President's Report
Greetings,
We have just wrapped up our 2016 reunion in Branson. As usual, Bruce
Sheils did an outstanding job planning, organizing, and managing the
reunion. The minutes of both the Executive Board meeting and the
Annual Business meeting are attached (they will also be posted on the
CGIA web-site in case you can not open them here).
The reunion was, quite disappointingly, poorly attended. There was
great comrade among those who did attend, however, it was the smallest
group we have had in our 12 year history of reunions. Of course,
there was considerable discussion regarding "why" attendance was poor.
Lots of theories, but there is no clear cut, definitive answer to
that question. As to the question as to why people do attend, it was
clear that people come for the camaraderie - the entertainment and
guest speaker made it even better.
Bruce planned two entertainment events a dinner cruise on the Branson
Belle and an evenings entertainment to see the show "ALL HANDS ON
DECK". Without a doubt, the shows were great.
In addition to the great camaraderie we shared, we had an
extraordinary guest speaker. The highlight of the reunion was that we
were truly honored to have as our guest speaker, Col. Don Ballard,
Kansas National Guard, (Retired) as our guest speaker. Col Ballard
had previously served in the US Navy as a combat medic (Hospital
Corpsman 2nd Class). As a result of serving with the US Marine Corps
in Viet Nam, he wears the Congressional Medal of Honor for heroic
actions above and beyond the call of duty. Col Ballard, or "Doc" as
he preferred to be called, spent the weekend with us - he attended the
entertainment events with us and spent time in the hospitality room
getting to know about the Coast Guard, the CGIA, as well as our
individual members. Doc continues to serve, as he is involved in a
wide variety of activities and organizations supporting veterans.
After coming off active duty, he served as a police officer for a
number of years and then went back to his true passion as a paramedic
with the fire department. After retiring, he and his wife became
licensed morticians - for the purpose of being able to provide no cost
burials to veterans and their families who lacked the resources to do
it on their own. In as much as without a personal contact, there is a
5 year waiting list to have a Medal of Honor recipient attend an
event, we were fortunate to have Doc with us. However, and only due
to Bruce's many contacts in Branson, we were able to enjoy Doc as our
guest this year after having to only wait a year instead of 5. Again,
THANK YOU BRUCE!
Now.....onto the big issue facing the CGIA - our experiment to hold
several consecutive reunions in Branson comes to an end next September
(2017) at the Grand Plaza Hotel in Branson. After our discussions
this year, a course of action for the 2018 reunion was developed -
hence, via this e-mail, we are soliciting for a volunteer take the
lead to identify a city and venue for the 2018 reunion and then plan
and manage the event.
If you are interested in taking on this task, please reach out to me
at [email protected]. (I am OCONUS from 3 OCT to 21 NOV - I
will have on and off connectivity during that period and almost none
what-so-ever from 5 NOV to 21 NOV - but I WILL get back to you. You
can also reach out to Bruce or any of our past reunion organizers for
help. To be truthful, for anyone who has complained in the past about
location, venue, or anything about how things have operated in the
past, now is the time to speak up - but do not worry, you don't need
professional experience as a "wedding planner" to pull this
off.....and, you will have other members who have "been there and done
that" who will lend their expertise to get you thru the process.
I would be negligent if I did not give a shout out to our association
officers - despite some medical issues which have slowed him down a
bit, I am always able to count on Vice President Jack Pressler's sound
advice and counsel. As a team our Treasurer, Jim Echoff, along with
Jeff Kilpatrick our Corporate Secretary, do an outstanding job of
keeping our paperwork in order and our membership rolls current and
accurate. They do things accurately and very promptly, thus very few
things, if any, ever fall thru the cracks. We are all lucky to have
their efforts supporting our endeavors. One important point here for
us all to remember in order to make things easier for Jim and Jeff -
please stay current on your dues....it is an extra burden to have to
chase people down when they fall in arrears. I also have to pass on
kudos to Bud Hall, our Southeast Regional Director - he is actively
trying to get the SE Region involved in recruiting, attending the
reunions, and possibly planning a SE Regional get-together of sorts -
it may only be getting together for lunch somewhere, but it could be
the start to something good.
I wish you all, and your loved ones, continued good health.
V/R
Steve Little
President, CGIA
Greetings,
We have just wrapped up our 2016 reunion in Branson. As usual, Bruce
Sheils did an outstanding job planning, organizing, and managing the
reunion. The minutes of both the Executive Board meeting and the
Annual Business meeting are attached (they will also be posted on the
CGIA web-site in case you can not open them here).
The reunion was, quite disappointingly, poorly attended. There was
great comrade among those who did attend, however, it was the smallest
group we have had in our 12 year history of reunions. Of course,
there was considerable discussion regarding "why" attendance was poor.
Lots of theories, but there is no clear cut, definitive answer to
that question. As to the question as to why people do attend, it was
clear that people come for the camaraderie - the entertainment and
guest speaker made it even better.
Bruce planned two entertainment events a dinner cruise on the Branson
Belle and an evenings entertainment to see the show "ALL HANDS ON
DECK". Without a doubt, the shows were great.
