Attendees:

WCA Board

• Heather McAllen

• Vince Cassara

• Jim Mason-Foley

• Nick Lutzio

 

Center Leadership

• Dave Pierce

 

Procurement

• Carlos Mackenzie

• Anthony Lyas

 

DE&I

• Sam Henry

Notes:

Jim Mason Foley: 

• Summarized some of the recent history of the WCA and spoke of the accomplishments and work yet to be done

• Highlights include the many scholarships secured through the WCA, the working partnerships with UMES and ESCC and reminded us of a scholarship drive where we will be asking for donations from the companies of $5k each to support the effort

• Action to look into how that request is worded.  Ted Mercer expressed that he is unable to support the way the current request comes in so Jim said he would work with General Counsel on wording

Dave Pierce:

• Went over some of the great projects at WFF and how together we have grown such capabilities as launch, UAV and balloon. 

• Presentation revolving around community engagement and we want to continue and grow our community engagement

• Also discussed the important relationships we have with our international partners such as Philippine Space Agency and Norwegian Space agency

• Brought up the Child Development Center and the incredible effort it took to get that pulled together.  Still working on logistics of who will be able to use that.

• Concluded with the upcoming events and activities to make sure we all could mark our calendars for these engagements to participate and support

Carlos Mackenzie:

• Introduced Anthony Lyas as the WFF representative for NASA Procurements

•  Gave a rundown of each of the near-term procurements and a status of each.  This included all NASA procurements, not just WFF 

• Dave Pierce mentioned an upcoming industry day in August and Carlos will make sure it is properly communicated through one of the Procurements sites like GovWin

Heather McAllen:

• Overview of McCallie Associates in our first addition of our company spotlight

• Described history of McCallie and listed capabilities

• Went over SEAS II contract at a high level and highlighted McCallie personnel and skillsets

Sam Henry:

• DE&I updates

• Listed the upcoming or planned opportunities to engage with both UMES and ESCC

• Listed out other colleges and universities which we are trying to engage with:

  • Salisbury

  • Villanova

  • UVA

  • Delaware St

  • Virginia St

  • Wor-Wic CC

Closing with Heather McAllen:

• Introduction to new board members and asked each to discuss a goal over the next year.  The goals below summarize at a high level what we seek to accomplish:

  • Improve branding of WCA

  • Continue Community engagement and use combination of Director presentations at WCA and engagement to draw the local talent to Wallops

  • Continue to support the prior initiatives and make sure the new officers are supported by the base knowledge of the WCA from Jim

  • Help make Wallops a centerpiece of the community.  Many local people have a history with this center and make sure this is a mainstay in the southern Maryland community and something that is pointed to and highlighted in this community

Final thoughts Heather McAllen:

• Summarized the board member meeting and the things we discussed during that meeting so the rest of the membership was aware of the direction we were moving.

• Highlights of things we are working are:

  • Monthly meeting with a Civil Servant Representative.  Dave Pierce committed to supporting this.

  • Quarterly Procurement and DEI representatives

  • Social Media presence, especially Instagram and Facebook

  • Updated Website

  • Becoming a non-profit so we can do some fundraising

 

Actions:

1. Jim to work with General Counsel on wording of the donation request so there are no issues with companies participating.

2. Board Members provide picture and bio to Heather for the website

3. Update the by-laws to make sure we are incorporating our new initiatives

4. Determine presentations for next month

5. Notify company representatives of golf tournament on September 20 at Great Hope Golf Course.  Cost is $100/person to participate.

6. Begin WCA branding initiative across Wallops

Heather to begin 501c3 efforts