Iowa/Illinois Chapter National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) Board of Directors Meeting Minutes 10 Jul 2008 Close this window

1. The Iowa-Illinois Chapter of NDIA Board of Directors held their bimonthly meeting at Bennigan’s Grill and Tavern in the Holiday Inn, Bettendorf, IA on 10 July 2008. Mr. George Rivard, chapter president, called the meeting to order at 5:00 pm. Board members and chapter officers present were Mr. Doug Hanify, Mr. Art Heyderman, Ms. Jan Masamoto, Mr. John Masengarb, Mr. Billy Murphy, Mr. Rivard, and Ms. Chris Weatherspoon. Ms. Joy Fleming for the Iowa-Illinois Women in Defense Chapter was a guest. 2. Ms. Masamoto moved that the minutes from the March 2008 board meeting be approved. Motion was seconded by Ms. Weatherspoon. Motion passed. 3. Treasurer’s Report. Mr. Masengarb presented the treasurer’s report for the period of 1 Mar 08 – 30 Jun 08. He reported that the chapter has a combined total of $17,430.05 in its checking and savings accounts. After chapter commitments and monies due to the chapter are accounted for, the chapter’s uncommitted balance is $13,289.45. Mr. Heyderman made a motion to approve the treasurer’s report. Motion was seconded by Ms. Masamoto and passed. Since the last board meeting, the board members approved a donation request from the Iowa-Illinois Chapter of Women in Defense (WID) to sponsor two gold holes at its annual golf outing and a donation to the Army Soldier Show. Amounts approved by the board were $200 to WID and $500 for the show. At the last board meeting, board members approved a motion to fund Mr. Rivard’s expenses to attend the NDIA Leaders Conference in Washington, DC. His expenses were $1,025.00. Three donation requests were approved by the board members at this meeting. 4. Program Committee. Our chapter was the primary sponsor of a Small Business Government Contracting Conference held at The Lodge, June 16, 2008. There were over 300 attendees and 24 vendors displaying their products. Featured speakers were MG Robert Radin, Commander, US Army Sustainment Command; Honorable Bruce Braley, Congressman, First District of Iowa; and Ms Jovita Carranza, Acting Administrator, U.S. Small Business Administration. Plans are being made to sponsor a follow-on conference in 2009. The board committed to set aside $500 for startup costs for the 2009 conference. Mr. Heyderman recommended that the planning committee contact the NDIA Small Business Division for input to the 2009 conference. The chapter sponsored a luncheon meeting in Burlington, IA with BG James Rogers, Commander, US Army Munitions Command, as the featured speaker. The efforts of Mr. Hanify to setup the arrangements for the meeting were recognized by Mr. Rivard. During the meeting Mr. Rivard presented a plaque and letter to Mr. Pat Thornton from Rockwell Collins for their continued financial support to our chapter scholarship program and other activities. 5. Scholarship. Mr. Masengarb reported that the scholarship committee comprised of Ms. Masamoto, Mr. Bob Radkiewicz, Mr. Steve Mapley and Ms. Karen Fisher (SGT Fisher Scholarship only) met in late May to select recipients for the NDIA and SGT Paul Fisher Scholarships. Ms. Rachel Budelier, Ms. Anna Grimley and Ms. Andrea Egan were selected to each receive a $1,000 one year NDIA scholarship. Ms. Erika Bjorklund and Mr. Nathan Fiala were selected to each received a $1,000 one year SGT Paul Fisher scholarship. This year scholarships from several Rock Island Arsenal-based organizations were presented at a Scholarship Ceremony held at the Rock Island Arsenal Golf Club on June 8th. There are plans to hold the same ceremony again next year. 6. Awards. This year the chapter’s awards committee approved Mr. Rivard as the recipient of the LTG Lawrence Skibbie and Mr. Alan Beuster as the recipient of the MG Paul Greenberg awards. The Gen Skibbie award is presented for lifetime contributions to National Defense and the MG Greenberg award is presented for lifetime contributions to the ammunition industrial base. These awards were presented during the June 8th Scholarship Ceremony. Write ups on the small business conference, Burlington luncheon, scholarship awards, and the Skibbie and Greenberg award were provided to Ms. Molly Flanagan at NDIA for publication in the NIDA magazine, National Defense. 