NGAUS Minutes March 18, 2023

The NGAUS board of directors gathered at the National Guard Memorial, the association headquarters in Washington, D.C., for its first meeting of 2023. Maj. Gen. Janson “Durr” Boyles, the board chairman, called the meeting to order.

MG Janson “Durr” Boyles
Maj Gen (Ret) Michael McGuire
MG Jimmie Cole
Maj Gen Ondra Berry (remote)
MG (Ret) Joanne Sheridan
Brig Gen (Ret) Ken Ross
Maj Gen Gary Keefe (absent)
MG Frank McGinn
Col (Ret) Steve Greco
MG William “Bill” Crane (remote)
COL Brian Borakove
Lt Col Jody Schweickart (absent)
MG Sheryl Gordon
MG Randall Simmons (absent)
Lt Col John Fesler  
MG Keith Waddell
BG Joe Hargett
Maj Keith Marshall
MG Paul Rogers
BG Mike Oster  
Brig Gen Sandy Best
Maj Gen John Hronek
COL Jerome Guerrero (absent)
Lt Col Andrew Sanchez (remote)
MG (Ret) Max Haston
Brig Gen (Ret) Bobbi Doorenbos (remote)
CPT Rasheedah Bilal
Maj J.D. Watson
CW5 Bob Nicholson

Non-Voting Members:
BG (Ret) Roy Robinson
CW5 Jim Simms, NGEDA President
BG (Ret) Keith Klemmer, CAP Chair
SGM (Ret) Matt Krenz for CSM (Ret) Karen Craig, EANGUS President
Maj Gen Daryl Bohac AGAUS President (absent)

NGAUS Presenters:
Col (Ret) Mike Hadley
Mr. John Goheen
Mr. Luke Guthrie
LTC (Ret) Jake Jakubek
Ms. Tracy Campfield
Mr. Blaise Lemke

Additional NGAUS staff:
Col (Ret) Paul Drake
Ms. Cheryl Young
Mr. Laurence Temple
Ms. Lakeshia Williams

Gen Boyles called the meeting to order at 0832.  

Gen Boyles led the pledge of allegiance and Gen Hargett offered the invocation.

Gen Boyles then proceeded to swear in the newly appointed member of the Board noted below:

Area IV
MG Keith Waddell, LA - Term Expires 2025 (filling unexpired term of former AR TAG MG Kendall Penn)

Gen Sheridan called the roll and reported a quorum is present.

Gen Boyles entertained a motion to approve the minutes from the last meeting. Gen Hargett so moved.  Col Fesler seconded. Motion carried by unanimous consent.

Chairman’s Remarks – Gen Boyles

Gen Boyles welcomed everyone to the meeting and then thanked the Board for taking time from their schedules to participate in today’s meeting to conduct the important business of this association.

Gen Boyles mentioned that Gen Berry is on the phone due to being “side saddled” in Nevada with some flooding threats going on in the state. Gen Boyles thanked Gen Berry for taking time from his schedule to attend the meeting remotely.

Gen Boyles stated that it has been a busy week and noted that the Educational Foundation met yesterday for its meeting in which Luke would give a report this afternoon highlighting those meeting details to also highlight who are honorees are tonight for the Legion De Lafayette Ceremony and Reception.

Gen Boyles mentioned that the NGAUS Insurance Trust met yesterday and that New York Life would be present today to brief the Board.

Gen Boyles added that the NGAUS Insurance Trust has taken some initiative, noting that the program had gone from 6000 participants in 2010 to about 3700 with new participants being added at about a 400 per year.

Gen Boyles stated that the Trustees discussed improving that rate and presented some ideas on how to generate some more activities, which would be discussed later today.

Gen Boyles advised that since the Board’s last meeting, he had engaged with the Task Forces with the help of the VP Air and VP Army and that a meeting was held with all the Task Force Chairs back in December in conjunction with Industry Day which, according to Gen Boyles, went very well.

Gen Boyles added that some Industry leaders talked to the Task Force Chairs during that time and discussed what “right” looks like on the committee, how they should meet, what they should discuss, as well as what was expected of the committees.

Gen Boyles stated that for the active committees, it was more of a refresher and good conversation and for some of the new committee chairs, the meeting gave them a road map for success.  

Gen Boyles mentioned that he touched base with the Task Force group around the 1st of February and that they all have their planning for the spring and are working very nicely on their products.

Gen Boyles stated that he was very encouraged and pleased with the leadership that is on the Task Forces and that it would be interesting to see what they come up with at the annual meeting.

Gen Boyles noted that the Board would go into executive session at the end of the Board’s business session today to discuss the contract of BG Robinson, which ends next February.  

Following no questions or comments for the Chairman, Gen Boyles then turned the meeting over to Gen Cole for the Vice Chair Army Report.

Vice Chair Army Report- Gen Cole

Gen Cole provided the Board with a few updates that he is currently tracking.

Gen Cole stated that many of the Board members are probably aware of the budget challenges that have currently been faced this year and noted the submission of the Army’s recent budget and the remarks by the Chief of Staff of the Army basically stating that we have submitted a flat budget on the Army side for this next year.

Gen Cole stated that to them, that really meant a net loss due to purchasing power and inflation.

Gen Cole stated that there was another comment in the article from GEN McConville in reference to being prepared for structural changes. Gen Cole added that he was not quite sure of the full meaning of that at this point, but that there was discussion in the article in support of modernization (the ReARMM program).

Gen Cole further stated that he was not sure if it was still in relation to the specific programs that were discussed in the past year or if there was any other hidden meaning behind structural changes and how that is going to affect (i.e., the legacy equipment that they have been getting up over the past year in support of the effort over in Europe).

Gen Cole mentioned that there would be more to follow and that he welcomed any input if anyone else had more information with respect to the matter.

Gen Cole stated that if the Board had an opportunity to read the NGAUS report that came out yesterday and the summation that Rich sent out because one of the articles was in reference to the incentive pay parity.

Gen Cole mentioned that the department has still been negligent in providing the report that was required by Congress back in the ‘21 defense bill.

Gen Cole added that the article specifically concentrates on Sen Duckworth’s (for lack of better terms) “calling the department out on the carpet” about a time frame.

Gen Cole stated that potentially we should see something within the next four weeks and would be looking forward to that as well.

Gen Cole noted that they have started working with John in reference to the speakers for the Army Session for this year’s annual conference in Nevada.

Gen Cole stated that he would be willing to hear any recommendations that anyone had as he works very closely with Chairman Gen Boyles, President Gen Robinson, NGAUS staff and, also with the NGB staff (i.e., the Director of the Army National Guard LTG Jensen) to make sure that we are all getting something that’s going to be pertinent to our members moving forward in the future.

Gen Cole stated that last year they did some concentration on FORSCOM and Europe and the thought this year was to try to shift that focus and have more focus on the INDOPACOM area.

Gen Cole further stated that if anyone had any recommendations or desires, please let him know.

Gen Cole mentioned that they are also looking at a speaker topic for a professional development session at this year’s conference and would be looking for recommendations for that as well.

Gen Cole stated that there would be more to follow on the topic later in the meeting during the conference update.

Following no questions or comments, Gen Cole then asked Col Hadley (Mike) to give an unofficial update on the Victor Program.

UH-60V Program Update - Col (Ret) Mike Hadley

Mike began by stating that Gen Cole asked him yesterday to provide an update on the UH-60V Program which is a modernization program for our Black Hawks.

Mike mentioned that the program itself is an attempt to recapitalize and modernize our existing UH-60 fleet, which is primarily an upgrade or recapitalization of our UH-60Ls.

Mike added that the concept is that it provides a digitized cockpit along with a lot of other new components for it.

Mike noted that both NGAUS, as well as the Aviation Task Force, started tracking this program about five or six years ago because it was going to affect about 372 aircraft of the Guard.

Mike stated that earlier in the program they started noticing some issues or some red flags that they saw mostly associated with the timeline, production, and distribution of aircraft including other things of concern. Mike added that they tried to address the issues with the Army Guard Aviation Division as well as with some of the Army staff in the UH-60 program office.

Mike noted that currently, the biggest issue comes back down with our production, of which today they should be sitting at close to 100 aircraft into the Guard based on the original timeline schedule. Mike further noted that currently we are fielded at about 37 aircraft into the Guard.

Mike mentioned that one of the other big concerns was also the cost associated with it, understanding that the cost associated with building one of these aircraft is about $13.0M.

Mike noted that the Army spent, over the last six legislative cycles, about $1.8M on the program with not a lot to show for it.

Mike further mentioned that they had also started to get some indications that the program may be curtailed early, which according to Mike, is unofficial, and that they do not know what that is going to look like yet. More to follow.

Mike stated that the bottom line is that we have got to look at what occurs next and that if we only get about 60 aircraft into the Guard, that still leaves over 300 aircraft that are going to time out and not be modernized across the states.

Mike concluded by stating that they have been asking what their “plan B” would look like and have not really received an official answer on that but suffice it to say we have got an aging fleet that affects about nearly all of the states and territories at this time.

Gen Cole thanked Mike for the update and asked whether anyone had any questions or comments on the matter.

Q&A

Gen Haston asked whether this had anything to do with the Future Vertical Lift (FVL).

Mike responded, “Not directly.”

Mike added that he didn’t think that it was a direct one-on-one for Future Vertical Lift, even though they are going to be performing some of the same missions, but that the bulk right now of what they are tracking is that the bulk of the FVL program is going to go to the active component and that today they were solely looking at probably two battalions worth of FVL going into the Guard.

Mike added that it is still not anywhere close on one-to-one numbers swap out.

Gen Cole thanked Mike for the update and stated to the Chairman that this concluded his Vice Chair Army remarks.

Gen Boyles thanked Gen Cole for his report and opened the floor for Q&A.

Following no further questions or discussions by the Board, Gen Boyles turned the meeting over to Gen Berry for the Vice Chair Air Report.

Vice Chair Air Report- Gen Berry

Gen Berry greeted the Chairman and the Board and stated that he had spoken with the Director of the Air Guard Gen Loh earlier this week and would go over some of the comments that the DANG wanted to relay.

Gen Berry stated that Gen Loh believed that we are really at a pivotal point and that we must focus on leveraging our position to shape our future Air National Guard in alignment with the national defense priorities: recapitalize, invest, and engage, and a significant restructuring of our weapons systems and legacy programs related to the funding and achieving our overall goals in the military.

Gen Berry stated that Gen Loh also discussed how it was time for them to take the offense and take action along those three lines of effort, which was really a total force recapitalization solution.

Gen Berry stated that Gen Loh also mentioned that it is critical that the Air Guard is operating with the same equipment as the active component, and that we are not burdening our airmen with legacy equipment. And in the China fight they need parity around lethality and survivability.  

Gen Berry further relayed that the Air National Guard since they are a 24 UPL, the continuation of our collective messaging of recapitalization.

Gen Berry stated that what was also discussed was the F-35s, TDXs, flying hours, JWICS capacity, IT modernization and to recapitalize the legacy Air National Guard mass squadrons.

Gen Berry also noted modern platforms to really maximize our maintenance and ops experience and efficiency.

Gen Berry stated that one thing that the DANG really focused on was how not to retire jets before we get new jets on the ramp and to keep the production of the F-35 and F-15EX recapitalization on the top of that list.

Gen Berry stated that the DANG also discussed a lot about the future of how the Air National Guard looks a bit different than how it appears today and with our end strength in mind we must not be afraid of crossing state lines as it relates to re-missioning, but to also not sacrifice our end strength to maintain our legacy force structure.  

Gen Berry stated that the DANG also discussed the opportunity to remission the manpower and legacy mission sets that the Air Force plans to offset, which will help keep Air National Guard end strength and also preserve our combat ability and capacity.

Gen Berry added that the DANG discussed that we really stay open to repurposing and that Gen Loh talked to the TAGs quite a bit about the issue of repurposing manpower from legacy missions to buy back into missions that work with the national defense strategy.

What was also discussed was the Air National Guard Space Mission and that last Friday Chief National Guard Bureau met with the Chief of Staff of Space and Air Force on their unified position on the Air Guard Space Forces, which has now really had an impact. The Chief now has an appointment with the OMB Director scheduled for next week, which has gotten a lot of attention.

Over the next couple of weeks, the site survey teams will be rolling out to those C-130H states. They have agreed on the basing actions for C-130 selections in which the CODELS now have these basing actions and the DANG wants the decision-making done by the fourth quarter of this fiscal year.

