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New CAP governance structure to be presented at National Board meeting

By Steve Cox
Public Affairs Manager, CAP NHQ

8/19/2012–Maxwell AFB, Ala.–Civil Air Patrol’s Board of Governors will present the organization's new internal governance structure on Friday, Aug. 24, during CAP's Annual Conference and National Board meeting in Baltimore.


A summary report will be posted that day on www.capvolunteernow.com and linked to via CAP's Facebook page and Twitter account.


In keeping with CAP National Commander Maj. Gen. Chuck Carr’s commitment to members that they will be kept abreast of all news and information pertaining to CAP’s governance, additional postings and links will appear on these sites throughout the implementation process to ensure members nationwide are kept fully informed.


During a special meeting on April 22-23 in Washington, D.C., the Board of Governors -- CAP’s highest level strategic policy-making body – reviewed more than 40 recommended changes in governance endorsed by the
board’s Governance Committee.


“The recommendations made by the BoG Governance Committee model best practices in governance and will better define the roles of the Board of Governors, National Board and National Executive Committee,” said
Brig. Gen. Richard Anderson, the BoG chairman. “I have been affiliated with the CAP governance structure for three decades, and I feel strongly the modifications we’re implementing will significantly enhance the way in
which CAP is governed by the BoG and led by our volunteer national leadership.”


The board’s recommendations were recently presented to key leaders at the Pentagon, including the Secretary of the Air Force, and Air Force leadership has endorsed the changes.

The Board of Governors formed the BoG Governance Committee after receiving an internal governance report  from a CAP Governance Committee consisting of volunteer leaders, as well as an external governance study conducted by BoardSource, a nonprofit organization based in Washington. Both reports addressed longstanding governance issues and included recommendations designed to ensure best practices in the organization’s governance structure.


Civil Air Patrol, the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, is a nonprofit organization with more than 61,000 members nationwide, operating a fleet of 550 aircraft. CAP, in its Air Force auxiliary role, performs 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and was credited by the AFRCC with saving 54 lives in fiscal year 2011. Its volunteers also perform homeland security, disaster relief and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. The members play a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to nearly 27,000 young people currently participating in the CAP cadet programs. CAP received the World Peace Prize in 2011 and has been performing missions for America for 70 years. CAP also participates in Wreaths Across America, an initiative to remember, honor and teach about the sacrifices of U.S. military veterans. Visit www.gocivilairpatrol.com or www.capvolunteernow.com for more information.