Spring Greetings to members of the Society of Mayflower Descendants in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (SMDPA),
SMDPA ANNUAL MEMBERS MEETING:
I wish to thank everyone who participated in our highly successful Annual Members Meeting, held at the Cameron Estate Inn & Restaurant in Mount Joy, PA on Saturday, April 30, 2023. We enjoyed what I understand is record attendance for an SMDPA event, 84 guests, including special guests from the Society of Mayflower Descendants in the State of Delaware, the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Sons of the American Revolution, and the Society of Colonial Dames of America. We were treated to a delicious gourmet meal in an elegant historic setting, with an excellent presentation from best-selling author and historian Eric Jay Dolan. The conviviality throughout the whole day was terrific!
After our event, Dolin traveled to historic Fraunces Tavern in lower Manhattan, where America’s oldest lineage society, the Society of the Cincinnati, was formed in 1783 after General George Washington bade a tearful farewell to his Continental Army officers. There, Dolin was to receive the Fraunces Tavern Museum Book Award, presented annually by the Sons of the Revolution to the author of the best newly published work on the American Revolutionary War that combines original scholarship, insight, and good writing. This work was Dolin’s most recent book, Rebels at Sea: Privateering in the American Revolution. Congratulations to our guest speaker!
On Saturday, November 18, 2023, we will be coming back next door to the historic Donegal Presbyterian Church in Mount Joy for our Annual Thanksgiving Worship / Dinner. Then on Saturday, March 30, 2024, we will be returning to the Cameron Estate Inn & Restaurant for next year’s Annual Members Meeting. Look for details on both SMDPA events to follow.
SMDPA BUSINESS MEETING:
Meanwhile, we preceded our Annual Members Meeting with a 30-minute Business Meeting among SMDPA Officers and Board of Assistants. This was an abbreviated version of our regular business meetings and featured reports from our Treasurer Scott Bond and Historian Virginia “Ginny” Fossa. The good news: our Society is successfully recovering from a financial perspective, while growing handsomely in terms of approved new members. Thank you to Scott, Ginny, and all those who contribute to our prosperity. The meeting minutes will be posted to our members area on our website: https://sail1620.org/members.php.
The most impactful item on our agenda was the swearing in of our new slate of SMDPA Officers and Board of Assistants. Thank you to past-Governor Reed Kneale Sr. for chairing our Nominating Committee to invite these impressive and committed candidates to serve. You can read the full slate on page 5 of our Spring Newsletter, available on our website for viewing and downloading: https://sail1620.org/images/downloads/2023_Newsletters/smdpa_spring_2023.pdf.
However, I am pleased to announce three additions confirmed since our swearing-in ceremony. Laura Tyndall will be transitioning from her prior role as Secretary to her new role as a Board of Assistant. She will also be retaining her prior role as Webmaster. Laura has done such an outstanding job as Secretary that it would take two fine people to replace her. Fortunately, that is just what I can report! Lois Revenaugh has graciously agreed to serve as Secretary, while Charlene Servian has graciously agreed to learn and support her efforts as Assistant Secretary. Please join me in offering hearty congratulations to these three SMDPA members, and to all our new SMDPA Officers and Board of Assistants!
Our next SMDPA Board of Assistants Meeting will be held virtually via Zoom on a new date, Saturday, July 8, 2023, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Those SMDPA members directly involved can look for an announcement shortly.
SMDPA SUMMER SOCIAL EVENTS:
To keep this wonderful momentum going, we are pleased to announce two new SMDPA Summer Social Events:
Saturday, July 29, 10:45 a.m.-1:45 p.m.: Historic Sugartown, Malvern, PA
- We will enjoy boxed lunches and a private group tour of Historic Sugartown, a restored 19th-century village in pastoral Chester County.
Saturday, August 26, 9:45 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.: Brandywine Museum of Art, Chadds Ford, PA
- We will enjoy boxed lunches and private group tours of the studios of two of America’s most renowned illustrators and artists: C. Wyeth and his son Andrew Wyeth. Our admission will also include unstructured free time to explore the museum’s impressive art collections, gift store, and grounds alongside the scenic Brandywine River.
On our website event area, you will find full details and the ability to register, select your boxed lunches, and provide payment electronically. Space is limited, so be sure to register early!
We look forward to seeing you in-person and maintaining 2023’s guiding theme of cultivating “warm relationships.”
James (Jim) Campbell SMDPA Governor [email protected]