He talked about staying engaged around the 54 and also about modernization and equipment and that one of our big goals is that NGAUS stay in line around some of the same priorities as AGAUS.

As an FYI they were just they were discussing that they are cutting 1500 military positions out of Tinker because of the retirement of the E3 and that we as the 54 must think about their locations, in that they may not close the locations, but they can’t downsize us, and the Secretary is looking at where he can downsize.

In Fiscal Year 2024 we had over 9700 Air National Guard members deployed to 19 different countries and in Fiscal Year 2023 we will have 3400 Air National Guard members deployed and we are forecast to have 6700 Air National Guard members deployed by the end of this fiscal year to 17 different countries.

Talked about the Guard story and about the great work that the Airmen are doing and that they really need a great Air National Guard force to defend our nation.

Gen Berry stated that the DANG would build upon his comments.

Gen Berry stated that he was not sure if it has been finalized but they are looking at adding a training conference on maybe the front end of the NGAUS Conference to allow further opportunities for members to access funding through their respective TAGs and to be able to be in the vicinity of the NGAUS conference.

Gen Boyles thanked Gen Berry and Gen Cole for their respective Vice Chair Reports and opened the meeting for any Q&A.

Following no questions or comments, Gen Boyles turned the meeting over to Gen Ross for the Treasurer’s Report.

Treasurer’s Report - Gen Ross

Gen Ross began by stating that there were no decisions to be made today as this was not budget adoption time, but that it was a good time to reflect on the actual budget for 2022.

Gen Ross stated that the numbers were in, and while not audited, it seldom changed very much.

Gen Ross gave the Board a big-picture overview and stated that if anyone wanted more details, he would get together offline because he did not want to get too deep into the matter.

Gen Ross stated that if we look at the last three years (2020, 2021, and 2022), everyone knows what happened in the year 2020 as it was a horrible year for reasons known.

Gen Ross stated that 2022 was a recovery year and we had some COVID money that really rescued this organization from having two terribly bad years in a row.  

Gen Ross then discussed the year 2022 and asked the Board to look at it as the first completed post-COVID year and how we were doing.

With respect to revenue, Gen Ross stated that we were doing okay because we went from really low to high because of COVID relief money to a little over $4.5M worth of revenue.

Gen Ross noted that he was speaking of NGAUS and not the building and that he was looking at operations from NGAUS non-building and money spent from NGAUS operations non-building.

Gen Ross stated that the $4.6M was pretty good and about average, even in pre-COVID years.

With respect to expenses, Gen Ross stated that the expense picture did not look as good with it being very difficult to compare years 2020 and 2021 because of all the gyrations of COVID, but his experience would tell them that something around $6.5M is what he would expect to see flip up the expense side and that the expenses for 2022 came in at $7.3M, which according to Gen Ross was a bit high.

Gen Ross stated that the biggest single mover of that was that this is the first year in a long time that we are fully staffed up in authorized positions, which included some salary increases due to inflationary pressures.

Gen Ross reiterated that these were just NGAUS numbers.

Gen Ross stated that the organization was fine but what this tells him is that if we are going to stay at this kind of operational level, he would be more comfortable if we increased our revenues.

Gen Ross noted that with respect to the building, our building generates as much as $3.5M worth of income.

Gen Ross stated that the way in which we have designed our organization is that some of that building revenue is needed to justify the level of operations.

Gen Ross stated that he is comfortable with about $1.0M -$3.5M, which is what he would like to see with the rest of it going back into the building to build its reserves and do the things that keep it sound and healthy.

Gen Ross noted that we do have one floor vacant with about $1.0M a year worth of revenue.
 
Gen Ross stated that until this DC market turns around, he felt more comfortable with about $1.5M worth of building money coming our way.

Gen Ross stated that the plan is to enhance all our programs (insurance program, conference program, and also dues), which are all pointed up but just giving a pre-warning that we need to point them up significantly to maintain this kind of level and that he believed it was possible.

Gen Ross stated that if he totaled all of that, it tells him that instead of looking at about $1.5M coming out of building money, they are going to take about $2.5M to do this.

Gen Ross stated that the third big underpinning of the health of our organization was the revenue from our reserve investments.

Gen Ross stated that over a long period of time, he would expect about an 8% return out of our reserve investments, which helps stabilize the amount of money that we must put in reserves to build them back up.

Gen Ross stated that historically that provides $1.0M or $2.0M worth of additional revenue besides reserves.

Gen Ross mentioned that he didn’t believe that he had to explain to anyone what the market did in the year 2022 as we lost $2.0M in our reserve portfolios.

Gen Ross stated that this meant an over $4.0M loss for the year if you combine the operations, but if you throw in the building income that offset almost all of it.

Gen Ross stated that if we consolidate everything then we are fine, but it is just not the place that we need to be and that we must look at this as a blip when it comes to investment income and trust that over a ten-year window, that we would get more historic returns.

Gen Ross stated that while we are currently fine, he just didn’t like this long-term and would like us to be able to get those reserves back up with the market doing that for us and to just stay the course.

Gen Ross also stated that he would like to get our revenue back up to where we are spending and take about $1.5M or so out of our building rent to cover these regular operations and not make that higher than uncomfortable.

Q&A

Gen McGinn asked if we were going to discuss the building a bit further and continue discussions about Amtrak.

Gen Ross responded that he understood the question but that there was nothing currently on the table because Amtrak had gone radio silent on its interest and that everyone was ducking and weaving because of the economy’s budget issues. Gen Ross added that because there are no guarantees, they are not looking to make long-term commitments as far as the DC market is concerned.

Gen Ross added that to rent a building in today’s market here in DC you’d almost have to give it away.

Gen Ross stated that he thinks that we are better off not putting up the $2.0M - $3.0M to build out a floor right now.

With respect to the long-term capital investment discussion, Gen Ross stated that we were not going to discuss that at this time because Amtrak would not talk to us about it.

Gen Ross stated that we went back to Amtrak and asked whether they were interested in talking to us about it and that the response was “no by no response”.

Gen McGuire asked when Amtrak’s lease is set to expire.

Gen Ross responded that he believed that we had six years left which would be 2028 and that he is counting on an average of six years that we have to get back to $15.0M because with just the building fund; we have about $5.0M of $15.0M with six years to get the rest.

Gen Ross stated that there are a lot of moving parts and that this market has to turn around. Gen Ross added that he has faith that things will come back around.

Gen Ross encouraged staff to keep building up on the revenue side.

Gen Robinson stated that we made it through the last three years without tapping into anyone’s reserves.

Gen Ross concurred.

Following no further questions or comments, Gen Boyles turned the meeting over to Gen Haston for the Retired Report.

Retired Report – Gen Haston

Gen Haston began by noting that Gen Doorenbos was present via phone and then proceeded to continue his presentation where he left off during the last meeting.

Gen Haston discussed his notes taken following the survey that was conducted at the 2022 Retiree Luncheon in Columbus, OH.

Gen Haston noted that the survey included areas that were important to the retiree as noted below.  

Healthcare and Benefit Changes – Retirees are interested in anything that happens legislatively that affects TRICARE and the health benefits that they would get or any other type of benefit changes.

Gen Haston stated that they do a pretty good job of putting the information out in the National Guard magazine.

Unit Heraldry Changes – Retirees would like to be informed of those changes.

Leadership Books – Retirees would like to be informed about who the current leadership is over at the Pentagon, at George Mason (TARC), and at Andrews AFB.

Gen Haston discussed the strength problem across the board in the military and how retirees are not selling the Armed Forces.

Gen Haston also discussed some articles that listed reasons that may hinder the youth from joining the military (i.e., securing benefits, remote work option, “wokeism”, etc.).   

Gen Haston stated that one of the greatest things that retirees possess is experience and being able to relate that experience to other generations.

Gen Haston mentioned to the Board TAG Reps that in talking to a lot of State Association EDs, it was discovered that many do not know who retires in their state to ask them to be a Retired Lifetime Member of NGAUS.  

Gen Gordon commented on the EDs getting with the G-1 and stated that she tried to do so back when she was the ED and the lawyers jumped on her, stating that the list could not be released to a separate organization and that if you want the information, you will have to file a Freedom of Information Act request.   

Gen Haston still encouraged the TAGs to ask because it was the appropriate thing to do and would help our whole enterprise.

Gen Haston concluded by stating that the retirees are a strong voice.

Gen Boyles opened the floor for any questions or comments.

Chief Sweeney thanked Gen Haston for his comments about the retirees and added that part of the EDs engagement strategy on membership at NGEDA was engaging with retirees. Chief Sweeney noted that he received a lot of “deer in headlights” looks from the EDs.

Gen Haston stated that there must be a “want to” on both sides, such as a G1 that is willing to go out there and do it as well as having an ED that is willing to take that information and do something with it.  

With respect to not getting access to the rosters, Chief Sweeney discussed that one of the ways that they are working now is to approach the matter through their SSLI Insurance Program as part of the out-processing checklist.

Gen Haston concluded by asking Gen Doorenbos whether she had anything to add to the report.

Gen Doorenbos stated that she had nothing to add to Gen Haston’s great report.

Following no further questions or comments, Gen Boyles thanked Gen Haston and Gen Doorenbos for the work that they are doing for the retirees and then turned the meeting over to Chief Nicholson for the Warrant Officer Report.

Warrant Officer Report - CW5 Bob Nicholson

(Slide 2) Chief Nicholson provided an overview of the WO Committee and stated that the Area Reps on the committee from Areas I, III, and V are up for election at this year’s conference in Reno, NV.

AREA I  CW5 Jay Vincent, MA    
    (CT, ME, MA, NH, NJ, NY, RI, VT)
 AREA II  CW3 Annette Johnson, DC     
     (DE, DC, KY, MD, NC, OH, PA, VA, WV)
AREA III CW4 Lance Jenkins, TN
    (AL, FL, GA, PR, SC, TN, VI)
AREA IV  CW4 (R) Terri Marshall, TX   
    (AR, KS, LA, MS, MO, OK, TX)
AREA V   CW5 (R ) Bill Krueck, WI
           (IL, IN, IA, MI, MN, ND, NE, SD, WI)
AREA VI  CW4 Elizabeth Hoepfner, UT   
           (AK, AZ, CA, CO, GU, HI, ID, MT, NV, NM, OR, UT, WA, WY)

(Slides 2 & 3)  Chief Nicholson discussed with the Board the WO Committee’s following Action items for FY 23:
•    Incentive Pay Parity (as mentioned earlier by Gen Cole)
Status: Ongoing. DOD has missed multiple deadlines. Chief Nicholson stated he met with Mike Hadley on Thursday to discuss the matter and that Mike would be able to expand and provide an update to the Board during the Legislative report.
•    Revisit TDY vs. PCS for PME
    Status: ARNG WOSAC working blanket ETP memo for all RC Officers. They are     working with the new Command Chief Brian Searcy and are looking at having a     possible fix in the next NDAA and have a memo signed.
•    Communication to Members
    Status: Chief Nicholson stated that he had a good meeting with John Goheen on Thursday     and that John had agreed to assist the group to begin publishing a quarterly email     newsletter through NGAUS.
•    Sustaining the Senior Warrant Officer Mixer
    Status: Planned and sponsored for the next two conferences. Requested to have mixer     added to Conference SOP.  Recommendation to develop event into Field Grade/Sr.     Warrant Officer Mixer from GCC. (MG Cole)
•    FEDREC Process
    Status: Current policy and Changes in FY 24 NDAA.  DORs to be back dated to when     the promotion packet leaves the state.
•    Warrant Officer Committee LDL
    Status: LDL goal achieved. Ceremony 18 March 2023.

Following no further questions or comments, Gen Boyles thanked Chief Nicholson for his report and turned the meeting over to the CGO Committee for their report.

Company Grade Report - CPT Rasheedah Bilal

CPT Bilal started off by saying that moving forward as a CGO Committee they have decided to make sure that their messaging efforts are themed, which is what precipitated the type of questions asked in the survey, as well as the types of development opportunities they sought and then in the end, the output that they would like to give at the end of the CGO Committee.

