“Looking Ahead”
I am pleased that the transition to our newly elected leadership has progressed as planned. Since the Triennial we have established lines of communication between the Executive Committee, our Regional Vice Presidents and support committees for meeting and planning purposes through 2025.
The breakout groups we attended at the Triennial served as a quasi-Strategic Planning Session. We will be utilizing and implementing many of the ideas from those sessions as future guidelines for the management of the General Society moving forward particularly those on education program support, communications and most important, the life blood of our societies, MEMBERSHIP.
In support of our State Societies our work began just days after returning from Philadelphia. I have attended many meetings and events for various societies in addition to AmRev250 organizational meetings with National and State legislators, the National park Service and Colonial Williamsburg. We were represented in three full days of events celebrating the landing and last travels of Lafayette in America and plans are already underway for visits with several societies and events throughout 2025. I am looking forward to assisting our societies that request and need our assistance for increasing their membership, fund raising and event ideas.
We have refined our financial management processes, our Committee structure, and the utilization of the General Headquarters building. We are excited to have our new website online early this summer which will greatly improve our educational, mission and event communication and provide more detailed information for our members and all who visit our site. Our team is engaged and are indeed “Looking Ahead” to improve and grow our Society.
A message on the 250 for 250 Project:
“As we approach our nation’s 250th anniversary in 2031, and the Semiquincentennial of our Declaration of Independence, we have a great opportunity to reset the conversation about who we are as a nation. A time for us to be talking to one another, and to our children, about the history of this nation and the importance of the duties of all of us to be good citizens.
“It is our shared responsibility to ensure that this ONCE IN A LIFETIME milestone is celebrated with the reverence and recognition it deserves. The “250 for 250 Project” will result in a nationally recognized effort to the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence to be dedicated on July 4, 2026, and ultimately the 250th anniversary of the British Surrender at Yorktown on October 19th, 2031”
Our Drumbeat publications will offer more information on this most important endeavor.
Planning for our 2025 General Society Annual Meeting and the 2027 Triennial is in the works. The General Society must and will do more to support and bring together all our Societies. Our focus must be on MEMBERSHIP, and we must be prepared to answer prospective members who ask; “why should I join”?
Bold commitment to honoring the creation of this amazing experiment called America, and celebrating our ancestors works in that effort is THE answer to that question and a present-day call to arms. We are at work to protect our freedoms, to ensure the correct education of our Founders and to promote their values.
It is an honor and tremendous privilege to have your confidence and support to preside over this Society for the next three years.
I am “Looking Ahead” at the prospects for the growth and prosperity of our Society.
