President’s Message (Trux Dole)
General Update: Your Foundation board concluded a successful annual meeting over Labor Day weekend. By working with program team leads to develop a budget and team reports beforehand, we condensed the administrative discussion to half a day, a 66% reduction from past meetings. Also, by shifting the meeting date to coincide with a 10th National Association reunion, we were able to include the leaders of National and Descendants, as well as representatives from several key program partners. We used the saved time for a productive design session to strategize on how to better collaborate and work more efficiently going forward. Meeting minutes have been compiled and were available for distribution by mid-October, also another first for the Foundation. If you would like a copy please contact Foundation Administrative Director, Lynn Hutchinson. admin@10thmdf.org
Your new slate of board members and officers is listed at the end of this article. We have refilled three board seats and are happy to announce the addition of: Steve Coffey, Sr. VP of the 10th National Association and President of the 10th Descendants, Jack Breeding, a long-time member of the 10th Living History Display Group, and Captain Rich Piltingsgrud, 10th Mountain Colorado Army National Guard and co-founder of the 10th Mountain Alpine Group.
On a less happy note, board member and co-team lead for Outdoor Experience, Thayer Shedd has resigned to focus on his family’s health; we wish him our best and will miss him. We are also sad to announce the retirement of Foundation Chairman, Tom Hames, who was a critical member of Board leadership as we transitioned from WWII veterans to the next generation. Tom has also been a key catalyst in the Board’s evolution and the development of our key partnerships. He will be sorely missed, but we are most appreciative of his 23+ years of service.
This past quarter also saw continued progress by our program teams with their corresponding partners. It is great to see how the new structure and defined program approach is taking hold and how our partners are leaning in. I am most hopeful that we will continue to see positive dividends as we continue to collaborate more closely. As we move into year three of my term, we are now well positioned to focus more on marketing to drive more donations and thereby increase the Foundation’s ability to help 10th Mountain soldiers and their families.
