Awards Ceremony Major Snafu

supergirl

5-Year Member
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Sep 14, 2010
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Major mess-up at my ds award ceremony last night. After speaking with the assistant principal 2 months ago to confirm that ds would be getting honored at the schools award assembly and being told that yes - they would arrange everything; i specifically asked if i needed to do something, did they need the contact for local air force person - and was told 'no' they take care of it.... our entire family - 2 sets of grandparents, aunts, cousin etc.... attend (all from out of town) and NOTHING is done - not even a small acknowledgement that our ds is going to be missing graduation because he will be at BCT and could everyone applaud for a job well done. Spoke briefly with the principal and asst principal last night and they tell me no one from the Air Force contacted them. I was too upset to say anything more except how disapointed i was. One grandfather is so angry he goes to find principal in the office and give his point of view. Entire family including ds is UPSET! Spoke to the principal this morning when i was calmer.... apparently no one followed up on an email or made any extra effort - principal is very sorry, not what should've happened etc... and they are trying to arrange for something at the next board meeting with media coverage -
BUT SHOULDNT THIS HAVE BEEN THE LOCAL ALO'S RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE ARRANGEMENTS TO DO????
 
Major mess-up at my ds award ceremony last night. After speaking with the assistant principal 2 months ago to confirm that ds would be getting honored at the schools award assembly and being told that yes - they would arrange everything; i specifically asked if i needed to do something, did they need the contact for local air force person - and was told 'no' they take care of it.... our entire family - 2 sets of grandparents, aunts, cousin etc.... attend (all from out of town) and NOTHING is done - not even a small acknowledgement that our ds is going to be missing graduation because he will be at BCT and could everyone applaud for a job well done. Spoke briefly with the principal and asst principal last night and they tell me no one from the Air Force contacted them. I was too upset to say anything more except how disapointed i was. One grandfather is so angry he goes to find principal in the office and give his point of view. Entire family including ds is UPSET! Spoke to the principal this morning when i was calmer.... apparently no one followed up on an email or made any extra effort - principal is very sorry, not what should've happened etc... and they are trying to arrange for something at the next board meeting with media coverage -
BUT SHOULDNT THIS HAVE BEEN THE LOCAL ALO'S RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE ARRANGEMENTS TO DO????

My son's ALO took care of the arrangements. He was sitting up on the stage with all the other dignitaries. He gave a small speech, told everyone the value of the education then presented my son and a young lady in his class with a document to comemerate the occassion.
My son's ALO was pretty involved thru the whole process.
 
If this upset you, keep the tranquilizers handy when something real happens...

1. Your DS has already been recognized by the people that matter.
2. It is more meaningful to know their family supports their decision.
 
I think it would have been appropriate for your ds to send the ALO an email or call him/her and make sure that they knew about the presentation. That is what my daughter did and she had no problems.

-kikoman
 
Supergirl: Sorry to hear about your experience. Last year the AFROTC advised our school two weeks before the awards ceremony that they were not going to have anyone available to present my daughters AFROTC scholarship. The school contacted the ALO and he was kind enough to fill in at the last moment.

This year the Air Force (unlike all the other branches) never bothered to even return or acknowledge the schools request for someone to present my son's USAFA appointment. Fortunately, once again the school followed up with the ALO and he will be there this evening for the award.

I understand your issues with the school but it seems as though the AF also seems to have problems with the way they are handling these requests.

Good luck to you and your DS!:thumb:
 
If this upset you, keep the tranquilizers handy when something real happens...

1. Your DS has already been recognized by the people that matter.
2. It is more meaningful to know their family supports their decision.
Flyboy1993: How many years of experience do you have with the AF and the USAFA?
 