In addition to the great camaraderie we shared, we had an
extraordinary guest speaker. The highlight of the reunion was that we
were truly honored to have as our guest speaker, Col. Don Ballard,
Kansas National Guard, (Retired) as our guest speaker. Col Ballard
had previously served in the US Navy as a combat medic (Hospital
Corpsman 2nd Class). As a result of serving with the US Marine Corps
in Viet Nam, he wears the Congressional Medal of Honor for heroic
actions above and beyond the call of duty. Col Ballard, or "Doc" as
he preferred to be called, spent the weekend with us - he attended the
entertainment events with us and spent time in the hospitality room
getting to know about the Coast Guard, the CGIA, as well as our
individual members. Doc continues to serve, as he is involved in a
wide variety of activities and organizations supporting veterans.
After coming off active duty, he served as a police officer for a
number of years and then went back to his true passion as a paramedic
with the fire department. After retiring, he and his wife became
licensed morticians - for the purpose of being able to provide no cost
burials to veterans and their families who lacked the resources to do
it on their own. In as much as without a personal contact, there is a
5 year waiting list to have a Medal of Honor recipient attend an
event, we were fortunate to have Doc with us. However, and only due
to Bruce's many contacts in Branson, we were able to enjoy Doc as our
guest this year after having to only wait a year instead of 5. Again,
THANK YOU BRUCE!
Now.....onto the big issue facing the CGIA - our experiment to hold
several consecutive reunions in Branson comes to an end next September
(2017) at the Grand Plaza Hotel in Branson. After our discussions
this year, a course of action for the 2018 reunion was developed -
hence, via this e-mail, we are soliciting for a volunteer take the
lead to identify a city and venue for the 2018 reunion and then plan
and manage the event.
If you are interested in taking on this task, please reach out to me
at [email protected]. (I am OCONUS from 3 OCT to 21 NOV - I
will have on and off connectivity during that period and almost none
what-so-ever from 5 NOV to 21 NOV - but I WILL get back to you. You
can also reach out to Bruce or any of our past reunion organizers for
help. To be truthful, for anyone who has complained in the past about
location, venue, or anything about how things have operated in the
past, now is the time to speak up - but do not worry, you don't need
professional experience as a "wedding planner" to pull this
off.....and, you will have other members who have "been there and done
that" who will lend their expertise to get you thru the process.
I would be negligent if I did not give a shout out to our association
officers - despite some medical issues which have slowed him down a
bit, I am always able to count on Vice President Jack Pressler's sound
advice and counsel. As a team our Treasurer, Jim Echoff, along with
Jeff Kilpatrick our Corporate Secretary, do an outstanding job of
keeping our paperwork in order and our membership rolls current and
accurate. They do things accurately and very promptly, thus very few
things, if any, ever fall thru the cracks. We are all lucky to have
their efforts supporting our endeavors. One important point here for
us all to remember in order to make things easier for Jim and Jeff -
please stay current on your dues....it is an extra burden to have to
chase people down when they fall in arrears. I also have to pass on
kudos to Bud Hall, our Southeast Regional Director - he is actively
trying to get the SE Region involved in recruiting, attending the
reunions, and possibly planning a SE Regional get-together of sorts -
it may only be getting together for lunch somewhere, but it could be
the start to something good.
I wish you all, and your loved ones, continued good health.
V/R
Steve Little
President, CGIA
COAST GUARD INVESTIGATIVE ASSOCIATION BUSINESS MEETING
BRANSON, MISSOURI
Friday, September 23, 2016
BRANSON, MISSOURI
Friday, September 23, 2016
Steve Little called the meeting to order at 10:07 A.M.
Bruce Shiels opened the meeting with a prayer.
Jack Pressler lead the group in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Introduction of Officers in attendance: Steve Little, President; Jack Pressler, Vice-President, and Jim Echoff, Treasurer. Jeff Kilpatrick, Secretary, was unable to attend.
2015 Meeting Minutes: Upon a proper motion, the minutes for the 2015 meeting were accepted as posted on the web site.
Treasurer Report: Jim Echoff presented the financial report. The records were audited by Walt Bodner. Upon a proper motion the report was unanimously approved.
Membership Committee: Jim Echoff reported that despite his efforts to keep all members up to date with dues, we lost a few members to the inactive list. We have gained a small number of new members. Jim strongly encourages Regional Directors to reach out to their members to keep them on the active rolls and encourage attendance at our reunions.
Old Business: Steve Little reported that the executive committee has researched the issue of purchasing Directors and Officers Insurance and had decided against procuring that type of policy.
New Business:
2016 Elections - Steve Little reported that the only response to the call for nominations was a single comment for the incumbents to run for reelection. He further reported that the incumbent slate members were all voted back in by a landslide. Steve thanked the membership.
