Mass Maritime Academy Parents' Association

MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME ACADEMY PARENTS’ ASSOCIATION
MEETING MINUTES – MARCH 10, 2010

The meeting of MMAPA was called to order by President, Beth Sobiloff at 6:30 pm.

The following individuals were in attendance: Admiral Richard Gurnon, Gary & Jane Rabesa, Robert Courcy, Kevin Owens, Tricia & Andrew Topoulos, Marie Burchfield, Christine Gilbert, Christine Mucciarone, Jeanne Mourey, Margaret Chickering, Julie Bonina, Judy Kelly, Beth Sobiloff, Ann Kenny, Karen Nahigian, Carol Doherty (Four officers & 13 parents) and various other participants who joined via teleconference or viewed it via webcam.

Admiral Richard Gurnongave a brief summary of this year’s Sea Term Training Cruise, which was the largest of all maritime schools’, accommodating 599 cadets plus staff. Also, being that the Kennedy underwent $10 million in repairs, renovations and upgrades prior to shipping out and that the voyage itself cost about $2 million, it was possibly the most costly also. Thanks go to Capt. Bushy and Capt. Rozak, as well as the entire Cadet Leadership Team for their professionalism, expertise, leadership & dedication in conducting this successful Sea Term Training Cruise.

Admiral Gurnon also informed the parents that next year’s training cruise would most likely be in the Caribbean again due to the cost factor. He said that there might be a chance of entertaining a Panama Canal Training Cruise as well. There is the hope of possibly reinstating the Summer Cruise for 3 days out in Cape Cod Bay, realizing that the cost of $200,000 is a determining factor also. The importance of the training cruise was discussed with the emphasis that “Sea Term changes cadets”.

The Student Exchange with Shanghai Maritime University was discussed whereby MMA hosted 19 Chinese students last year and in turn sent over 11 MMA cadets to SMU this spring along with Dr. Bani Ghosh. They all report the warm welcome they received in Shanghai and the amazing experiences they’ve had thus far.

Admiral Gurnon then briefly reported on the jobs available to seniors graduating this year giving an example of Military Sealift Command looking to fill 150 jobs. As this company interviewed MMA cadets, Admiral Gurnon mentioned how they were very complimentary of the MMA cadets they saw. He also spoke of the shipping sector lagging 6 months behind the rest of the economy and therefore affecting these jobs to some degree in the future.

News of the invitation to 7th Company to play in the Memorial Day Parade in Washington DC. was met with great excitement, enthusiasm and pride.

Secretary’s Report:
The minutes of the December 2, 2009 meeting were unanimously approved. They can be viewed at www.mmapa.org

Treasurer’s Report:
Ann Kenny distributed Treasurer’s Reports for Dec. 2, 2009 as well as the current March 10,2010 meetings. A motion was made to accept the Treasurer’s Report & was unanimously accepted.
The treasurer then reported that as of December 1, 2009 the balance in the account was $16,432.60
with the ending balance as of February 28, 2010 being $17,597.96.

The Income was itemized as coming from:
   Sea Term Raffle (Advanced Sales)                                ($590.00)
   Sea Term Product Sales
       Ship Departure Tee-Shirts                                    ($2,185.00)
       Ship Departure Certificates & Steins                       ($2,285.00)
       Ship Departure Day Raffle                                      ( $705.00)
       Certificates & Steins                                            ($8,170.00)
   Ship Arrival Luncheon                                              ($1,067.00)
              Sub Total of Income since Dec.1, 2009            $15,002.00

The Expenses were listed as follows:
    MMA Scholarships                                                 ($10,000.00)
    Cruise Raffle Winner’s Airfare                                  (     $582.20)
    US Naval Institute Certificates                                ( $1,258.47)
    Go Go Café – Ship Arrival Luncheon                          ( $1,086.30)
    Bank Fee – Returned Check                                    (       $40.00)
    Supplies – envelopes, labels                                    (     $240.17)
    Postage – Raffle, Certificates & Steins                     (      $629.50)
Sub Total of Expenses since Dec. 1, 2009           $13,836.64

Calculating the income & expenses with the previous balance brings the MMAPA bank balance as of February 28, 2010 to $17,597.96

The treasurer noted the success of the sale of the Sea Term Certificates (193), Sea Term Steins (222), as well as the Ship Arrival Luncheon (96).