Major mess-up at my ds award ceremony last night. After speaking with the assistant principal 2 months ago to confirm that ds would be getting honored at the schools award assembly and being told that yes - they would arrange everything; i specifically asked if i needed to do something, did they need the contact for local air force person - and was told 'no' they take care of it.... our entire family - 2 sets of grandparents, aunts, cousin etc.... attend (all from out of town) and NOTHING is done - not even a small acknowledgement that our ds is going to be missing graduation because he will be at BCT and could everyone applaud for a job well done. Spoke briefly with the principal and asst principal last night and they tell me no one from the Air Force contacted them. I was too upset to say anything more except how disapointed i was. One grandfather is so angry he goes to find principal in the office and give his point of view. Entire family including ds is UPSET! Spoke to the principal this morning when i was calmer.... apparently no one followed up on an email or made any extra effort - principal is very sorry, not what should've happened etc... and they are trying to arrange for something at the next board meeting with media coverage -
BUT SHOULDNT THIS HAVE BEEN THE LOCAL ALO'S RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE ARRANGEMENTS TO DO????

We did like KIKOMAN and I agree with KIKOMAN, nowhere do you say you asked your son,or your son said,or have you spoken with the ALO. (not saying that the ALO didn't drop the ball either and MOC's assistant) In addition our school request list of scholarships given to the student a few weeks before hand.
 
Unfortunately, each school is different, and a standard can't exist. We have schools here that every year we call to see if we can present the appointment and read the letter in front of the audience at the senior award assembly. "Assuming we have an individual with an appointment'. There are some schools that specifically say: "No, you can't. But if you give us the appointment letter, we (The school) will read it. You can be a guest in the audience, but you can't actually present it. Their position is that none of the other students are being presented their scholarships or acceptance to college by anyone special, therefor they won't allow it for an academy appointment. That's just SOME of the schools. There are some that have no problem with it. Bottom line: It's totally the school's choice and responsibility.

My son was at one of the schools where they wouldn't allow the ALO to present his appointment. The principal however did read it. 3 months prior however, on National Signing Day in February, the school and coaches allowed the ALO to present our son with the NCAA paperwork to sign for committing to play football at Air Force. My son's ALO had 3 appointees this selection season. Only 1 school allowed her to present. She gave the other 2 there's in person, so they could give a copy to the school, so the school could read it at the awards ceremony. The SNAFU was with your school unfortunately. An ALO can't just expect to be allowed to present at a ceremony. Especially when the school has a "Valid Policy" that they don't allow the ALO to do it because the other students don't have someone from their school there. At least our school, "School and town are VERY PRO MILITARY", had the principal read everyone's college acceptance who had one.
 
The SNAFU was with your school unfortunately. An ALO can't just expect to be allowed to present at a ceremony.
Of course if all the other military branches are able to attend and make presentations then you might want to consider the possibility that the school might not have been the only culprit.
 
NO,

It is not their responsibility. Being recognized is nice but stuff happens.

Now that I have been through the whole thing from Prep School to Graduation,believe me when I say recognition at a High School awards banquet is nothing compared to what they will be recognized at the Academy, should they successfully complete the 4 years.

Not to put a damper on things, but approximately 20% of the incoming class will not be there at graduation. Now wouldn't that be nice that they received all the recognition at the High School Awards banquet and then realize the Academy is not for them.

I would just let the fubar with the school go and concentrate on the last days you have with your child and make them enjoyable.
 
NO,

It is not their responsibility. Being recognized is nice but stuff happens.
Agreed. However extending the courtesy of advising the appointee or school that they will not be able to make the award ceremony does not seem as though it should be too much to ask.
..I say recognition at a High School awards banquet is nothing compared to what they will be recognized at the Academy, should they successfully complete the 4 years.
Again...I agree. That said, at this point in their young lives being recognized in front of their schoolmates from the previous four years is a big deal....particularly when many of their peers are receiving awards.
Not to put a damper on things, but approximately 20% of the incoming class will not be there at graduation.
What percentage of high school students attending civilian colleges actually graduate? I believe the graduation rate is higher at the SAs than the civilian college graduation rate and shouldn't be a reason NOT to have their appointment acknowledged.
 
