Parent Clubs

Please give it to me straight -

What is up with the state parent clubs/spirit committees? What exactly is it that they do? I understand both cadet and parent need to sign a permission/contact form in order for them to connect with cadets, so what do they do to support their journey? Are they basically like PTAs?

WAFAPA, the Wisconsin parent’s club, sponsors an orientation day in early June for appointees to ask question of a cadet and for new parents to ask questions of other parents before I-Day. Parents and candidates are addressed together, and then separated so that appointees can ask question of the cadets without having to filter for parental ears. This is helpful for parents and appointees who know nothing about USAFA.

We also have many events throughout the year both in Wisconsin and at the Academy. Summer picnic in Wisconsin for parents and families to get together and commiserate about how BCT went and do some fundraising. This is also a time we get updates from each other on upperclassmen and alumni and how they are doing. We have a Wisconsin reception at The Falcon Club at USAFA on Friday night of Parent’s Weekend. We also do a tailgate and reserve a block of seats for the football game Parent’s Weekend. We sponsor graduation gifts for the Wisconsin Cadets. There are also several other things that we do throughout the year to support cadets, which I won’t detail here because some of it is a surprise.

WAFAPA also holds quarterly board meetings to which all members are invited. These meetings are to discuss business, but are mostly social affairs. They are held at rotating locations throughout the state and usually involve a tour or activity. Think breweries, museums, or Lambeau Field.

So, there is a lot that parent’s clubs do.

Our Parent's Club does most of the same events and activities described by @Stealth_81 . They also send care packages to our cadets periodically. Many parent's clubs make and sell cool USAFA items as fundraisers. You don't have to be part of one to buy them, but we've gotten some great stuff over the years. The social aspect for parent's in the same situation is great for many.

Parent's Clubs are also a way that USAFA can distribute information. Shuttle schedules, honor roll lists, wing announcements, etc. are sent to parent's clubs to be sent out to members.

snarfly said:

Please give it to me straight -

What is up with the state parent clubs/spirit committees? What exactly is it that they do? I understand both cadet and parent need to sign a permission/contact form in order for them to connect with cadets, so what do they do to support their journey? Are they basically like PTAs?

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This one I can answer. I am the "spirit committee liaison" after all! Ha!

The State/regional Parent Clubs give you the opportunity to speak and socialize with other parents who have cadets at the academy. Many clubs also sponsor cookie/candy/snack packing events to send to their state's cadets. Some have social events for parent & cadets. For instance there's "Doolie Send Off" events. Many are involved in the "Taste of Home" event at USAFA where they provide a regional dinner for the cadets. Some also sponsor "All Academy Balls" during winter break. Many clubs sell merch and are 501(c)(3) enterprises.

The class Spirit Committee (SC) is a 501(c)(3) where parents of the class are elected onto the board. This is done through Facebook. Search for usafa2028parents on Facebook.

The SC raises money to mint challenge coins for major events - Recognition, Exemplar, Commitment, and Commission/Graduation. They may also provide commentative items for Ring Dance. This year, the 2025 Spirit Committee is donating shot glasses with Crest etching for each 2025 cadet.

I highly recommend joining a local state club. If there is none close to you, there is also the virtual state club.

The Facebook group is there for you to social more virtually. You can get answers to question straight from the USAFA Parent Liaison Team and/or the admins who have a combined experience of 30+ years with USAFA -- 2 of whom are ALOs as well. The Facebook group is focused on I-day and beyond topics.

That's the short explanation. Hope this helps.

snarfly said:

Please give it to me straight -

What is up with the state parent clubs/spirit committees? What exactly is it that they do? I understand both cadet and parent need to sign a permission/contact form in order for them to connect with cadets, so what do they do to support their journey? Are they basically like PTAs?

Click to expand...

OK, but first a question. By PTAs do you mean Parent Teacher Association---as in the schools.
OR
PTA's as in "pain in the ....."?

Now the answer. When Plebe's go off to the Academy, there is huge separation anxiety. There is also ALOT of pride for our kids as they have made it into such an inspiring (for many of us) institution. Many families are literally ripped apart at this point and the pain, the pride, the love, the angst, and many other emotions tend to rule the day until we (both parents and plebes) come to grips with this.
All that Stealth 81 said is true, yet there is even more along the lines of mutual support for parents, support and comfort for our young adults who are now away from home -- permanently for the first time in many cases.
The Parents associations are not a mandatory thing for anyone, yet I HIGHLY recommend them for the parents of Midshipmen.
They are an excellent support system for everyone, they are open and welcoming to everyone. Can't say enough good about the ones our family is involved in. As an example, the NY (maybe NJ/NY) parents club charters busses to get their mids home safely for Christmas break. There are other clubs that make things by hand and offer them for sale to everyone to ease the journey of the USNA. I know that if my plebe runs into a problem anywhere there is a parent club, that ultimately they will get the assistance needed.
So, I think of the parent clubs more or less as booster clubs, support friends, shoulders to lean on and an ex-officio part of the USNA or other service academies for both the plebes and the parents. During plebe year especially, remember misery loves company.

Or, to counter Mallard's point, we are ecstatic that we are rid of our teenager & the parent's club give all of us a chance to high-five & have some celebratory drinks.....

JK, kind of. Had both DD's wisdom teeth out today while flying semi-solo and WFM on a huge work project. Teenagers coming off of anesthesia is chaos personified so take the above with a serious grain of salt.

Maybe

MichMike said:

Or, to counter Mallard's point, we are ecstatic that we are rid of our teenager & the parent's club give all of us a chance to high-five & have some celebratory drinks.....

JK, kind of. Had both DD's wisdom teeth out today while flying semi-solo and WFM on a huge work project. Teenagers coming off of anesthesia is chaos personified so take the above with a serious grain of salt.

Maybe

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I learned so much when my oldest got his wisdom teeth out! Can't wait for #2 to do it later this month. Wonder what kind of dirt anesthesia will expose... LOL!

As with all such groups they vary in their event execution and involvement depending on the elected club officers so they can be a great resource or not worth the effort so it really depends. They sometimes get information faster than any other means so you can keep up to date with events at your academy and they are useful to meet new friends that are part of your young adult's new life as their own are going through this with them. At the end of the day, you get out of them what you put into them.