CGO leader CPT Bilal discussed the following topics with the Board (Slide 2):

•    CGO Board Vacancies
•    General Survey
•    Legislative Way Forward
•    Highlight 2023 CGOPD Theme

NGAUS CGO Committee (Slide 3):

Company Grade Board of Directors
VACANT – Air Director 23-25
CPT Rasheedah Bilal – Army Director 22-24  

Area I (CT, ME, MA, NH, NJ, NY, RI, VT)
Army – CPT Ryan Peterson (MA) 23-25
Air – Capt Matt Murray (NY) 22-24

Area II (DE, DC, KY, MD, NC, OH, PA, VA, WV)
Army – CPT Rob Moore (KY) 22-24
Air – 2d Lt Sammi Brown (WV) 23-25
 
Area III (AL, FL, GA, PR, SC, TN, VI)
Army – CPT Alexander Kemp (FL) 23-25
Air – Capt Stephen West (TN) 22-24
 
Area IV (AR, KS, LA, MS, MO, OK, TX)
Army – CPT Quatiara Brewer (LA) 22-24
Air – VACANT (TBD) 23-25
 
Area V (IL, IN, IA, MI, MN, ND, NE, SD, WI)
Army – 2LT Chad Rihn (WI) 23-25    
Air – Capt Evan Littrell (N) 22-24
 
Area VI (AK, AZ, CA, CO, GU, HI, ID, MT, NV, NM, OR, UT, WA, WY)
Army – CPT CJ Beckmann (UT) 22-24
Air – 1st Lt Thomas Flores (NM) 23-25

CPT Bilal stated that the Committee has six vacancies coming up with the intent to work with John’s team in Communications to get an article out to generate interest beforehand and educate the CGOs on what the actual commitment is in order to get motivated CGOs who do not simply work the problem but who are adamant about being a part of the solution moving forward.

CPT Bilal stated that they would also like to work with the State Association EDs because a lot of times the first time that these CGOS are hearing about the vacancies are at the conference, so the intent is to empower the CGOs to be a little bit more involved upfront.

General SITREP Survey (Slide 4):

CPT Bilal stated that after looking at some of the issues they thought people were having, they sat down with a couple of senior leaders to get some mentorship about what their theme would be.

CPT Bilal stated that through this process they came up with the theme that they want to “Bridge the Gap” meaning bridging the gap between being a qualified officer/leader and being a competent officer/leader, bridging the gap between officers and NCOs, bridging the gap between people first and your obligation to your mission, etc.

CPT Bilal stated that the Bridging the Gap theme drove them to develop their 2023 SITREP Survey.

CPT Bilal mentioned that the survey has only been out for three weeks, with the vast majority of responses from officers.

CPT Bilal stated that the Committee plans to keep the survey open while working with EANGUS and the Warrant Officer community to develop more OPD opportunities.

(Slide 5) CPT Bilal discussed the CGO word cloud which included key words of interest such as “pay”, which was a big issue as well as “opportunities” for promotion, etc.

(Slide 6) CPT Bilal discussed the following themes that resulted from the survey.

•    Transparent and honest communication with leadership
•    Entitlement discrepancies and pay in comparison to private sector
•    Positive command climate with concern for service member issues
•    More development opportunities
•    Prompt payment

(Slide 7) Cpt Bilal stated that the demographics for the most part were 70% Army, and with respect to rank, there were about 60% CGOs. Gender was about 77% male.

CPT Bilal stated that hopefully in July they will be able to give a bit more accuracy based on other demographics.

CPT Bilal gave an overview of the responses to the survey questions below:

Slide 8: “I believe my senior leadership listens to my feedback” About 60% agreed.
Slide 9: “I feel I have a quality of life through my service” About 60 % agreed.
Slide 10: “I feel my MOS/AFSC duties are clearly defined and my job utilizes my skills and          
                capabilities” About 56% agreed. CPT Bilal believed that the results would differ if you           
                are AGR or on full-time status vs. M-Day
Slide 11: “I have a mentor that works with me, whom I can trust to identify my developmental           
                needs” About 45% agreed.
Slide 12: “I feel I have ownership of my career trajectory, and the ability to explore my interest    
               in the military” About 40% agreed. CPT Bilal stated that the question is why do they    
               teeter off once they hit that Captain and Major level. CPT Bilal stated that the
               emphasis should be on how to retain talent.
Slide 13: “My unit widely communicates the opportunities for promotion and career  
              development available through the National Guard” About 33% agreed.

(Slide 14) Legislative – CPT Bilal stated that the CGO Legislative Subcommittee thought long and hard in developing a roadmap and vision for how they wanted to move forward and decided that they wanted to do the following:

(Slide 15) Legislative
•    Two-year cycle concept
-    Year one: General survey (senior leadership input & feedback to be able to better refine more strategic and pinpointed surveys for the next year)
-    Year two: Refined survey focused on identified issues
•    Annual Chief and Director level backbriefs
•    CGO briefing at NGEDA on proposed resolutions

(Slide 16) CPT Bilal displayed the Legislative Subcommittee Timeline for Year One (2023)

(Slide 17) CPT Bilal displayed the Legislative Subcommittee Timeline for Year Two (2024)

(Slide 18) Officer Professional Development – CPT Bilal discussed how the research and surveys tied into the CGOPD.

(Slide 19) 2023 NGAUS CGOPD Theme: Bridging the Gap – CPT Bilal discussed the theme’s four (4) categories below:

    LEADERSHIP PROFICIENCY
    - State of Nevada’s Purple Resolve Pre-Conference Workshop, 17-18 August.  
    - Interactive, certificate producing leadership workshop.
    KNOWLEDGE SHARING
    - “CGOx” a TEDx style platform for Junior Officers to share their best practices and     solutions for current challenges.
    STRATEGIC PERSPECTIVE
    - Keynote addresses from CNGB, DARNG, and DANG and their Senior Enlisted     Leaders.
    ENGAGEMENT
    - Learn techniques to identify and request mentorship.
    - Understand the resolutions process

(Slide 20) Communications

(Slide 21) Communications Subcommittee – CPT Bilal discussed the Communications Subcommittees’ brainstorming and research below:  

Maintain online and social media presence.
•    Where do CGOs go to find information? (Independent new outlets, YouTube, LinkedIn, etc.)
•    New social media solutions (The Comms team has developed a webpage for the CGO audience)

Develop stories, articles and other information pieces for NGAUS distribution
•    Provides content that matters to CGO community
•    Tells our story

Develop, review and assess plans, programs, and strategies to communicate with CGOs
•    Determine effective methods to disseminate and collect data
•    Currently use surveys to gather information to form priorities

Report on viability of social media and print media effort
•    Are we reaching each state and CGO?
•    Developing Key Point Indicators (KPI) to validate

(Slide 22) CPT Bilal discussed the Board to CGO Initiative below.

Initiative 1:  Documented feedback from the BoD
•    What training and messaging is relevant to CGOs from your board seats today?
    Give us your feedback!
    Collect this information on a regular basis
    We can deliver through CGO-targeted channels

(Slide 23) CPT Bilal discussed Information is Power > Power in Numbers

Initiative 2: Drive CGO development from the NGAUS website
•    Capitol Summit feedback
    Location to get CGO Professional Development content
    Resources to start local CGO Committees
    News feeds relevant to CGOs

(Slide 24)  CPT Bilal discussed the Key Takeaways below.
•    Themed synergy
•    Empower CGO body across the 54
•    Innovate channels of communication

(Slide 25) CPT Bilal discussed the CGO Legion de Lafayette Challenge which included the QR code to donate to the cause.

CPT Bilal stated that it demonstrates the CGOC’s commitment to educating others on the historical impact of the National Guard.

CPT Bilal stated that the CGOs have garnished about $4k since kicking off a few weeks ago and hope to join the Legion de Lafayette group around this time next year.

Q&A

Col Greco asked CPT Bilal whether the CGO presentation made today could be recorded so that when he discussed the matter with his CGO Council it is portable to be played. Col Greco added that the information was outstanding and if there is some way that the group could get downstairs in the studio and record the message to be posted on the NGAUS website, that would be great.

CPT Bilal concurred and stated that they could do so.

Gen Boyles commended the group for providing quality information to the Board and asked the TAG reps whether this was something that they needed to present to the TAGs at their next meeting.

The TAG reps concurred.

Gen Boyles stated that maybe they could figure it out for AGAUS and believed that this was information that they need to see.   

Gen Boyles stated that they would get with CPT Bilal on the matter.

Gen Robinson noted that the next AGAUS meeting is in Hawaii so the Board might want to limit that to one CGO rep briefing and that we also need to hash out the CGO webpage because there are a lot of things that must be figured out in order for that to happen and maintained, but we will work on it.

Gen Boyles commended CPT Bilal on the good product presented today by the CGOs and then turned the meeting over to Mr. O’Brien for the New York Life update.

Gen Boyles introduced Mr. O’Brien and stated to all who were unaware that New York Life is the new underwriting company for our insurance program, who replaced Voya when they decided to exit this piece of the industry.

Gen Boyles added that New York Life has been great to work with and we are very excited that they provide some opportunities for us that we did not have with Voya.

Mr. Dan O’Brien—New York Life Update

Mr. O’Brien introduced himself and then stated that he arrived close to the end of the CGO report and wanted to mention to the group that three years ago, New York Life generated a white paper on millennial engagement and membership in associations and what came out of that paper was how to communicate, what kind of messages to communicate, but ultimately it was about building mentorship programs.  

Mr. O’Brien stated to the CGOs that he found it amazing that they were doing the same thing and would be happy to share the information that his company has worked.

Gen Boyles responded, “That would be great.”

Mr. O’Brien stated that they have been on the program for about 75 days and are excited to get started as they have already paid out two life claims and two disability claims.

(Slide 2) Mr. O’Brien mentioned that they took over the program as Voya had it set up Life, Disability, AD&D, and a Membership Life program.

(Slide 3) Mr. O’Brien stated that the website has also been redone as well as some of the brochure information, while still working on some ads.

(Slide 4) Mr. O’Brien stated that they were able to take the applications and streamline them.

(Slide 5) Mr. O’Brien stated that the main thing right now is that they are still doing some state filings with 44 approved for Life, and 31 approved for DI which are still under works, all while taking on new business with no lapses in coverage.

Mr. O’Brien turned the presentation over to Mr. Farmer from AGIA.

Mr. Brian Farmer—AGIA Update

Mr. Farmer introduced himself and stated that AGIA is the third-party administrator of the insurance program and that they have been in the business for over 60 years, founded in 1956.

Mr. Farmer stated that AGIA represents about 100 of the most prestigious association within the United States and a total of 30 million members.

Mr. Farmer stated that AGIA is a technology-forward company to look at not only the insureds but also the non-members regarding where they are interacting, how they are interacting, etc.  

Mr. Farmer discussed the transition, which he stated was going well thus far, and while they were only 75  days in, they do have some information in the metrics.

(Slide 10) Mr. Farmer noted that AGIA has fielded about 369 calls and has about a 95% satisfaction rating.

Mr. Farmer stated that they have technology that is AI-based and monitors 100% of phone calls that come in (with the industry standard being 20%).

Mr. Farmer concluded by stating that the system monitors tone, words used, etc. so the 95% satisfaction rating is very good at this point because their standard is 90%.

Mr. Farmer turned the meeting back over to Mr. O’Brien to present to the Board the new No Cost Offer program.

No-Cost Offer – Mr. Dan O’Brien

Mr. O’Brien stated that one of the ways that they are trying to reinvigorate this program is to institute a no-cost offer which is essentially offering every new hire a guaranteed open enrollment period.

Mr. O’Brien stated that the offer is that the association would fund the premium for these new hires for their first year and then after the first year, the payroll deductions would start.

Mr. O’Brien stated that the goal here is that the participation would go way up and that everyone would take the no-cost offer. Mr. O’Brien added that those who did not wish to continue with the no-cost,  would just make a phone call to withdraw.

Mr. O’Brien stated that people will see the benefit of the program with claims being paid to people who have never paid premiums.

Mr. O’Brien stated that they see this as an opportunity to really bring up lives and also grow the premium long-term because while they are foregoing that premium in the very beginning, they sort of make it up in the end.

Mr. O’Brien noted that this insurance isn’t free, as the actual association is providing the insurance and paying the cost of it in terms of the claims.

Mr. O’Brien stated that they are excited about the program and believed that it really is going to make a huge difference with this being a test they are going to try for the year to see what the impacts are and hopefully the participants will see the value of the program and will make sure that the offer gets in front of the new hires.

Q&A

Gen McGinn stated that after the first free year how does it work - is it phone contact? Would New York Life contact the individuals, etc.?

Mr. O’Brien stated that payroll deductions would begin after the first free year per the enrollment form and if participants do not wish to continue with the program, they would just call to withdraw.

