The pre-115th National Encampment meeting of the Council of Administration, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW) was called to order at 7:30 P.M. by Commander-in-Chief David R. Medert. Brother Ed Dowd offered an opening prayer.
Members Present: Commander-in-Chief David R. Medert; Senior Vice Commander-in-Chief Alan R. Loomis; Junior Vice Commander-in-Chief Richard D. Orr; Council of Administration Members Andrew M. Johnson, Robert Grim, J. Douglas Park and PCinC Keith G. Harrison; National Treasurer PCinC Charles W. Corfman; National Quartermaster PCinC Elmer F. Atkinson; Washington Representative PCinC Richard Schlenker; Council of Administration Senior Member Emeritus PCinC Joseph Rippey; and PCinCs Kenneth Wheeler, Clark Mellor, Richard Greenwalt; and Lowell Hammer.
Other Brothers Present: National Membership-at-Large Coordinator L. Dean Lamphere, Jr.; National Membership List Coordinator Richard Williams; National Department and Camp Organizer Richard Greene; Ed Dowd, John Mann, Gary Gibson, and William Brennan from the Department of Michigan; and Robert Petrovic and Steve Leicht from the Department of Missouri.
It was moved and seconded to approve the minutes of the March 9, 1996 National Council of Administration meeting as distributed; motion passed.
Reports of Officers
Commander-in-Chief Medert indicated that he will present his full report at the National Encampment. Commander-in-Chief Medert reported on a letter that he had received from the US Army Military History Institute regarding the SUVCW/Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) holdings. According to the letter, the SUVCW/GAR material will be retained at Carlisle Barracks and continue to be made available to users. Commander-in-Chief Medert and Brother Atkinson expressed a need to have the material inventoried.
Senior Vice Commander-in-Chief Loomis indicated that he will present his report at the National Encampment. He did, however, briefly report on a letter from PCinC Allen Moore regarding the setting up of a $5,000 fund to pay for legal services to secure GAR-owned Civil War gun tubes. A motion was made and seconded to refer this matter to National Counselor, James Pahl, and Auditor, Robert Delany, for legal and tax reviews, respectively, and reporting back to the Commander-in-Chief; motion passed.
Junior Vice Commander-in-Chief Orr indicated that he had been besieged with email membership inquires. He will present his full report at the National Encampment.
National Quartermaster, PCinC Atkinson reported that he has processed over 500 orders for supplies during the year. He has also processed over 300 Eagle Scout certificates. He expressed a need for the establishment of Department contacts to arrange for presentation of the certificates.
National Secretary Wallace - Assistant to the National Secretary, PCinC Harrison, read a fax to the Council regarding National Secretary Wallace's inability to be at the meeting. He distributed a portion of Brother Wallace's report which showed deficiencies in reporting and percapita tax obligations. He indicated that since the report was prepared, there remained only the Departments of Illinois and New Hampshire with outstanding obligations.
Brother Harrison reported that the Department of Colorado & Wyoming still had not secured the minimum number of Camps needed to constitute a Department. A motion was made and seconded that the Department of Colorado & Wyoming Department charter be suspended for failure to make any effort to obtain the minimum number of Camps required under the Constitution and Regulations; motion passed.
Brother Harrison reported on a July 8, 1996 letter from Brother Wallace to Camp Commander, Daniel F.B. Lisarelli (Lt. Cmdr. Edward Lea USN Camp 2, Department of the Southwest) regarding the membership eligibility of descendants of the ambushed Union recruits in Texas. It was the consensus of the Council that the National Secretary be requested to write Brother Lisarelli informing him that the descendants of the recruits would not be eligible for SUVCW membership since the recruits at the time of the ambush were not members of the Union Army.