7. Chapter Website. Mr. Rivard provided board members a copy of a proposed chapter newsletter for publication on our website. The newsletter highlights recent chapter activities. Mr. Rivard will send an email to Ms. Flanagan requesting email notification be sent to chapter members to check our website for updated activities. There was a discussion among the board members concerning the quarterly internet hosting fee. Mr. Masengarb proposed that the fee be shared with WID since both organizations share the site. After discussion it was agreed that Ms. Weatherspoon, WIC chapter president, would present our proposal to alternate quarterly payments to the WID board. Recent issues with website availability were discussed. Ms. Masamoto stated that in 2009 JTM Concepts would be obtaining a server and will host our site on that server. (Note: The newsletter was posted to our chapter website after the board meeting.) 8. Women in Defense. Ms. Weatherspoon said WID also participated in the Scholarship Ceremony. This year the chapter awarded 13 scholarships. Major donations have been made to the Army Soldier Show, flood victims, American Red Cross and the 2008 Employee Appreciation Day. The annual gold outing will be August 1 at Glynn’s Creek in Long Grove, IA. Ms. Weatherspoon also provided information on the 2008 Women in Defense National Fall Conference. It will be held October 15th and the Marriott Crystal Gateway in Arlington, VA. 9. NDIA Leaders Conference. Mr. Rivard attended this conference on April 17th. The large number of attendees required the meeting to be moved from NDIA to a hotel. Many chapter presidents and division chairs attended. Mr. Rivard met with the Munitions Division chair and discussed the possibility of having something in the Quad Cities that our chapter could host. A data cleansing of membership lists is being undertaken at NDIA. There was discussion concerning the need for better communication between chapters and divisions. Lt Gen Farrell touted the Munitions Industrial Base Study as a model for the anticipated “soft landing” when the defense budget declines. It was mentioned that the industrial base needs to be able to “taxi” so that it is prepared to take off again when the need arises. During chapter discussions, many spoke of their scientific, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programs. The takeaways from the discussions were that its better to concentrate efforts in one area rather than several, engage or incorporate support activities into existing operations, and mentoring/time is more important than money. 10. NDIA 2009 Top Issues. Mr. Rivard responded to NDIA National’s request for 2009 issues. Three issues were proposed. One was to “Pursue Innovative Energy Security Initiatives” which was taken from the 2007 list. Our position is that it needs to be brought to the forefront and perhaps be the basis for a Top Issue on its own. Second was a suggestion to broaden the already heavy use of simulation in training. Final issue was related to the protection of intellectual property. 11. New Business. a. Committee Chair Vacancies. Mr. Rivard noted that the chairs of the Program, STEM, and publicity committees are currently vacant. Anyone interested in chairing one of these committees should contact Mr. Rivard. b. Project Lead the Way (PLTW). Mr. Mapley was unable to attend the board meeting but provided all board members with summary notes on PLTW activities. He reported that Mr. Bart Aslin from the Society of Manufacturing Engineers Education Foundation wants to meet with our chapter board members to inform us on what that organization is doing with high school students. Proposal is for board members to meet with him at the Gateway Academy in Waterloo in early August. An exact date has not yet been determined. Mr. Heyderman indicated an interest in attending the meeting. Other board members interested should contact Mr. Rivard. Mr. Rivard attended the May meeting of the Quad Cities Engineering and Sciences Council as PLTW was on the agenda. Students and teachers from the Davenport Community School District were in attendance. Our chapter needs to continue gathering information prior to deciding on how it will support PLTW. 12. A motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Ms. Masamoto. Seconding the motion was Mr. Rivard. Motion passed and meeting was adjourned at 6:15 pm. 13. Next board meeting will be September 11, 2008. Meeting will be held at Bennigan’s Grill and Tavern in the Bettendorf Holiday Inn beginning at 5 pm. John W. Masengarb Secretary