its monthly meetings to a different location to make is convenient for members to attend.

National Museum of the US Army (Belvoir) – LTG(R) Jordan is a member of the Museum’s Board. He suggested that the ROCKS encourage the museum to be inclusive. This is an opportunity to highlight African-American contributions to the Army. He will have someone from the museum do a presentation for the ROCKS Board in April. LTG(R) Honor suggested that they do a 15 minutes presentation at the National Conference and provide handouts.

Functional VP Reports

VP Membership (COL Bingham) – Distributed membership reports to the Board. The top five chapters are Washington, DC, Atlanta, GA, European Officers, Germany, Hampton Roads, VA and Fort Bragg, NC. An interest group has been started in Afghanistan and they would like to add a link onto National’s website. MAJ Peterson would like to reactivate the Fort Leonardwood chapter. Willis Madden at Fort Knox is trying to verify how many ‘boots are on the ground.’ COL Bingham suggested that he seek civilian assistance. COL Bingham is currently working with MAJ Gibson at West Point to get a chapter started there. Chaplain James Francois has contacted National and is seeking to start a ROCKS Chapter in Philadelphia, PA. LTG(R) Honor suggested that National obtain a sample of an inaugural ceremony to make available to management office and distribute to other new chapters as needed (Atlanta would be the most recent.)

VP, Programs and Strategic Planning (LTG(R) Honor) – Will begin to work on the strategic plan once the National Conference is over.

VP, ROTC (BG(R) Simms) – All notices have been sent along with reminders. BG(R) Simms will call all PMS’ to follow up. He will be at the Cadet Command in February to discuss ROTC and School alignment and how the ROCKS can support the PMSs. Historian (COL(R) Francois) – Presented the idea of developing a historical journal of the ROCKS. It will take approximately 6-8 months to complete. Selling 3,000 copies of the journal for a donation of $50.00 could raise up to $150K for the organization. The primary target market would be the members. The journal will discuss the founding members and a history on how it started as a Social Group that grew into a mentoring organization. It will also discuss how 7 organizations grew out of the ROCKS (LTG(R) Honor does not agree that the Parren Mitchell Foundation should be included in the 7.) It was suggested that is states the “Organizations/Activities from the ROCKS”. The journal should also include the ROCK of the Year recipients. COL(R) Francois has spoken with people about how it should be done. He would like to solicit proposals for a company to do the interviews, but he would like to obtain the Board’s approval to move forward. He will present a cost analysis by April. He is estimating that it will cost $75K to do the project. He also would like to bring a company in to do a presentation. The Board requested that COL(R) Francois develop a standard outline of what needs to happen. He must keep it simple so people will use it. LTG(R) Honor stated that if the ROCKS could get the company that is working with Congress to the interviews, then we could have it done at no cost. COL(R) Francois already has a volunteer at Bowie State who is willing to assist with the interviews and research. LTG(R) Jordan may be able to find a company that will publish the journal at no cost. BG(R) Adams-Ender requested a proposal of the project with details. COL(R) Francois will put together a ‘road map’ for the journal and present it to the Board.