Strawman Comes Up Just Short At End of Marathon

USNA-At-Large,

  I have further word from good sources that the vote was actually 17 for the Strawman and just 12 against.

  That gets to the 29 correct total Trustees and corrects the first report we received Thursday night (copied below).

  And, it says that this issue was even tighter than we first thought with a safety margin of just 2 votes to stop the Strawman freight train.

  The 12 votes came from all 4 Regional Trustees and 8 of 12 Chapter Trustees.

  The further message from that statistic is that a huge schism is revealed among the BOT.

  In essence, it is the Washington-Annapolis-Baltimore axis seeking to subjugate all of the rest of the country.

  The 17 Strawmen then were made up of all 7 of the Class Trustees and 4 of 12 Chapter Trustees plus the Chairman, Vice Chairman, President & CEO, Past Chairman and the two Board Appointed Trustees (read mini-me Chairman Trustees).  In essence, the entrenched folks sourced from the Washington-Annapolis-Baltimore axis.

  So, at this point, we know specifically how seventeen of the Trustees voted on this issue.

  But, at this point, we don't know how the 12 Chapter Trustees split.

  Here are listings of what we know and need to know:

 

  Deserving of Bravo Zulus --

 

  * Bill Rentz

  * Bob Stevenson

  * Len Wass

  * Jack Adams

  * and 8 out of 12 Chapter Trustees

 

  Failed Strawmen --

 

  * George Watt

  * Carl Trost

  * Corbin McNeill

  * Snuffy Smith

  * Jerry Miller

  * Roy Snyder

  * Mike Haskins

  * Perry Martini

  * Dan Proulx

  * Tom Wagner

  * Jeff "Murph" McCarthy

  * Bart Phillips

  * Leo Williams

  * and 4 out of 12 Chapter Trustees

 

  Here are the 12 Chapter Trustees -- which way did your Chapter Trustee vote? --

 

  * Carl McCallum, Atlanta

  * Fred Sheehan, Boston

  * Ed Sullivan, Greater Washington

  * Dan Lear, Hampton Roads

  * Arvel Popp, Knoxville

  * Joe Koch, Los Angeles

  * Lee Price, Pensacola

  * Colin Saari, Puget Sound

  * Tom Hammonds, San Diego

  * Raese Simpson, St. Louis

  * Roy Collins, Tampa

  * Lynn Wegner, Texas Gulf Coast

 

  REQUEST:  Please advise us at USNA At Large asap re how your Chapter Trustee voted -- FOR or AGAINST the Strawman.

    Thanks! and Beat Army TODAY!  John Howland

 

=============================Thursday Night Message==================================

 

USNA-At-Large,

  Jock Craig relays (from his Class Prez) the first word we have of the results of the vote on the Strawman Proposal for the restructuring of the Board of Trustees.

 

Board of Trustees Reconstitution:  At the BOT Meeting on 1 December 2005 a vote by the Trustees attending was taken regarding the proposed reconstitution of the BOT.  The proposed change was defeated since the "ayes" did not receive a 2/3 vote.  The final count was 17 for and 13 against.

 

  Not sure exactly how those numbers are supposed to work as I thought we were working with 29 total Trustees vs. 30.  In any event, based on the 30 number the Strawman was just three votes shy of pulling it off.  All things considered, I call that a close call.

  Will be interesting to find out who voted for and against the Strawman.

  Will also be interesting to find out where the BOT intends to go from here.

  In any event, for the ongoing health of the Alumni Association, this was a good result.

  BZ to the 13 that stood in the path of the Strawman!

    Whew!  John Howland