Awards and Inductions Highlight the Annual Chapter Banquet on the 15Th of May, the Annual Fairfax Resolves Banquet President’S Message 2 Was Held at Vinson Hall
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Volume 4, Issue 2 Spring 2010 The Defender AA publicationpublication ofof TheThe FairfaxFairfax ResolvesResolves Chapter,Chapter, SonsSons ofof thethe AmericanAmerican RevolutionRevolution BestBest LargeLarge ChapterChapter inin VirginiaVirginia –– 2007,2007, 2008,2008, andand 20092009 President,President, JackJack SweeneySweeney [email protected]@fairfaxresolvessar.org Publisher,Publisher, PhilPhil Ray,Ray, SecretarySecretary [email protected]@fairfaxresolvessar.org Awards and Inductions Highlight the Annual Chapter Banquet On the 15th of May, the annual Fairfax Resolves Banquet President’s Message 2 was held at Vinson Hall. The gala event began with a social hour in the Vinson Hall penthouse. A variety of wines, Chapter Awards 3 punch and hors d‘oeuvres set the mood for the evening as EMS of the Year 7 members and guests gathered to socialize. Following the social hour, everyone was treated to an excellent dinner of Citizen of the Year 8 marinated tenderloin and crab stuffed flounder. The special guests for the evening were Col. (Ret-USMC) Stewart National History Day 9 McCarty, former President General of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, and his wife. Grave Markings 10 To begin the presentations, five new members were inducted into the SAR. You may recall from the Fall 2009 President James 12 issue of The Defender, when five members of the Anderson Monroe family signed their applications into the SAR. All five new Color Guard members were present for the induction ceremony. In 15 Activities addition, Bill Price accepted the certificates for his father and two uncles, also new members in the SAR. Bill‘s relatives New Members Welcomed 20 were inducted in Texas at a later date. Past Pres. Gen’l Stewart McCarty Speaks to Fairfax Resolves Meet My Patriot 24 Following these inductions, numerous awards were presented. Chapter President, Jack Sweeney, was presented Veteran’s Report 26 with a replica set of George Washington‘s cufflinks for his exceptional service to the chapter. Seven chapter members were awarded Virginia Society Chapter Service Medal‘s for their significant contributions to Fairfax Resolves. Don Cooper was presented a Certificate of Appreciation for his Registrar’s Report 31 work on the Teacher of the Year award. Three ladies were presented awards for there continued support of the SAR. And finally, Phil Ray was presented the SAR Service to Veterans Medal. Calendar of Events 33 Details of each induction and award presentation can be found in additional stories in this issue. Fairfax Resolves Modifies Chapter Calendar to Coincide with VASSAR Normally, this issue of The Defender announces the to December. The main benefit will be that activities selections and induction of the new slate of chapter from the past calendar year will be reflected in the annual officers for the upcoming year. However, officer chapter report of a single chapter president and staff. inductions did not occur at the annual banquet as they This change will eliminate the transfer of responsibilities have in the past. In an effort to have the chapter calendar in the middle of the VASSAR reporting period. in sync with the VASSAR calendar, officer inductions To avoid having new officers and Board of Managers will now occur in December, at the annual Christmas with less than a full year of service in 2010, it was agreed social meeting. to extend the current staff through December if they were Historically, the Fairfax Resolves officers have served willing to accept the extension. All current officers and from May to May with inductions at the annual banquet. Board of Managers agreed to serve through December This year, a change in the chapter by-laws was approved when the new slate of officers will be inducted. Most of to allow Fairfax Resolves officers to serve from December the Virginia chapters follow a standard calendar year. P a g e 2 The Defender Some words from Jack… Our 15 May Awards Dinner provided an opportunity to recognize some of our more hard working members and to welcome the Anderson Family of five new Compatriots and the Price Family of three new Compatriots. The unique family inductions were particularly meaningful for our Chapter. Most recognize that having proven descent from an American Revolutionary War Patriot, to qualify as a member of the SAR, truly preserves for our collective posterity the prideful evidence of our blood-line relationship to those extraordinarily brave colonial founders of our great Nation. This year our Fairfax Resolves Chapter has witnessed two particularly astonishing demonstrations of the valued aspect of SAR membership. A difficult multiple year long genealogical research effort by Compatriot Mark Anderson, supported by his father General Earl E. Anderson, USMC-Retired, resulted in the unquestionable proof of the direct-line descent from their Patriot ancestor, Captain Randall Wells. The senior Anderson Family member, General