2017 Conference - A discussion was held regarding the location for the 2017 reunion (the membership previously having approved Branson as the site thru 2017). There was no disagreement to remaining with Branson as the site for 2017. However, Bruce Sheils and Jim Echoff have made initial contact with a close-by hotel, "Grand Plaza" as a possible venue. Upon a proper motion, the membership agreed to give Bruce the authority to use his best judgment to decide to remain at the Raddison or shift to the Grand Plaza, taking into consideration the many factors involved. (post meeting side note - by the end of the conference, Bruce reported that given the cost savings involved, we will in fact be utilizing the facilities of the Grand Plaza Hotel during our 2017 reunion.)
2018 Conference - A discussion was held regarding the location for the 2018 reunion. The key issue remains the declining attendance, the work and expertise involved in the planning and execution of the reunion, and the geographic location. It was decided that Steve will send out a bang list e-mail (along with a posting on the CGIA web page) soliciting for volunteers to take on the task of running the 2018 reunion.
Meeting adjourned at 1207 pm. Submitted by: Steve Little,CGIA Secretary-ProTem
Bruce Shiels opened the meeting with a prayer.
Jack Pressler lead the group in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Introduction of Officers in attendance: Steve Little, President; Jack Pressler, Vice-President, and Jim Echoff, Treasurer. Jeff Kilpatrick, Secretary, was unable to attend.
2015 Meeting Minutes: Upon a proper motion, the minutes for the 2015 meeting were accepted as posted on the web site.
Treasurer Report: Jim Echoff presented the financial report. The records were audited by Walt Bodner. Upon a proper motion the report was unanimously approved.
Membership Committee: Jim Echoff reported that despite his efforts to keep all members up to date with dues, we lost a few members to the inactive list. We have gained a small number of new members. Jim strongly encourages Regional Directors to reach out to their members to keep them on the active rolls and encourage attendance at our reunions.
Old Business: Steve Little reported that the executive committee has researched the issue of purchasing Directors and Officers Insurance and had decided against procuring that type of policy.
New Business:
2016 Elections - Steve Little reported that the only response to the call for nominations was a single comment for the incumbents to run for reelection. He further reported that the incumbent slate members were all voted back in by a landslide. Steve thanked the membership.
2017 Conference - A discussion was held regarding the location for the 2017 reunion (the membership previously having approved Branson as the site thru 2017). There was no disagreement to remaining with Branson as the site for 2017. However, Bruce Sheils and Jim Echoff have made initial contact with a close-by hotel, "Grand Plaza" as a possible venue. Upon a proper motion, the membership agreed to give Bruce the authority to use his best judgment to decide to remain at the Raddison or shift to the Grand Plaza, taking into consideration the many factors involved. (post meeting side note - by the end of the conference, Bruce reported that given the cost savings involved, we will in fact be utilizing the facilities of the Grand Plaza Hotel during our 2017 reunion.)
2018 Conference - A discussion was held regarding the location for the 2018 reunion. The key issue remains the declining attendance, the work and expertise involved in the planning and execution of the reunion, and the geographic location. It was decided that Steve will send out a bang list e-mail (along with a posting on the CGIA web page) soliciting for volunteers to take on the task of running the 2018 reunion.
Meeting adjourned at 1207 pm. Submitted by: Steve Little,CGIA Secretary-ProTem
COAST GUARD INVESTIGATIVE ASSOCIATION
EXECUTIVE BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
Branson, MO
Friday, September 23, 2016
EXECUTIVE BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
Branson, MO
Friday, September 23, 2016
Steven Little called the meeting to order. Present were Vice President Jack Pressler,Treasurer Jim Echoff, Regional Directors Bruce Shiels (Central and Bud Hall (Southeast).
Upon a proper motion, the minutes of the 2015 Executive Board meeting were approved.
A review of the agenda for the Annual Business Meeting was completed.
Jim reported that the corporate renewal papers had been filed with the Secretary of State in Nevada.
Upon a proper motion, the board voted against procuring Directors and Officers Insurance.
Upon a proper motion, the board voted to authorize the Treasurer to pay Bruce Shiels for $750 in previously un-reimbursed expenses for prior reunion expenses.
Steve reported that he had been approached about a plan by the NCIS Retired Agents Association to start an association of retired law enforcement associations in an attempt to address common problems. As further details become available, he will provide them to the board.
The next annual Board meeting will be held during the 2017 conference.
Respectfully submitted by:
Steve Little
CGIA Secretary Pro Tem
Upon a proper motion, the minutes of the 2015 Executive Board meeting were approved.
A review of the agenda for the Annual Business Meeting was completed.
Jim reported that the corporate renewal papers had been filed with the Secretary of State in Nevada.
Upon a proper motion, the board voted against procuring Directors and Officers Insurance.
Upon a proper motion, the board voted to authorize the Treasurer to pay Bruce Shiels for $750 in previously un-reimbursed expenses for prior reunion expenses.
Steve reported that he had been approached about a plan by the NCIS Retired Agents Association to start an association of retired law enforcement associations in an attempt to address common problems. As further details become available, he will provide them to the board.
The next annual Board meeting will be held during the 2017 conference.
Respectfully submitted by:
Steve Little
CGIA Secretary Pro Tem
