Summer Greetings to members of the Society of Mayflower Descendants in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (SMDPA). Please find below the report submitted to GSMD for the September 2023 Congress.
Society of Mayflower Descendants in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (SMDPA)
2023 GENERAL CONGRESS REPORT
James Reed Campbell Jr., Governor
MEMBERSHIP:
SMDPA is proud to have achieved a 43% growth in membership over the past 10 years, the highest percentage growth during this timeframe of any Member Society. These efforts included adding 51 new members since October 2022. Last Fall, we initiated our first-ever Member Survey to evaluate member satisfaction with our Society and its various offerings. We heard from 113 members, nearly 20%, who gave us an exceptionally high “net promoter score” of 2.2 on a scale of 1:10, with 1 being “very likely to recommend SMDPA to others.”
In June 2023, SMDPA exhibited at the 14th annual Haverford Heritage Festival in Haverford to promote new membership. In July 2023, our Historians hosted our first-ever webinar for prospective members to help them research their ancestors, guide them through the application process, and answer any questions. We anticipate repeating these webinars for all SMDPA members on a biannual basis. SMDPA also produced its biannual newsletters for all members, with plans to expand its Fall/Winter 2023 edition from 12 to 16 pages.
EVENTS:
In November 2022 SMDPA hosted its annual Thanksgiving Worship / Dinner at St. David’s Episcopal Church in Wayne, while our Western Colony hosted its annual Thanksgiving Meeting and Dinner at the Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont. Our Members Survey indicated that these two events are the most highly valued by our members. In February 2023, we resumed our tradition of holding in-person BOA meetings at the Merion Cricket Club in Haverford, while meeting virtually in October 2022 and July 2023. Our Western and Susquehanna Colonies hosted three events in October 2022 and June and July 2023, respectively, at the Berwick Country Club in Berwick, the Railroad House Inn in Marietta, and the Woodville Plantation in Bridgeville.
In April 2023, SMDPA held its annual Members Meeting at the Cameron Estate Inn and Restaurant in Mount Joy. We enjoyed a record 84 attendees, including guests from four “sister societies,” to hear best-selling author and historian Eric Jay Dolin speak about the experiences of our Pilgrim ancestors in the fur trade. In July and August 2023, SMDPA scheduled its first-ever Summer Social Events, respectively, at Historic Sugartown in Malvern, and the Brandywine Museum of Art in Chadds Ford. For the former event, we enjoyed 27 attendees, including guests from three “sister societies.”
EDUCATION:
Last Fall, SMDPA successfully hosted Pilgrim re-enactors from the Plimoth Patuxet Museums at various schools in our Western Colony. Efforts are underway for this Fall to repeat these exceptional educational experiences at schools in our Susquehanna Colony. In March 2023 as part of Women’s History Month, we co-hosted with GSMD a national webinar on “Mutinous Women,” featuring author Joan DeJean. SMDPA also completed its series of pamphlets, “Women and Girls of the Mayflower”; and we will be undertaking a new pamphlet, “Boys of the Mayflower,” starting in August 2023.
SMDPA maintained its Elizabeth Tilley Howland Scholarship prize for graduating seniors who are “Mayflower” descendants for best essays on the topic, “How do the values of the Mayflower Pilgrims relate to your 21st-century life and plans?” Finally, we have been participating in National History Day, an independent, statewide competition for middle- and high-schoolers. SMDPA sponsored four Mayflower Prizes recognizing school projects that best illustrated these values of our Pilgrim ancestors: religious freedom, economic opportunity, self-governance, and multicultural respect. We presented our prizes to the winners this Spring; and we plan to continue our successful participation for Spring 2024.
Best Regards,
James (Jim) Campbell SMDPA Governor [email protected]
