Fellow Ponies:

It saddens me to report that at this year’s convention, the NOBC voted to fold its flag.  This was a very difficult decision for the Mustangs to reach.  The topic was first broached at the 2007 convention.  The members decided to amend their by-laws to reduce the quorum necessary to continue from 15 to 10. 

There has not been a battlefield commission since Vietnam and time has taken its toll on the membership.  With no new members, it is very difficult for them to remain viable as an organization.  At this year’s convention only 9 Mustangs were able to attend.  This has forced their hand and at their current rate, they will exhaust their treasury by mid next year.  A decision had to be made whether to reduce the quorum or fold.  While it was painful, they unanimously voted to fold their flag.  They have decided that they would rather go out standing and with the dignity that they have earned.

 They will be scheduling the final ceremony to be held at the NOBC Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery next summer.  I want to encourage as many Ponies to attend as possible to honor their memory.

The original charter of the Mustang Ponies was to carry on the memory of the Mustangs and the NOBC.  Our objectives are:

• To create a viable and cohesive national organization for the purpose of perpetuating the memory of the Battlefield Commissioned and to recognize descendants of all Battlefield Commissioned Officers from the United States Armed Forces and enjoy the camaraderie of unique membership

• To display and preserve, for all time and ages, the valor, patriotism, and self-sacrifice demonstrated by Battlefield Commissioned Officers.

• To stimulate patriotism in the minds of our youth and to engender a national pride and interest in the Armed Forces of the United States.

We currently have 150 members, however for the last 6 years; the Board members have come primarily from 3 families.  Therefore, do we want to continue as an organization since so few so far have been actively involved?   For example, at this year’s NOBC convention, only two Mustang Ponies were present and this year’s scholarship recipient is the only new member.

If we were to take over the NOBC and continue with their major activities, which we may have an option to do, that is, publishing the Mustang News and sending memorial plaques to the widows of passing members, we would exhaust our treasury in 6 months.  However, maintaining a website and/or a social networking presence (e.g. Facebook) would be significantly less expensive and still enable us to continue to keep the memory of NOBC alive for some time.

We have not been able to maintain a full board of directors for the last 3 years.  All of the members are well past their terms, and have been filling multiple positions.  The thought of closing is very painful for several of the Board Members who have been there from the very start.  If we fold, we must also decide what to do with the balance in the treasury of approximately $2,770.  Under our by laws, any remaining funds may be distributed in accordance with the determination of the Board of Directors of the Mustang Ponies and in compliance with all federal and state laws applicable thereto. 

One possibility is to continue to meet annually or biennially to continue to share the memory of our fathers, grandfathers, and great grandfathers.  (Our motto is “We shall never forget.”)  We can meet for significantly cheaper conventions than the Mustangs have done.  We may grant several scholarships still.  We may donate to an appropriate charity.

The options that the Board has come up are:

1. Continue to meet, timing to be determined

2. Continue to keep the memory of the NOBC alive with an electronic newsletter

3. Continue to present plaques to widows of passing NOBC members

4. Continue to grant scholarships as long as there are funds

5. Disband the Mustang Ponies and donate the remaining funds to a charity of the Board's choosing