Brother Harrison reported that the Library of Congress had been contacted regarding the exchange of all their paper National Proceedings for microfiche copies. In order for the library to consider this, the microfiche copy would need to be silver halide. When the past National Proceedings microfiche were initially prepared, the Order obtained one silver halide master and several diazole copies. The Library of Congress will only accept silver halide microfiche (silver halide lasts 500 years, diazole last about 125 years). Based on additional research with the company which produced microfiched National proceedings indicated that it is not possible to make a silver halide duplicate from a silver halide master. As a consequence, if we wanted to give the Library of Congress a set of silver halide microfiche proceedings, the Order must give them our master or have the re-bound Proceedings ripped apart again. It was recommended that the Library of Congress be given our master for all those Proceedings which have been microfiched, (we retain the diazole copy), and that two master copies be made of all future Proceedings. No action was taken on this agenda item.
Brother Harrison reported that he had completed three past National Encampment Proceedings (1982, 1988, and 1994). Copies of the Proceedings will be mailed to the respective Encampment registrants following the 115th Encampment by the National Secretary. The remaining copies will be given to the National Quartermaster for sale. A copy of each of the three published Proceedings was passed around for review.
Brother Harrison reported on a letter received by Brother Wallace from Brother Ernst Von Frankenberg regarding recognition of some Sons of Veterans Reserve (SVR) badges to be reproduced for sale under the Order's Emblem policy. Since the noted badges were no longer issued by the SVR, the letter was referred to the National Military Affairs Committee for resolution.
National Treasurer, PCinC Corfman distributed and briefly reviewed the FY 1996 Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Fund Balance, and Proposed FY 1997 Budget reports prepared by the Order's Accountant (Geraldine Orr).
Special National Headquarters Site Committee: Commander-in-Chief Medert reported on the National Headquarters draft lease from the City of Harrisburg. The matter is scheduled to be presented to the National Encampment with the recommendation to approve the location and then refer it back to the Council of Administration to work out the details.
Old Business
History Book Report: Brother Gary Gibson reported that the SUVCW History Book was completed and that copies of it had been mailed by Turner Publishers to the members of the Order 4th Class. The National Quartermaster will be provided 40 copies for sale at the National Encampment. A copy of the book was passed around for review.
Conference on Women Endorsement: Brother Atkinson indicated that he had been informed by National Auxiliary President, Margaret Atkinson, that the letter of endorsement from the Order on the Conference on Women and the Civil War was never received.
New Business
SUVCW Merchandise: Following a presentation by US Grant Camp #68, Department of Missouri, the following series of motions were made and seconded and passed.
1. Permission with an option to renew be granted to the US Grant Camp #68, Department of Missouri, to produce and sale banners, golf shirts and two types of jackets with the SUVCW badge affixed. Permission approved until 30 June 1998.
2. Permission be granted to the Governor Crapo Camp #145, Department of Michigan, to produce and sell to Governor Crapo Camp members only, clothing items displaying SUVCW emblems.
3. The National Secretary shall advise all previously authorized Camps and Departments producing and selling SUVCW-emblemed merchandise that they are authorized to continue to sell the merchandise until 30 June 1998. They may seek permission to continue to produce and sell such items beyond the 30 June 1998. This request must be received by the Commander-in-Chief before the March 1988 Council of Administration meeting.
4. Permission be granted to the Department of Pennsylvania to produce and sell as a fundraiser for the Department-hosted 1998 National Encampment SUVCW-emblemed T-shirts, sweatshirts and jackets as proposed under "Make It Special" through 30 June 1998. After this date subject to the approval of the Commander-in-Chief, this material may be sold through the National Quartermaster.
Good of the Order
Brother Harrison briefly reported on a successful August 5, 1996 mission by Senior Vice Commander-in-Chief Loomis and himself to have a GAR-owned Civil War cannon returned to a cemetery in White Pigeon, Michigan.
The next meeting of the National Council of Administration is tentatively scheduled for 10:00 A.M. or 1:00 P.M. (depending on the time of completion of the National Encampment) on Sunday, August 8, 1996 in Columbus, Ohio.
Respectively submitted in F., C., & L.,
Keith G. Harrison, PCinC
Assistant to the National Secretary
Return to SUVCW Home Page