No doubt, if the school allows ALO's to present appointments, or at least provide the letter for the school to do, the ALO should have done their part. As most of you know, I write in the 3rd person. Not just for the particular question by the OP, but for the many others who will read such a thread and have SIMILAR questions.

Yes, the ALO should have been up on it. Unless the ALO never received notification from the School. Even then, the ALO could/should have checked with the school of any appointee that s/he had. Also; the school was aware of the award and should have followed up with the ALO. Or at least recognized the individual at the ceremony. The appointee too should/could have been a little bit more responsible for their own recognition. They could have contacted their ALO to ensure they were going to be able to make it. Many ALO's are also active duty military. S/He could have been deployed to Afghanistan for all you know. The appointee should have checked to see if they received the email from the school and would be attending. Also; the appointee could have checked with the school for an alternative if the ALO was not able to show up or they hadn't heard back from them.

Again; I'm writing in the 3rd person. The OP's situation is ALL OVER WITH. There isn't a thing that can be done now as far as school recognition ceremony goes. But for others who are reading this, you can learn from these situations when hopefully it's YOUR TURN. You were PRO-active in your application process; why stop now? And for some of you soon to be butter-bars. "Lieutenants", each time you move to a new base, or perform something very unique and special "Like deploying"; many commanders will put you in for a decoration if they believe you deserve them. MANY will tell you straight up to basically "Write it yourself" and they will sign it. Doesn't matter if it's right or wrong, it's the way things are some times. I've received quite a few decorations, and I can honestly say that I wrote more than half of them for myself and had my supervisor/commander sign them. Same with performance reports to a certain respect. Recognition is nice. It "FEELS GOOD". But in the real world, you need to learn to "Take care of your own".
 
Agree completely on the proactive part. We cleared with our school and made sure the date worked for the ALO. It's a little different from most of the discussion so far in that the ALO made the presentation during graduation.
 
We did like KIKOMAN and I agree with KIKOMAN, nowhere do you say you asked your son,or your son said,or have you spoken with the ALO. (not saying that the ALO didn't drop the ball either and MOC's assistant) In addition our school request list of scholarships given to the student a few weeks before hand.

yes - copies of letters of scholarships including appointment letter; ROTC scholarship and school scholarships were given to school by ds. i or ds would've emailed /contacted ALO except for the assurance from the assistant principal that they had done this many times and would take care of it. obviously, we should've double checked; confirmed. was also dealing with ds grad party the same weekend and trusted. i am not looking for sympathy - just wanted to know ALO responsibility before i called him.
 
If this upset you, keep the tranquilizers handy when something real happens...

1. Your DS has already been recognized by the people that matter.
2. It is more meaningful to know their family supports their decision.

FlyBoy1993 - our family has been thru an awful lot that you know nothing about.....upset does not require tranquilizers. actually with everything we have been thru we have never required a tranquilizer. life has ups and downs. this was a small blip....we have already moved on. but, it is important to us that the next kid who comes along at our school will not have it repeated.
 
No doubt, if the school allows ALO's to present appointments, or at least provide the letter for the school to do, the ALO should have done their part. As most of you know, I write in the 3rd person. Not just for the particular question by the OP, but for the many others who will read such a thread and have SIMILAR questions.

Yes, the ALO should have been up on it. Unless the ALO never received notification from the School. Even then, the ALO could/should have checked with the school of any appointee that s/he had. Also; the school was aware of the award and should have followed up with the ALO. Or at least recognized the individual at the ceremony. The appointee too should/could have been a little bit more responsible for their own recognition. They could have contacted their ALO to ensure they were going to be able to make it. Many ALO's are also active duty military. S/He could have been deployed to Afghanistan for all you know. The appointee should have checked to see if they received the email from the school and would be attending. Also; the appointee could have checked with the school for an alternative if the ALO was not able to show up or they hadn't heard back from them.

