National Organization
Annual Report For The Year - 2000

Provided by Bob Mohr, USCGAPA '00 President

The U.S. Coast Guard Academy Parents Association was founded in 1972. Parents and guardians of all current Cadets and graduates are eligible for regular membership. Dues of $50 affords membership for all four years and is used for administrative expenses, such as the Parents Newsletter. The National Parents Council is elected by the membership as the governing body of the Parents Association. The Council is comprised of 14 Members-at-Large and the Presidents of the 14 local Chapters and meets three times a year. The current National President is Robert M. Mohr of Woodstock, New York. The Academy's Liaison Officer to the Parents Association is LT Matthew Meilstrup.

The Parents Association is administratively aligned with the U.S. Coast Guard Academy Alumni Association, Inc. The National President of the Parents Association serves as an ex officio member of the Board of Directors of the Alumni Association. The Alumni Association provides substantial support to the Parents Association by maintaining its membership records, financial accounts (including accepting receipts and making approved disbursements), publishing the Parents Newsletter, and organizing the fundraising efforts of parents.

The Parents Association, by its Constitution, By-Laws, and practice, operates as a non-profit organization devoted exclusively to benefiting all members of the Corps of Cadets of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. All projects undertaken by the Parents Association for the enrichment of Cadet education are coordinated with and through the Alumni Association and comply with the policies of the Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard, regarding philanthropic support of the Academy.

Parents' donations average more than $60,000 per year: almost ten percent of all donations received by the Alumni Association. Many parents designate their gift for a particular purpose, e.g., the library fund or an athletic team/club, while others permit either the Parents Association or Alumni Association to designate the use of the funds. The Parents Association uses its donations to benefit directly all the Cadets: this year, it again purchased a minivan for Cadet use during liberty hours, this year a fifteen-passenger van vs. last year’s eight-passenger van.

The Parents Association annually sponsors an award for the graduating Cadet who attains the highest standing on the cumulative Military Precedence List.

In May, 2000, this award was presented to 1/C Cadet Madeleine Wright.

Parents Weekend is held each Fall. The Association works closely with the Academy staff to prepare a program with maximum opportunities for parents to see their Cadets both informally and in official activities, e.g., parades, sporting events. This weekend is quite popular and draws parents from across the country and even overseas locations. The activities reinforce the family-like atmosphere the Cadets develop in the Coast Guard.

Coast Guard Academy Team Eagle (CGATE) is the Academy's recruiting effort conducted by members of the USCG Auxiliary, Parents Association, and Alumni Association. Dozens of our members already have been trained and conduct many applicant interviews and represent the Academy at college fairs each year.

The Parents Association maintains an Internet "Home Page" and E-mail lists among parents. This means of communication has strengthened the bonds among a widely dispersed constituency and fostered open, productive interactions between parents and the Academy senior management. In its first three years of operation, the Home Page has received over 50,000 visitors.

The address at which the home page can be viewed is as follows:
http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/lyndahaley/index.htm

In addition to the above National efforts, the Parents Association conducts much of its outreach activities through its 14 local chapters. In support of the new Cadets and their families, virtually all chapters held information sessions to help applicants decide whether the Academy was right for them, to prepare the appointees for Cadet life, and to inform parents of the support net available to them. These sessions are sometimes in a picnic format and, in many locations, held at Coast Guard facilities, with the active support of local commands. The past two years we reached more new Cadet families than ever before by establishing a system to distribute to the chapters the fast-breaking news on appointments tendered. While these chapter events reach a significant percentage of the incoming class, we try to reach everyone with our offers of advice and support through an insert in the mailing to the new Cadets as well as items on our Home Page specifically directed toward their concerns.

Once our members had done their best to recruit and prepare the new Cadets, they did not stop. Parents living in Connecticut opened their homes to host 40 incoming Cadets traveling to New London without their families. Realizing that the new Cadets experienced considerable anxiety on the evening before "Reporting-In Day," two chapters jointly sponsor an informal get-together at a local hotel. At this gathering, new Cadets and families met others from across the country. Many Cadets greeted new platoon-mates and all shared stories to help relieve the tensions. This year over 500 people attended these sessions.

On Reporting-In Day itself, a couple dozen parents were on-hand at Leamy Hall by 7am, ostensibly to sell fundraising items, but also to provide smiles, welcoming hands, and sympathetic ears to parents who had just experienced the trauma of their son or daughter walking away into Chase Hall. The fundraising sales went well, which will support the chapters’ efforts to enrich the Corps of Cadets. The New England Chapter once again hosted the picnic and served roughly 600 meals.

At the National table, we accepted membership applications from 122 families of the Class of 2004,a record number for the first day! And with the recent dues restructuring, in which we lowered dues, but collect up-front for all four years, our cash flow vis-à-vis the Alumni Association has improved. This allows the Parents Association to do more at the National level, such as additional Parents Newsletters, to enhance our communications efforts.

The efforts of the Parents Association have been significantly enhanced by the active support and close cooperation provided by the Superintendent and each member of the senior management team. They have consistently maintained an open channel of communications with the Parents Association throughout the year, making themselves available to answer questions at all Association meetings and inspiring parents' confidence in the leadership of the Academy.