Mr. Nielsen added that when he was helping New York Life with this program, it came up that we paid 45 claims in the last 12 months, which means 450 technicians Title 5s or T32s are eligible for this program and needed this program and we only captured 10% of them.

Mr. Nielsen stated that as the Board knows as a technician, you must have time to build up vacation time and sick leave and that if an injury happens outside of the workplace, the first thing that goes is their sick leave and vacation leave.

Mr. Nielsen stated that if 90% of these technicians knew about this program and were educated on this program, they would’ve benefited from it.
 
Mr. Nielsen stated that there must be a huge paradigm shift to make sure that this program is in front of them and that they understand it.

Mr. Nielsen stated that he was very excited that the NGAUS Insurance Trust has ventured into this No-Cost program and that New York Life wanted to be involved as well.

Mr. Nielsen commended Gen Robinson and Luke and stated that now we have a product for all our technicians, including those that are in Guam.

Gen Boyles stated to Mr. Nielsen that he mentioned something yesterday that this group needs to know, which is that SGLI offers a disability benefit with their product now under the new program.

Mr. Nielsen concurred and explained that the difference is that SGLI is basically like AFLAC, if I lose an arm, they will pay me $25K, in that it is really an accident program for immediate.

Mr. Nielsen stated that the difference in this program is that in disability coverage, it is meant to replace 60% of the individual’s salary, which is why this program is there.

Mr. Nielsen stated that if we take care of our Soldiers and Airmen and if we get this program on board, the money is going to take care of itself.

Mr. O’Brien added that the program would be effective July 1st.

Gen Boyles stated to the TAG reps in the room that they are going to present the program at AGAUS so that the TAGS would be aware that this program is coming to their respective states in this new format.

Gen Boyles asked Luke whether he had anything to add.

Luke responded. “No sir.” and stated that everything was covered.

Following no further questions or discussion by the Board, Gen Boyles entered recess to take the morning break.

(Recess - 15 mins)

Following the recess, Gen Boyles turned the meeting over to Gen Cole for the General Conference Update.

General Conference Committee Update – Gen Cole & LTC (Ret) Jake Jakubek

Gen Cole stated that he and Jake were going to combine their presentations as they have two line items.

Gen Cole stated that before Jake begins with his presentation, he would like to thank the Committee for the spirited discussions that were held during the General Conference Committee Meeting.

Gen Cole mentioned that Jake would start off by giving the Board some updates on Nevada and a couple of other items and that he would then follow up with a couple of key things that were discussed during the GCC meeting yesterday.  

2023 Conference Update – LTC (Ret) Jake Jakubek

(Slide 3) Jake provided an overview of where we stood with 2023 Reno with about 154-155 days remaining until the start of the conference.

Reno Updates:
Convention Center Contract:        Done
Hotel Contracts (HS):            3 of 4 Signed (The Row (3) & The Atlantis) 4 total Hotels
Conference Logo:            Done 2023
Offsite Events:            Will cover later
Tradeshow Sales:            Yes, Started 8 Aug 2022 (W/ New BOD Approved Per Sq Ft. rates)
                    Current over $1.725 M sold – at 85% goal (220 booth sold) -154 days out
Exhibitor Contract Form:        One provided to each Board Member (send me all Exhibitor leads)
Registration:                Currently in live Beta Testing – Go Live before end of March 2023
Exhibit Service Manual:        March2023 (2-3 months early)
Schedule of Events:            March 90%-95% complete
Business Agenda:            TBD (Dir of Comms)
Sponsor Packet:            Done and NV is working daily w/ Fund Raising Chair
Conference Fee:            $180 for all
Hotel Room Rates:            Covered on Next Slide
NGEDA:                16-19 January 2023 (1552/2000 rooms @ The ROW) (Atlantis -100-125)
ROC Drill:                21 July followed by 22 July BOD’s meeting
Conf Dates:                18-21 August 2023
GCC Meetings            17 Mar & 17 Nov 2023

(Slide 4) Jake provided an overview of the room costs as indicated on the slide.

Reno, NV - Room Rate/s: 2023

Per Diem: (Washoe County)
$150.00 per night
$69.00 M&IE
$5.00 IE
 
Most Rooms for NGAUS Conference: (The Row)
Silver Legacy, ElDorado, Circus Circus (2000)
King Room: $188.01 Tax and Resort fee Included
Queen Room: $199.36 Tax and Resort fee Included
Shut-off date: Monday, 17 July 2023

NGAUS HQ Hotel & Alternate Room Location:
Atlantis: Closest to RSCVA Conv. Center (152)
Luxury Room: $226.87 Tax & Resort Fee Included
Premier Rooms: $249.47 Tax & Resort Fee Included
Shut-off date: Monday, 17 July 2023

(Slides 5-7) Jake discussed the brief provided by Team Nevada that included all of the conference venue information.

Areas for the following venues:
Vendor Golf Tournament  Toiyabe Golf Club
NGAUS Golf Tournament Lakeridge Golf Club
NGAUS Vibrations – Lake Tahoe, Carson City, Virginia City, Reno
Mt Rose Hike
TAG Reception - NV Automobile Museum
Field Grade Officer Mixer - NV Automobile Museum  south patio
Company Grade/Warrant Officer Mixer - Freight House District/Aces Ballpark
Fun Run - Downtown
Entertainment for Opening Ceremony- TBD
States Dinner - Reno Events Center
Spouses Luncheon - Reno Ballroom
TAG Spouses Reception – NV Museum of Art
Governors Farewell – Concert at Reno Event Center

(Slide 8) Jake discussed the Map of Downtown Reno, NV, and stated that a different map would be used for the website.

(Slide 9) Jake discussed Bus Transportation, which is a cost-saver for the host state.
•    Airport to Hotels- Provided by “The Row” (5.2 miles; 20 min)
•    Hotels to Airport – Provided by “The Row”
    Supplemented by Contracted bus carrier.
•    Contracted bus carrier to and from hotels to:
    Golf (Toiyabe- 27 miles; 30 min); (Lakeridge- 4 miles; 12 min)
    Mt. Rose Hike (29 miles; 45 min)
    Daily from Convention Center to General Sessions (5.7 miles; 15 min)
    TAG Spouse Lunch (0.6 miles; 5 min)
    Other events if needed.

(Slide 10) Jake discussed the Opening Ceremony and what the host state had planned.
•    Native American Dance
•    Tonga/Fiji Haka Dance
•    Singer-TBD

(Slide 11) Jake discussed the Golf Tournaments:
Sponsor Tournament (Aug 17)
    Toyiabe Golf Course

NGAUS Tournament (Aug 18)
    Lakeridge Golf Club

Sponsorship Opportunities
    Individual Tournament Sponsor $15,000
    Hole Sponsorship $1000
    In Kind opportunities:
-    Adult Beverage/Non-Adult Beverage
-    Continental Breakfast
-    Lunch Buffett

Jake discussed the additional conference events noted below:

(Slide 12) Mt. Rose Hike (Friday, Aug 18) POC: Maj Young
•    EVENT SPONSORSHIP $5,000
•    Hike up beautiful Mt Rose, overlooking Lake Tahoe
•    Short hike 2.5 miles (5 total); long hike 5.5 miles (11 total)
    NGAUS Vibrations (Friday, Aug 18) POC: COL Jonkey
•    EVENT SPONSORSHIP $5,000
•    Motorcycle poker run- Reno/Incline/Tahoe/Virginia City/Reno

    5K Fun Run (Saturday, Aug 19) POC: Maj Young
•    EVENT SPONSORSHIP $5,000
•    Downtown/River - exact route TBD

(Slide 13) Company Grade/Warrant Officer Mixer (Friday, Aug 18) POCs: CPT Gardner/CW3 Minifie/CW4 Nielsen
    Aces Ballpark/Freight House District Contact
•    Sponsorship Opportunity $50,000
•    Gates open at 1630 – for Cocktails/Buffet
•    DJ/Band 1700
•    Game starts at 1800- all participants will have a ticket

(Slide 14) TAG Reception/Field Grade Officer Mixer (Friday, Aug 18)
TAG POCs:  MAJ Orolfo/Mr. Sosa/Lt Col Cruze
FGO POCs:  LTC Auch/Lt Col Cruze
    NATIONAL AUTOMOBILE MUSEUM
•    Events will go on simultaneously in private rooms
•    Main floor will be open to all

(Slide 15) All States Dinner (Saturday, Aug 19)
POC’s:  Lt Col Cruze/Col Kyle Cerfoglio
    Reno Events Center
•    Sponsorship Opportunity:  Co-Sponsor $50,000
•    Theme – Western wear
•    Entertainment – TBD
•    One block from Hotels

(Slide 16) Spouses Luncheon (Sunday, Aug 20, 1100-1500)
POCs:  CPT Carson/Mrs. Nielsen/Mrs. Cerfoglio/Mrs. Jonkey/Mrs. Cruze
    RENO BALLROOM
•    Sponsorship Opportunities: $50,000
    Meals $35,000/Entertainment $5,000
•    20’s/Speakeasy theme
•    Across the street from the hotels

(Slide 17) TAG Spouses Luncheon (Monday, Aug 21)
POC’s:  MAJ Hollenback/Mrs. Berry/Mrs. Kruger/Mrs. Guerrero
    NV MUSEUM OF ART
•    Sponsorship Opportunity: $18,000
•    0.6 Miles from Hotels – we will have bus transportation.

(Slide 18) Governor’s Farewell (Monday, Aug 21)
POC:  Lt Col Alston
•    Sponsorship Opportunities: $200,000
o    Food $125,000/Drinks $40,000
•    Entertainment contract pending
o    Concert– Reno Event Center
•    Food/Cocktails

(Slide 19) Jake discussed Partnership Opportunities

•    Conference Presenting Partner $100,000
–    Premier listing of Co. logo on the NGAUS 2023 website & link to your website/Premier placement of logo on signage & printed material
•    Tahoe Sponsor $50,000
–    Prominent listing of Co. logo on NGAUS 2023 website & link to your website/Prominent placement of logo on signage & printed material
•    Sierra Sponsor $25,000
–    Listing of Co. logo on NGAUS 2023 website & link to your website/Placement of logo on signage & printed material
•    Mt. Rose Sponsor $10,000
–    Listing of Co. logo on NGAUS 2023 website & link to your website/Placement of logo on signage & printed material
•    Truckee River Sponsor $5,000
–    Listing on printed materials including program books and promotional materials
•    Peavine Mt. Sponsor $2,500
–    Listing on printed materials including program books and promotional materials
*ALL SPONSORSHIPS INCLUDE INVITATIONS TO EVENTS AND OTHER BENEFITS COMPARABLE WITH LEVEL

(Slide 20) Jake displayed some of the scenes around the Downtown Reno area.

(Slide 21) Jake discussed the conference webpage, tabs, & links:
https://www.ngaus.org/events/145th-general-conference-exhibition

(Slide 22) Jake provided an overview of the bare plan of the Reno-Sparks Convention Center as shown on the map.

(Slide 23) Jake provided an overview of the map of the Reno-Sparks Convention Center to include his notes and markings of the locations of conference meeting rooms.

(Slide 24) Q&A

(Slide 25) Jake discussed the Conference Committee vacancies for Reno 2023.

Gen Boyles appointed the following individuals to the Conference Committee.

Resolutions Committee:
Col. Michael Morgan (Ret.), Vermont, Chair (Joint)
Col. Lance Englet (Ret.), Oregon (Army)
Brig. Gen. Harold Reed (Ret.), Wyoming (Air)

Nominations Committee:
Brig. Gen. Mike Oster (Ret), South Dakota, Chair
Credentials & Rules Verification Committee:
Maj. Gen Frank McGinn (Ret), Massachusetts, Chair
Area II Elections: (can be from area I, III, IV, VI)
**TBD, Chair
Area V Elections: (can be from area I, III, IV, VI)
**TBD, Chair
Retiree Elections: (for Army psn)
Brig. Gen. Bobbi Doorenbos (Ret.), Arkansas (Air) (Chair)
Company Grade Elections: (for Air psn & committee psn’s)
CPT Rasheedah Bilal, California (Army) (Chair)
Warrant Officer Elections: (N/A, only committee psn’s)
CW5 Robert Nicholson, Tennessee, (Chair)

**BG J. Hargett and Brig Gen (Ret) Bobbi Doorenbos volunteered during the meeting to cover Areas Elections (II & V respectively).