Anderson, having received a plethora of awards throughout his military career was present to proudly take the SAR oath administered by SAR President General McCarty, along with the Anderson Family sons and grandsons. It was a moving moment for all of us. Also at the same 15 May assembly, Compatriot William W. Price received the documentation associated with his supplemental application and that of original SAR entry applications for his father, William Sidney Price, Jr. and his uncles Harry Hemphill Price and Carter Price, all three residing in Texas. It was known Compatriot Price‘s father, William Sidney Price, Jr., was extremely ill and time was probably short. After receiving the documentation, the younger Bill Price made a special trip to Texas for an SAR induction ceremony for his father and two uncles. Details on this are covered elsewhere in this issue of the Defender. These two events alone demonstrate the extraordinarily unique and valuable nature of SAR membership. SAR membership is special and it is apparent that others share this belief. Our Chapter continues to grow, as does the SAR. Over 85 Compatriots having paid 2010 dues are on our rolls. Payment of Chapter, Virginia Society, and National Society dues alone is absolutely essential to the continuance of our programs at all three levels of the SAR and these payments are sincerely appreciated. They are also fully tax deductible! With financial support our chapter continues to provide our various awards for deserving recipients such as Fire and EMS, Law Enforcement, ROTC and JROTC, Outstanding Students, Eagle Scouts, Teacher of the Year, Citizen of the Year, National History Day, Oration and Essay Contest Winners, Children of the American Revolution support, New Citizens ceremony support, Good Citizenship recognitions, U.S. Flag decoration of graves, American Revolutionary War Grave markings, flag donations and other historical commemorative and community service activities. So even if you are not able to participate in person at various events, your dues payments are so important. Also particularly noteworthy are our color guard members who invest so much time, talent, and treasure to fulfill their role. I sincerely urge all to consider support to our various activities and also respond positively with dues payments in November when Dan Rolph, our Treasurer, sends out the dues payment requests and the 2011 membership cards. Included in this mailing will be a questionnaire regarding your individual membership information. In closing, I hope all are enjoying a good summer and I hope to see you all at our next meeting at Vinson Hall on Thursday, 9 Sep 2010 at 7:00 PM. For those interested in joining in on some of the Chapter activities continuing during the summer, please read the Fairfax SAR Chapter website www.fairfaxresolvessar.org where Compatriot Lawrence E. ―Larry‖ McKinley is featured as being cited for his exceptional service to the SAR with the scheduled award of the prestigious SAR Minute Man Medal at the SAR National Congress in Cleveland. Sincerely, John E. ―Jack‖ Sweeney, President, Fairfax Resolves SAR Chapter Guest Speaker Program Ends the Year On a High Note The 2009-2010 Fairfax Resolves guest speaker program closed out the chapter year with two more exceptional presentations. Following on the heels of the captivating presentation by Major General Tom Wilkerson, Fairfax Resolves hosted two more equally exceptional presentations from Mr. Steve Bashore and Mr. Mike Cecere. On the 11th of March, Mr. On the 8th of April, Mr. Steve Bashore presented George Mike Cecere presented The Washington: Entrepreneur. Sinew of the Army: Captains Steve is the manager of George John Chilton and Tom Posey. Washington‘s Mount Vernon Steve is an educator in our area Gristmill, Distillery & Pioneer that has presented to Fairfax Farm. His work explored the Resolves on several occasions. many facets of Washington‘s Steve focused on the service career as a businessman and and sacrifice of two Virginia farmer. officers, Captain John Chilton Washington thought of of the 3rd Virginia and Captain himself as a farmer before all Thomas Posey of the 7th else. It was his greatest passion and he was one of the first Virginia. These two officers served in the same brigade, but farmers to adopt advanced farming methods, known as the commanded very different companies and had very different ―new husbandry.‖ Late in life he constructed what may have experiences in the war. been the largest whiskey distillery in the United States, Both presentations can be seen in full on our web-site at . producing nearly 11,000 gallons of rye whiskey in 1799. http://fairfaxresolvessar.org/ffx_chapter_presentations.html Volume 4, Issue 2 P a g e 3 Fellow Compatriots Honored for their Service to the Chapter On 15 May 2010 at the annual chapter awards banquet, Fairfax Resolves gave praise and recognition to numerous Compatriots that have given their dedicated service to the chapter. The recognition ceremony followed an exceptional meal that was catered by the Vinson Hall dining facility staff and was only one of the many highlights of the evening.