One of the MMA parents, Jeanne Mourey, donated one of her beautiful handmade quilts to be used as a fund-raising raffle item. She also volunteered to be in charge of selling these raffle tickets ($2.00 each or 6 for $10.00) at any of our campus events such as the upcoming Welcome Aboard Day (April 3rd). She reported that she has already sold $255.00 worth at the Sea Term Cruise return day and has a goal of giving $1,000.00 to the MMAPA Scholarship Fund before the final drawing. Our thanks go out to Jean for her generosity in sharing the fruit of her talent with MMAPA.

Ann Kenny also noted the need for other upcoming expenses such as replenishing t-shirts & purchasing cruise tickets for next year’s Sea Term Raffle. Also a suggestion to look into purchasing a canopy for the outdoor sales of MMAPA products was discussed and the information will be shared at the May meeting.

MMAPA has allocated $8,000.00 for scholarships last year and a motion was made and unanimously accepted to do the same for the 2010 - 2011 academic year as well.

Future Fundraising items (with the MMA logo) were also discussed with the following suggestions being shared:

Long sleeve T-Shirts and/or Tank Tops
MMA Calendars (previously sold but last year discontinued)
Garment Bag which also zips into a Duffle Bag – presented by one of the parents
Stadium Seats / Cushions

There was a caution on carrying too many fundraising items due to limited space, the need for more parent volunteers and the difficulty of spreading ourselves too thin. A vote was taken on exploring the feasibility and profit of some of these new fundraising items with the results shared at the May meeting.

Admissions Liaison Report: Karen Nahigian reported on the Open Houses this year, stating that all were well attended. The Open House of February 21, 2010 which coincided with the return of the T.S. Kennedy from the Sea Term Cruise was the largest in recent memory with around 200 attending. She reminded all that Welcome Aboard Day will be April 3rd from 8:30AM to 4:00PM. and that the Final Open House will be May 8th and that many parent volunteers will be needed to assist at both of these Open Houses. Karen thanked those parents who have volunteered in the past and encouraged others to participate. She reminded us that the success of the all these events is very dependant on parent and family involvement. We can all share something to promote MMA and to help interested parents and future cadets with the information they may want/need to make a decision in choosing MMA. Fuji and the Admissions Office asked Karen to thank all parents because he has no doubt that through all of their efforts, MMA has had such a successful year.
The importance of the Sea Bag Fundraiser was also stressed as the largest scholarship fundraiser for MMAPA. Karen informed/reminded parents of this event saying that many volunteers will be needed and that we will start promoting this event by the end of May or beginning of June. MMAPA works with Follett’s Bookstore to set up the sea bag items and uniforms in the gym the week before Orientation in August. She also asked that the parents also donate their time on August 14th to assist in distributing sea bag items for Orientation Drop Off Day.

Old Business Report: By-Laws Review Committee will be reorganized and will work on it during the summer. Several new volunteers, Julie Bonina, Ann Kenny and Christine Gilbert came forward to assist the process. The suggestion was that there be 5 – 7 people on the committee so others are asked to volunteer.

Parent Handbook Project was also discussed and Beth stated that the Handbook is ready to go after Administration returns it. The Handbook could be viewed as an E-book and would be freely available to any parent.

New Business Report: Officer Elections: are schedule for the May 5, 2010 meeting. Anyone interested in serving on the Board for MMAPA should contact Beth Sobiloff. The current slate of candidates for the 2010 - 2011 Academic School Year who will be voted on at the May 5th meeting is:

President: Ann Kenny
Vice President: Chris Mucciarone
Co-Secretary: Carol Doherty
Co-Secretary: Judy Kelly
Co-Treasurer: Jeanne Mourey
Co-Treasurer: Chris Gilbert
Admissions Liaison: Karen Nahigian

Before the close of the meeting the parents wanted to thank Beth Sobiloff for organizing a dinner for parents the night before the return of T.S. Kennedy at Lindsey’s Restaurant. The meeting was adjourned at 8:00PM. by President Beth Sobiloff

Respectfully submitted,

Carol J. Doherty