Gen Cole thanked Jake and his team for their efforts with respect to the conference planning and coordination.

Gen Cole mentioned  that they are at about 85% of the goal that was established for this year’s conference for our exhibit halls and commended Jake and the whole team for their efforts.

Gen Cole wanted to confirm back to the Board that Jake did go out and do the site visit for Salt Lake City which was who they recommended back at the November Board meeting to host the 2027 Conference.

Gen Cole stated that the requirements have been met so the group just wanted to confirm back to the Board that the Salt Lake City selection/ site is now finalized for the 2027 conference, as there were no issues with the site survey.

Gen Cole mentioned that the invite letter for the 2028 Conference went out in March and that to date, we have 5-6 states that have expressed interest in hosting the 2028 conference, which according to Gen Cole, seemed to be a positive trend.

Gen Cole discussed potential changes and adjustments to the conference and mentioned that the format of last year’s States Dinner in Ohio was based on recommendations and comments that came back from the field, which were tested out.

Gen Cole stated that the swapping of the States Dinner and the big blowout and huge, live concert that Gen Berry promised us for that final night in Nevada was based on feedback that had come from the field.

Gen Cole stated that those items must live up to what we are billing them at and the sooner that we can start publicizing and marketing that Governor’s Farewell event, through the website, the directors, etc., then the more attendance we will be promised to have at that event.

Gen Cole stated that over the past 4-5 years, the Senior Warrant Officers have had a mixer, and the Senior Field Grades have had a mixer, so in light of that, the GCC would like to make an adjustment to the SOP basically sanctioning those events and adding those to the conference SOP as “optional” not “required” events.

Gen Cole stated that he didn’t believe that it required any Board action, just notification to the Board.  

Gen Cole stated that the bylaws stated that a substantive change would require a Board vote.
Gen Robinson added that the GCC could add it as a temporary add to the SOP and every so often we bring the SOP to be confirmed by the Board and at that time it would be a permanent part of the SOP.

Chief Nicholson added that all it does is puts the event in there and gives it the same status as the Company Grade/Warrant Officer Mixer.

Gen Ross stated that the format in the past has been the States Dinner, which is a NGAUS budgeted item, has been not universally attended because a lot of people leave early to travel out, so we budget differently for the dinner compared to the registration.

Gen Ross asked whether there was a discussion about the fact that the States Dinner in the middle is going to have everybody attending.

Gen Cole responded that the discussion was to have more attendance at the States Dinner to try to do that on an alternate night and that this is a test that we are doing in Nevada.

Gen Cole stated that the Conference registration pays for the States Dinner although the current registration doesn’t adequately support that, the conference registration fee that a member pays supports the States Dinner, Governor’s Reception, and the Spouses Luncheon.

Gen Ross stated that it could have an economic impact to somebody because conference attendees is one number and the States Dinner has been a different number.

Gen J. Hargett stated that since this will be the first year that we have done this, we can take the information going forward and apply that economic value.

Gen Cole stated that the issue in the past is that everybody pays a registration fee and checks the block that they are going to attend the States Dinner, so the host state is normally budgeting to support that quantity of people and have that number of meals ready to provide for the event.

Gen Cole added that historically, a large percentage of people do not show up for the event, therefore there is a huge quantity of wasted resources both monetary and food.

Gen Cole stated that it is the host state who is financially supporting the States Dinner and not NGAUS.

Gen Robinson stated whether we could capture in the minutes that having more people at the States Dinner is a good thing, in spite of the reports.

(Laughter from the Board)

Gen Ross concurred and added that it is an expensive good thing!

Gen Cole stated that one thing that they have discussed over the years was adding professional development opportunities and that we are not at the point yet to discuss that in relation to the overall agenda, but we are at the point to execute a test of a professional development forum in the exhibit space.

Gen Cole added that this would be of no cost this year as they already have a built-in stage area within the floor space that has historically been unused, so the intent is to use that space and then develop the concept of what would be presented.  

Gen Cole stated that he had asked the GCC for any recommendations of speakers or content in that area and noted that this would only occur when the Business Session is not scheduled.

Gen Cole stated that this test would happen on non-Business Session timelines but asked if anyone had recommendations on content to please send the information his way to then be discussed at the senior level to decide.

Gen Cole stated that they would like to move forward with testing this year for having that format within the exhibit space.

Gen Cole stated that in the future, they would like to sit with the Chairman, the Vice Air, the President, and the Chief of Staff to discuss some other potential opportunities in reformatting the Business Sessions and how we may be able to further incorporate some smaller panel-type formats for people to sign up if interested in attending.

Gen Boyles stated that AUSA does it this way and that it was an effective format also.

Gen Cole stated that they are redeveloping a survey that came from the corporate members and the feedback that was asked for from the Board has really been hit or miss with participation not being great.

As a result, Gen Cole stated that they have a couple of areas that the Conference Committee has been working on to target questions which would be developed between now and the July Board meeting with those questions shown to the Board at the July meeting with hopes to execute at this year’s conference.  

Gen Cole mentioned that this would be done through the area breakouts and all of the different entities (i.e., EDs, corporate partners, etc.) for feedback.

Gen Cole stated that lastly, the Committee would like to take a holistic look at the current registration and fees that we are currently charging (at $180.00) to check the market across the nation, noting that there are three required events for a host state to support which are included in the registration fees.

Gen Cole stated that the Committee wanted to look at and make sure that those registration fees still support those events in today’s economy (I.e., States Dinner, Governor’s Reception, etc.).

Gen Cole stated that in doing so, the committee would eventually look at a tiered fee once they come up with that number between Field Grades and Company Grades, which would be something presented to the Board for approval in the future.

Q&A

Maj Watson stated that last March at the GCC meeting, the group had some pretty extensive discussions on apparel and that part of the registration that goes out notes the apparel for different events, and the understanding is that, while we do not have hard data on it, is that transition to OCPs for the Business Sessions was warmly received and so his understanding was that each year that is ultimately the Board’s decision.

Maj Watson stated that he just wanted to make sure that the matter was addressed.

Gen Cole asked Maj Watson whether he had a recommendation.

Maj Watson stated that his recommendation would be to stick with OCPs for the Business Session.

Gen J. Hargett asked whether we usually let the host state have a voice in the matter.

Gen Cole responded that he believed that historically, we have let the host state have a voice in the States Dinner apparel and that the Business Session apparel had been determined by the Board and approved by the Chairman.

Gen Berry responded that if it were up to him, it would be OCPs to avoid attendees having to bring excess luggage, clothing, etc., and to avoid any additional burden on people attending the event.

Gen Boyles entertained the motion to wear OCPs during the Business Session in Reno.
So moved by Maj Watson. Seconded by Chief Nicholson. Motion carried.

Gen Berry thanked Jake and Gen Cole for the great conference report and made a request to Jake that when we go live with registration, to make sure that we get the information out versus just having the information on the website.

Gen Berry also mentioned that the sponsors for the Reno Conference are going great and that he copies all regarding the costs surrounding the States Dinner as they are tracking the event details.

Gen Berry mentioned that they are meeting the first week in Nevada to ensure that we have a great experience and that they should have everything pretty much finalized with the only thing pending being the entertainment as they have given the hotel up until the first week in June to confirm they have the best possible big act out there, which depends upon who is touring at the time.

Gen Berry stated that some pretty good choices have been nailed down for us so that should be finalized by the first week of June.

Gen Berry stated that they are tracking everything and looking forward to the event.

Gen Berry also wanted to thank everyone for their great work.

Gen Berry stated that whenever Jake returns to Reno, he would love to meet with him ahead of time to make sure that they are dotting all the “I’s” and crossing all the “T’s” because they promised everyone a great conference and things are trending that way.

Gen Berry mentioned that he had a long meeting yesterday with Lt Col Shaun Cruze (NV State Association President) to tighten a couple of things up.

Gen Berry stated that if there is anything that anyone needs, to please reach out as they are 100% percent engaged and ready to go.

Q&A

Mr. VanSkiver stated that Industry is starting to make their travel plans and hotel arrangements early to really accentuate what they are going to do on that Monday night to leave on Tuesday.

Jake stated that one thing that he did mention regarding Monday night was that he asked Shaun Cruze (Conference Chair) about what they were thinking about for the attire for the Governor’s Farewell event and that Shaun replied that it would probably just be casual wear or if attendees prefer to wear their boots and hat again they could do so as well.

Gen Boyles thanked Gen Cole, Jake, and the GCC for their hard work as it sounds like the conference will be a great outstanding conference again.

Following no further questions or comments, Gen Boyles turned the meeting over to Mike Hadley for the Legislative Update.

Legislative Update – Col (Ret) Mike Hadley

Mike provided the Board with a synopsis of the status of current legislation on Capitol Hill.

Mike discussed with the Board the following items:
•    Legislative Team
•    Resolutions
•    Notable FY23 Accomplishments
•    Priorities for a 21st Century National Guard
•    Congressional Cycle Overview

(Slide 4) Mike noted and displayed to the Board the current members of his Legislative Team:
•    BG (Ret) Roy Robinson – NGAUS President
•    COL (Ret) Mike Hadley – VP Government Affairs
•    Marcy Weldin – Legislative Affairs Manager, Army National Guard Programs
•    Julian Plamann – Legislative Affairs Manager, Joint & Personnel Programs
•    Alec Gonzalez – Legislative Assistant

(Slide 5) Mike discussed with the Board where we currently were with the Resolutions Process:

Mike stated that we are currently in the middle of all our state conferences with new draft resolutions starting to come in and will continue to do so throughout the spring.

Note: All draft resolutions are due to NGAUS by 1 July.

(Slide 6) Mike provided a highlight of what was accomplished in the final legislation in both the Appropriations and the Authorization Bills last year and by all accounts a pretty good year.

Army
•    $1.2B to modernize 90 M1 Abrams for the Army
•    $923.4M for 35 UH-60M Black Hawks for the ARNG
•    $693.8M for the 35 AH-64 Apache Block IIIA helicopters for the ARNG
•    $350.0M for MQ-1C Gray Eagles for the ARNG
•    $120.0M for ARNG High Mobility Multi-purpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV)
modernization program
•    $680.0M for the Paladin Integrated Management System for the Army

Air
•    $1.7B for 16 C-130J Super Hercules aircraft for ANG
•    $224.7M for C-130H modernization, includes:
-    $60.7M for NP2000 propeller upgrades
-    $41.2M for T-56 Series 3.5 engine mods
-    $20.0M for Modular Airborne Firefighting System
•    $53.0M for F-16 Viper AESA radars for ANG
•    $1.2B for 20 HH-60W Jolly Green II helicopters for AF

Joint/Personnel
•    Backdates effective date of rank for reserve officers in the National Guard due to delays in Federal Recognition
•    Inclusion of natural and man-made disaster response items in CNGB’s unfunded priorities report
•    Robust National Guard MILCON:
-    $459.0M for the ARNG
-    $279.3M for the ANG
•    $1.0B for the National Guard and Reserve Equipment Account (NGREA), includes:
-    $335.0M for ARNG
-    $305.0M for ANG
•    Additional support for National Guard Counterdrug, State Partnership, Youth ChalleNGe, and Starbase programs
•    Continued support for FireGuard and wildfire prevention and response programs

(Slide 7) Mike discussed the team’s priorities going into next year.
The Same Organization:
•    Future Multi-Domain Battlefield Interoperability, including:
–    Deployable & Interoperable Force Structure that is Validated & Doctrinally Consistent
–    Space National Guard as Primary Combat Reserve within Space Force
–    Continued National Guard Integration into Total Force Cyber Mission & Training
The Same Equipment:
•    Deployable, Interoperable & Sustainable Equipment
•    Concurrent & Proportional Fielding of Equipment to the National Guard, including:
–    UH-60M, MQ-1C 25M, F-35A, KC-46A, C-130J & FVL Procurement

•    National Guard Equipment Modernization & Recapitalization, including:
–    AH-64E, HMMWV, M1 & M2, C-130H, A-10, F-15 & F-16 Modernization
The Same Resources and Benefits:
•    Zero Cost TRICARE to Ensure Reserve Component Medical Readiness
•    Post 9/11 GI Bill Parity
•    Robust National Guard & Reserve Equipment Account (NGREA) Funding
•    Tax Incentives for Guardsmen & Employers
•    Ready Access to Mental Health Care & Suicide Prevention
•    Increased National Guard Military Construction (MILCON) Funding

(Slide 8) Mike provided an overview of the Defense Congressional Cycle and stated that last week the President’s budget was released (about a month late), with Congress off to the races with that.