Again; I'm writing in the 3rd person. The OP's situation is ALL OVER WITH. There isn't a thing that can be done now as far as school recognition ceremony goes. But for others who are reading this, you can learn from these situations when hopefully it's YOUR TURN. You were PRO-active in your application process; why stop now? And for some of you soon to be butter-bars. "Lieutenants", each time you move to a new base, or perform something very unique and special "Like deploying"; many commanders will put you in for a decoration if they believe you deserve them. MANY will tell you straight up to basically "Write it yourself" and they will sign it. Doesn't matter if it's right or wrong, it's the way things are some times. I've received quite a few decorations, and I can honestly say that I wrote more than half of them for myself and had my supervisor/commander sign them. Same with performance reports to a certain respect. Recognition is nice. It "FEELS GOOD". But in the real world, you need to learn to "Take care of your own".

Thank you christcorp for the honest appraisal; i did not want to contact the ALO before knowing parameters. we trusted but failed to verify.....
 
deployed ALO

No doubt, if the school allows ALO's to present appointments, or at least provide the letter for the school to do, the ALO should have done their part. As most of you know, I write in the 3rd person. Not just for the particular question by the OP, but for the many others who will read such a thread and have SIMILAR questions.

Yes, the ALO should have been up on it. Unless the ALO never received notification from the School. Even then, the ALO could/should have checked with the school of any appointee that s/he had. Also; the school was aware of the award and should have followed up with the ALO. Or at least recognized the individual at the ceremony. The appointee too should/could have been a little bit more responsible for their own recognition. They could have contacted their ALO to ensure they were going to be able to make it. Many ALO's are also active duty military. S/He could have been deployed to Afghanistan for all you know. The appointee should have checked to see if they received the email from the school and would be attending. Also; the appointee could have checked with the school for an alternative if the ALO was not able to show up or they hadn't heard back from them.

Again; I'm writing in the 3rd person. The OP's situation is ALL OVER WITH. There isn't a thing that can be done now as far as school recognition ceremony goes. But for others who are reading this, you can learn from these situations when hopefully it's YOUR TURN. You were PRO-active in your application process; why stop now? And for some of you soon to be butter-bars. "Lieutenants", each time you move to a new base, or perform something very unique and special "Like deploying"; many commanders will put you in for a decoration if they believe you deserve them. MANY will tell you straight up to basically "Write it yourself" and they will sign it. Doesn't matter if it's right or wrong, it's the way things are some times. I've received quite a few decorations, and I can honestly say that I wrote more than half of them for myself and had my supervisor/commander sign them. Same with performance reports to a certain respect. Recognition is nice. It "FEELS GOOD". But in the real world, you need to learn to "Take care of your own".

DS's ALO was deployed and couldn't make it to his recognition ceremony...she gave him names of others to try and one ALO even sent out a plea to other ALOs in the area who might be able to cover the event. The school left it up to DS to make contact and follow through. The Lt Col that filled in was more than happy to help-reminded her of her own awards ceremony back in the day.

Supergirl-sorry for the foul up. I know your family must have been disappointed. Best of luck at the Academy!
 
Flyboy1993: How many years of experience do you have with the AF and the USAFA?

The Op seemed to be more upset about the lack of public recognition than the absence of USAF personnel. My point was that if this little incident upset them so much that they were distraught until the next day, then they had better get buckled in for the ride of their life when actual disappointments and trials occur.

It's a high school awards ceremony. IMHO, nothing that happens at the ceremony will match the pride and support the DS already has received from family and friends for earning an appointment.
 
FlyBoy1993 - our family has been thru an awful lot that you know nothing about.....upset does not require tranquilizers. actually with everything we have been thru we have never required a tranquilizer. life has ups and downs. this was a small blip....we have already moved on. but, it is important to us that the next kid who comes along at our school will not have it repeated.

Best of luck to you and your DS.
 
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