03/12/2016
THE
USNA CLASS OF 1958 GUIDANCE
FOR
COMPANY REPRESENTATIVES AND ASSISTANT
COMPANY REPRESENTATIVES
1.
Purpose. The
purpose of this document is to assist the Company Representative (CR) and the
Assistant Company Representative (ACR). This
document captures the functioning of CRs since June of 1958.
2.
The Association of the United States Naval Academy Class of 1958 (The
Association). The
purpose of The Association is to maintain unity and fellowship among its members
and to uphold the spirit and traditions of the United States Naval Academy and
the Class of 1958. The Association
is governed by a fifteen member Board of Trustees (the Board).
The Class of 1958 Constitution and Bylaws guide the functioning of the
Board. The Class Officers
(President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer) administer the day-to-day
Association business. Class
Officers are also Trustees of The Association. The Corresponding Secretary and
Webmaster, although not Trustees, are invited to attend board meetings as
observers.
3.
Company Representative Coordinator (CRC). The CRC, a Trustee of The
Association, serves as the Board’s central point of contact/interface with CRs.
The Board created the position of CRC in 2010 to enhance the class
communications system. The goals
were and are to provide the best possible support for and more rapid
communications among CRs, company members, the Board and the Class.
4.
Company Representative (CR). The
CR, a dedicated volunteer, assists his company members, the Board, the Class
Officers and the Class. He plays an
essential role in the class communications system.
In general, he maintains communications with the members of his company
and serves as the communications link between the Board, Class Officers and the
members of his company. The
duties/responsibilities of a CR are spelled out in detail in paragraphs 6
(Communications) and 7 (Role of the CR and ACR). Since
our graduation on June 4, 1958, CRs have been essential links in the chain that
binds the Class of 1958 into a close-knit fraternity.
5.
Assistant Company Representative (ACR).
The ACR (a dedicated
volunteer) assists his CR as needed and is prepared to assume the duties of his
CR when the CR is unable to perform his duties.
The role and duties of the ACR are spelled out in the paragraph titled
“Role of the CR and ACR”.
A.
The need for ACRs emerged in 2011
as the average age of members of our class reached 75 years (a point in time
that all too often is accompanied by increased medical problems).
This need was validated during the planning and coordination phases
of Reunion 55, when we discovered that members of three companies were not
receiving reunion information because CRs were experiencing computer, health or
scheduling problems. In the
first case the ACR stepped forward, assisted the CR and turned the situation
around. In the second case, there was no ACR and although attempts were
made to recruit an ACR, those attempts failed; hence timely information did not
reach company members. The third case involved a company in which the CR
experienced scheduling conflicts that prevented him from devoting the time and
effort required. Fortunately, he had recruited an excellent ACR who was
prepared and stepped forward and did a great job managing the Company's
requirements.
B.
Our military education and training
taught us that one of the hallmarks of an effective organization is always
having readily available fully qualified/prepared supernumeraries (in our case
the ACR).
6.
Communications.
A.
To fulfill the role and accomplish
the mission of the Association, the Board maintains lines of communications with
classmates and widows of deceased classmates by way of the CRs, the Class
website (http://1958.usnaclasses.com/), email messages and the United States
Postal Service (USPS).
B.
The addition of an ACR for each
company gives the class communication system the redundancy and backup that will
ensure timely communications in event of the unavailability of the CR.
C.
The importance of maintaining lines
of communication between the Board and Class officers and CRs and between CRs
and their company members and widows cannot be overemphasized.
D.
The communications role of the CR
and ACR:
(1)
Maintaining communications with
company members and widows of deceased company members and with the CRC.
(2)
Encouraging company members and
widows to have email addresses and to inform the CR of any changes to their
contact information.
(3)
Checking email messages regularly.
(4)
Responding promptly to messages
from the Class President, the CRC, company members and messages regarding time
sensitive projects.
(5)
Maintaining communication with his
ACR to ensure his ACR is prepared to assist him or assume his duties in the
event he becomes unable to handle a project. Likewise,
the ACR should maintain communications with his CR so he can step forward and
handle a project in the event his CR is unable to handle the project.
(6)
Forwarding to the President or the
CRC information regarding death, serious illness, emergencies or other
noteworthy information about classmates/ classmate's family members/widows that
comes to the attention of the CR.
E.
The CRC distributes information to
CRs, generally for CRs to further distribute to company members and widows (CRC
messages for further distribution contain a "Please Distribute"
comment). The CRC also communicates
with CRs to obtain information for the Board, the Class Officers and
reunion/special event committee heads.
F.
The President's messages are
generally "All Hands" messages (i.e., all members of the class and
widows receive such messages); hence, CRs should not forward them to company
members and widows.
G.
Contact information.