Mike stated that he and his group are very deeply involved in putting our own Appropriation and Authorization requests in, with Congress asking for submissions a little bit earlier than the norm.

Mike stated that the team was just about complete with that process and expect to see the hearings come out in the early April timeframe.

(Slide 9) Mike provided the Board with the 118th Congress, First Session Overview.

Mike stated that after the Nov 2022 elections, we had some changeover with key members of Congress, particularly on the House side with the Majority shift and with ranking members becoming Chairs, etc., and even on the Senate side there was some change-out as well with the departure of Sen Inhofe as well as Sen Leahy.

(Slide 9) Mike provided a recap of some of the pieces of legislation that have Guard equities in them that were introduced during the 117th Congress.

Mike stated that they fully expect that they will be reintroduced during the 118th Congress with the names and bill numbers changing as they get reintroduced going forward.

Mike stated that as they come out, he and the team would provide the new updated information and look out for those various Legislative alerts or help that they are asking from our members going forward.

H.R.3512 – Healthcare for our Troops Act*
•    Provides Zero-Cost TRICARE Reserve Select and dental coverage for all members of the RC
•    Authorizes TRS eligibility for RC servicemembers who are federal employees in their civilian capacity
•    Cosponsors: Reps. Kim, Kelly, Ryan, Palazzo, Stefanik, Veasey, and DesJarlais

H.R.1836/S.2644 – Guard and Reserve GI Bill Parity Act*
•    Provides GI Bill education benefits parity between the Active and Reserve Components
•    Cosponsors: Reps. Levin, Takano, Palazzo, Mace, Ryan, Pappas, and Sablan;Sens. Moran, Tester, and Collins

S.503 – Space National Guard Establishment Act**
•    Establishes the Space National Guard as the Primary Combat Reserve of the USSF
•    Cosponsors: Reps. Crow and Lamborn; Sens. Feinstein, Rubio, Hickenlooper, Murkowski, Bennet, Blackburn, Manchin, Portman, Scott, Padilla, Braun, Cornyn

H.R.1854/S.1178 – RECRUIT Act*
•    Authorizes small businesses tax credits for employing members of the Guard and Reserves
•    Cosponsors: Reps. Ryan and Palazzo; Sens. Duckworth and Moran

S.3215 – USACE Military Personnel Augmentation Act of 2021*
•    Expands USACE eligibility to all Warrant Officers and Enlisted members
•    Cosponsors: Sens. Rounds, Manchin, and King
•    * Looking to reintroduce in the 118th Congress
•    ** Reintroduced from the 117th Congress

Q&A

Chief Nicholson asked Mike whether this would be a good time to give a quick update on what they had discussed regarding the pay parity.

Mike responded, “Sure.”

Mike stated that with respect to the pay parity issue, one of the things that they are waiting on right now is the report back from DoD and that one of the big provisions in there is that Congress has asked about the impact for recruiting and retention inside the active component and what that would do to it.

Mike stated that the real question is how it impacts total force recruiting and retention.

Mike stated that there has been some additional pressure coming out from Sen Duckworth trying to push DoD to come out with their report and discuss the matter but that the bottom line was that none of the implementations of this would take place until that report comes back and Congress makes that final decision.

Mike concluded his presentation by discussing the March Capital Summit Event which kicks off tomorrow, Sunday, 19 March.
•    About 50 CGOs are coming in to attend the event from 45 states.
•    Targeted towards Company Grade and Warrant Officers from the 54
•    Goals:
o    Elevate CGOs’ view from the State to the National level highlighting challenges faced across the 54.
o    Increase CGO involvement and advocacy at the grassroots level.
•    Short Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8Xmn1nUvZE

Q&A

Following no further questions or comments by the Board, Gen Boyles thanked Mike for his presentation and then turned the meeting over to Tracy and Blaise for the Membership & Industry Update.

Membership & Industry Update – Ms. Tracy Campfield & Mr. Blaise Lemke  

Tracy introduced herself to the Board under her title as Program Manager of Database Development and stated that unfortunately, Maria could not be at the meeting as she was attending the state conference in the Virgin Islands.

(Slide 2) Tracy began by providing the Board with a recap of 2022.
•    Active Annual: 8528
•    Complimentary: 7317
•    Active Life: 12,338
•    Digital Life: 2275
•    Total Active: 30,458
•    End of Month %: 51%
•    Retired Life: 11,763 (an increase of 224 from the previous year)

(Slide 3) With respect to Membership Percentages in the year 2022, Tracy noted the following:

•    Fourteen associations achieved over 100% membership.  
•    Forty-three associations qualified for rebates on active annual membership in 2022.  
That means they either increased membership by 1% or more or their membership was over 50%.  (Only 39 qualified in 2021)

(Slide 4) With respect to our Current 2023 Membership,  Tracy stated that they did a snapshot of March 14, 2022 – March 14, 2023, and highlighted the following:

Tracy stated that currently, they are exceeding their goal.

•    Total Active NGAUS membership at mid-March of this year was 24,483 – or 41%.  This is 1,027 ahead of March 2022 where we ended the month at 39%.  

•    This month the group hit their 3,000th Digital Life membership! Tracy mentioned that the team has noticed people converting their Annual Memberships into Digital Memberships.

Tracy noted that the 3000th Digital Life member (a Captain from GA) was highlighted in the Washington Report.

(Slide 5) Digital Life Memberships Sold: Tracy noted that with respect to Digital Life Memberships sold, there are over 10 states now that are over 100%.

(Slide 6) Membership Auto Renewal: Tracy noted that with respect to Membership Auto-Renewal, Annual memberships can auto-renew automatically if they sign up for it. There are more annual members who are auto-renewing their annual memberships since the program began. Also, there was increased conversion to Digital Life Memberships.

(Slide 7) Membership Renewal Email: Tracy noted that each month the team runs a report to anyone that is expired and needs to renew, and they send information about how to renew, what the options are, including Digital Life, and the payment plans that are offered.

Tracy provided the numbers and stated that the lines have been trending upward, noting that in January and February of this year, the renewal really shot up and that the January figure does not include the auto-renewal which was discussed in the previous slide.

(Slide 8) Membership Rebate Cycle: Tracy stated that the slide was just a recap of the Rebate program. Tracy also noted that the Early Bird Rebate is going through the end of March with a lot of memberships being put in now. Tracy stated that the EDs are working hard to get those memberships in.

(Slide 9) Membership 2018-2023: Tracy stated that the next slide showed Membership History over the Years. Tracy also noted that in 2021, there was a little sliver for Digital Life which was when it was just implemented during that fall time frame.

Tracy stated that when they talk Active Life, they are referring to comp memberships as well as the annual memberships.

Tracy noted that in 2022 a goal was set at 1600; they fell a little short of the goal due to the fact that the digital life increased, they were able to hit that 51%, which according to Tracy was a banner year.

(Slide 10) Tracy provided a recap of the Membership Breakdown by Area for the year 2022 versus the current year 2023.

        2022        2023
Area I:        41%        34%
Area II:    53%        40%
Area III:    69%        52%
Area IV:    73%        58%
Area V:    66%        54%
Area VI:    50%        43%

Refer to the corresponding handouts which provide detailed membership information by state.  

(Slide 11) Membership Marketing: Tracy noted to the Board that Michael McNeill is the new Marketing Manager, and that Michael can put out information and help the states with Marketing if it has a membership aspect to it. Tracy added that Michael has provided fliers and promotional activities like the marketing for the Virgin Islands conference that Maria is currently attending, as well as assisting with the marketing for the membership drive in Guam which includes a QR code. Tracy further noted that Michael also assists the states with distributing mass emails and tailoring them to the respective Executive Director, etc.

Tracy then turned the presentation over to Blaise for the Industry Update portion of the presentation.

Blaise introduced himself as the new Industry Liaison for the Association.

(Slide 13) Industry Strategic Overview: Blaise stated that there was an interdepartmental transition as he has gone from the Legislative team to the Membership team with the Industry Liaison position moving under the membership department and stated that he started in the role on February 1st.

Blaise stated that currently, the CY23 Budgeted Revenue Goal is $300,000 for his portfolio, but he has a personal goal of $320,000, which is a 5% increase of the budgeted goal.

Blaise stated that his Personal Mission has a lot of influence from his time on the Legislative team, and that mission is to Partner with Industry to fill National Guard Capability Gaps and that his grassroots process that he has ran over the last four years (the resolutions process) is a very important way for soldiers and airmen to identify what those capability gaps are.
 
Blaise stated that he viewed his role as part of the industry team to help Industry fill those capability gaps that are identified from the field, which leads to the next part of the mission, which is to Develop and Maintain Strong NGAUS Industry Relations.

Blaise stated his belief that it is necessary to have strong industry relations to assist us in filling those capability gaps to be effective as an association.  

Blaise stated that his integration into the Membership Department has created a lot of good work because they have been able to reestablish some of the best practices that are used on the individual membership side and incorporate that into the corporate membership side.

Blaise stated that, as a result, they have streamlined a lot of processes.

Blaise noted that one of the keys in his personal mission to partner with Industry was to Increase NGAUS Touchpoints by doing the following:
•    Build Value through Relationships (via phone calls)
•    Engagement Strategy (reaching out to Industry Partners more often)
•    Corporate Notes Rebrand/Refresh (sent out via Mailchimp – captures statistics)

Blaise stated that he has received positive feedback thus far regarding the new format and noted that they have seen an increase from about 15% open rate to about a 45% open rate (3xs increase).

Blaise stated that the other thing that he has spent the last month and a half on has been a full analysis of the program and seeing how it can be transformed (i.e., what does the vision look like not just today, but in 5 -20 years) and how we can make the corporate partnership a strong revenue stream into the association.

Blaise stated that he is still very much in the analyzing stage and still formulating the proposal, but that the Board should see something soon on how he plans to move forward with the program once it has received proper approval.  

(Slide 14) CY22 Recap and Trends: Blaise stated that for CY22, they saw a total revenue of $297,000, which was a touch under, with the understanding that Barbara (previous Industry Liaison) departed from the role in October.

Blaise stated that when he looked at the overall trends from last year, it looks like most of our revenue is front end and there is not enough revenue on the back end.

Blaise stated that as a result, he is currently looking at ways to keep the cash flow up throughout the last six months of the year since this is a profit center for the association.

Blaise stated that another thing that he has been looking at is recidivism rates to ensure that companies return to the association and feel that value (i.e., encouraging bronze members to reach silver or gold level).

Q&A

Gen Haston asked Blaise whether he knew anything about the upcoming MERC Conference that is scheduled to take place in Denver, CO.

Blaise responded that he had not, outside of what was just mentioned.   

Mike stated that Blaise was correct that they had heard little to nothing about the event and noted that right along that same time frame, the Air Guard is going to be doing the DCP (Domestic Capability Priorities) conference in Denver as well.

Mike stated that he was going to talk to DANG Gen Loh this afternoon to see if he has any additional information about the event.

Mike stated that he wished that he had more information, but the information has been slow to come out this year.

Gen Cole stated that on the Army side, Gen Andonie was coming over today to represent Gen Jensen and stated that the bottom line is that the conference is where the different services get together to determine their NGREA priorities moving forward.

Following no further questions or comments, Gen Boyles turned the meeting over to John Goheen for the Communications Update.

Communications Update- Mr. John Goheen

(Slide 2) Communications Staff: John began by noting that there were no changes to his staff.

•    Digital Content Manager — Jennifer Hickey
•    Senior Writer/Editor — Mark Hensch
•    Production Manager — Rich Arnold             
•    Staff Writer — Donald Lambert

John also noted the following:

Photographs will be taken this afternoon in the Communications Department for anyone who is interested.

Jennifer will be running in the Boston Marathon in honor of a fallen guardsman, provided that her slight bone fracture rehab continues.

