[sticklist] - Trustee Resignation: John Rapp

[Richard Forno]

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For years, the person elected as President of the VFMAC Alumni Association
also was a member of the VFMAC Board of Trustees to serve as a liasion
between the Alumni Association and the Trustees on Alumni issues. This
morning, the following letter was sent by current Alumni Association
President John Rapp '74C to to Bill Floyd, the Chairman of the VFMAC Board
of Trustees.  

To my knowledge, this is the third person to resign from the VFMAC Board of
Trustees in the past several weeks.

- - - -Rick '90 '92C

< - >

October 5, 2007

Dear Bill,

The purpose of this note is to inform you of my resignation from the Valley
Forge Military Academy & College Board of Trustees, effective immediately.
It is a decision that I have already shared with the Alumni Association¹s
officers and which I plan to share with the Association¹s full Board of
Directors and all of the Alumni, who are lifetime members of the
Association.

My decision to resign, while precipitated by the recent action of the
Board¹s leadership to require Trustees to sign a re-worded Trustee
Agreement, is also based on my belief that my honesty and outspokenness in
representing Alumni concerns became a bone of contention between us.  When
approached to return to active service to the Alumni Association, I made it
very clear that I would represent the Alumni as honestly and as thoroughly
as I could.  And, given the literally hundreds of hours I have spent over
the past year in phone, face-to-face, and e-mail conversations with many
Alumni, I believe that I have been able to understand the numerous concerns
and opinions that were shared with me.  It goes without saying that there
is not a unanimous viewpoint among all Alumni, nor would I expect there to
be.  And, I don¹t agree with every opinion that was expressed to me.
However, it was important to me to respect each and every opinion and
concern and, where appropriate, share those issues with the Board of
Trustees.  It was never my intention to stifle or discourage open debate
among the Alumni, which I sometimes felt you or other Trustees wanted me to
do.  Further, as a designated Alumni representative appointed to serve on
the Board of Trustees, I felt that Alumni deserved to know my honest
opinion when asked.  Signing the new Trustee Agreement would have prevented
that.

My dedication and loyalty to Valley Forge should be obvious to you.  I
served on staff for three years in the Tactical Department and, as a
result, I developed a deep and abiding respect for the long hours and hard
work of the staff and faculty.  They are a remarkably dedicated group of
men and women, and I truly admire those who have served the school for many
years.  Additionally, I have been active with the Alumni Association for a
very long time, beginning in 1988 and serving on every conceivable
committee, holding every office, and spending countless hours at events and
activities that support the Alumni and the cadets.  I have been a longtime
donor and, while I am not a wealthy man, have tried to support my Alma
Mater to the best of my ability.

I will continue to support Valley Forge Military Academy & College.  I
can¹t find a better way of expressing myself than how Jack Wyatt put it
recently: ³I was an Alumnus long before I became a Trustee.²  I will
always be proud of that achievement.

Sincerely,


John R. Rapp Œ74C  
President, Alumni Association

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