(1)
Class President: Gordon M. Gerson (Gordo),
LtCol, USAF (Ret)
Email: [email protected]
(2)
Company Representative Coordinator (CRC):
Matthew T. Cooper (Terry), LtGen, USMC (Ret)
Email: [email protected]
(3)
Class Corresponding Secretary:
William G. Schramm (Bill), Captain, USN (Ret)
Email:
[email protected]
(4) Webmaster: Alfred E.
Victor (Fred), Captain, USN (Ret)
Email: [email protected]
7.
Role of the Company Representative and Assistant Company Representative.
A.
The CR typically handles the
following day-to-day projects (the role of the ACR is to assist the CR as needed
and be prepared to assume the role of CR in the event the CR is unable to
accomplish a project or continue as the CR):
(1)
He is knowledgeable of the
duties/responsibilities of a CR, is familiar with the functioning of the
organization of the Class of 1958 and is familiar with class projects.
(2)
He maintains communications with
the members of his company and serves as the communications link between the
Board, Class Officers and the members of his company.
(3)
He maintains current contact
information programmed into his computer for company members, widows of deceased
company members, the Class President and the CRC.
The CR’s and ACR’s company contact data for each company member and
widow typically includes: last name, first name, social name; current mailing
address; email address; home telephone number; cell phone number and wife’s
name. The contact data also includes
notes indicating whether or not widows desire to receive information about class
events, activities, deaths, etc.
(4)
Passes to members of his company
information from the Board of Trustees and Class President regarding the
Academy, the Alumni Association, the Academy Athletic Association, the Class of
58, Class projects and other information deemed of interest to members of the
Class of 58.
(5)
Obtains information from company
members for the Board to enable the Board to
accomplish its mission.
(6)
Shares company contact data and
information about class projects with his ACR.
(7)
Ensures that his ACR has and
maintains in his computer the same contact information about company members and
widows that he maintains in his computer.
(8)
Maintains frequent contact with
company members/widows/ACR.
(9)
Encourages company members/widows
to keep him advised of changes in contact information.
(10)
Reports changes in contact information/status of company members and
widows to the Class President (for the class database maintained by the
President, for the class roster on the class website maintained by the
Webmaster and for the Alumni Association's master database).
(11) Orchestrates the preparation and submission of obituaries for
deceased
company
members to the Shipmate Obituary
Editor. (Refer to: "The Class of
1958
Obituary Program" document for detailed information regarding
Obituaries).
B.
During
the planning for class reunions, the CR (with the assistance of his ACR) plays a
key role by accomplishing the following:
(1)
Serves as the point of contact for
his company for planning, coordinating and executing class reunions.
(2)
Keeps company members informed of
all aspects of reunions.
(3)
Coordinates the planning for a
company event during a reunion if company members desire to conduct a company
event.
(4)
If a company event is planned, the
CR provides the CRC the details of the event to include the date, type event
(e.g., reception, company party) begin/end times, location, cost, number of
attendees, transportation needs and the name and cell phone number of the event
coordinator.
(5)
Obtains information regarding the
reunion attendance plans of company members, spouses, widows and guests.
(6)
The CR should create a company
reunion spread sheet of attendees that includes a detailed breakout of the
number of company members-spouses- widows - guests attending along with the name
of the hotel at which each company member/ spouse/widow/guest will reside during
the reunion. The CR provides this
information to the CRC for the Reunion Committee.
8.
Special Considerations for the CR and ACR.
A.
The contact data (with emphasis on email addresses and phone numbers)
for each company member and widow that each CR and ACR maintains on his computer
should be as current and accurate as possible. Such information should be
entered into computers so that both the CR and ACR can rapidly disseminate
information to company mates/widows of company mates and provide information to
the Board. Typically, the CR and ACR
each creates a group contact list containing the email addresses of each company
member and a second group contact list containing the email addresses of each
widow.
B.
The CR and ACR should
strive to maintain close and frequent communications with each other. The
CR should communicate to the ACR when he is unable or unavailable to respond to
a Board tasking so the ACR can accomplish the tasking promptly. Further,
each CR should have arrangements for the ACR to be notified in the event the CR
becomes unable or unavailable, but cannot notify the ACR himself.
C.
When a CR responds to a tasking, he should include his ACR as an info
addressee on his response message. Likewise,
if the ACR is handling a project for his CR, the ACR should include the CR as an
info addressee on response messages.
D.
When an ACR receives his info copy of a tasking, he should immediately
communicate with his CR to ensure that the CR is able to respond to the tasking.
If the ACR determines that the CR is unable to handle the task, the ACR
should immediately “pick up the torch" and handle the task as
expeditiously as possible.
E.
The CR and ACR should have
computers with current software (e.g., Word and Excel) that permits
viewing/downloading frequently used attachments such as Excel spreadsheets.
F. The CR and ACR should also have cell phones. Cell phones are especially important during reunions. The cell phone enables the CR and ACR to rapidly communicate with company members; enables company members to communicate with CRs and ACRs; and facilitates time sensitive communications from the CRC and Reunion Committee members to CRs/ACRs.
Updated:
03/05/16