(Slide 3) Products/Duties:
•    NATIONAL GUARD magazine (monthly)
•    Washington Report e-newsletter (weekly)
•    News Digest (daily)
•    NGAUS.org (website)
•    Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram)
•    Media Relations – Press Releases
•    Business Sessions, OPD at Conference

(Slide 4) Washington Report:
•    Distributed every Tuesday afternoon to more than 41,000 email addresses.
•    2022 open rate — 44.6%
•    2023 open rate — 49.96%
•    Industry average — 24.4%

(Slide 5) Washington Report’s Top Open rates for 2023:
•    Jan. 24 – 53.6% 41,350; 22,133
•    Jan. 18 – 52.6% 41,323, 21,732
•    Jan. 31 – 51.9% 41,365; 21,481
•    Feb. 22 – 51.0% 41,516; 21,164
•    Feb. 14 – 50.1% 41,350; 20,707

(Slide 6) Most Popular Stories for 2023:
•    March 7: SECDEF to Force: ‘We Face Historic Challenges’ (1,840)
•    March 7: NGAUS President Testifies on Capitol Hill (1,575)
•    Jan 10: ‘Big Win’ to Bolster Guard Combat Divisions (1,123)
•    Jan 24: New Bill Would Reinstate Vaccine Refusers with Back Pay (971)
•    Jan 18: Pentagon Rescinds COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate (933)
•    March 7: NGAUS Company Graders Want Your Talent Management Opinions (899)
•    Jan 10: Supreme Court Case May Decide If Technicians Can Keep Unionizing (871)

(Slide 7) Ad Sales (March 17, 2022, vs. March 17, 2023):
•    March 17, 2022: $123,730
•    March 17, 2023: $178,744  

John stated that the numbers are up this year because of bringing in Navy Federal Credit Union, Pratt & Whitney, as well as a larger ad buy from General Atomics.

(Slide 8) John discussed some additional items that his department is working on.
•    Refresh the website before the end of year and put an RFP out to get a new less expensive company that does more responsive work for us. (On hold due to the ongoing comprehensive IT audit currently underway).
•    3,000 Digital memberships going strong – need to improve with the Digital Magazine (Currently working with designers).

Q&A    

Gen Boyles asked John what the historical numbers for ad sales were.

John responded that about 15 years ago we made a million dollars and that it was a very different sales environment and publications were seen as a way to advertise. John added that today with Google, etc. when companies buy ads, they like to look at things in cost per thousand. John also stated that we have a unique audience that helps the defense industry communicate their products and services.

John stated that they underachieve a little bit with the Washington Report and on a cost-per-thousand basis, they are not as cost-effective as some other online publications.

Gen Boyles asked if we are talking about recent years and if the $178K mentioned for ad sales was a good number.

John responded that his goal was not $350K, but they were going to do $400K this year.

John stated that other associations are experiencing the same thing and explained that it is an industry-wide issue.  

Gen Boyles asked whether there was an opportunity to advertise the new disability program in our magazine.

John responded “Certainly.”

Finally, Gen Boyles asked John whether he had any thoughts on the speakers for the annual conference, or whether it was too early to comment on that at this time.

John responded that there are invitations currently out to the SecAF, and that the reason why Gen Brown was not invited was that the expectation is that Gen Brown is going to become Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. John also stated that they are going to hold off and wait on the Army to hopefully get the new Chief of Staff of the Army in and that they also have an invitation to the commander of the Indo-Pacific and the Deputy Secretary of Defense.

John mentioned that there would be more invitations to go out.

Gen Robinson stated to John that he had his goal at $350K for revenue and asked John whether he wanted the goal moved to $400K.

John replied “Yes.”

Following no questions or comments from the Board, Gen Boyles thanked John for his presentation and turned the meeting over to Luke for the NGEF Update.

NGEF Update - Luke Guthrie

Luke began by stating to the Board that the NGEF is the non-profit arm of NGAUS, who preserve the history and heritage of the Guard for present and future generations, through the museum, library, archive, scholarship programs, education and outreach, and the National Guard monument in Normandy, France. Luke added that to do their work, charitable funds have to be raised.   

Luke provided the NGEF Board with a snapshot of the year thus far within the Educational Foundation.

•    $235,00 Raised to date in 2023
•    14 LDL Honorees for this evening’s Legion de Lafayette Ceremony
•    CNGB Direct Mail –Luke stated that they are going to be sending out a direct mail piece to general officers in the coming weeks, which is a piece that was initiated and signed by GENs McKinley, Lengyel, & Grass.

Luke then provided a snapshot of the 14 Legion de Lafayette recipients (below) who will be honored during this evening’s ceremony and highlighted the NGAUS Warrant Officer Committee for finally fulfilling their LDL after an 11-year journey and thanked Chief Nicholson for his leadership in this process.  

(Applause by the Board)

Eric and Lori Ahlness            NGAUS Warrant Officer Committee
Priya Ghosh Ahola &             Monty Nielsen
David Ahola                 Northrop Grumman
BAE Systems                Shepard Exposition Services
Bridgestone Americas            TacMed Solutions
BG (R) Tim & Susan Kennedy    USAA
CW5 Bob & Holly Nicholson        NGAUS – In Honor of BG (R) Roy &
New York Life            Susan Robinson        

Luke also highlighted Priya Ghosh Ahola (Air Programs Manager) and her husband David Ahola for fulfilling their LDL, as well as Chief Bob Nicholson and wife Holly Nicholson who made a personal LDL donation, and NGAUS President BG Robinson and Mrs. Susan Robinson who will be honored tonight to receive an LDL. Luke stated that he is looking forward to a great evening.

Luke also discussed the following deadlines:

•    This year marks the 13th year of the Leonardo DRS Guardian Scholarship Deadline: 30 June – Luke stated that 102 awards have been made to date since 2011 which encompasses over $500k in awards across the nation. Leonardo DRS has donated over $620k in that time frame.
•    Van Hipp Heroes Scholarship Deadline: 1 July
•    Brig Gen William W. Spruance Legacy Award – The award to recognize sustained philanthropy and contributions to NGEF. Eighth year: 1 July
•    25th Annual NGEF Golf Tournament (Scheduled for 2 Oct 2023 – Laurel Hill Golf Club in Lorton, VA)
•    Planning for 80th Anniversary - Normandy

Luke discussed the Spruance Legacy Award and noted that at the conference the 2023 recipient will be recognized.

The previous 7 Spruance Legacy Award recipients are listed below:

Spruance Legacy Award:
2016 – MG (Ret.) Gus L. Hargett, Jr.
2017 – Leonardo DRS
2018 – Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin Company
2019 – The Honorable Van Hipp
2020 – AM General
2021 – Northrop Grumman
2022 – Maj Gen (ret) Jan Young
2023 - ?

Luke also mentioned that he was very happy to hear that the Company Grade Committee is seeking another LDL and asked that they please consider him a resource to bring that to fruition.

Q&A

Following no further questions or comments, Gen Boyles thanked Luke for his presentation and then recessed for lunch.

(Lunch recess – 1 hour)

Following the lunch recess, Gen Boyles turned the floor over to Bruce VanSkiver for the CAP Update.

CAP Report – Vice Chair Mr. Bruce VanSkiver  

Mr. VanSkiver introduced himself and shared with the Board the story about his past adventure purchasing a gift (on behalf of the CAP) for BG Robinson at Schneider’s at Union Station.

Mr. VanSkiver thanked Gen Robinson for taking that meeting and stated that one of the key things they discussed was former Industry Liaison Ms. Barbara Scott’s departure to seek another opportunity and the vacancy that resulted in the position.

Mr. VanSkiver stated that the CAP serves to provide a focal point of Industry’s voice to NGAUS and as Blaise mentioned, there is a value proposition that goes both ways. Mr. VanSkiver further stated that the more value that we bring to our corporate partners, the better the retention.  

Mr. VanSkiver stated that BG Robinson discussed with him the idea of hiring Blaise Lemke in the position of NGAUS Industry Liaison and his thought was that Blaise would be a quality candidate.  Mr. VanSkiver stated to the Board that he was thrilled that Blaise had received the position.

(Slide 2) Mr. VanSkiver then introduced the current Corporate Advisory Panel for 2023 and its organizational structure to include the CAP Officer noted below:

CAP Officers Effective 01 Jan 23
•    Chair – Bruce VanSkiver
•    Vice Chair – Darin Gilderoy (elected 14 Jun 22)
•    Secretary – Shannon Shrader
•    Membership – Mike Ford (elected 14 Jun 22)

Mr. VanSkiver stated that the CAP consisted of 15 corporate members that are elected in the position and interview for the job with the vote taking place during the annual conference.

Mr. VanSkiver stated that he was happy to say that this is one pro bono program that people want to be on and participate as it is very successful.

Mr. VanSkiver stated that they try to represent NGAUS Corporate partnership at about the same ratio as what they’ve got in the general corporate population.

Mr. VanSkiver noted that the CAP consists of about five small businesses, five medium businesses, and about five large businesses.

Mr. VanSkiver discussed how the CAP meets four times a year as noted below.
Meetings
•    NGEDA Annual Conference (Jan)
•    AGAUS Summer Meeting (Jun)
•    NGAUS General Conference (Aug)
•    At least one other meeting (Industry Day, etc.)
 
(Slide 3) Mr. VanSkiver discussed CAP Membership & Meetings.
•    We meet a minimum of four times per year, typically during:
•    NGEDA Annual Meeting (Jan)
•    Summer AGAUS Meeting (Jun)
•    NGAUS General Conference (Aug/Sep)
•    NGAUS Industry Day (Dec)
•    The CAP may also meet at other times as called by the Chair.
•    The CAP will hold open CAP meetings during NGEDA, AGAUS, and NGAUS

Mr. VanSkiver stated that the CAP Committees included the following:
•    Conference Committee
•    Membership Committee
•    Communications Committee
•    Education Committee
•    Resolutions Committee
 
(Slide 4) Mr. VanSkiver discussed CAP Newsletter Communications.
•    CAP Secretary serves as the Communications Committee Chair
•    Tracks all CAP meeting dates, agendas, and minutes from the meetings, distributes minutes to CAP membership and NGAUS Corporate Liaison
•    Newsletter typically publishes in March, June, September, and December
o    Articles for the newsletters are provided largely by CAP members from all Committees (Conferences, Resolutions, Membership, Education, Communications)
o    CAP Newsletter to NGAUS Corporate Liaison for NGAUS approval and publishing
•    Tracks newsletter Open Rates to monitor and ensure corporate member engagement.

(Slide 5) Mr. VanSkiver discussed the CAP Conference Committee.
•    Serves as the CAP liaison to various conference committees, including the NGAUS General Conference, AGAUS meetings, NGEDA annual meeting, and liaison to the EANGUS annual meeting
•    Ensures corporate members are involved in planning organizational events
•    Upcoming events:
o    17-18 Apr 23 – SPP, Denver
o    1-5 May 23 – MERC, Denver
o    TBD May 23 – DCP, Denver
o    14-16 Jun 23 - AGAUS Summer Meeting, Hawaii
o    18-21 Aug 23 – NGAUS General Conference, Reno
o    13-16 Aug 23 - EANGUS Annual Conference, Rochester, MN (outside of NGAUS)
•    Note: All State events can be located @ https://www.ngaus.org/states-territories/state-association-directory.

(Slide 6) Mr. VanSkiver discussed the CAP Membership Committee.
•    Manages and fosters NGAUS Corporate Members relationships.
•    Assist NGAUS Corporate Membership Director in retaining removed/expired former NGAUS Corporate Members
•    Presides over the CAP Nominating Committee, if constituted by the Chair, to ensure an equitable process for nomination and election of new corporate member representatives for the 15 rotating seats on the CAP
•    CAP elections are held annually during the NGAUS General Conference, the nomination window opens on 1 May and concludes on 31 Jul of each year
•    Manages the CAP Advocacy Program

(Slide 7) Mr. VanSkiver discussed the CAP Advocate Program – 2nd Year.
•    Each CAP member is assigned 20+/- companies, to advocate and advise on NGAUS and NGB engagement opportunities.
•    Proactive engagement at a minimum on a quarterly basis
•    Serve as a feedback mechanism from NGAUS Corporate Members through the CAP to NGAUS Industry Liaison
•    New for NGAUS 2023: Day 1 “New Corporate Partner” Workshop
o    Proactive effort to increase new member best-practice awareness at the conference.

(Slide 8) Mr. VanSkiver discussed the CAP Resolutions Committee.
•    The committee serves as the CAP liaison to the NGAUS Legislative team and NGAUS Task Forces during the resolution processes.
•    Assists with NGAUS Resolutions SOP and NGAUS Task Force SOP reviews.
•    Anticipate a rewrite of Task Force SOP per Board Chairman (MG Boyles)
•    Provides resolutions updates and process education through the quarterly CAP newsletter.

(Slide 9) Mr. VanSkiver discussed the CAP Education Committee.
•    Coordinate face-to-face seminars, webinars, and similar events to help improve the knowledge level of NGAUS corporate members about the National Guard and National Guard mission.
•    Key Events:
o    Quarterly webinars ICW the NGAUS Corporate Liaison
    Spring SPP Webinar
    Fall - TBD
o    Assist with the annual NGAUS General Conference Industry Workshop
o    Conduct various NGAUS 101 briefs as needed to support the CAP mission.

Mr. VanSkiver concluded by stating that the CAP has 15 members that are enthusiastic about what they do, and that they meet four times a year. Mr. VanSkiver stated that they plan to see you all again in Honolulu, HI at AGAUS and then the big show at NGAUS in Reno, NV.

Q&A

Following no further questions or comments, Gen Boyles thanked Mr. VanSkiver for his report and stated that we truly value our CAP & Industry partners as being the key supporting column of this organization.

Gen Boyles then turned the meeting over to Chief Sweeney for the NGEDA Update.

NGEDA Report – CSM (Ret) Bob Sweeney

Chief Sweeney began by stating that for those who were unaware, NGEDA’s job is to coach, educate and mentor state association Executive Directors.

Chief Sweeney stated that in January, NGEDA completed their annual business meeting where they had 51 of 54 stated association s in attendance.

Chief Sweeney personally thanked NGAUS Chairman Gen Boyles, past Chairman Gen McGuire, and NGAUS President Gen Robinson for taking time out of their busy schedules to show up at the event and share their vision and thoughts as they move forward.
Chief Sweeney highlighted the NGEDA Workshop and the Conference by noting the following:
•    The topic of Membership was discussed as well as how the EDs develop their Membership strategy, understanding that each state’s strategy is different (i.e., marketing, etc.) as well as focusing on what the value of membership delivers to them.
•    Through their work with the CAP, NGEDA had a “ Work with Industry” brief conducted at the NGEDA conference. The goal was to try to figure out what their needs are, what the states’ needs are and how to build a better relationship.
•    35 corporate sponsors were present at the NGEDA conference in efforts to network and engage with the states to figure out what their true needs are, how they could help the states, and how the states could help them as a business and build that relationship.
•    Turnover in the ED positions across the states was discussed, with part of that issue being sharing knowledge. Chief Sweeney noted that since the state associations mainly consist of volunteers, they do not have any staff, which leads to associations always asking them questions about what they could do to assist.
•    One of the projects NGEDA is working on is the development of a knowledge management platform (Beta testing being done with Slack). The belief is that information is powerful if it is shared. The program will be an “opt-in” for the states and will probably be up and running by this summer.
•    Elected Officers plan to have their own channel as well.
•    Chief Sweeney explained the reasons why Maine, Idaho, and California couldn’t make it to the NGEDA conference.
•    The Mid-Meeting for the NGEDA Executive team will take place in June (Detroit, MI).

Q&A

Following no questions or comments, Gen Boyles thanked Chief Sweeney for his NGEDA report and then turned the meeting over again to Chief Sweeney to present the EANGUS Update.

EANGUS Report – CSM (Ret) Bob Sweeney (for MSgt Dan Reilly)

Chief Sweeney stated that EANGUS President Dan Reilly could not make it today as they are required to have areas caucuses every mid-winter to work resolutions, legislative updates, etc.

Chief Sweeney stated that things are going well for the association as they will be in Rochester, MN 13-16 August for their conference with a 2-day gap between when the NGAUS Conference starts.

Chief Sweeney noted that the EANGUS conference will be 18-21 in Detroit, MI as they will be hosting both the EANGUS and NGAUS Conference to follow. Chief Sweeney stated that EANGUS has asked their staff to come down and discuss the event and do a synch matrix with Jake to lay things out so that everyone has a clear picture of things moving forward with the events.  

Following no questions or comments, Gen Boyles thanked Chief Sweeney for presenting both reports and then turned the meeting over to Gen Rogers to present the AGAUS Update on behalf of Gen Bohac.

AGAUS Report –Gen Rogers (for Gen Bohac)

Gen Boyles stated that Gen Bohac was unable to attend today’s meeting due to a scheduling conflict. As a result, Gen Rogers then proceeded to present the AGAUS Report.

Gen Rogers thanked Gen Boyles for the opportunity.

Gen Rogers began by stating that the last meeting of AGAUS was held 10-11 February which fell on the tail end of the GSLC and in parallel with the Council of Governors and held locally in Virginia.

Gen Rogers discussed the following Legislative priorities of AGAUS:
Primary: Space National Guard & Its Establishment –  The letter was signed by 51 TAGs and hand delivered to VP Harris by the Colorado Governor. The letter was also simultaneously shared with CNGB and will also be shared with the Chairman and the SecDef.

Concurrent Modernization and Recapitalization of the Total Air Force – The DANG had two questions sent out to all the TAGs. Question 1) There is a pending cut of 5K personnel from the ANG taking it from 108,400 down to 103,400. The DANG inquired as to their desire to fight to maintain that strength and secure additional missions. Deemed unanimous by all TAGs. Question 2) In order to preserve that authorization, the DANG asked would they be willing to engage with their Governors to move some authorizations between states. Received mixed reviews by the TAGs. Less clear about how that would be executed.

From AFA, the Biden Administration is requesting a significant increase to the Air Force Budget, about a 4% increase this year at about $9.0B for both the Air Force and the Space Force. They also have plans for 72 new fighters and have upped the production of F-35s and the F-15EXs. A recent article just came out saying that they will increase production of F-15EXs to 104 but that is it, with no intention of buying more, leaving a lot of Air Guard squadrons uncovered for new fighter aircraft. Gen Rogers believed that needed to be a continued emphasis at both AGAUS and NGAUS and the entire enterprise to keep the pressure on.

Gen Rogers stated that there are two simultaneous plans, and they are not competing plans, but what you will hear from Gen Loh is Fleet leveling, which is the recognition of his Title 10 responsibilities as he has to work within the president’s budget. What they are talking about doing is taking three extra aircraft from every squadron and moving them to another squadron that is losing older aircraft. Simultaneous or in parallel, they had a group of ATAGs charter to build out a plan for recapitalizing all 25 new fighter aircraft, both F-35s & F-15EXs, creating a ten-year plan at about $4.0B a year to recapitalize 100% of the fighter squadron. Two different plans working but with the same intent of doing 25 of 25 on the fighter squadrons.

Gen Rogers stated that there was nothing significant to report on the TRICARE for All or the Zero Cost Premium TRICARE. Gen Rogers stated that it is still an emphasis by the Chief and still being pushed through the Council of Governors and he believed that it is still a priority for the professional associations.

Duty Status Reform: Governor Walz from Minnesota continues to be a big advocate of DSR. Gen Rogers stated that Gov Walz, Gen Shawn Manke (TAG MN), and their policy director met with OMB director Young and believe that they have a 90% agreement on the language for DSR. While it would require more follow-up, they are all encouraged by the outcome.

2023 AGAUS Summer Conference: The Next AGAUS meeting is on 13-16 June 2023 in Honolulu, HI. Gen Rogers stated that unfortunately, CORONA has been moved to the right so the CNGB, DANG, and probably a couple of our TAGs that go to CORONA will not be able to attend the AGAUS Summer meeting in person. They are trying to work out a process to have them dial into the event. The INDOPACOM Day is scheduled for 15 June 2023, and AGAUS elections will take place for the following positions: President, VP Air, VP Army, Treasurer, and Secretary.   

Q&A

Gen Boyles asked whether there were any more reports or committees that needed to contribute to the meeting today.

Following no further questions or comments, Gen Boyles thanked Gen Rogers for presenting the report and then stated the intent to move into Executive Session.

Gen Boyles entertained a motion to go into executive Session. So moved by Gen Cole. Seconded by Gen Hargett. Motion carried.

Gen Boyles asked all non-standing Board members to leave the meeting room.

Executive Session:

During the executive session the board approved a committee to select the top three candidates for the next NGAUS President.  The Selection Committee will consist of the following members:

Maj Gen Ondra Berry (Chair)
MG Sheryl Gordon
MG Paul Rogers
MG (Ret) Gus Hargett
Col (Ret) Steve Greco
BG (Ret) Roy Robinson (Advisory)
CPT Rasheedah Bilal
CW5 Jim Simms

The board also approved giving the Chairman the authority to extend BG Robinson’s contract up to six months and to allow the Chairman and the two Vice Chairmen the flexibility to negotiate a transition period that best serves the association.

Following Executive Session, Gen Boyles discussed the July Board meeting.

Discussions were held regarding the July Board meeting and the following information was noted:

•    DATE: Saturday, 22 July 2023  
•    TIME: 0830 (PT)
•    LOCATION: Reno-Sparks Convention Center, Room C-2
•    The location for Saturday’s continental breakfast and lunch will be in the adjacent room C-1).
•    GROUP LODGING*: A block of rooms has been reserved at the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa.
•    The resort provides complimentary airport shuttle transportation to and from Atlantis.
•    ATTENDEES: NGAUS BOD & select NGAUS Staff
•    *Further information will be provided in the call letter for the July Board Meeting.

Gen Robinson stated to Gen Boyles that it was not necessary for the Board to attend the ROC Drill the day prior (21 July).

Gen Boyles asked whether the plan was to arrive on Friday, 21 July, attend the Board meeting on Saturday 22 July, and then tour the facility at some point.

Gen Robinson responded that we probably need to put something together on Friday night where everybody can kind of get checked in and get settled, and then do the meeting.

Gen Robinson recommended business casual attire for the meeting, since we will all be traveling for the meeting, then probably walk the property that afternoon following the meeting to look at where everything would take place for the conference, etc.  

Gen Robinson stated that he had talked to COL Guerrero a couple of times, but now things have swapped out so we would just have to work things out. Gen Robinson added that the basic program is not going to change.

Gen Boyles confirmed that the Board would fly out to Reno on Friday, 21 July, attend the Board meeting on Saturday, 22 July followed by a tour of the property that afternoon, and then depart Reno on Sunday, 23 July.

Gen Robinson concurred.

Q&A

Gen McGuire added that the reason that we added this in-person meeting back for the July time frame was to do the resolutions.

Gen McGuire asked whether there was a plan to do so remotely or if we were planning to bring the resolutions chairs to Reno.

Gen Robinson responded that he believed that the plan was to bring the resolutions chairs to the Saturday Board meeting in Reno, but he would have to discuss the matter further to determine whether it would be just the resolutions chairs, TF chairs, etc.

Gen Robinson confirmed that the resolutions were still planned to be presented at the July meeting in Reno.

Gen Robinson stated that in case anyone had any questions about any resolutions they were reviewing, it would be nice to have the TF chairs on the phone and bring the resolutions chairs to the July meeting.

Col Borakove asked when the resolutions or list be finalized to get out to his region for feedback so that he would have the information prior to the meeting.  

Mike stated that they usually do not publish the full list of resolutions until just prior to the conference.

Gen Robinson stated to Col Borakove that was the purpose of the brief packet to the Board on that Saturday, so they would have all the resolutions that are being presented and then you take them, do your deal after that and then they will vote on them at the conference.

Col Borakove asked whether there was a possibility of getting any read-ahead prior to the Board meeting.

Gen Robinson responded, “Probably not.”, and added that the packets would be ready for the meeting.

Gen Boyles stated that his understanding was that this would be a working meeting to discuss, challenge, and ask questions about the resolutions being presented.

Gen Best asked whether they would also vote on awards at the July meeting.

Col Fesler responded, “Yes.”, that the awards are normally voted on in July with the awards committee meeting virtually for two hours during a day and time prior to that to review the awards packets provided by Rich Arnold in Communications.

Following no further questions or comments, Gen Boyles stated that he looks forward to seeing everyone at the July meeting in Reno and then turned the meeting over to Gen Sheridan for the Taskers update.

Taskers: Gen Sheridan

Previous Taskers:

•    Legislative Affairs will provide a civic engagement proposal that includes budget, legal ethics review, and the effect on 501(c)(19) status to the legislative staff and the Finance Committee (ongoing).
•    Gen Boyles will work with Gen Cole (Army) and Gen Berry (Air) regarding the Task Force matter (ongoing).  

No New Taskers.

Following no further business before the Board, Gen Boyles entertained a motion to adjourn. Gen Cole so moved. Gen McGuire seconded.  

Motion carried and the meeting was adjourned.

NGB Update – General Hokanson, Lt Gen Loh, and MG Andonie (off the record)